Crawfish Etouffee

I’m so proud to present this recipe; this is seriously good and better than the restaurant that I went to in New Orleans. Taste is fresh and clean.  It wasn’t hard to prepare, but it takes a little time to make and totally worth it!!! 

I changed his recipe a little bit because I’m not a fan of Old bay seasoning. I used Louisiana crawfish boil seasoning mixed with Slap ya mama cajun seasoning and I didn’t measure exactly what he called for in the recipe; I just added a little bit at a time and tasted it.  I added sugar to cut down the strong spicy flavor from Cajun seasoning and that gave it a milder taste.

Ingredients: (2-3 servings)

• 1 pound crawfish tails - or peeled shrimp. Other versions include: Crab, Scallop, Sausage or Chicken. Or combine a couple of them.
• 1 ¼ stick of butter, divided
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 stacks of celery, diced
• 1 bell pepper (any color), diced
• 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 3 green onions, sliced. (use white and light green parts)
• 1/2 bunch of parsley, chopped
• 3 bottles of Clam juice (8 oz) – Reserved ½ cup of clam juice to mix with cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon of Louisiana crawfish boil seasoning - optional ( I mixed with Slap ya mama Cajun seasoning)
• 2 whole bay leaves
• Louisiana hot sauce, salt, sugar and black pepper to taste - optional
• Steamed white rice, for serving

 

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, melt 1 stick of butter and sauté onions, garlic, celery, bell pepper and tomatoes for 10-12 minutes or until they are cooked down.

 

  2.    Add 2 ½ cup clam juice, crawfish and 2 bay leaves to cooked veggies.  Seasoning with hot sauce, salt, sugar and black pepper, reduce heat to a low simmer uncovered for 20- 30 minutes.

3.  Add sliced green onion and chopped parsley into the pot of veggies and crawfish.  In a small bowl mix 2 tablespoons cornstarch and ½ cup clam juice mix well; add into the pot of veggies and crawfish, stir constantly until blend well.  Let is cook for about five more minutes over low heat.
 

 
4.  Just before serving, add ¼ stick of butter to sauce and stir until melted.  Also, discard bay leaves.

5. Sever over white rice.

 

 

Thank you Chef Tony Matassa for awesome recipe!!   Here is his link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnG_6M1EbVE&feature=player_embedded#! and here is his blog 

http://the99centchef.blogspot.com/2011/08/crawfish-etouffee-recipe-cajun-cuisine.html

 

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies



This is my favorite cookie recipe, soft inside and chewy just like a bakery store.  You can add whatever you want such as raisinets, chocolate chips, nuts, or cranberry etc.
 

 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda     
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
• 1 1/2 cups raisins    

 

 

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 350°. Grease cookie sheets.

2.    Whisk dry ingredients; flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and ground cinnamon and set aside.

 

3.      In a medium bowl combine butter, white sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla with a hand mixer on low.  To cream, increase speed to high and beat until fluffy and the color lightens.

4.    Stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture until no flour is visible.(Over mixing develops the gluten, making a tough cookie.) Now add the oats and raisins; stir to incorporate.

5.    Fill a #40 cookie scoop and press against side of bowl, pulling up to level dough (to measure 2 tablespoons of dough). Drop 2-inches apart onto baking sheet.

6.   Bake 11-13 minutes (on center rack), until golden, but still moist beneath cracks on top.
 

7.     Remove from oven; let cookies sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

This recipe is from http://www.food.com/recipe/oatmeal-raisin-cookies-35813  Thank you for sharing your recipe.

Moist and Tender Turkey Breast

This recipe is real easy and simple; it was perfect for my lazy day.  Next time, I will marinade and inject turkey with butter mixture then let it sit overnight and let it cook in the crock pot!!

 

Ingredients:

• 1 (5 -20 lb) fresh or frozen turkey breast (thawed) or 1 (5 -20 lb) turkey
• 1/4 cup butter, melted (I used Garlic & Herb butter, yum!!)
• 12 ounces chicken broth or white wine
• 1 -2 tablespoon mayonnaise

Directions:

1.      Line the roasting baking pan with foil.  Place turkey or turkey breast on the rack of a roasting pan.

2.    Combine melted butter and chicken broth.  Poor over turkey.

3.      Rub mayonnaise all over turkey's exterior. Salt lightly if desired

4.      Roast at 300°-325°F until internal temperature reaches 170°F on an instant read thermometer. (I raise the temperature to 350° for the last approximate 30-45 minutes to crisp skin).

