Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

1/2 lb smoked pork sausage
3 chicken breasts cut in 1 inch pieces
1 diced yellow onion
4 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 pinch dried thyme
2 tsp chopped fresh basil
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp white pepper
2 dashes crushed red pepper flakes
3 cups chicken stock (must be stock not broth!!)
1 1/2 cup long grain white rice
1 tsp dried parsley

In a large pot, brown the sausage then add the chicken breast pieces. Brown and scrape meat from the bottom of the pot to prevent sticking & burning.

Add the diced onion and garlic, and saute for approximately 15 mins. Scrape the bottom and sides of the pan to remove "graton" which is where the jambalaya gets it's colour from.

Add the thyme, basil, pepper, and red pepper flakes and simmer for 10 min over low heat to sweat the spices, stirring occasionally.

Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Make sure to keep scraping the bottom of the pan to pick up more "graton"!

Add the rice and bring mixture back to a boil, stirring for about 5 mins. Then add the parsley, cover and simmer over medium/low heat for 20-25 minutes. Do not lift up cover until it is done!

Yield: ~8 servings

Source: My "fondue pal" Allie! She got the recipe from her sister, thanks guys!

Thoughts: Okay, first let me say I was having brain problems today. When Allie sent me the recipe, she suggested I halve it because it makes a whole lot. What a great idea, I thought! Well me, being stupid, only halved, like, half of the ingredients haha *facepalm* I halved everything but the sausage and spices...so as you can imagine, it was very sausage heavy and very spice-infused! Oh, I also didn't use any fresh spices...I had most of them dry already, and fresh spices are so darn expensive, considering I probably wouldn't use the remainder. Someday I will have an herb garden! (That requires me learning how to garden too...) Okay, onto the final product! The taste was actually really good, considering how badly I messed it up! It was also less soupy than other jambalayas I've had, and I'm not sure if that's because the extra ingredients soaked it all up, but maybe the next time I make this I'll add a little more stock to thicken it up a bit. Final verdict: it was really good, and would probably be much better if made properly :)

Bonus Thoughts: What you see there in the background is Creamy Corn Casserole, take 2! I tried it this time with only 3 tbsp of butter and 1 egg, got it all mixed and in the oven, then realized I had forgotten the sour cream! WTH! It had only been in the oven for about 10 minutes and it was still soft enough so I took it out, mixed the sour cream in, then put it back in the oven. I think I may have cooked it for about 55 mins total, but the taking out and cooling down of the casserole with the addition of the cold sour cream probably only translated to less actual cooking time, and one of the points of re-making it was to cook it for longer. Well, it did seem a bit underdone, but by the time I cut into it the oven had already cooled down. Stay tuned for Creamy Corn Casserole, take 3 in the not so near future :)

Rating: 4

Apple Peach Cobbler

This was called "Skillet Pie" but I decided to change the name to something more appetizing... :)

Crumble
2 ounces chopped pecan pieces
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 tablespoons wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar

Filling
1 1/2 lbs Gala apples, peeled, halved, cored, and sliced
8 ounces fresh peaches, chopped, or frozen unsweetened peach slices, thawed and chopped
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon apple pie spice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all crumble ingredients, except the canola oil and sugar, in a medium mixing bowl. Stir to blend thoroughly.

Heat canola oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Tilt skillet to coat bottom evenly. Sprinkle oat mixture evenly over bottom of skillet, stir to blend, and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add sugar and cook 1 minute or until slightly fragrant, but no loner than1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove skillet from heat and place mixture on a separate plate.

To skillet, add apples, peaches, sugar, and spice. Combine cornstarch and water in another small bowl, then stir into skillet mixture until cornstarch is completely dissolved. Place over medium-high heat, bring to a boil, and continue to boil 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, and top with crumble.

For peak flavors, let stand for at least two hours to absorb flavors and blend.

Yield: 6 servings

Source: Today's Diet & Nutrition Magazine

Thoughts: This was okay...the crumble was pretty delicious but the filling wasn't anything to write home about. It was a nice low fat/low calorie dessert but I don't think I'd make it again. I didn't include the wheat germ because I simply couldn't find it on my grocery shopping trip, but I doubt that would have made a huge difference! I think the crumble by itself would be a good yogurt topping though!

Rating: 2

Stuffed Grape Leaves

1 1/4 lb ground turkey (or ground beef)
1 1/2 cups long grain rice (or Minute rice)
salt/pepper to taste
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
6 tbsp melted butter or margarine (depends on how fatty the meat is, use less if more fat in meat)
Juice of 3 lemons
1 jar California grape leaves
1 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes

Combine the ground meat, rice, salt/pepper, cinnamon and butter until well mixed.

Getting the leaves out of the jar can be tricky. If you squeeze some of the brine out of them while twisting the jar and pulling, sometimes that helps. The main thing is to try to not tear the leaves . Rinse them under lukewarm water and drain to remove any of the excess brine. Cut the tail off the leaves.

