Shrimp Étouffée

 

 For years and years, I’ve kept a to-do list of classic dishes I want to try, and that brings us to this recipe. Finally! This is my version of shrimp étouffée! Now, you may ask “what is shrimp étouffée?” 

 Well, roughly translated, it means “smothered shrimp.” It’s a classic Louisiana dish, rich and saucy and spicy, tomato based, typically served over rice. Very often made with crawfish, but shrimp are easier to find, so here we are. 
 When I first started my search for a recipe that was classic and authentic, I immediately learned that it needed to start with a roux, (pronounced RUE) which is a mixture of fat and flour that is cooked until it’s light brown and nutty. It also includes the so called “holy trinity” of aromatics, which is celery, onions, and bell peppers. It came together in no time and was SO flavorful, I can’t even tell you. Of course, I served it over rice and it was AMAZING. I kept thinking “why did it take me so long to try this?’ I also thought this would be an impressive dish to serve guests because it tastes as fancy as it sounds. LOVE IT. 
 Of course, there are a million versions, all authentic in their own right, but this is mine. If you like a spicy seafood stew, you need to give this one a try!!

 

 

 
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 large onion, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
4 or 5 ribs of celery, chopped
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken or seafood stock
2 large cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 tsp EACH: salt, dried thyme leaves, dried oregano, smoked paprika, Old Bay seasoning
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
Pinch of cayenne pepper
A few shakes of Tabasco sauce
1 lb fresh or frozen shrimp, shelled, deveined, tails removed

 

In a large sauce pan, add the flour and oil over medium heat. Using a whisk, stir constantly for about 5 minutes or until it turns the color of peanut butter. Now add your chopped onions, peppers, and celery. Switch to a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, and continue to stir and sauté until the vegetables begin to soften. Now add the tomatoes, stock, and garlic, then add the remaining ingredients, except the shrimp. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes. (Now would be a good time to start cooking your rice.) After about 10 minutes, taste the sauce and adjust seasonings, if needed. Add the shrimp and give everything a good stir. Continue to simmer until the shrimp are just cooked through. About 3 or 4 minutes, depending on their size. (Don't overcook!) Serve immediately over cooked rice. Garnish with a little chopped fresh parsley or scallions, if desired. 


 

 

Tips:
Although this recipe has some wiggle room when it comes to the spices, the one thing you don’t want to skip is the roux. You can use butter instead of oil, but either way, just let it cook until it’s a nutty brown, somewhere around the color of peanut butter. You can go a little darker, closer to the color of a tarnished penny, but I wouldn’t go any darker than that. You definitely don’t want it to burn. Just as when making home made caramel, it can go from golden to burnt very quickly. So keep an eye on it. Also it's best to have your chopped veggies ready before you start. Btw, I added lots of extra celery, WHY? because I like it!
When simmering your sauce, if it starts to get too thick, just add a little water or some more stock. 
As for the spice levels, it’s meant to have some degree of heat, but you do you. I like just a little warm heat, but if you'd like it to burn your face off, who am I to stop you? Also, I included all three.. the crushed red, the cayenne, and the Tabasco, because I think they all hit differently. Use as much or as little as you want, or completely omit them. Up to you!
Oh.. one other thing… instead of using this list of seasonings, you can just use about a tbs of a Cajun seasoning blend, but I didn’t see the need to buy it since I already had all the individual seasonings on hand.

Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

 

   Once again, I have a lot to do today, so I’m turning to my trusty slow cooker for dinner. (Seriously, if you don’t own a slow cooker, what are you even doing with your life?) Anyway, I saw this recipe from Good Vibes Cooking, and I thought “There’s no way this could be bad”,  and I knew it would be an easy meal for a busy Saturday or Sunday. Plus, I already had all of the ingredients, so this was a no brainer. Added bonus, we’re still having some brisk Spring nights, so a casserole still hits the spot, especially one as delicious as this one!!! Just set it up around mid day, and boom, one less this to worry about! Serve it with a salad or a fresh green veggie, and dinner is sorted. Easy, right? I think I need to keep this one in the rotation. (wait.. I say that every time I find a new recipe... but I really mean it this time!)

