Gumbo

 

Gumbo is one of those things that I’ve wanted to make for a long time now but was just unsure about which recipe to use. There are only 139,000,000 on the internet and a few more in my cookbooks so it’s hard to know which one is the best. Well I think I found the best, with a few little tweaks. I finally decided to read some reviews on All Recipes and that’s how I made my decision on which recipe to try. I made it for my parents for dinner last night with some long grain white rice and crusty bread. And oh it was so good! My parents couldn’t stop talking about how good it was and I agree. It had just the right amount of heat and all the flavors combined really well. This will most definitely be my go-to recipe for gumbo from now on!

Gumbo Style Chicken Creole

• 1/4 cup oil for frying
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cups cooked, chopped chicken breast meat
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, with liquid
• 1 (4.5 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained (omitted)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 dashes hot sauce (I used 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper-use less if desired)

*I added 3 cups low sodium chicken broth, 2 links of smoked sausage, sliced, and 1 1/2 cups of raw chopped shrimp.

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes or until mixture is the color of a copper penny. Reduce heat to low and stir in bell pepper and onion. Cook 10 to 15 minutes, or until tender, stirring occasionally.
2. Add chicken,  sausage, tomatoes with green chile peppers, mushrooms (omitted), parsley, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, soy sauce, sugar, salt, pepper and hot sauce (or cayenne), and chicken broth. Stir together, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

*Add shrimp the last 5 minutes and cook until pink. I also cooked mine for least 1/2 an hour. I served this over white rice.

Source: All Recipes

Seriously, go out right now and buy the ingredients for this. And if it’s too hot out, just crank up your AC and make it anyway. You will not be sorry.

 

 

Sausage and Roasted Pepper Pasta

I am always in search of new pasta recipes. My husband, the carb king, just loves pasta and would probably eat it every other day if I cooked it that often. Since he loves it so much, I do try to make some sort of pasta a few times a month and I love it when I find a recipe that’s somewhat healthy. When I saw this one in the March issue of Cooking Light I thought it would fit the bill. It was really quick to make and super delicious! I will definitely be saving this one to make again.

Sausage and Roasted Pepper Pasta

• 4  medium bell peppers (about 1 1/2 pounds) I used red and green peppers.
• 8  ounces  uncooked penne pasta
• 12  ounces  hot turkey Italian sausage
• 2  tablespoons  tomato paste
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  cup  (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

*I added 1/2 an onion, finely chopped and cooked it with the sausage.

1. Preheat broiler.

2. Cut bell peppers in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Broil 10 minutes or until thoroughly blackened. Place bell peppers in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 15 minutes. Peel; discard skins. Chop and set aside.

3. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid; keep warm.

4. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage to pan, and cook 8 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add bell peppers to pan. Move sausage mixture to outside edges of pan, leaving an open space in center. Add tomato paste to open space in pan; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir tomato paste into sausage mixture. Stir in pasta and reserved cooking liquid; cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Stir in black pepper and salt. Sprinkle with cheese.

Calories:

430

Fat:

11.5g (sat 3.7g,mono 4.4g,poly 1.3g)

Protein:

28.9g

Carbohydrate:

52.4g

Fiber:

4.4g

Cholesterol:

79mg

Iron:

4.4mg

Sodium:

894mg

Calcium:

79mg

Pasta Fagioli

I know I know! It’s only August and already I’m making soup. I do this every year. I start getting the itch for cooler weather around August/September and I always start making Fall-ish foods way too early. I do it every year so get used to it! I guess it’s my way of willing the Fall to come sooner. If only it really worked. Fall doesn’t show its face around here until well into October or November. hmph

I saw this recipe on Chelle’s blog a while back and pasta fagioli being one of my favorite soups, I put it on my list to try. Now I knew I’d be the only one eating this (remember my husband? the bean hater?) so I figured I’d make the whole recipe and freeze half for later. And it certainly didn’t disappoint. I just had a big bowl for lunch and it was great! In fact, I think I ate too much. I’m absolutely about to pop. I guess that’s a good sign though. If you like pasta fagioli, give this a shot. You won’t be sorry!

