"Keep Calm & Om Nom"

When I started this blog post four days ago I had every intention of sitting down and writing the entire thing out in one sitting. Seriously, no big deal, tell you about how things have been going, maybe share a delicious recipe with you, ramble on about something for a while. Well, lesson learned, if you have plans to write up a post - plug your husbands laptop into a surge protector, not that convenient wall plug that's right there to accommodate your laziness. The power flickered & the computer kinda sorta got fried... epic fail for wifey...I'm attempting to keep calm and figure out how to fix it.

At the same time when things like that happen it can serve as a blessing in disguise. It just so happened that my little munchkin decided that a half hour nap would be just fine and that it was time to play again. So we danced and sang a long to Sesame Street. (She's totally hooked on clips of the shows first 20 seasons. It's totally funny. Her favorite clip is of Smokey Robinson singing about the letter U.) She got into everything she could and totally wore herself out again some hours later. It's nice for me to have those kind of moments that sort of give me a good look and a quick reminder of exactly why we chose to live the way that we do. I know its not the choice that everyone would make, and I totally respect that. But for me, it allows me to watch my baby girl grow up every single day. That to me is the biggest blessing I could ever be given.

I ran across this picture on the interwebz that totally entertained me with its relevance.

Other than that not too much has been going on. My uncle and cousin are coming in to town from Texas with his son for the holiday weekend. So hubby and I are really excited for that, and we're gearing up for the events of the weekend. Should be tons of fun. What are you doing for the holiday? I'd love to know!

While I wait for you to let me in on our celebrations I'll let you in on the miracles of satisfying my hubbys cravings!!

Do you ever plan your meals for the week, only to not cook one or two of those meals during the week because you were too tired or just down right too lazy to do so? Plus there was something totally easier to make anyways. My dinner the other night almost fell victim to this, as many of my dinners regrettably have in the past. But this particular dinner didn't! And thank goodness for that!

For the past few weeks my beloved hubby has been asking random questions about my Jambalaya. How much it costs to make, how many servings it would make, how long has it been since he had it last, et cetra, et cetra.

So naturally, I made it! And I just could not wait to share it with you! I even managed to take the pictures this time! w00t! Now I do have a bit of side notes on this recipe (fair warning). There are a couple of optional things that you can add, there are some ways to cut corners and save a little bit of money, which I am all for! Also, in my opinion this is one of those recipes that you're going to want to prepare and measure whatever you can to make the actual cooking process easier. So here we go!

This is the recipe for red Jambalaya. But I'll let you know later on what to do for making other forms of Jambalaya and an alternate way to make it a red, as well.
Also, this makes about 12 -15 servings! So it's great for get-togethers!

What you'll need:

1/4 - 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into about 1/2 inch pieces
1 - 1 1/2 lbs sausage (any kind you like), cut into 1/4 inch slices and then cut in half
2 cups diced ham - **optional**
4 slices bacon, crisped or 1/2 lb pork sides, crisped - **optional**
salt
pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
4 cups onion, chopped (this is about two large onions)
2 cups celery, chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 cups green bell pepper, chopped (this is about two medium/large peppers)
5 cups chicken stock or water flavored with chicken bouillon (if your using cans of chicken stock you can use three cans)
4 cups long grain rice
kitchen bouquet (if you don't have this I will show you how to make it in your kitchen)
2 tbsp seasoning salt
2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1 tsp oregano (Just a good shake)
1/4 cup paprika
2 cups green onions, chopped
parsley, to taste

Don't mind everything in the background, I didn't plan this in advance... I like taking these pictures of everything together before I start cooking because it entertains me. Its like taking a kitchen class photo!!

I'm easily entertained, I know. But I kind of messed up on this picture, its missing the oil, parsley and the paprika. I'm sure it's not gonna kill anyone, but I admit my faults...sometimes. lol



Preparations:

Making your own Kitchen Bouquet:
What you need:

1/4 cup water, microwave to a boil

Add 1 heaping tablespoon of dark brown sugar

Stir.

BAM! You just made your own Kitchen bouquet! You even just saved a few dollars!!! Do feel the rush of the penny pinching?! I totally just did!!! Oh, my drug!
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Getting Everything Else Ready:

Chop the celery.

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Chop the onions.

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Chop the green peppers.

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Put the celery, onions, peppers and minced garlic into a bowl and set aside.

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Cut up the chicken and sausage up.

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Steps for optional ingredients:

If your adding bacon, crisp it. 

If your adding pork sides until almost charred. 

If your adding ham, cook (if not already cooked) and dice. 

Making the Magic Happen!:

You've done all of the preparation, now lets get to the fun stuff!!

Put the oil in pot & let warm on a medium-high setting for about 4 minutes.

Add chicken to pot. 

Season with salt, pepper, onion powder & garlic powder. 

Cook until chicken is about 3/4 of the way done.

Add sausage to pot. Cook 5-7 more minutes. 

(Make sure to stir it all around to ensure all meat is evenly cooked.)

Remove chicken and sausage from pot, set aside. (I spooned it out so the oil & drippings stayed in the pot.)