If you love a creamy cheesy chicken casserole, you must give this one a try!
 

 

 
2-3 boneless chicken breasts or thighs
8 oz diced ham
8 oz sliced Swiss cheese
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbs Dijon mustard
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 pkg Stove Top stuffing mix, any flavor
1/2 stick butter

Cut up chicken and add to a crock pot along with the diced ham.
Place slices of Swiss cheese over the meat in one layer.
In a small mixing bowl, stir together the soup, cream, mustard, and seasonings. 
Spread over the cheese layer. Sprinkle dry stuffing over the cream mixture. Dot with butter. 

Full disclosure, I kept the recipe the same but I did tweak the cooking time ever so slightly. The original recipe said to cook it for 6 hours on low. It’s been my experience that the rule for cooking chicken in the crock pot is 2 hours on HIGH, or 4 hours on LOW. That’s it. Chicken just doesn’t need that long to cook!!  I know I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it every time because it’s worth repeating. Otherwise you’d wind up with dry rubbery chicken. And no one wants that!



Tips:
 This is one of those recipes where the amounts are just guidelines. So I didn’t really fuss with each ingredient. I used the whole package of 4 pieces of chicken, I’m sure I used more than 8 oz of ham, definitely more than 8 oz of cheese, the seasonings were to taste, and I KNOW I used more than a half stick of butter. I also swapped brown mustard for the Dijon, I added a little extra cream, and I bet you could use half and half instead of the heavy cream. You do you! I’m sure it will turn out fine as long as you don’t overcook it! One thing, though.. if you'll notice, there's no salt in the recipe. That's because the ham and the stuffing mix have quite enough. If you add any more it would be too salty. I only mention this because my Dad used to fix his plate for dinner and then proceed to put salt and pepper over everything, even before he took his first bite, and it would drive my Mom crazy. She would say "it's already seasoned!" So, yeah. Don't add any extra salt. Doesn't need it!
I’m guessing you could easily bake this in the oven instead of a crock pot. Just assemble it in a casserole dish and bake it at 350º for about 30 minutes. Easy!

Slow Cooker Pork Ragout

 

 

  I was recently looking for a “let it cook all day” kind of recipe, so I turned to my big freezer (aka the Snow Miser) to see what I happened to have on hand. Sitting right on top was a pork shoulder that I was lucky enough to get on sale, and I immediately knew that this was the clear winner. 
 But what to make?? I’m sure that when I bought it I was thinking I’d do a BBQ pulled pork in the slow cooker, but now I’m thinking “how ‘bout something different?”
 Enter this recipe. You may be asking what is a ragout? Well a ragout (or ragu) is an Italian dish of braised meat (usually pork) in a tomato sauce with aromatics, herbs, and wine, finely shredded and then served over a hearty wide pasta. Sounds heavenly, right? Yeah, I thought so too. And since I pride myself on keeping a well stocked pantry, I just happened to have all the rest of the ingredients to make it. 
 First and foremost, I have to say this was just about the easiest thing to throw together, and the payoff was AMAZING.  It was only about 15 minutes of prep, and then it cooked all day, low and slow, filling my house with the most intoxicating aromas. It was so good that it could literally be an option for my next dinner party. It’s just that good. (Hmm.. actually, that’s a really good idea.) 
 I made this during the biggest snow storm in the last 10 years, but you don’t have to wait for it to snow to make this recipe. Make it for a Sunday Dinner. Make it for a holiday. Make it for your friends. Make it just for yourself! It’s definitely a good one to keep in your back pocket. I actually already wanna make it again. (Not even kidding!) Good thing I still have another pork in the Snow Miser!



