Crawfish Season?

Creole Casserole

1 1/2 Cups of Instant Rice
1 Can of RoTel
1 can of Cream of Mushroom soup (healthy version is ok)
1 can of French Onion soup
16 oz cooked crawfish tails
5 Tbsp of butter, melted
2 celery ribs, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 Tbsp Parsley
Salt, Pepper & Tony Cacheres to taste.

Mix all of these ingredients, pour into casserole dish. Bake at 350 for about an hour.

Serve with crackers...or okra and bread and lots of Tabasco sauce!

Crowd Pleaser

Jalapeno Poppers

1 bar of cream cheese
2 cups of cheddar cheese
1 package of ranch mix

Mix these ingredients.

1 large can of pickled whole jalapenos

Open, drain can. Slice peppers length wise. Seed and rinse. Scoop filling evenly into peppers.

1 package of bacon, thawed.

Cut bacon in half, wrap around each pepper. Place in foil pan on the grill until these are cooked through. Also works well in the oven. Make single layers so they do not stick to each other!

These are a huge hit every time I make them. My only word of caution is to make sure they stay warm! These can go from stud to dud easily if they get cold and greasy…if you do have leftovers, a rarity, de-stem those left, throw them in the food processor and spread over grilled chicken breasts.

Tonight on my Table

Simple Glazed Pork Tenderloin

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 pork tenderloins, about 1 1/2 pounds

1 cup peach or apricot preserves

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoon brown sugar

Salt & Pepper, Grill seasoning

Preparation:

Heat oven to 350°.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Wash pork and cut away excess fat and silver skin. Season with the salt and pepper or grill seasoning. Sear on all sides, about 6 to 8 minutes total. Transfer to a baking pan.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and set aside.

Roast for about 12 minutes, brush generously with the glaze mixture, then continue roasting for 5 to 10 minutes longer, or until the pork registers 165° on an instant read thermometer stuck into the thickest part of a tenderloin. Reheat the remaining glaze and serve with the pork.

This is actually hitting my table for a repeat tonight. It’s time to get back to being healthy. Tonight will be green beans and wild rice along with this. Salad possibly if I can get my to do list wrapped around my little finger.

Turning up the Heat

Cajun Shrimp Pasta
16 oz penne pasta
1 yellow pepper, seeded and ribbed and cut into pieces
1 red pepper, seeded and ribbed and cut into pieces
1/2 of a red onion, sliced and cut into pieces
1 lb of shrimp - cleaned, deveined and tails off
2 Tbsp. Garlic
1/2 C olive oil
2 Tbsp butter or margarine
Tony Cacheres Seasoning, Salt & Pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions. Saute shrimp and garlic in half of the butter until cooked. Set aside. Add remaining butter to the pan and saute peppers and onion in butter until cooked through. Add in tony cacheres to desired taste, salt & pepper. Toss with pasta.

I enjoy this with a good green salad and crackers with butter. It's a nice twist on having garlic bread and stays true to the cajun food. If you need a good ending to this dish, try a little strawberries and cream - takes the heat right off.

Spice for the Soul

Taco Soup

2 lbs of ground beef

1 package of taco seasoning

1 package of ranch seasoning

2 cans of black beans, undrained

1 28oz can of diced tomatoes

1 can of RoTel (any heat level)

1 can of corn

1 onion, diced

1 green pepper diced

Brown ground beef with onion and peppers until cooked through. Add remaining ingredients. Heat through.

Serve with this with tortilla chips and cheddar. Or with good Mexican farmers cheese, red onion and cilantro. Mexican crema is very good stirred in - even mozzerella.

I've added green chiles into this, also added chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Try new flavors, in a pinch I had peach salsa instead of the RoTel...there's always little tweaks!

Friday Night's Sandwich

Brick Sandwich

1 Jar of Red Bell Peppers, packed in oil
1 small jar of olive tapenade
1 large circular loaf of bread (preferably a hard crust, ciabiatta works well)
12 slices of ham
12 slices of turkey
6 slices of bacon cooked
12 slices of provolone
Sweet Banana Pepper rings
2 Roma Tomatoes, sliced thin
Hellman's Mayonnaise

Split bread down the middle and spread both sides with mayo. Spread top piece with tapenade. Layer meats, bacon and cheeses on bottom. Then red bell peppers, pepper rings, tomato. Replace top of bread. Wrap tightly in saran wrap and place in fridge with a brick, cast iron skillet or other heavy weight on top. Wait at least an hour (if you can.) Unwrap, slice into fourths. Enjoy!

