Crawfish Chowder

A fall staple in our house is this Crawfish Chowder. It is SOOO easy and so very good!

Potato, Corn and Crawfish Chowder
Serves 20

1 stick butter (I used yogurt butter)
1 onion, diced
1 T. garlic, chopped
1 T. cumin
2 lbs. crawfish tails
1 C. flour
1 quart chicken stock
1 C. tomato paste
1 quart heavy cream (I used no fat half & half)
2 C. potatoes, diced and blanched
3 C. fresh corn
1 C. green onions, chopped
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Cayenne to taste
¼ C. sherry
The juice of ½ lemon
**add 1 T. or more of Tony’s Seasoning

Melt butter in a heavy bottom soup pot. Sauté the onions and garlic until they are a little bit soft and then add cumin and crawfish tails briefly. Stir in the flour completely and stir constantly for a few minutes(to eliminate the flour-y taste). Then add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly for a few minutes more. Add the stock slowly, stirring continuously. The add the heavy cream (or half in half in my case). Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a simmer. You need to watch carefully while bringing it to a boil because if it boils too fast and rapidly it will curdle. It will still taste great, but it will look grainy and separated. Add the potatoes and corn and cook for 30 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and season to taste.

This is a Tim Creehan recipe and it is DELICIOUS!!! And not too bad for you either (as long as you use the no fat half & half). I did 3/4 of the recipe so we could eat on it for a few days. You don't need to do the whole thing unless you are having a houseful....because it makes so much! But it definitely warms the soul. Add a little hot sauce at cooking time and you are good to go. Yum!!

Red Potato and Tomato Salad

I made this potato salad for a get together last weekend and it was DELISH! Much better (in my opinion) than a mayonnaise based potato salad. I served it with burgers and Tri Colo Orzo. YUMM-O!!

Red Potato and Tomato Salad

3 pounds baby red potatoes, halved (or quartered depending on the size)
2 pint (4 cups) cherry tomatoes, halved
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup pitted black olives, halved
1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
6 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 large lemons, zested
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Add the potatoes to a medium saucepan with enough cold water to cover by at least 2 inches. Set the saucepan over medium heat. Bring the water to a boil and continue boiling until the potatoes are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain the potatoes in a colander and allow them to dry for 5 minutes.

In a serving bowl, add the potatoes, tomatoes, scallions, olives, parsley, capers, thyme, olive oil, and lemon zest. Toss gently until all the ingredients are coated and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Refrigerate for 1 hour and gently toss again before serving.

Banana Barbie!

Yesterday my baby turned 2. *sobs*

Let's not dwell on the fact that I will never have a baby nuzzled up in my neck again, or the fact that my 2-going-on-5 year old is already super divalicious, or the fact that the doctor yesterday at her check up suggested I get her into her own bed and take away her paci.

No, let's not dwell on those depressing things. Instead let's talk about how fun it is to play Barbies, shall we?

Girlfriend is OBSESSED with Barbies! Which is different for me because I never played with Barbies. I played with baby dolls and other things of the sort, but not Barbies. And at 2?? Aren't Barbie accessories too small for 2 year olds? But she insists and when I take her to the toy aisle, that's where she goes. So I have to face it, my life is Barbie right now.

So naturally I asked the baby Diva what kind of cake she wanted...thinking I was just talking to hear myself talk since no way at 2 she would have an idea of what kind of cake she wanted (I must have forgotten which 2 year old I was talking about). Her reply? "BARBIE!!"

So I used the banana cake recipe which is super simple and I knew she liked. I doubled the recipe. Made the regular 2 layer cake on bottom with 8 inch pans. Then baked 2 6 inch layers. The 6 inch layers, I iced the middle, shaved it to look like a skirt and then crumb coated it. The stacked it on top of the 8 inch layers and iced the whole thing. At the end....stuck a Barbie in the middle! It wasn't the best, but Eden was OH SO EXCITED! And wow was it ever easy.....

So....ta-da! Barbie cake. :) Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Anyone who knows me (which I am sure is everyone here reading....since I am only a famous food blogger in the land of nobody. And I am not calling you nobody....just pointing out that I am no Pioneer Woman and to my knowledge, no one really cares what I am cooking), knows I LOVE Chocolate Chip Cookies.

