Maque Chow

This is an all-time favorite of mine!  It's a super easy crawfish and corn chowder. 

Maque Chow

1/2 stick butter

1 onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 can corn, drained

1 can Rotel tomatoes with juice

1 can evaporated milk

1 package crawfish tails, thawed

Tony's (optional)

Melt butter and sauté onions and bell peppers for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add the cans of evaporated milk, corn, and Rotel tomatoes and bring to a gentle boil. As soon as it starts boiling add crawfish tails. Stir frequently

and remove from heat and soon as crawfish tails are curled. (Don't over cook the crawfish. They get rubbery quickly.) Optional: Add salt or Tony's seasoning to taste. Served with garlic bread. 

If children are eating I save the Rotel until last so I can pull some for the little ones before the spicy tomatoes enter the picture. 

Kids' version without Rotel. 

Roasted Red Potatoes

Yummy, sweet roasted red potatoes. 

Preheat oven to 425* Toss with salt, pepper, olive oil and fresh rosemary (if you have it). Stick the Rosemary down under the potatoes and roast for about 45 minutes until golden brown. (Shake the pan once or twice while the are roasting to move them around.)

Cornbread Dressing

Cornbread Dressing

4 cups cornbread, crumbled

1/2 stick butter

1/2 cup green onion tops, chopped

6 hard boiled eggs, chopped

4 cups chicken broth

Salt and pepper to taste

(This was my first time to make it with actual chicken...but I prefer it without)

Preheat oven to 375* Mix all of the ingredients well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a baking dish and pat out flat. It should be wet on top but not soupy.  Bake for 45 minutes to an hour until the liquid has baked off and the top is golden brown. 

Lentil Soup

This is my rendition of Alton Brown's lentil soup. 

Lentil Soup

2-3 Tbs olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 ribs celery, diced

4 carrots, peeled and diced

3-4 cups diced tomatoes

2 cups chicken broth

2-3 cups water

1 lb bag lentils, rinsed

1 1/2 tsp garam masala

Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté onions, celery and carrots in olive oil for about 5 minutes in a large pot. Add garam masala and sauté another minute. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, water, lentils, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a light simmer, cover and cook for 30-40 minutes until tender. I put my emulsion blender in for a second to make it slightly creamy, but not baby food. I like a good bit of texture so I only blend for about 5 seconds. If you don't have an emulsion blender and want it creamy you can take a cup of soup out and blend in a blender or food processor and return it to the pot of soup. Enjoy!

 

Coconut, Apricot, and Almond Rice Pudding

I usually make rice pudding with leftover rice. Last night dolled it up a little. I pretty much do things the way my mom did growing up but this is one I took an easy way out. She never used a rice cooker, but after making tons of rice I finally invested in a fancy rice cooker. After I wore that one out I went back for another and now they have supper fancy rice cookers that sauté and have special features for brown rice. So, with that said that's how I make my super easy rice and rice pudding these days. 

Rice Pudding

Rice (white or brown)

Sugar

Butter

Half and half or whipping cream

Milk

Vanilla

Cinnamon

Add-ins (optional):

    Raisins or apricots, diced

    Almond slivers

    Coconut flakes

     

I didn't put any measurements because you can do any amount you like of anything. You may like more or less sugar, no half and half and all skim milk, etc. I used about 2 cups of cooked brown rice left in my cooker and added about 1/2 cup of sugar, 2 Tbs butter, 1/2 cup whipping cream, 1 1/2 cups milk, a tsp of vanilla and a dash of cinnamon. That's my basic recipe that I usually do. This time I got fancy and added 1/4 cup diced apricots, 2 Tbs sliced almonds, 1/4 sweetened coconut flakes.  

The most important things are that its soupy and the liquid should be all the way up to the top of the rice. And secondly, make sure it tastes good before you cook it. If not, add more sugar. No need to waste good ingredients trying to be healthy. 

Once it taste good and has enough liquid it's time to cook. I just turn my rice cooker on sauté and let it go for about 20-30 minutes stirring occasionally. If you are doing it on the stove just let it gently simmer stirring occasionally for 20-30 minutes. Either way cook until it thickens to the consistence you like. If it gets too thick you can add a little milk and heat through. It's a delightful leftover treat!

Pistachio Cake

Oldie but goodie!

Pistachio Cake

1 box yellow cake mix (dry)

5.1 oz box pistachio pudding (dry)

Or 2 smaller boxes

4 eggs

1 cup water

1/2 cup oil

1/2 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 350* Mix all ingredients with electric mixer on low until blended then gradually increase speed. Mix on high for 2 minutes. Grease and flour bundt pan. Pour batter in greased/floured pan and bake for 50 minutes. Remove from oven an cool on rack for 10 minutes. Turn out onto plate and continue cooling on rack. Dust with confection/powered sugar (optional). 

Green Chili & Chicken Soup

The garnishes make this soup.  Don't get me wrong, the flavor of the soup itself is wonderful, but the garnishes take it to another level.  Sour cream is a must...it adds a cool, creamy  element to this spicy bowl of goodness.  Then, the gooey cheese and crunchy chips add just the right texture to set it off.  

Green Chili & Chicken Soup

1 lb chicken (or 2 cooked chicken breast, chopped and 4 cups chicken broth)
Salt & pepper to taste
2 Tbs olive oil
4 green chili peppers or jalapenos, de-seeded and chopped
1 onion, diced
1 can white beans (i.e. cannellini), drained and rinsed
1 Tbs cumin
1/2 tsp oregano

Garnish:
Shredded Cheese (Monterrey Jack preferred)
Sour Cream
Tortilla Chips

Boil chicken on the bone in about 6 cups of seasoned water (salt & pepper to taste) for about 45 minutes.  Remove chicken and let set until cool enough to de-bone.  In separate pot heat olive oil and sautee green chili peppers and onion.  Once onions and peppers are tender add chicken and broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and add beans, cumin and oregano.  Simmer for about 5 minutes.  Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips on the side.