I know, I know, it's fattening. and you must use the mayo - it helps to "seal" the ingredients in. Serve this with a fantastic kosher dill pickle and kettle cooked potato chips. Forget the rest of the evening, this sandwich makes for a great nap!

Company Coming?

Herb Crusted Rib Roast



Pick up a roast - I used a 4 lb roast that said "braise" on the label. I'm sure this works for many cuts of meat (try pork?)



Smear that roast with oil and sear on all sides in a frying pan for about 10 - 20 minutes.



1 cup of sour cream plus a healthy 3 Tbsp of horseradish - mix and "lotion" your seared and cooled roast with it.



1 cup of bread crumbs (I used potato bread in my food processor, you can pre-buy in the can), 1/4 of herbs (i used thyme only), salt and pepper, 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Mix and pat on top of sour creamed roast.



Bake at 350 degrees for 2.5 - 3 hours until desired done-ness is achieved.



I did this for my family's Christmas Eve dinner. We were still talking about it at New Years Eve. Now, coming from my family, that seems normal, we tend to hover around protein and chat about food as if it were the news, but really, it's a fantastically easy dish to make and the sandwiches were fantastic (even cold) the next day.



Serve this alongside some roasted veggies and mashed potatoes and you've got a meal on the fly that looks and tastes like you spent hours.

My Sick Soup

Pho Tai (as this American girl knows it)

In a greased pie plate, half a yellow onion (skin and all), half a red onion (skin and all), slice a 4 inch piece of ginger length wise) - place in oven for 45 - 60 minutes at 400 until the onion and ginger are charred.

Meanwhile, boil 2 lbs of beef neckbones in a 12 qt stock pot for 10 minutes to remove impurities. Drain.

Refill stock pot with 6 quarts of water, add back in the boiled neck bones. Add in 5 star anise, 1 3" stick of cinnamon, 1 T sugar, 1.5 T salt, 2 T Fish sauce, 6 whole cloves, and 1 lb of beef chuck, sliced so thin you can almost see through it.

Once the onion and ginger are charred, remove from oven. Remove the more papery bits of the onion and place soft onion into stew pot.

Simmer all day. ALL day. A L L day.

Boil 1 pack of rice noodles. Slice 1 yellow onion paper thin. Slice the green parts of 3-4 scallions into small 1 cm pieces. Chop 1/2 cup of cilantro. Have ground black pepper ready.

Prepare a plate of 1 cup of mung bean sprouts (the white crisp kind, not for salads - those are alfalfa), a few stems of mint, a few stems of basil, lime quarters and small fresh jalapeno rings. Have hoisin sauce and sriracha sauce (asian hot sauce) for serving.

When ready to serve - remove the large ginger and onions from the broth, remove the neckbones. Add the yellow onion, scallion, pepper, and cilantro. Allow to boil just until heated through.

Top with the items on the plate - leaves of mint, basil. Squeeze lime juice. Add jalapeno and sauces.

THIS is not your mom's soup for a cold. And I'm apologizing to my mother personally NOW for saying this - but this soup will kick your mom's soup's ass.

I grew up in high school with alot of Vietnamese kids who introduced me to noodle shops here that serve this soup. I've had many versions - chicken, fish, beef. meatballs, white meat, dark meat, etc...you name it. I've never turned a type away - it's quite possibly the most fantastic soup you'll eat in your life.

I'm sorry for the scattered way of writing this recipe. But the order is simply required and whilst the measurements are approximate, you'll want to play with these as you find your own "zen" with this dish.

Let them eat Cake....a bit differently

Cake Mix Cookies

1 box of "any kind of cake mix" - Suggested: Pillsbury Moist Supreme Yellow or Strawberry
DO NOT FOLLOW DIRECTIONS ON THE BOX OF ANY KIND.

Add 2 eggs, 1 stick of unsalted softened butter (I used margarine) and 1/2 t vanilla

Mix and add any sort of chips (nuts, coconut, chocolate chips, etc...)

Bake at 350 in dropped teaspoons on a cookie sheet. Time varies by type of cake mix, for the suggested brand above, yellow is 8 minutes, for strawberry it's 7.5 minutes. just until the edges start to brown.

These came to me from a childhood friend via facebook. I tried them over Christmas using a box of Cherry Chip cake mix and red and green sprinkles. The results, even after the cookies had sat a few days, were still perfectly moist cookies that had a new place in my cookbook! Enjoy!