They are like, my favorite food in the entire world. Like if I was on a desert island and could only choose one food to bring, Chocolate Chip Cookies would be it. If I was on death row I would choose them for my last meal. Additionally, I absolutely CANNOT go to the mall without getting a Chocolate Chip Cookie. I mean, why else do you go to the mall? Also I hide them from my children in the house so they won't eat them. After all, the cookies are not for them, they are for me.

I have most certainly inherited this trait from my mother, and my brother shares the gene also. We have successfully passed the cookie love to our spouses, who now love them also. Mike used to say he hates sweets, and Laura used to claim she hated cookies. Now? Notsomuch. They are all as obsessed as we are.

Annnnnnd now I am starting to sound a little deranged. I don't want to make babies with cookies, but I love them an almost equivalent amount and they are most definitely my vice. If I did not eat cookies, I would very well look like this:



which is one of the very few pictures I have of myself when I was very ill and weighed 25 pounds less than I weigh now. You can't really tell but I looked so bad. My arm? Skinny. GROSS.

Anywho, cookies keep me sane, healthy and happy. And that's all that matters in this life right?

So here's a very yummy cookie recipe from my cousin's friend Annie. Thanks Annie for the cookies....YUM! And Happy Birthday!

Annie's Chocolate Chip Cookies

12 T. butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
3 cups all purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 bag semi sweet chocolate chip cookies

Preheat oven to 350. Cream the butter and the sugars until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and add them to egg mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Roll into balls (this is important) and place on cookie sheet. Bake until golden brown. (Set the timer for 10 minutes and check them little by little after that if they need more time. Take them out juuuuuust when they are getting a teeny bit brown on top.



Enjoy!

Watermelon Margaritas

It's summertime. Wine gets hot quickly and beer makes you feel like a bloated cow. Super sweet fruity drinks give me a tummy ache and I don't want a 'stiff' drink either. Usually a go-to drink for me is vodka/soda/lime or a vodka tonic (who doesn't like this in the summer!??). But recently, my aunt Ebby told me she made some Watermelon margaritas and that sounded just fabulous. I had some leftover watermelon so I mixed up a batch and WOW were they ever good. Plus, they were pretty "skinny" since I didn't have to use any sour mix, nor sugar. Score! I also like this because the frozen watermelon is the only chilling agent; there is not any ice to dilute it and water it down. YUM!

Watermelon Margaritas

1 watermelon cubed, (about 5 cups)
1 C. tequila
1/2 C. triple sec
5-6 limes, juiced
1 squeeze Agave nectar (you could use 1/4-1/3 C. sugar if you don't have this or can't find any. Agave is just a lot better for you!)

Cube watermelon and freeze overnight. Add frozen watermelon and all other ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Can be made ahead of time and kept in a Ziploc until ready to use. If it is too thick when it is time to serve, add a little bit of Perrier and you should be good to go.

DELISH!!


(not my pic, these went way too fast to get a good picture :))

Banana Cake

Ok, this is for you Ty. Or should I say Laura, since you will most likely be the one to actually prepare the cake...while Ty will most likely be the one to *eat* the cake.

We made this cake when Ty came to play work here last week. Although it was only two days, we had a blast with him here and it was yet another reminder of how far away they are. Boo hiss! :( Anyway, he LOVED the cake so I thought I'd share. It is one of those cakes that starts with a box mix so it is sooo easy and sooo good! Seriously the way everyone carried on about it, you would have thought I had slaved in the kitchen all day! Not the case at all. So here goes!



Banana Cake

1 package (18 1/4 ounces) plain yellow cake mix
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 ripe medium-size bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13-by-9-inch baking pan (or 2 - 9 inch cake pans) with shortening, and dust with flour. Shake out excess flour. (I used Pam cooking spray)

Place cake mix, brown sugar and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Add mashed bananas, 1 cup water, oil, eggs and, if desired, liqueur. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed 1 minute. Stop mixer and scrape down side of bowl with rubber spatula. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed until well blended, scraping side again if needed. Pour into prepared pan(s), and place on center rack of oven.

Bake until top is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 40 minutes (for the 2 cake pans, I'd start checking them at about 20 minutes and increase the time from there. I think I cooked for 30 minutes and they were a tad bit overdone for my taste). Remove from oven, and cool on a wire rack.


