I've been wanting to whip up Red Beans and Rice for a month or two. Ever since I picked up Creole seasoning at the store to make Jamie's Cajun Meatball Stew, really. I turned to the one man who could help me make the best Red Beans and Rice with what I had on hand. Emeril. We're on a first name basis...because well, he's on a first name basis with everyone! So, Emeril has … [Read more...]
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup with Pearled Onions
My December "clear out the pantry" challenge continues. Tonight in the form of Chicken and Wild Rice Soup with Pearled Onions. I pulled a whole chicken from the freezer and cooked it in the slow cooker on Saturday. My plan was to then use half the cooked and shredded chicken for this soup, and the rest for BBQ chicken sandwiches for lunch yesterday. I also saved the broth … [Read more...]
Stack-E-Up-Es (or the Polynesian Buffet)
Just before Thanksgiving, we had the pleasure of eating dinner with Christan, her husband and her 3 girls. (It was so lovely being in a "hormonally balanced" place. 3 boys. 3 boys. All the estrogen and testosterone totally cancelled each other out. But really, it made for a loud and rambunctious evening.) Christan shared this in an email before we headed over. I was … [Read more...]
Curried Turkey Salad
Our Thanksgiving dinner, like most Americans, consists of a buffet that includes too many heavy dishes. And on Thanksgiving Day, I allow myself to indulge. However, I try to make up for that indulgence by using the leftovers to create healthier and lower calorie meals. I will make quite a bit of turkey soup and freeze it to use later on hectic evenings. I also use the … [Read more...]
Brown Rice with Black-eyed Peas and Greens
So black-eyed peas...they're kinda plain. It's like they're crying out for help! Crying out for zest and zip!!! And what better ingredients to help than mustard greens and some zesty jalapeno diced tomatoes! You'd never have known these were black eyed peas in this dish! Let me show you how it's made. Serve it over … [Read more...]
Sweet Pumpkin Cream of Rice Cereal
A while back we discovered Cream of Rice cereal when Ryan was on a gluten-free diet. (We have since learned he is only sensitive to rye, but not other wheat products.) When cleaning out the pantry and stockpile recently, I discovered a box of Cream of Rice cereal behind some cans. Charlie about jumped out of his skin, he was so excited! We used to "bury" frozen blueberries … [Read more...]
Cajun Meatball Stew
Several months ago, Jamie emailed me a very simple recipe for Cajun Meatball Stew. It's one of those recipes that has been sitting in the back of the recipe file in my brain...waiting for it's chance to be made. And enjoyed! As I was doing the freezer inventory last week (and working on the Freezer Staples List), I noticed that I had several bags of frozen … [Read more...]
Ship Wreck Casserole – Vintage Recipe
Ship Wreck Casserole! A delicious vintage recipe from the 1960's! It's Vintage Recipe Week. And all I can think about is my Grammy in the kitchen. I have many a memory of her working hard in the kitchen...working to feeding her brood. As I made this Ship Wreck Casserole, I could only think about her in 1940. She would have been a teenager, and it would … [Read more...]
Slow Cooker Curried Coconut Chicken
Can I just say that the slow cooker rocks?! I'm sure those of you who use them regularly will agree. Here's how it went down for us today. Got up this morning around 8. Breakfasted. (Can that be a verb?!) Put on our coats. (Hello, 39 degrees.) Went to the gym. While running, I remembered that I forgot to start the slow cooker. *sigh* Fast forward a few hours. Through … [Read more...]
Stuffed Green Chile Chicken
So I grabbed some green chilies a few weeks ago when I was stocking up (and going over-budget, sigh!)...and I had plans to make a green chile chicken in the slow cooker...but decided to pound out the chicken and roll it around the green chilies instead. I paired this with brown rice, corn kernels and green onions...plus some green beans from the garden. I'm glad I changed my … [Read more...]