Fig Cake

Gumbo

This is a traditional chicken & sausage (my favorite) gumbo over rice.

And below is how I grew up eating it...over potato salad!  Yes, it may sound weird, but chances are you'll love it!  My mom's recipe for potato salad is the best: lots of egg and mayo, no mustard! (See recipe below) Sorry for all of the exclamation marks but good gumbo and potato salad is something to get excited over!!!

Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

Dad

1 16 oz jar roux 

1 chicken or 6-8 legs, boneless/skinless thighs, etc. (whatever you have will do)

2-3 Tbs salt

2 tsp pepper

1 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 pkg green onions, chopped, greens and whites separated

1 lb Eckridge sausage sliced in ¼” crescents

Notes:  

Roux - I suggest the bought stuff unless you are a seasoned roux maker.

Chicken - If you are in a hurry or don't want the hassle you can use boneless/skinless chicken pieces, but you don't get as much flavor as you would with the bones.  You can even use a rotisserie chicken:  De-bone it and just boil the bones down for the broth.  Make sure to strain the broth well to remove any bones.  If using the rotisserie chicken add your bell pepper and onions after you remove the bones and cook them down for about 10-15 minutes in the broth.   

Sausage - Most people like a spicy cajun sausage or andouille sausage but I love good ole plump, fatty Eckridge sausage.   

Directions:

Season 1 gallon of water with salt and pepper.  Add thighs, bell pepper and onions (both white onion and whites off green onions) to your seasoned water.  Bring to boil over Medium-high heat and simmer for 45 minutes – 1 hour.  Remove chicken from the broth and cool enough to de-bone.  Discard bones and reserve the de-boned chicken until the end.  In a separate bowl whisk roux while gradually adding hot broth from boiled chicken.  When roux mixture is thinned out then pour it back into the pot of broth.  Gently Boil for about  10 minutes. Season as needed.  Add sausage, de-boned chicken and the tops of the green onion and boil for 1 more minute.  Serve with rice and/or potato salad and Saltine crackers on the side.  

Potato Salad 

Mom

3 lbs red skin potatoes, (skin-on) diced ¾” or regular brown potatoes, peeled, diced

2 Tbs salt

7 boiled eggs, peeled, chopped

1 ½ cups mayo

3 Tbs sweet relish

2 Tbs dill relish

1 tsp salt & pepper

Boil potatoes in salted water for about 15 minutes or until tender.  Drain.  Add eggs, mayo, relishes, salt and pepper to the potatoes and mix vigorously with wooden spoon while potatoes are still hot.  It should have consistency of very creamy, yet lumpy, mashed potatoes.  

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!