Banana Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tablespoons ( 1/2 stick) butter, at room temperature
2ish cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 t. banana extract
1/2 t. vanilla extract (if you can't find banana, you can just use 1 full teaspoon of vanilla)

Place cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until combined. Add confectioners' sugar a bit at a time, and blend on low speed until well incorporated, 1 minute. Add flavoring, and blend at medium speed until fluffy, 1 minute more.

Use at once to frost top of cake.

*I also topped the cake with chopped walnuts, but that was only for looks. I kept it in the fridge also, only because I am only on a cold cake kick right now. Cold cake with cold milk = heaven.

(the cake was gone before I got a picture of it; it only lasted 2 days! So I swiped one from google. It looks amazingly similar!)

Grilled Jerk Shrimp over Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Black Eyed Pea Salsa and Chipotle Sour Cream

Yesterday I took the kids to a friends house to swim. We got home around 2:30 and I put Eden down for a nap. Jacob stayed behind at the friends house, so the only person awake in the house besides me was Parker. I turned on a movie for him in my bed and he was down to rest for a few hours.

So what to do with myself.....but cook!?? I have not been to the grocery store since BEFORE we left for San Diego (which was on June 4th!!) besides once just to pick up some lunch meat, bread and milk. So basically I had NOTHING in the house. But I really wanted to cook!

I opened the pantry, the fridge, the freezer to search for anything I may have that I could make a decent meal out of. I had 2 bags of frozen shrimp. Ok, I can work with that. I had 3 large sweet potatoes in the fruit basket that I had bought before I left that we never used. They weren't sprouting yet, so they'll do too. I also had lots of frozen veggies. But what the heck do you make with shrimp and sweet potatoes and some random bags of frozen veggies?

My first thought was a chowder. I knew I had some frozen corn, chicken broth and some skim milk, so I could do something with that. But really, who wants chowder when it's 100 degrees out?

Then I thought I would put together a marinade for the shrimp, grill them and make sweet potato fries (which my family LOVES). But then that wouldn't solve my boredom and desire to cook.....so I started brainstorming...and here's what I came up with.

Grilled Jerk Shrimp over Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Black Eyed Pea Salsa and Chipotle Sour Cream

Jerk Seasoning

1 T. dried minced onion
1 T. onion powder
1 T. garlic powder
4 t. dried thyme leaves
2 t. salt
2 t. ground allspice
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
2 t. ground black pepper
1/2 t. ground chipotle chile powder
1/2 t. cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients and blend well. Store in a covered container.

Grilled Jerk Shrimp

2 lbs. large shrimp (fresh or frozen), peeled and de-veined with tails on
4 T. jerk seasoning
4 T. vegetable oil
Wooden skewers, soaked on water for one hour prior to grilling.

Combine jerk seasoning and oil. Rub onto shrimp and refrigerate for one hour. Thread shrimp onto skewers. Grill on medium heat just until shrimp turns pink; do not overcook!

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

3 large sweet potatoes
Yogurt butter (or regular if you prefer)
Skim Milk
Salt and Pepper

Peel and chunk sweet potatoes. Add to a pot of salted, boiling water and boil until you can pierce with a fork. Drain and return to pot. Add a few splashes of milk and a scoop of butter. Mash with potato masher (I don't like beaters for mashed potatoes...I like them a little bit chunky). Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Black Eyed Pea Salsa

1 small bag frozen black eyed peas (or you could used 2 cans, drained and rinsed)
1/4 C. frozen mirepiox (this is all I had in the house. You could just do a couple T. each of diced onion and diced green pepper)
3 T. diced pickled jalapenos and a few whole sliced ones tossed in.
1 T. pure maple syrup
1/2 t. dried thyme
2 T. white vinegar
1 T. vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Add black eyed peas to a pot of water. Bring to a boil for 3 minutes. Reduce heat to simmer for 40 minutes. Drain and cool. In a bowl, toss all ingredients. Refrigerate for several hours in advance to allow flavors to blend.

Then finally for the chipolte sour cream, I just added some chipolte Tabasco to some light sour cream. Put in in a squirt bottle and drizzled it over the top.



So how was the creation? Pretty good! The shrimp were pretty darn spicy so next time I would either cut down the cayenne pepper to 1/4 t. or just simply add cilantro to the top to cool it down. Or just maybe plain sour cream as opposed to the spicier chipolte. But all in all I was proud of my creation and had a fun afternoon preparing it!

Bon Appetit!