Chicken Creole

I love cooking with a rotisserie chicken that can be picked up at the grocery store. My favorite place to get them is Sam's Wholesale. That's what I did today, picked up a whole chicken and came home trying to come up with a recipe using chicken and a crockpot. Yes, there are thousands of recipes out there. Today's menu was Chicken Creole. It uses tomatoes and Creole seasoning, along with smoked sausage, chicken thighs, rice, and other seasonings for a meal with a punch of flavors.


INGREDIENTS:
1 pound boneless chicken thighs, skin removed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 can (14.5 ounces) tomatoes with juice
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
8 ounces fully cooked smoked sausage, sliced
1/2 to 1 cup diced cooked ham
1 cup chopped onion
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
a few dashes of Tabasco sauce or other hot pepper sauce
2 cups instant rice, uncooked
1 cup chopped green bell pepper

PREPARATION:
Combine chicken, tomatoes, broth, sausage, ham, onion, tomato paste, water, seasoning, and Tabasco sauce in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours.
Add rice and green pepper to crockpot and cook for 10 minutes longer, or until rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.
Serves 6.

Mama's Spaghetti

Welcome to Foodie Friday! Stop by Michael’s at Designs by Gollum for some wonderful meals served up by some of your favorite bloggers. But first, I want to share with you a very special recipe that has been in my family for years. This is a family recipe, one that came from my great grandmother, Idabelle. It was passed down to my grandma, Buena, to my mom, who taught it to me.


Spaghetti. Anyone that eats my homemade spaghetti swears by it. My kids will tell you hands down it is their favorite dish I make. Even more of a testament.....they will choose this over a "Happy Meal" anyday. It is a secret family recipe, one that I am sharing with you.

(Kid Approved, even picky ones, as seen above. "Sister Sledge")


Ingredients:
1 lb. Ground Beef

chopped onion and bell pepper (I have to omit this because I have picky eaters)

1 tsp each- pepper, salt, garlic salt, garlic pepper (or fresh garlic is even better (what I use)...if using fresh minced garlic omit the garlic powder and salt. I use about 2 tbsp of miced, but we love garlic.)


1 & 1/2 tsp each Italian seasoning and oregano


2-3 heaping tbsp brown sugar


1 small can tomato sauce


1 small can tomato paste


1 small can of water (8 oz)

DIRECTIONS:


Brown ground beef with onions and bell pepper and drain

Add dry ingredients to beef and Stir. Then add liquid ingredients. Bring to a small bubbling boil.


Reduce heat to simmer for about 30 minutes. Stir every so often. I also put a lid on the pot so that it doesn't bubble and pop out onto the stove.

While sauce is cooking, prepare spaghetti according to box. Then prepare a dish by topping spaghetti noodles with red sauce. This is going to be the best red sauce you have EVER eaten. Ever. Enjoy! Please let me know how you like it! And don't tell momma that I shared. Smile.

Ranch Cucumber Salad

Ranch Cucumber Salad
1 pkg. dry ranch seasoning mix

1 C Vegetable Oil
½ C Vinegar

Fresh chopped dill

Assortments of chopped vegetables-red onion, cucumber, tomatoes

Combine liquid ingredients with ranch packet and stir well. Add vegetables to liquid and toss to coat. Cover and chill. This is a simple salad with alot of flavor. This is one that mother prepared often when I was growing up. I just loved it and now fix for my family. Even the kids eat this!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Firebirds is a chain restuarant, that is one of my brother and sister in law's favorites. It's a nice place to go and have a cozy meal. Firebirds features a faux-rustic atmosphere, a solid menu heavy on steak and seafood and pleasant service.
Below is Firebirds recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup.

Firebirds Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon Vegetable Oil
1/3 cup Yellow Onion, diced
1/3 cup Carrots, chopped
1/3 cup Red Bell Pepper, chopped
½ teaspoon garlic, chopped
1 ¼ cups tomatoes, rough chopped
Pinch Dried Oregano
½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
½ teaspoon cilantro
2 cups Chicken Stock
2/3 cup tortilla chips, slightly crushed
1/3 cup jalapeno jack cheese, grated
2/3 cup roasted chicken, picked

Procedure:
Place all the vegetables in a pot with vegetable oil and sauté until soft. Add the tomatoes, seasonings and chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes on medium heat. Add the tortilla chips and simmer for 10 minutes. Pour soup in a blender and puree until smooth. Add cheese and puree. Fold in the roasted chicken. Serve. Garnish with sour cream, fresh tomatoes and green onions.

