Creole Jambalaya

Husband is really enjoying his new role in helping me pick out the new recipe each week.  This week I just brought him a cookbook and let him go to town.  I handed him the Southern Living One-Dish Meals special booklet I bought a few years back.  Impulse buy at the grocery store checkout, I suppose.

As we were looking at options, I was disappointed to notice that many of the recipes were not truly "one dish" recipes.  This Jambalaya recipe calls for cooked rice, meaning a second pot would be dirtied... but since I have been enjoying using my new rice cooker, I let the infraction slide.  You're welcome, Southern Living.     

On second thought, I suppose they mean that the meal is served in one dish?  That's hardly something to get excited about, is it?  I just want to wash fewer pots and pans!

Regardless, this Jambalaya was easy to make and turned out great.  The spice level was perfectly mild for me, while Husband gussied his up with some Frank's Red Hot sauce.  Our carnivorous toddler even tore into the sausage and ham.

Substitutions: None.  I used butter, Andouille sausage, and long-grain white rice.

P.S. Sorry about the photo quality so far.  I have a fancy new camera that I haven't yet learned how to use, but sweet Husband got me photography lessons and Photoshop for Christmas.  So for now, I'm using iPhone pics for speed reasons.  Should be fun to look back and laugh at these blurry blobs at the end of the year!

Here's the recipe from Southern Living:

Creole Jambalaya

Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
3 cups cubed cooked ham (1 pound)
1 pound Cajun-flavored or smoked sausage, sliced
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
5 cups cooked rice 

Preparation Instructions
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and next 3 ingredients; sauté until tender. Add ham, sausage, and next 4 ingredients. Cook, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes. Stir in rice, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes over low heat.

Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini

This recipe has so many things going for it: warm and hearty, one pan preparation, full of veggies, and super delicious!  Husband slurped it down quickly in silence, which is his ultimate stamp of approval.  The leftovers were equally delicious the next day, too.  I found the recipe in EveryDay Feasts: The Junior League of Tampa Culinary Collection.   

Substitutions: None, but I did want to spell out some of my grocery choices.  I used Buitoni Whole Wheat Three Cheese Tortellini and reduced sodium beef broth.  Buying fresh Mild ground Italian sausage meant I didn't have to deal with removing sausage casings.  Chopping the zucchini slices in half before adding them to the pot was a good call, too. 

Serve with warm, crusty bread and a glass of red wine... you have some left over from this recipe, right?  As the saying goes, "I always cook with wine.  Sometimes I even add it to the food." 

   
Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini

Ingredients
1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups beef broth
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups sliced zucchini
1 1/2 cups fresh chopped spinach
8 oz. fresh meat- or cheese-filled tortellini pasta
3 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
Grated Parmesan cheese for topping 

Preparation Instructions 

In a 5 quart Dutch oven, brown the sausage. Remove sausage and place in a bowl to the side; leave just enough of the drippings to coat the bottom of the pot. Saute onions and garlic in drippings until soft. Stir in beef broth, water, wine, tomatoes, basil, oregano, tomato sauce, and sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Stir in zucchini, parsley, spinach, and tortellini. Simmer covered for 30 minutes. Ladle into large bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Makes 6 large bowls.   

Quesadillas de Camarones

After my first success, I went back to The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier this week for another new recipe.  This one grabbed my attention right off the bat.  I'm with PW -- pretty much anything would be delicious in a quesadilla.  Husband, however, did not agree.  Cue series of text messages involving bargaining and several ridiculous emojis, finally convincing him to give the recipe a try since he likes all the ingredients anyway.   

Had I not been in a Sudafed-induced haze when I went to the grocery store, I might have been smart enough to request my shrimp peeled and deveined.  Cold & flu season is the pits, and so is deveining shrimp. 

Substitutions: I made a 1/3 recipe, kinda.  The original recipe is for six quesadillas, but we just needed two.  After using up some items in the fridge, I ended up with 1/2 pound of shrimp, 4 oz. Ortega Medium Taco Sauce (Husband's favorite), 1/2 large onion, 1/2 large red bell pepper, 1/2 large green bell pepper, 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, and 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese.  I diced the veggies because I like smaller pieces.      

Husband's verdict: surprisingly delicious.  My verdict: delicious, but I totally expected it!  I wondered if they would be too spicy with all the taco sauce, but they turned out perfectly even for my more sensitive palate.  And who knew butter was the trick for perfectly gorgeous quesadillas?  My only complaint is that I dirtied three different pans in the process, as I was cooking the shrimp and the veggies simultaneously to speed things along.  What can I say -- Momma was hungry!  Good thing, too, because these shrimp quesadillas were so filling that I didn't even miss the rice I got too distracted to prepare.  Medicine head, you win again... 
    
