Jambalya

On Fat Tuesday Nick made Jambalya for us (great day to have it)!  Was sooo good.

Tonight I had to make it myself since it was soo good the last time.

He based it off this recipe, my changes will be italicized.

Simple and oh so yummy! Just takes some time cleaning the chicken and chopping up the veggies. (OK after loading the picture, I see why people make sure the bowl is clean)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cleaned and cut up into large bite sized pieces
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound smoked sausage, sliced into circles
• 1 large Vidalia onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped thyme
• 2 cups long grain white rice
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 (14-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth, we found that you really need 3 - 3 1/2 cups
• 1 dried bay leaf
• Shrimp, about 1/2 pound, deveined, shelled, etc
• 1 tsp cajun seasoning
• sprinkle of cayenne pepper - depending on how much spice you like
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions (we left out since we forgot)
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (we left out since we forgot)

Directions

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to the Dutch oven and brown on each side, about 8 minutes total. Remove to a plate and reserve.

Add sausage, onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, and thyme and saute until translucent and sausage is browned, about 8 minutes. (you may want to brown sausages seperately like chicken)

Stir in rice, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, broth, bay leaf, and reserved chicken, and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, and cook on low, covered, for 20 minutes. Add the cajun seasoning and cayenne pepper.

Last 10ish minutes, add the shrimp, once the rice is almost done since the shrimp does not take long to cook.

Turn off heat and let rice stand, covered, 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Fluff rice with fork and stir in green onions and parsley.

Inside Out Pumpkin Muffins

These are my favorite muffins to make! So yummy.

Evie and I made them Christmas morning. Easy and yum!

They are from King Arthur Flour. Copy and pasted below, with some notes added (italic).

1 cup (8 ounces) puréed pumpkin (about half of a 15-ounce can)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup (3 3/4 ounces) brown sugar
3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) vegetable oil
1/4 cup (3 ounces) boiled cider* (for best flavor), or dark corn syrup (I used maple syrup, or made my own apple cider simple syrup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup (2 5/8 ounces) milk
1 1/2 cups (6 3/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose or King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour, preferably organic

Filling
1 8-ounce package cream cheese or Neufchâtel cheese
1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) granulated sugar
a few drops Fiori di Sicilia flavor, optional (I just bought this and yes it makes it better. But you can use vanilla extract, or a combo of vanilla and orange, or vanilla with orange zest)

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with muffin papers, and grease the papers. Or lightly grease a maple leaf pan.

To make the batter: Whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, oil, boiled cider or corn syrup, salt, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and milk. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the flour and mix until well combined.

To make the filling: Place the cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat on low power for 40 seconds. Stir in the sugar and flavor.

Drop about 2 tablespoons of the batter (a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here) into each muffin cup, spreading it to cover the bottom. Dollop on a heaping tablespoon of filling, then cover with another 2 tablespoons of batter. If you’re using maple leaf molds, drop about 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter into each of the 6 molds. Add a scant tablespoon of filling, and spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons batter on top. The recipe will make 16 maple leaves, so you’ll need to bake in batches.

Bake the standard muffins for 18 to 20 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out crumb-free. Bake the leaf muffins for 16 to 18 minutes, testing them the same way. Remove from the oven. After 5 minutes, gently loosen the edges of the leaf muffins, and turn the pan over onto a cooling rack; the muffins should drop out. For regular muffins, simply transfer them to a rack to cool.
Yield: 12 regular muffins, or 16 leaf muffins.

To make apple cider simple syrup: equal parts apple cider with sugar. Boil down until a syrup forms. Let cool. Similar to regular simple syrup but using apple cider. Easy. And good to use in mixed drinks!

Chili

My mom got this recipe from someone she works with. It is sooo yummy and makes excellent leftovers! I made it on Sunday. We had it for dinner Monday night, had it for lunch on Tuesday, had it for dinner again on Wednesday. So good. And was sad when we finished it.

This has a nice kick to it, not too spicy. For us though, that may mean it is spicy for others. We love our heat!

Forgive the pictures...

Chili on top of corn bread

Topped with Cheddar Cheese and Avocado

Chipotle Chili

2 Tbsp red chili powder
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds (I didn't have any)
3-4 Tbsp water

4 strips of bacon, cut up
2 1/2 (or more) chuck roast cut into 1/2 inch cubes (we used something different that was on sale but I don't remember)
salt
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
2 jalapeno peppers, minced (remove seeds for less heat)

1 14oz can tomatoes (I used green chili diced tomatoes)
1 1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice (about 1/2 lime)
1 tsp sugar

1 14oz can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in a little water to prevent clumping
salt

In a small bowl mix the chili powder, chipotle powder, cumin, oregano, thyme, corriander. Add water until it becomes a light paste.

Cook the bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Remove from pan and set aside on paper towel. (You could cook the bacon in strips and crumble, but I find it easier to slice the bacon before cooking it)

Increase heat to medium high. Add 1 Tbsp of bacon fat (YUM!). Working in batches so the meat isn't crowded and is steamed, brown the meat on all sides, lightly salting as it cooks. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add 1 Tbsp of bacon fat to the pan. Add the chopped onino and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Ad the garlic and jalapeno. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chili paste and cook for 2-3 more minutes.

Into a 6 quart thick bottomed dutch oven, put onion chili mixture, beef, bacon, tomatoes, water, lime juice and sugar. Heat the chili on medium heat until it comes to a simmer. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Then cover and cook for another half hour, keeping the temperature at a place where you can maintain a simmer.

Mix the cornstarch into a little water to dissolve. Add it to the chili to thicken. Gently mix in the kidney beans. Add salt to taste. Adjust seasonings as needed.

We like to serve on top of crumbled cornbread and top with avocado. Cheese is yummy but not needed with this yummy chili!

Enjoy!

Angel Biscuits

This recipe is from my Mom. I don't remember where she got it. But this is my FAVORITE biscuit recipe. Make it the night before. The longer the dough is in the fridge the better they get. I love to make it on Sunday morning and enjoy them all week. I turn the oven on and throw one in when I get up. Take it out of the oven when done. Put some jam on it and wrap it in foil and bring it into work. Such a yummy easy homemade breakfast! Actually I just finished one with apricot jam!

These pictures don't do it justice - my yeast is starting to die so they didn't puff up as much, and I didn't leave them in the fridge long enough since I was hungry on Sunday morning!

Biscuits Fresh out of the oven!

Angel Biscuits
2 1/4 tsp yeast (I believe this is a package of yeast, I like to keep a jar of yeast in my fridge)
1/2 cup warm water (105F - 115F)
5 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup margarine or butter (very cold/frozen)
2 cups buttermilk

Dissolve yeast in water for 5 minutes (I have found using a chopstick to stir helps it dissolve faster)

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Cut in butter with a pastry blender/cutter until it resembles a coarse meal. This step is important. The small bits of butter make it flaky and oh so good.

Add yeast mixture and buttermilk. Stir just until moist.

Cover and Chill at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 450F. Turn dough out (as much as you wish to use) onto a heavily floured surface and kneed lightly about 5 times.

Roll or pat dough to 1/2" thick and cut with a biscuit cutter. Place on parchment paper. If I am making this in the morning just for myself I just grab a blob of dough out of the container in the fridge, shape in hands and place on parchment paper.

Brush with melted butter (salted I find is yummier, and sometimes just put a small piece of cold butter on top).

Bake for about 13 minutes