Linda and Emeril's Brown Cajun Jambalaya

6 servings

2 medium onions chopped and 1 small green pepper chopped
toss with 2 tsp cajun spice (or 1 and 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp cayenne)
brown in 1/4 cup vegetable oil over medium heat in large skillet for @ 20 minutes,
stirring often and scraping pan to loosen brown particles from bottom and sides of pan

add 1/2 lb. Andouille sausage (cut lengthwise first then sliced 1/4" thick)
cook 10 -15 minutes stirring often and scraping bottom and sides of pan

add 2 large boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1" cubes,
toss with 1 tsp cajun spice (or 3/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp cayenne), and two bay leaves,
cook 8 - 10 minutes, stirring often, scraping bottom and sides of pan

add 1 and 1/4 cups medium grain rice, stir fry for 2 minutes to coat rice
(at this point you can proceed if you are serving soon
or turn off burner and let it sit until @ 25 minutes before serving
then turn heat back on and continue)

add 2 and 1/2 cups of chicken stock, stir to combine, then cover and cook (without stirring and peaking) over medium heat for 25- 30 minutes until rice is tender and liquid is aborbed

turn off heat and let it stand for a few minutes ...serve topped sliced green onions (optional)

I adapted this from Emeril's Lousiana Real and Rustic. This is an authentic brown jambalaya that hails from the cajun bayous... no tomatoes, no celery, no seafood. It is simply delicious! I like to use Tony Chachere's seasoning (Peter's favorite!)

Herb Crusted Roast Beef

I fixed a small standing rib roast for the Maynard Christmas feast which we wisely decided to serve the day AFTER Christmas. You could use this method on any cut of roast beef and it would be as great. This came from Cooking Light magazine. Notes are mine. LBB

Preheat oven 450
#1 Prepare herb mixture first so it is ready. Combine 1/2 cup sliced cut up shallots and 3 garlic cloves in mini food processor to chop then add 3 Tblsp fresh rosemary (or 1.5 Tblsp. dried), 2 Tblsp. fresh thyme (or 1 Tblsp dried)and process until well chopped.

#2 Place 3 - 5 lb. roast on cooking rack coated with cooking spray.

#3 Sprinkle roast evenly with 1 and 1/2 tsp sea salt and 1 Tblsp cracked black peppercorns (put whole peppercorns and salt in a plastic bag and whack with a rolling pin ...very good therapy)

#4 Rub roast with 3 Tblsps Dijon or brown spicy mustard

#5 Rub herb mixture evenly over roast.

#6 Bake at 450 for 25 minutes.
Leave roast in oven and reduce heat to 350 for 1 hour or more until internal temperature reaches 145 (medium rare).
Let roast stand 10 -15 minutes before carving.

#7 Try to have this ready before ready before roast is done for better timing. Combine 1 1/2 cups low sodium beef or chicken broth with 1 cup red wine in small saucepan, bring to boil and cook @15 minutes until it reduces to 2/3 cup. Remove from heat and stir 1 tsp butter and 1/2 tsp. Serve over carved meat. Much lighter than gravy but quite tasty!

I actually tried a variation of this yesterday with a half turkey breast. I rubbed it with spicy brown mustard, coated it with a lemon thyme and garlic mixture, roasted it and served with a white wine reduction. Yummy!

The Famous Tuna Casserole Revisited

I hadn't made this for over a decade but I recently served it for a volunteer staff party and the crowd went wild! You can find lower salt, lower fat versions of nearly everything in this and it still tastes great! Real comfort food for wintry days!
This serves four.

Make about 3 cups of your favorite stove top macaroni and cheese from scratch (or use a boxed mix) Extra sharp cheddar is best!
Add: 1 can tuna of choice (drained)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup of sour cream
1/3 cup dry sherry (Cooking sherry is okay, but salty.
You can buy the real thing nearly as cheap.)
Mix well and place in a casserole dish.
Top with croutons and bake at 350 until bubbly!

(They don't make the cheddar cheese croutons we use to use so I just chopped up a loaf of cheese bread from Weggies and made my own. Toss 1 cup bread cubes with 1/2 Tblsp olive oil and bake at 350 on cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes. Then top casserole)

LBB

Spicy Lentil Pot

Heather here. This recipe is a favorite of ours for fall and winter. We got it from my friend Mandy. It comes from the recipe book Extending the Table which I should probably own. It's super easy to make!

Spicy Lentil Pot Serves 4-6
Chop in Large Chunks:
2 Carrots
1 Green Pepper
1 Onion
2-3 Tomatoes or 1 8 oz. can of tomato sauce

Put vegetables into a large soup pot and add:
5-8 cloves of peeled garlic (left whole)
1 and 1/2 cups red lentils (rinsed and drained)
4-5 cups of water
1 chicken boullion cube

Cover, bring to a boil. Turn down heat and let it simmer for 20-30 minutes without stirring.
Skim foam from lentils as desired. Cool slightly then puree.

Return to pot and add:
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1 teaspoon ground red pepper (or to taste)

Simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Optional: in separate pan fry 1/2 cup of chopped onion in 1 T. of oil until toasty brown. Float onions on top of soup. Serve with wedges of lemon to bring out flavor.

Notes: I don't add the onions, but the lemon can be nice. Also, I have made it without the boullion and it's still been great.

Baked Pumpkin

Hey there. It's Mom.
Here's one I just got from my friend Nancy. This serves 6 generously.
I haven't tried it yet, but I'm going to cut it in half and use a smaller pumpkin and shorten baking time.
I'll let you know how it works.

Ingredients:
5-6 medium baking apples (tart), pared, cored, sliced
2 cups cooked sausage (spicey) 1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c raisins 1 T flour 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Toss together and put inside volleyball size pumpkin (scrape out seeds and strings first)
Dot with butter. Put lid on. Bake in shallow pan 350 degrees for 2 hours.
Scoop pumpkin out as you serve. Sprinkle with sliced almonds.