5.      Remove from oven and let sit for about 30 minutes before slicing.

Note: because the butter and broth are for making gravy, if you need to make a lot of gravy, double the amount of both.
 

To make gravy:  pour pan drippings into a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon cornstarch per cup of broth/drippings to 1/4 cup cold water. (You'll usually need 2-3 tablespoons) Mix well to dissolve. Stir cornstarch mixture into broth and stir until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste. If too thin, dissolve more cornstarch in water and add until desired thickness. If too thick, add water or more broth to thin.

 

This recipe is from www.food.com  Thank you, Marg (CaymanDesigns) for sharing your recipe.

 

Baking Lemon Poke Cake with Cowboy!! A new Baby Jubal!!

 

 

One year after Jubal passed away I got a new little helper in my kitchen; his name is Cowboy, a brindle boxer (exactly like Jubal) and he will turn 1 year old on March 13!! 

Cowboy likes to watch me while I'm cooking; he never left the kitchen until the food is done. Baby Jubal is back!! 

 



Ingredients:

 For Cake:
1 (18.25 ounce) package Lemon Cake Mix
1 (3.4 ounce) package Instant Lemon Pudding
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable Oil
3/4 cup water

Icing :
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons hot Water

 Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9"x13" pan.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the cake mix and instant pudding. Add water, oil and eggs mix until smooth and well blended, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. While the cake is still hot, poke holes in the top with the fork.

3. In a small bowl, mix together the lemon juice, confectioner's sugar, hot water and melted butter until smooth. Pour over the cake.


Cowboy is trying to squeeze a lemon.

Cowboy is wondering what the cake will taste like so he took the cake box to play with it. 

Italian garlic Knots

Ingredients:
1 can (11 oz.) refrigerated Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits
1/4 cups olive oil
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
A little dash of salt (optional)

Directions:
1.  Roll each biscuit into a 12-inch, rope and tie into a knot; tuck ends under. Place 2 in. apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 400°F for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

2.  In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; brush the warm knots with the mixture.

This recipe is from www.RealMOM Kitchen.com Thank you for sharing your recipe.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

This recipe turned out really good and I made it twice!  The second time I used 2% milk instead of half and half and it worked well too.  I think this recipe didn’t call for enough butter to make roux but no problem.  I didn’t feel like adding more butter because it adds more fat too!

Ingredients:

2 packages (6 oz.) long grain and wild rice

10 cups chicken broth, divided

3 tablespoons butter (I used half of butter and olive oil)

8 oz sliced mushroom

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup celery

1/4 cup butter (for roux)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup half and half

2 tablespoons dry white wine

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cups cook shredded chicken breasts

Garnished: Fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Bring rice, 4 cups chicken broth and 1 seasoning pack from rice mix to a boil on over medium high heat.  Cover, reduce heat to low for 20 minutes or liquid is absorbed and rice is tender (reserve remaining seasoning in package). Set aside.

2.  Melt 3 tablespoon butter, add mushroom, onion, celery and cook until tender; set aside.

3.  To make a roux, melt ¼ cup butter over medium heat and whisk in flour; wishing constantly 1 minute or until flour cooked and brown.  Add remaining chicken broth (6 cups) and cook stirring often 8 -10 minutes or slightly thicken.  Wish in half and half, white wine and black pepper.  Add cooked vegetables chicken, rice and cook, stirring 5-10 minutes until thoroughly heat.

Grilled Version Backstrap

Ingredients:

2 pounds venison backstrap, cut into 2-inch chunks

1 quart apple cider (*Not Apple Cider vinegar)

1 1/2 pounds thick sliced bacon

1 (12 ounce) bottles barbecue sauce, your choice

Directions:

1.  Place chunks of venison into a shallow baking dish, and pour enough apple cider in to cover them. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours. Remove, and pat dry. Discard apple cider, and return venison to the dish. Pour barbeque sauce over the chunks, cover, and refrigerate for 2 to 3 more hours.

Cut into 2-inch chunks

Pour enough apple cider in to cover them.

Discard apple cider, and return venison to the dish. Pour barbeque sauce over the chunks, cover, and refrigerate for 2 to 3 more hours.

2. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat. Charcoal is best, but if you must, use gas. Remove meat from the refrigerator, and let stand for 30 minutes, or until no longer chilled. Wrap each chunk of venison in a slice of bacon, and secure with toothpicks.

3.  Brush the grill grate with olive oil when hot, and place venison pieces on the grill so they are not touching. The bacon will kick up some flames, so be ready. Grill, turning occasionally, until the bacon becomes slightly burnt, 15 to 20 minutes. The slower, the better.

This recipe is from www.allrecipe.com