To fill the leaves: open a leaf until it is completely unfolded with the non-veiny side down (I don't know how else to describe that!) put a small amount of the meat mixture in the bottom center of the leaf, right above where you cut the stubby tail off. The amount you put in each leaf should be proportional to the size of the leaf so you don't over or under fill it. This takes a bit of practice, I would say rule of thumb would be 1-3 tbsp of the mixture, depending on the size of the leaf. Then fold the left and right sides over toward the center and roll up from the bottom until you get a little oblong shaped "package".

Put each filled leaf seam down in a large pot as close to each other as possible, you will get a couple layers.

Add the juice of the 3 lemons, then pour enough water to cover only the 1st row of the leaves. Add the juice only of the tomatoes from the can.

You will need a plate that fits into the pot to weigh the rolled grape leaves down, once all of the grape leaves are in the pot, place the plate on top of them now and give a little push. Add enough water to cover 1/4 to 1/2 inch above the top layer. Then add the tomatoes around the rim of the plate and cover the pot.

Bring to a high boil for 8 minutes
Then a medium boil for 15 minutes
When done, turn off heat and let set for 5-10 minutes.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Source: My mom's boss way back in the day. I've been making this basically my whole life, so I'd call it an "old family recipe"

Thoughts: This is my favorite dish of all time, hands down, and since it takes kind of a lot of time to make, I only really do it every once in a while. This was the first time I tried it with turkey instead of beef, and the taste wasn't too bad, but the turkey was definitely much drier than the beef usually turns out. Everyone should make this and pass along the recipe! Spread it like wildfire, people!!

Rating: 5 (of course!)

Potato Corn Chowder

Tonight's recipe generously photographed by the beautiful and talented Sarah from Project Photog!







2 tablespoons margarine
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
3 cups peeled and cubed potatoes
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles
1 (2.5 ounce) package country style gravy mix
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded cheese

In large saucepan, melt margarine over medium high heat. Add celery and onion; cook and stir until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add chicken broth; bring to a boil. Add potatoes; cook over low heat for 20 to 25 minutes or until potatoes are soft, stirring occasionally.

Stir in corn and chiles; return to boiling. Dissolve gravy mix in milk; stir into boiling mixture. Add cheese; cook and stir over low heat until cheese is melted.

Yield: 6 servings

Source: allrecipes.com

Thoughts: Yummmmm!! This turned out better than I expected! I always thought creamy soups would take a lot more time and effort, but this had just enough shortcuts to make it delicious yet not intimidating. It seemed a little watered down at first, but thickened up quite nicely right at the very end. The only bad thing is I overcooked the potatoes, so I would stick closer to maybe 18 minutes (rather than 20 to 25) for that step. I also read that this would be delicious with bacon...yumm, why didn't I think of that!? :P

Rating: 5

Chicken Enchiladas

I need to get another casserole dish...and I also need to stop topping my casseroles with cheese...everything looks the same! :P

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon margarine
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers, drained
8 (8 inch) flour tortillas
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a small bowl mix the soup and sour cream; set aside.

Melt margarine in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add onion and chili powder, and saute until tender. Stir in the chicken, chile peppers, and 2 tablespoons of the soup mixture. Cook and stir until heated through.

Spread 1/2 cup of the soup mixture in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas, and place, seam-side-down, in the baking dish. Spoon remaining soup mixture on top, and sprinkle with cheese.

Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until bubbly and lightly browned.

Yield: 4 servings

Source: allrecipes.com

Thoughts: Yum! It was really delicious but really heavy...there should be a way to lighten it up but I'm not so good at the substitutions yet :) I got pre-cooked chicken breast from the deli and chopped it up into little cubes for the filling, and that turned out really good! I think I'm more of a fan of the red enchilada sauce, so the next time I try to make enchiladas I'll probably go in that direction, but this is a pretty good and easy recipe for "white" enchiladas.

Rating: 4

Mac n' Cheese

(I forgot to take a picture before digging in...woops!)

1 (8 ounce) package elbow macaroni
1 (8 ounce) package shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 (12 ounce) container small curd cottage cheese
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil, add pasta, and cook until done; drain.

In 9x13 inch baking dish, stir together macaroni, shredded Cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mix together bread crumbs and melted butter. Sprinkle topping over macaroni mixture.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until top is golden.

Yield: 6 servings

Source: allrecipes.com

Thoughts: Really good! This was actually my first time making mac n' cheese not out of a box...I know it's not the "classic" kind, but I thought the addition of cottage cheese would be interesting. The breadcrumb crust was super delicious, and altogether it was very rich so it wasn't too hard to only eat small portions!

Rating: 4

Zesty Broccoli

4 cups broccoli florets
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons olive or vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 dash crushed red pepper flakes

In a saucepan, combine the first five ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until broccoli is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain; add red pepper flakes and toss.

