Jambalaya

In the mood for something spicy and filling? Try this "barely recipe" jambalaya. :-)

1 large andouille sausage
2 TB butter
1 TB olive oil

1/2 pound frozen uncooked shrimp (bake in oven, sprinkled with salt, pepper, cayenne and lemon juice for 5-10 minutes @ 350 degrees)

several cloves of garlic
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped, with the seeds
2 stalks celery, chopped.
4 green onions, chopped

1 bag frozen corn

2 cups rice

2 tsp. cayenne
2 1/2 tsp. paprika
1 TB oregano
1 TB thyme
2 tsp. cumin
pepper and salt to taste

2 TB tomato paste
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes

3 1/2 cup chix broth (low sodium)

1 TB butter and 1 TB olive oil into dutch oven on medium high, with a couple garlic cloves. Add the andouille and brown. Remove the andouille and refresh the oil if needed. Add a little more garlic and the peppers (bell and jalapeno), celery and green onions. Saute briefly, add the corn and salt and pepper to taste. Then add the tomato paste, spices and rice, mix well. Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and broth. Bring to a boil, then simmer 25 minutes (covered) until the rice is cooked and the liquid gone. Add meat and let sit for a bit, then eat!!!

Watermelon Sorbet

Start by making this ginger syrup. Do it now.

Then take 1/2 cup of the spicy sweet gingery goodness, combine with 1/4 cup lime juice.

Puree three cups seedless watermelon. Combine with syrup and juice.

Put into ice cream maker and freeze for a good while. 15-20 minutes. Freeze in an airtight container, but not for more than six-eight hours. You want it to be just the right freezy mush. If you need to freeze or longer, I recommend adding white rum.

Garnish with mint and eat it all.

Venison Pho

Now that I'm not pregnant, I'm not scared to try new foods, and Jesse and I have recently gotten into the Pho thing. Today, I'm trying a crockpot recipe and looking forward to coming home to delicious delicious noodle soup. I've never used lemon grass before in my own cooking, and I'm excited!

(This recipe is adapted from America's Test Kitchen. So you know it's gonna be good.)

2 onions, minced

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 TB olive oil

4 cups chicken broth

4 cups beef broth

2 cups water

1/4 cup fish sauce

2 TB soy sauce

2 TB sugar

1 stalk lemon grass, bottom 5 inches, bruised

4 star anise pods

4 whole cloves

2 pounds blade steak, trimmed. (We just used a couple venison steaks, because that's what we had.)

salt and pepper

8 ounces rice noodles

Garnishes! (This is the best part!)

2 cups bean sprouts

1 cup fresh Thai basil or regular basil

1 cup fresh cilantro

2 scallions, sliced thin

1 fresh Thai, serrano or jalapeno chili, sliced thin

lime wedges

1. Microwave onions, garlic and oil in bowl, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes; transfer to slow cooker.

2. Stir chicken broth, beef broth, water, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar and lemon grass into slow cooker. Secure star anise and cloves in cheesecloth or teabag and add to slow cooker. Season meat with salt and pepper and add. Cover and cook until meat is tender (9-11 hours on low, 5-7 hours on high).

3. Transfer meat to cutting board - cut into bite size pieces. Let soup settle 5 minutes, skim fat. Discard lemon grass and spice pouch.

4. Stir in the noodles, cover, cook on high until noodles are tender (time will depend on thickness of noodles.) Stir meat back in, serve with garnishes.

Monday Menu!

Monday is grocery day, and I'm a little crazy so every week I make a menu and snack list for the week. I don't plan what meal we eat on what day, because I like to stay a little bit spontaneous. Here's the ideas for the week:

1) Braised steak, butternut squash soup, baked zucchini chips
2) Burritos: Homemade refried beans, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers
3) Chicken & rice, baked carrots
4) Baked chicken legs, garlic baked broccoli, sweet potatoes
5) Spaghetti Squash

Snacks/desserts: baked oatmeal, candied almonds, rice pudding, baked apples

We'll see how it all works out. I'll post recipes if it's good! What's your on mind to eat this week?

Spaghetti Squash

We took the plunge and tried spaghetti squash. It makes a visually different spaghetti, but it turned out very tasty. And it was EASIER than noodles!

I halved the squash (I used two) and threw it on a lightly oiled pan and baked it at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. I was shooting for 30 minutes, but life happened.

Then cooked up my beef (1.5 pounds)/jarred spaghetti sauce (1.5 jars) while shredding the insides of the squash.

Mixed it all together and let it simmer 5 minutes to soften up the squash the last little bit.

The husband B, notorious picky eater, ate it right up! And my kids were done before I had time to settle the twins. Next time I'll try to get a picture so you know what to expect. :)

Dutch Quesadillas

We have this favorite story about our maternal grandmother, about how our grandfather hated pizza because whenever she made it, she made "Dutch" pizza, with all the leftovers on it - mashed potatoes, peas, whatever was in the fridge.

Last night, after eating the Tomato Soup, my husband made us some Dutch Quesadillas -

• Hot Jalapeno relish
• Provalone cheese
• Bacon

Fry up the quesadillas and dip in barbeque sauce. They were amazing. Spicy, smoky, cheesy.

What else have you Dutched up recently? ;)

Easy and Delicious Tomato Soup

Who doesn't like tomato soup?! (Okay, I know Eve doesn't, but she's weird.)

I'm not too big a fan of canned soup, but I'm also busy, and if it's not easy, I don't make it right now. Which is why I'm a huge fan of this tomato soup.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 medium sweet onion, coarsely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes in their juices, preferably San Marzano

1/4-1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 bay leaves

1/3 cup heavy cream

Warm the olive oil and butter slowly until butter foams, add the onion and garlic and salt and pepper.

Add the broth, bay leaves, basil and chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 15 minutes, until the tomatoes start to fall apart. Encourage this with some poking and prodding.

Remove bay leaves. If you don't have an immersion blender, cool before blending, but I'm in love with my immersion blender, so maybe you should just buy one. Blend thoroughly. Add the cream (you can just use milk as well) and any additional salt and pepper needed and serve!!

I make a double batch and freeze half before adding the cream. Then, on days like today, when my menfolk are sick and raspy all I need is some cream and I can just magically produce a crockpot full of soup with no effort. :-)