Add onions, celery, peppers and minced garlic to pot. 

Cook for 7-10 minutes or until vegetables begin to wilt.

Pour in chicken stock.

Add reserved chicken & sausage, seasoning salt, kitchen bouquet, Old Bay seasoning and oregano.

Stir. 

Bring to a boil.

Add rice (DO NOT STIR) and return to a boil.

Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes. 

Remove cover and turn rice from top to bottom, making sure it all gets completely stirred in.

Replace cover and cook about 15-20 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. 

Add 1/4 cup of paprika.

Add green onions and parsley. 

Stir until paprika covers everything. 

(Everything in the pot! Don't call me to help cleanup because you got into a paprika fight in your kitchen! I'm not helpin! lol)

That's it! Serve it up and listen to the clinking of forks & cured cravings! I hope you love it!! 

Additional Info:

Another way to make the red jambalaya (instead of using the paprika):

- Instead of just chicken stock you can use 1/2 stock & 1/2 tomato juice (or V-8).

To make brown jambalaya:

-Add 1 heaping tbsp of brown sugar to hot oil & caramelize.

-OR make a roux

-OR use Kitchen Bouquet. 

To make seafood jambalaya:

-Add any desired (cooked) seafood when rice is cooked. 

 That's all I've got. I'm busy celebrating the fact that I've finally finished this!!! Enjoy!

Don't forget the dishes! ;-)

Super Scrumptious Spaghetti Sauce

During weeks like this there's a point in the morning that I realize I have to figure out dinner, & quick before it slips my mind again. Reason being that we didn't plan the meals out for this week, & funds were extremely limited. We had to use what we have, but that isn't a dinner death sentence! I have some things stockpiled! Yesterday I discovered there wasn't that much in the house as far as easy dinners go, and baby girl wasn't too  happy about hanging out in the living room by herself for too long, at all really. So I needed something that prepares quick, and is fairly easy to make. I decided to take a shot at making my very own spaghetti sauce using a variety of canned tomatoes.

In all of my infinite wisdom I FORGOT to take any pictures of it. I have none! It didn't even dawn on me to take pictures of the finished product until it was too late.  So, no picture-aided recipe today. I will, however tell you how I made it. I have to share something! And, if you were wondering, it was really yummy! And! One awesome thing is that it makes enough sauce for more than one meal, provided your husband doesn't dump it all into his lunch for the next day! lol.

Ingredients: (all of the cans are either Hunt's or store brand)

1 large can of crushed tomatoes (28 oz.)
**You would normally use two regular 12 oz. cans, I just had the big can in the pantry.**
1 can diced tomatoes with onions & green peppers in it
2 cans stewed tomatoes
1 small can of tomato paste
1 can carrots
1/2 large onion
Minced garlic (I used the stuff from the jar! So much easier!)
Oregano
Parsley
Basil
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil


Instructions:

Open all of your cans & drain the diced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes and carrots.

Dice up your onion & separate it to two equal piles. (Whatever you think is half is perfectly fine. No ones gonna judge you, I swear! It's just you and your kitchen!)

Dice your carrots up into small chunks. (If you have a really picky eater, you can put our carrots into the blender with the tomatoes in the next step, if not just put them to the side for a few minutes.)

Put all of your stewed tomatoes & one of your piles of onions in a blender, cover & press the 'puree' option (I know, "why not just use tomato puree?" well, a) I didn't have any. b) I'm really glad I didn't, this came out WAY better!) I only let it run for about 15-20 seconds.

Put a bit of olive oil in a pan & let it warm up on medium-high for a minute or so.

Then put your onions in the pan to cook.

When the onions are about half way cooked put about a tablespoon or so of minced garlic in the pan too. Cook until the onions & garlic have browned a bit.

Then add the carrots & tomato paste to the pan. Cook this for about 4-5 minutes, constantly mixing & moving it around the pan. After the 4-5 minutes have passed remove the pan from heat.

In a large pot, pour in your crushed tomato, contents of the blender & contents of your pan.
**You can use a crock pot instead if you'd like. I'm sure it'll come out just as yummy!**

Mix, mix, mix & mix some more!!!

After your done mixing; season to taste with the parsley, oregano, basil, salt & pepper.

And then mix some more!!!

After you're arm feels like it's about to fall off from all of your crazy mixing, turn the stove to a low setting & let your sauce cook anywhere between 2 & 7 hours (Depending on how much time you have before hungry tummies find their way into the kitchen.) Just make sure to mix it about every 45 minutes.

And your done! Super easy & super yummy! Add some spaghetti & garlic bread and you've got a meal!


Happy Eating!! =)

Do you have an awesome ancient grill press?

Ever had one of those days where almost nothing goes right, but at the end of the day nothing going right worked in your favor? Yesterday was totally one of those days. Oy, what a roller coaster. Anyways! Everything worked out in my favor after all (including dinner being a big hit!) so all is well in my book. I washed dishes with delight last night. I was, however, preoccupied when I started to cook dinner. I seriously wasn't paying any attention forgot to take pictures when I started! I'll try to fill in all of the blanks though!