Olive oil
3 or 4 lb pork shoulder
1 onion, minced
2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
1 28oz can tomato puree
1 6oz can tomato paste
A couple sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves removed and stems discarded
1 tsp poultry seasoning 
1 tsp dried basil
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup red wine (such as Chianti or Merlot)
1 heaping tsp chicken Better Than Bouillon 
2 cups water

In a very hot skillet, in a little oil, brown the pork on all sides. Meanwhile, throw everything else into your slow cooker. 
Place the pork in the slow cooker, nestling it down into the sauce. Cover and cook on low for 8 or 9 hours, or until the pork shreds easily. 
Using two forks, pull the pork into fine shreds, removing any fat, stirring until well combined. 

Serve over wide egg noodles, pappardelle, or tagliatelle pasta with warm crusty bread. 



Tips:
When browning the pork, don’t move it around in the skillet. I know you want to, but resist the urge! Just leave it alone, and you’ll get a nice brown sear. Do this one all sides. Conversely, you can certainly just skip this step altogether, and it will be just fine. But I believe it gives a richer deeper flavor with the browning. 
A few things you can substitute:
Crushed tomatoes instead of puree. 
Dried thyme leaves instead of fresh. 
Vermouth or just a splash of red wine vinegar instead of the wine.
2 cup of chicken broth instead of the Better Than Bouillon and water.
Instead of cooking on low for 8 or 9 hours, you can cook it on high for 4 or 5, but I always prefer lower and slower if you have the time. 
Even though pork is the classic choice for this recipe, it also works very well with beef. Just be sure to cook it long enough so the meat shreds easily. 
If you’d prefer to cook this in the oven instead of the slow cooker: Brown the meat in a heavy pot with a lid, throw in all the sauce ingredients, then place in a low-ish oven, around 325ºF, for about 3-4 hours.

Portuguese Coconut Tarts (Queijadas de Coco)

 

 

   

  Every year, around Easter, I always look forward to all of the usual treats. The Cadbury caramel eggs, my carrot cake decorated with a basket weave design (get it?), and of course, anything and everything to do with coconut. So I was pretty excited when I happened upon this dessert that was completely new to me. 

 Have you ever heard of a Portuguese Coconut Tart? If you can imagine that a coconut custard pie and a coconut cupcake had a baby, it would be this. Caramelized and golden on top and custard-y in the center, it's one of the most delicious coconut somethings I've every tasted. True story! I saw the recipe on a short video from Celia Rego, who makes traditional Portuguese dishes, and immediately wanted to make them (mainly because I've never met a coconut I didn't like.) They're super simple to make too! All it took was a few simple ingredients that I just happened to have on hand, and it came together in no time. You don't even need cupcake liners to bake. SO easy!!

 Full disclosure... I may or may not have tweaked this recipe ever so slightly, because I can never leave well enough alone...but I still listed the original recipe as is. I kid you not when I say I had to stop myself from eating them and I PROMISE I'll be making them again and again!

If you like coconut, this is absolutely something you need to try!!

 

 

8oz pkg cream cheese, room temperature

1 stick butter, room temperature

6 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 tbs flour

14oz sweetened shredded coconut 

 

 

Heat oven to 350ºF. 

Using a mixer, cream together the cream cheese and butter until well combined. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Mix in the sugar, then the flour until smooth. Now stir in the coconut by hand, adding a little at a time so it doesn't clump together. 

  Grease and flour a muffin tin, or spray with baking spray. Fill each cup completely. Tap your pan on the counter to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden on top. Cool completely before removing from pan. 

 

 

 

Tips:

There are other versions that have different amounts of sugar and eggs, and there are some that use milk instead of cream cheese. This recipe was so good I don't even feel the need to try any other! 