Pasta Fagioli
(Adapted from Tricia’s Kitchen)

2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 package sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
½ large (or 1 medium) onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 carrots, thinly sliced
4 stalks celery, thinly sliced
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
64 oz. beef broth
28 oz. can tomato sauce
2 teaspoons dried parsley (I used 1 Tbsp fresh parsley)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil (I used 1 tsp fresh basil)
1 teaspoon salt
4 oz. small dry pasta (I used elbow macaroni because that’s what I had)

1. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large stockpot over medium high heat, and brown the sausage, crumbling it as it cooks. Once brown, remove sausage from pot with a slotted spoon and discard any grease that remains in the pot.

2. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in the same pot, and add the onion, garlic, carrot, and celery, and saute over medium heat until vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes. Add sausage back to the pot, add the can of diced tomatoes (do not drain), stir briefly, and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Stir in the beans, and add the beef broth and tomato sauce. Add in all of the seasonings, stir well, turn the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Once it boils, turn down to low heat, cover, and simmer for at least 30 minutes.

4. Add the dry pasta and continue to simmer on low for another 30 minutes. Serve with your favorite bread or crackers.

Low Country Boil

You can’t really get more simple or more rustic than this dish. Traditionally, a low country boil is done outside on a hot summer day, in a huge pot over a burner. Once everything is done, the water is drained and the contents of the pot are poured out onto a large table covered in newspaper where everyone serves themselves. I never really liked that part of it because all I could think about was the ink from the newspaper getting on my food. But anyway, I love the simplicity and unpretentiousness of this dish. The key to this dish is really the timing. You have to know just when to add all the ingredients to ensure everything is done at the same time. Unfortunately I overcooked the potatoes a little tonight and they came out sort of mushy. My husband and I still enjoyed it though. While this is normally a dish for a large crowd, I made it on a somewhat smaller scale and it’s still a great meal for 2.

Low Country Boil

-5-6 medium red potatoes, quartered (you could also use small red potatoes and leave them whole. It actually works better with the smaller ones.)
-4-6 small ears of corn
-1 lb cleaned, deveined shrimp with tails
-2 links Cajun smoked sausage, sliced diagonally
-2 Tbsp Old Bay seasoning
-1/4 cup salt

softened butter, sliced lemons, and Cajun Spice mix for serving

Begin by boiling 8 qts of water in a stock pot. Add the salt and Old Bay seasoning. Add potatoes and cook for about 10-12 min. Next, add the sausage and corn on the cob. Cook about 7 minutes and then add the shrimp. Boil another 3-5 min just until the shrimp are pink and heated through. Drain water and pour the contents of the pot onto a platter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and 2 Tbsp Cajun Spice Mix or additional Old Bay seasoning. Serve with lemon wedges and softened butter.

Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomato and Cheese

I saved this recipe a couple months ago and had not gotten around to making it yet. Well it was voted recipe of the week on the WC Blog so I figured now was a good time to try it. I had to change it up a bit to suit my picky husband but overall it turned out really good! It is definitely something I would make again.

Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomato, and Cheese

1 (1-pound) package uncooked ziti (short tube-shaped pasta)
1 pound hot turkey Italian sausage links
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 (14.5-ounce) cans petite-diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Cooking spray
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain the pasta, and set aside.

3. Remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage, onion, and garlic in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Add the tomato paste, salt, pepper, and tomatoes, and bring to a boil.

4. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Combine cooked pasta, sausage mixture, and basil. Place half of the pasta mixture in a 4-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Top with half of mozzarella and half of Parmesan. Repeat layers. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until bubbly.

Yield
8 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)
Nutritional Information
CALORIES 413(26% from fat); FAT 11.8g (sat 6.1g,mono 2.2g,poly 1g); PROTEIN 24.1g; CHOLESTEROL 49mg; CALCIUM 265mg; SODIUM 941mg; FIBER 4.5g; IRON 7.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 53g

* These are my alterations. I subbed 1 29 oz can tomato sauce in place of the diced tomatoes and tomato paste and added 1/2 a fresh tomato chopped to thicken the sauce a bit. I also used penne pasta instead of ziti. I couldn’t find turkey italian sausage at the store so I used regular italian pork sausage.

Original source: Cooking Light