One of the more horrific things that happened yesterday was the back brakes deciding not play nice with my car anymore. Thanks to my husband and some amazing friends of ours, its all fixed. The down side was my car stopped me from trying a new recipe that I'd come up with the day before because there wasn't enough time anymore. The good news is that it lead to last nights dinner!! w00t!

Chicken Quesadillas!!! Yumm!!!

Now, if your anything like me you have an awesome but ANCIENT grill press/waffle iron that you wouldn't trade anything for because it works like an absolute dream.

HOWEVER! I know I'm just a little out there and this is probably not a common thing to find in everyone's cabinets. So you can use your fancy new age quesadilla press, grill press (if it has a flat option), or you can go totally old school and use a skillet!

Ingredients! (This is to make enough for two, adjust it as you need!)

- 2 chicken breast (boneless, skinless is the easiest way to go but use whatever you have!!)
- 2 green bell peppers
- 1/3 of a large onion (this is totally optional, I know not everyone loves onions.)
- 1 good-sized tomato
- Soft tortilla shells, room temperature (I used the little 8 inch ones)
- Shredded cheese (whatever kind you like, we used the mexican blend and mozzarella. Only because we ran out of the mexican blend half way through...oops)
- Taco seasoning, either 1 packet or how ever much the instructions on the canister say to use. (I used Old El Paso Original seasoning, but any taco seasoning will work.)
- Salt, pepper, onion powder & garlic powder. (these are just my usual seasonings that I use when cooking meat, use whatever your most comfortable with!)
- Butter or margarine (which ever rocks your socks!)

Instructions! Get ready for the magic!

Cut your chicken up into about 1 inch pieces.

Put it in a pan on medium-high. Season with the taco seasoning, salt, pepper, onion & garlic powders.

Cook until it's done all the way through & then just put the chicken aside in a bowl to cool for a little bit.

Dice up your bell peppers & toss them in that same pan that you just took the chicken out of. The seasoning that got left behind in the pan gives the peppers an added yum-factor that I'm sure you'll love!

**You can toss in a tiny bit of margarine to help cook & flavor the peppers if you like. I did!

Cook the peppers at a medium heat setting until they soften a bit, just enough to take the initial crunch out of them is all you need. Put the peppers in a separate bowl as well.

Dice your onion up to about 1/2 the size that you diced your peppers. 

Put about 1 tablespoon of margarine in the pan & let it melt at medium heat. Then put the diced onions in there too. 

Cook the onions down until they've softened. I just wait for them to start becoming clearer around the edges & the lines in them start becoming defined. (This is in no way an exact science for me! Don't judge. lol) This is going to take a few minutes. As soon as they're done just take the pan away from heat.

To occupy your time while the onions cook, dice up your tomato to about 1 cm pcs. Basically just small enough to not make your quesadilla look like a crazy lumpy mess from the outside. It's totally against the laws in Quesadilla County!

Once you've got your tomato diced up, your onions cooked & your practically drooling over the food on your counter because it smells sooooo good, HOLD ON! Your almost there!!

You have to shred your cooled chicken up. Just into smaller pieces. Shred each piece up about 4 or 5 times. 

You'll go from having this:

To having this:

OH YEAH! Now it's time to put all of this together & cook it so you can stop drooling already! 

Turn on your awesome ancient grill press (or newer press or skillet. Whichever rocks your socks) to a medium setting & let it heat up while your preparing the first quesadilla. 

Take one of your soft tortilla shells and lay it flat on a plate.

Take a tiny bit of margarine and spread it over the whole top side of the tortilla. 

Sprinkle your shredded cheese on top of the margarine so that its spread over a good bit of the shell, it's going to act kind of like a glue to stick the shell to your food. (Using no more than about a half of a handful in this case is good enough, use more if your making this with the bigger tortilla shells)

After that, put your chicken, green peppers, onions & tomatoes on the shell. Then gently mix it all together with your fingers so its all evenly distributed. Eating a corner of just tomatoes would be weird, at least I think so. Once it's mixed to your hearts content make sure its all nice and flat. I seriously have a thing against lumpy quesadillas!

Sprinkle some more cheese on top, about as much as you used before. 

Take another soft tortilla shell, put a tiny about of margarine on it & spread it all around like you did to the first one. Put it on top, as aligned to the other shell as you can make it. 

And your ready for some cookin! 

Put it in your awesome ancient grill press for about 5 minutes. 

If your doing this in a skillet, at about 2 and a half minutes, flip your quesadilla over carefully, your food will try to commit kitchen suicide & come out from between the shells. I'm speaking from experience, lol.

Don't forget to be entertained because it looks like your grill press has a face now!

You want the outsides of your tortilla shells to be browned just a little bit. It'll be nice & crunchy at this point. 

Take it off the grill press (by whatever means necessary! I ended up using a really big spatula & holding a corner of it) & cut it up to quarters (I used a pizza cutter to do this because I like when things are easy.)

Enjoy!!!

It was a huge hit here last night! I love happy eaters! I hope its a huge hit at your house too!

Well, I'm off to plan dinner for tonight! Happy eating everybody!

Oh, & Don't forget the dishes. ;)