Firebirds Wood Fired Grill
205-733-2002

It's Crawfish Time, Y'all!

It's Foodie Friday! Our gracious Hostess is Designs By Gollum. Be sure and click the link to see all kinds of fine fare from all over Blogland. But before you go, lets talk crawfish!
April is the time of year for crawfish! Crawfish are coming in season, so here are a couple recipes that you might enjoy. This is a very simple and elegant dish, and will impress your guests in a big way. It's also one of the most popular dishes served at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival; the line at the Crawfish Monica booth is one of longest on the Fairgrounds. If you don't have crawfish available in your area, it works well with shrimp, oysters or crabmeat. This recipe below is courtesy of my good friend, Bama Belle. Thanks "Belle"! It's a quick favorite of our house!


CRAWFISH MONICA
1 lb. crawfish tails, boiled and peeled; OR
1 lb. shrimp, peeled; OR
1 lb. lump crabmeat; OR
1 lb. oysters, drained and quartered.
1 stick butter (Do not use margarine.)
1 pint half-and-half (Look, relax. Just don't eat this every day..)
1 good-sized bunch green onions, chopped (tops, too)
3 - 10 cloves garlic, chopped (to your taste)
1-2 tbs Creole Seasoning
1 lb. cooked fresh pasta (Dry pasta is all right if fresh is
not available. Rotelli is preferred, use your favorite shape.)

Cook pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain,
then rinse under cool water. Drain again, thoroughly.
Melt the butter in a large pot and saute onions and garlic for
3 minutes. Add the seafood and saute for 2 minutes. Add the
half-and-half, then add several big pinches of Creole seasoning,
tasting before the next pinch until you think it's right.
Cook for 5 - 10 minutes over medium heat until the sauce thickens.
Add the pasta and toss well. Let it sit for 10 minutes or so over very
low heat, stirring often. Serve immediately, with lots of French bread
and a nice dry white wine.

Another Crawfish Recipe.....Crawfish Shortcake
Cook crawfish tails in the manner of barbecue shrimp before ladling them over a firm biscuit and you have yourself Crawfish Shortcake.

Cucumber Salad

It's almost time to think about planting a summer garden...what you will plant, how will you use it, where, etc. Every year I plant a summer garden for salads, herbs, mint for lemonade and tea and vegetables for salsa. This recipe is great for cucumber salads-a favorite of my children.

Cucumber Salad
2 medium cucumbers, halved, seeded, and thinly sliced

2 T red wine vinegar
1 medium red onion, cut into thin wedges (1/2 C)
½ tsp sugar
2T fresh snipped mint

2T olive oil

cherry tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste

Toss together cucumbers, onions and mint. For dressing combine oil, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in a screw top jar. Shake to mix and pour over veggies. Toss to coat. Cover and chill.

Tomato & Squash Gratin

This is another recipe aquired from my sister in law’s bridesmaid luncheon. I had never tried it before (I am a picky eater). You will LOVE this recipe. This is good old southern homecooking at it’s best. It is perfect for those summer garden vegetables .It can be motified for various vegetables or cheeses.




Tomato Squash Gratin
5-6 plump Roma tomatoes
grated parmesan cheese
4-6 yellow squash
shredded mozzarella cheese
4-6 zucchini
olive oil
3 sweet onions
butter
1 bulb fennel
sea salt
Fresh or dried thyme or oregano minced
breadcrumbs
Minced garlic (2 cloves)

Slice onion and sauté them in olive oil and butter until golden brown. Finely chop fennel and sauté’ with garlic. Slice vegetables on the bias ¼” thick (use a mandolin for this). Place tomatoes on a shallow plate to drain juices. Line the bottom of a casserold dish with the caramelized onions and sautéed fennel. Assemble the vegetables in layers at a 60-75 degree angle, adding salt, herbs, and cheeses between each layer. Drizzle with olive oil and top with more cheese, herbs, and breadcrumbs moistened in olive oil or butter. Bake at 375 degrees for one hour and 10 minutes. The gratin is ready when the top is browned and bubbles are visible around the edges. It will generally pull away from the sides of the pan a bit.