Here is the recipe from PW:

Quesadillas de Camarones

Ingredients 
Flour Tortillas
12 whole Large Shrimp, Peeled and Deveined
8 ounces, fluid Mexican Red Sauce
1 whole Large Onion
1 whole Red Bell Pepper
1 whole Green Bell Pepper
2 cups Cheese, Grated (Monterey Jack Is Best)
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Salt To Taste
Butter for the pan

Preparation Instructions

Pour red sauce over shrimp. Set aside. Chop vegetables into large pieces. Heat skillet over high heat and add olive oil. Cook vegetables over high heat until they start to get brown/black. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Return skillet to high heat, then dump in the shrimp with the sauce. Cook, stirring only occasionally, until shrimp is opaque. Add in a little water if the sauce gets dry. Remove from skillet and chop into bite-size pieces.

In a separate skillet, sizzle approx. 1/2 tbsp. of butter. Place a tortilla in the skillet, then layer on ingredients: cheese, vegetables, and shrimp. Top with a little more cheese and a second tortilla. Cook on both sides, adding another 1/2 tbsp. of butter before flipping to the other side so the tortilla isn’t overly dry. 

Remove from skillet and slice into wedges. Serve with rice, beans, salsa, sour cream, guacamole—whatever you’d like!

Fancy Mac and Cheese

Our New Year's celebration was decidedly low-key.  Big Boy went down at his regular bedtime, and as usual, I knew I wasn't too far behind.  But the night called for something special, so I got out one of my Christmas gifts from Husband, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier.  We celebrated with bubbly... both champagne and cheese varieties!  Mmm, bubbly cheese. 

I made a half-recipe and it was still an enormous amount of food.  It was difficult to figure out 3/4 of a box of macaroni, and I think I used too much, making the final product not as saucy as I would have liked.  Warming up leftovers with a splash of milk was great, though.  The caramelized onions and roasted mushrooms really make this dish sing!  This would be best suited as a side dish for a large gathering.     

Substitutions: Since Husband was doing the grocery shopping, I limited the hard-to-find-cheese search and used more gruyere in place of the fontina.  And since I detest blue cheese, I used mozzarella in place of the gorgonzola.  Big Boy drinks 2% milk, so I used that instead of whole milk. 

And as for whether I made it to midnight?  Negative.  Fell asleep on the couch around 9:00pm, woke up at 11:00pm, had a piece of cake, and went to bed.  Happy New Year, party animals!

Here's the recipe straight from the PW herself:

Fancy Mac and Cheese

Ingredients 

16 ounces, weight White Button Or Cremini Mushrooms, Quartered

Olive Oil, For Drizzling
Kosher Salt And Black Pepper To Taste
8 slices Thick Cut Bacon
2 whole Yellow Onions, Peeled, Halved, And Thinly Sliced
5 Tablespoons Butter, Plus More For Buttering The Pan
1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup Grated Gruyere Cheese
1/2 cup Grated Fontina Cheese
4 ounces, weight Goat Cheese (chevre)
1-1/2 pound Macaroni
1/4 cup All-purpose Flour
2 cups Whole Milk
1/2 cup Half-and-half
2 whole Eggs, Beaten
4 ounces, weight Crumbled Gorgonzola Or Other Blue Cheese

Preparation Instructions 
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Drizzle the mushrooms with olive oil, then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Roast them in the oven until deep golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Set aside. Next, fry the bacon until chewy but not yet crisp. Chop the bacon into bite-size bits and set aside.In a large skillet over medium-low heat, saute the onions in 1 tablespoon butter, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Set aside.Grate the Parmesan, Gruyere, and fontina cheeses. Unwrap the goat cheese. Cook the macaroni until just undercooked. Drain and set aside. 

 

To make the sauce, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter in a large pot over medium heat. Sprinkle in the flour, whisking to combine. Let the roux cook for a minute or so, whisking constantly. Pour in the milk, whisking constantly, then cook the white sauce for 3 to 5 minutes, or until thick and bubbly. Next, add the half and half, 1 teaspoon of salt, plenty of black pepper, and stir to combine. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the hot white sauce into a small bowl containing the beaten egg, stirring the egg with a fork as you drizzle it in. Once combined, pour the mixture into the pot with the white sauce, stirring constantly. Add all the cheese in and stir them around to melt. Add the cooked macaroni and stir to coat. Splash in a little milk or hot water as needed for thinning. 

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13 inch baking pan generously. Lay half the cooked onions in the bottom of the pan, followed by half the macaroni, half the roasted mushrooms, half the Gorgonzola, and half the bacon. Repeat the layers, ending with the bacon. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until bubbly and hot. Delicious!

  

New Year, New Endeavor

2014 is here, and I've decided it's time to start something new.  I have always loved to cook, and for the past several years I have received cookbooks for Christmas (thanks to not-so-subtle hints... thanks Husband!).  But with work, motherhood, running, and friends, I rarely take time or remember to use these sweet gifts. 

So this year, it's time to Get Out The Cookbook.  My goal seems simple: to try one new recipe per week.  Follow along with me as I attempt 52 new -- and hopefully delicious -- recipes!