Source: where else...allrecipes.com! :)

Thoughts: I almost didn't post this because it's so super easy, but I had never in my life thought to season the water that the veggies would steam in, and holy crap, how freakin' delicious!! I actually forgot to add the olive oil to the water, and they were super good, so I don't even know if it would even make a difference in taste. You almost don't even need the pepper flakes unless you wanted a little kick. I'm totally going to try this with every vegetable I can think of...green beans, zucchini, cauliflower, brussels sprouts...the list goes on!

Rating: 5

Creamy Corn Casserole

1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 (8.5 ounce) package dry corn bread mix
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14.75 ounce) can creamed corn
1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and lightly grease a 9x9 inch baking dish.

In a medium bowl, combine butter, eggs, corn bread mix, whole and creamed corn and sour cream. Spoon mixture into prepared dish.

Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden brown.

Yield: 8 servings

Source: allrecipes.com

Thoughts: Yummy! It has an interesting flavor, slightly sweet when you first put it in your mouth, but it gets kind of bland except for the little bursts of corn. I didn't read the reviews until after, and a lot of people said to use less butter and eggs or add bacon and onion...there were a lot of suggestions to make it a little better which I will try out when I make this again. It also seemed perhaps a bit undercooked...but I wasn't sure if that's the way it was supposed to be since I've never had anything like this before! All in all a good dish, but could use some improvement.

Rating: 4

Turkey Chili

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
2 cups water
1 (28 ounce) can canned crushed tomatoes
1 (16 ounce) can canned kidney beans - drained, rinsed, and mashed
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Place turkey in the pot, and cook until evenly brown. Stir in onion, and cook until tender.

Pour water into the pot. Mix in tomatoes, kidney beans, and garlic. Add chili powder, paprika, oregano, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes.

Yield: 6 servings

Source: allrecipes.com (my new favorite website??)

Thoughts: Wow, delicious!! I've never really cooked with a lot of spices (and I now have a full spice rack's worth!) but the combination really made this dish. I know I said I was a broth person in my last post, but not when it comes to chili...this was a little watery so the next time I make this (and believe me I will!) I'll probably cut it to 1 cup water, and maybe even add another can of beans. I loves me some beans! This was also a bit spicy, but in a good way. Not only was this simple to make, but it turned out really yummy...no real room for error in this one! It would probably taste great with some shredded cheese sprinkled on top, but I just had it with some tortilla chips. Yay!

Rating: 5

Savory Kale, Cannellini Bean, and Potato Soup

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
1 cup white wine
2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 (16 ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups finely chopped kale leaves
1 small red chili pepper, seeded and chopped fine
ground black pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat; cook and stir the onion until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, and cook for 5 minutes more.

Pour in the chicken broth, water, and white wine; stir in the potatoes, rosemary, sage, and thyme. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

Add the cannelini beans, kale, chile pepper, and black pepper, and simmer, covered, for 30 more minutes.

Yield: 4 servings

Source: allrecipes.com

Thoughts: I am a broth person, and this soup came out much more dense than I thought it would! Next time, I will cut back the potatoes, probably only to 1, and perhaps add another cup of liquid. I'm not positive that I got the right kind of chili pepper...I bought the only kind Safeway had, so it was probably meant to be a bit more spicy. This was my first time cooking with wine...I used a Pinot Gris on the advice of my friend Sarah (yay!) which I don't think I've ever tried before, so I'm not sure if I even tasted it in the soup haha. I actually had to borrow a bottle opener from my neighbor because I realized I didn't own one right as I was supposed to add the wine to the pot! I will definitely give this recipe another try with the modifications I mentioned.

Rating: 3

Veggie and Bacon Frittata

8 eggs
2 tbsp sour cream
1 zucchini
1/2 onion
1 orange bell pepper
4 pieces cooked bacon (crumbled)
3/4 cup shredded cheese (any kind)
1 tbsp oil

Adjust your top oven rack so the skillet will be 6 inches below the broiler; turn on broiler

Dice the onion and bell pepper, sautee in oil in a large oven-safe skillet, once these are cooked add diced zucchini and crumbled bacon

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and sour cream together (it was the only dairy I had, but it usually calls for milk or cream)

Once the zucchini has lightly cooked, pour egg mixture and 1/2 cup of shredded cheese into skillet and stir until eggs are slightly cooked (you want to see cooked egg scattered throughout, but loose egg in between)

Scatter the remaining shredded cheese on top and put skillet under the broiler for ~4 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Source: Vaguely remembering how my dad made frittatas, with some general help from About.com

Thoughts: This turned out better than I thought it would! I decided to experiment with bell pepper again...I could have done without it and put something else in its place (asparagus perhaps?) It was a little too sweet, although I did munch on some of it raw and liked it much better that way :) Anyways...I also could have really used a non-stick skillet! I don't own one (yet!) and it's definitely going to take a lot of elbow grease to get that pan clean. This also marks the first time I've used my broiler since I've lived in this apartment haha! I was also a bit nervous about using the sour cream as a substitute, but it turned out fine. I'm not sure if I would even be able to tell a difference if I didn't use it!

Rating: 4