The only thing I added was a tsp of vanilla extract, and a tsp of coconut extract. I didn't add them to the list of ingredients because I wanted to post it as I first discovered it, but I think the vanilla and coconut extracts were a delicious addition and this is definitely how I'll always make them. Actually....now that I think of it... I wonder how this recipe would turn out if I made them in a mini muffin tin... Hmm.. Only one way to find out!

No Bake Lemon Icebox Pie

 

 

  What do you do when you need to come up with a dessert, such as a fabulous light and fluffy pie, but you have neither the time nor the know how? What do you do? You take ALL the shortcuts and you make this recipe, THAT'S what you do! It only takes a few store bought ingredients, and it comes together in minutes. And it's SO delicious!!! You'll be amazed at how big of a pay off you get despite all the shortcuts. 

 Yes, of course, you could make your own crust by crushing the graham crackers, adding sugar, and melted butter and then pressing it into a pie plate... and you could make your own lemon curd or pie filling... and your own fresh sweetened whipped cream....

 But sometimes you just don't have time for all of that! This recipe solves that problem. I promise you I wouldn't recommend something unless it's worth it. And btw, even though we're taking a few shortcuts, this still counts as a homemade. There. I said it. 

 So if you're short on time, or if you're not a baker at all, try this recipe and everyone will love you for it. ENJOY!

 

 

 

1 ready-made 10" graham cracker pie crust

1 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened

1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk 

1 22oz can lemon pie filling 

1/2 cup lemon juice

Zest from one lemon

1 8oz container Cool Whip, thawed

 

 

  Using an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, condensed milk, lemon juice, and zest. Using a rubber spatula, fold in l/2 of the lemon pie filling by hand. Now do the same with half of the Cool Whip.

 Pour the filling into the ready made pie crust, smoothing over the top. Refrigerate for an hour or two. Remove from the fridge and spread the other half of the pie filling over the cream filling. Decorate the top with remaining Cool Whip. Garnish with a fresh lemon slice, if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Even better, make it the night before so it'll set up in the fridge overnight. 

 

But for the quickest method, forget the extra chilling time. Just pour the cream mixture into the crust, smooth over the top, then carefully spread the remaining pie filling on top. You could even get fancy and give it a little swirl. Now decorate the top with the remaining Cool Whip. You'll have more of a mousse texture instead of a slice of pie, but it's delicious now matter how you do it. 

 

 

 

Tips:

The only thing I'd change about this recipe (if I were feeling so motivated) is that I'd make my own graham cracker crust. The store bought ones taste great and they're super convenient, but I do like a thicker crust, which also lends itself to serving a slice of pie in one piece without so much crust breakage. But you do you!

Btw, if you're wondering why it's called an "icebox" pie... Before there were today's electric refrigerators, there were iceboxes, which were insulated wooden boxes with a top compartment for large blocks of ice that cooled a lower compartment as the ice melted. So I guess now this pie should be called a Refrigerator Pie, but we don't need to be that technical. 

Joey's Cabbage and Potato Bake

  I was in the mood for something warm and comforting and homey and casserole-y. Usually that means some kind of noodle, but since I already had pasta earlier in the week, I figured I'd do potatoes instead. I was inspired by a recipe I saw on a blog called Hungry Happens, but then of course I didn't follow it. I just started throwing things into a pan.
 I decided to go with baby potatoes and baby carrots just because they’re easier. No peeling! And the cabbage.. well, I think that was originally gonna be a batch of sauerkraut that didn’t happen. From there, I just added some spices that I thought would work. And guess what! They did! It came out so flavorful and tasty, I had to go back for more. This was definitely one of those times where simplicity was best. Nothing too complicated, all in one casserole dish. Perfect.
 Now, I will say that this made a giant casserole, just because I used the whole head of cabbage, and the whole bag of carrots, and the whole bag of baby Yukons. (I mean, what else was I gonna do with half a bag of potatoes, right?) So, you’ll make as much or as little as you want. 
 The other thing is it took much longer to cook than I thought it would. So if you want to speed up the process, you can microwave or steam your potatoes and carrots first before you start. Otherwise, this recipe is simple and straight forward and it’s the perfect comfort food. Serve as is, or with a sliced ham, or any kind of roast. It will absolutely satisfy your craving the next time you feel like having something warm and casserole-y! 



1 small head of green cabbage, cored and chopped
1 lb baby carrots
2 lbs baby Yukon Gold potatoes, halved or quartered
1 small onion, chopped
A big sprinkle of each, or to taste:
Salt, black pepper, paprika, dried thyme leaves, celery seed, onion powder, garlic powder
1/2 cup vegetable broth or chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream

8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

2 scallions, chopped


Heat oven to 400ºF.
Place all vegetables (except scallions) and seasonings in a large casserole dish. Pour broth and cream over all. (I may have added a little extra cream!) Toss lightly to coat. Cover tightly with foil. Bake for an hour or until potatoes and carrots are tender. Remove foil. Top with mozzarella cheese. Place in oven again (uncovered) and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly. Garnish with chopped scallions sprinkled over the top. Let stand for a few minutes before serving. 



Tips:
 This entire recipe is the perfect springboard for whichever direction you'd like to go. Literally every ingredient in the recipe can be increased or decreased to suit one’s taste. Do you want lots of carrots and not a lot of potatoes? Do you want just cabbage and potatoes and no carrots at all? Do you want to swap out the seasonings for your favorite blend?? Would you rather do Cheddar or Swiss cheese? Or both? 

DO IT!!
You can also add any kind of meat if you want. Diced ham, diced corned beef, smoked sausage, diced chicken, really anything you want! 

Easy Peasy Cheesy Pasta

 

 This recipe was inspired by a short video I recently saw as I was randomly scrolling through my feed. (you do that too, right?) Anyway, I thought, ooo that looks yummy and easy.. lets try it.. but then I thought, wait.. why is he cooking it like that????? I immediately knew of a few things I would do differently, so I decided to test my ideas. (Yes, I could go into what he did, and what I changed, but that's not important here.) The important thing is that I was right! Well, at least for the way I like to cook. 

 So this is my version of Pasta and Peas or rather Pasta e Piselli, which is basically a traditonal Italian peasant sort of comfort food. I'm sure there are many versions of it, but this is where I landed. 

 It comes together SO quickly, you can have dinner ready in less than a half hour, and you won't break the bank in the process. And I'm not even kidding when I tell you I loved it so much I literally ate the entire thing. Now THAT'S the kind of recipe I like! I know you will too! Enjoy!

 

 

 

olive oil

1 onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups vegetable broth, chicken broth, or just water

1 cup ditalini pasta

1 12oz bag frozen peas

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cracked black pepper

 

 

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the minced onion and saute until it begins to soften. Add the minced garlic and continue to saute for another minute. Add the broth and increase heat to bring it up to a boil. Add the pasta. Let it cook, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the pasta is tender. Add the peas, cheese, and pepper. Stir and saute until the peas are heated through, and the cheese melts into any remaining broth. Add more broth or water if it needs a little more liquid. Serve immediately, 

 

 

Tips:

  Ok, ok, I'll tell you what I did differently. The chef in the video added the peas to the broth before adding the pasta. I thought "wait.., by the time the pasta is cooked, the peas are gonna be overdone!" So I cooked it the other way around, He also blended some of the peas and then added them back in to make a thicker sauce, but I wanted to keep it light. I guess there's no right or wrong way to do it, but this worked for me. 

  This recipe doesn't need any added salt because the Parmesan cheese is quite salty. Speaking of which, adding a whole cup of grated cheese is quite a lot, so you can cut back on it a little, if you like. Then again, I called it Easy Peasy CHEESY for a reason! 

 This dish stands on its own as a delicious meatless main dish, but I think it would be equally delicious served next to a fillet of baked or grilled chicken or fish.