Tasty Sositch Skewers

With couscous. 

This was a super quick and easy dinner and it was awarded the Cal Seal of Approval.  So you know it was good!     

Printable Recipe

Pesto:
¼ cup fresh parsley
¼ cup fresh cilantro
4 scallions, rough chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
S&P

1.  Puree the parsley, cilantro, scallions, olive oil and vinegar in a blender or food processor.  Season with s&p.

For the Skewers:

1 package smoked sausage, cut into 1" pieces
2 bell peppers (red, yellow, or orange), cut into 1" pieces
1 red onion, cut into 1" pieces
1 cup cherry tomatoes
Olive oil, S&P

2.  Toss the sausage, peppers, onions and tomatoes in a bowl with a little olive oil, s&p.  Thread onto skewers, alternating sausage and vegetables.  Grill for 10-15 minutes, turning occasionally.  Brush the skewers with some of the pesto while grilling.

1 box couscous
3 scallions, chopped

3.  Cook the couscous according to package directions.  Save a little of the pesto for a dipping sauce, and mix the rest into the couscous.  Season with s&p.  Also mix in the chopped scallions. 
4.  YUM!  This would be really good with chicken or steak too.  I also made a side salad.

Source:  Food Network Magazine, April 2010

Super Bowl Party

We decided to stay in to watch the Super Bowl this year, so of course we had to have some yummy food!  My parents came over to watch it with us, and they never miss a party where there's good food.  I wanted to do a Cajun theme because we were rooting for the Saints...and we just really like cajun food.  I like to think that my red beans and rice sent them good vibes to help them win.  Former Mizzou QB Chase Daniel is now a player for the Saints, so that was one more reason for rooting for them!  And we always have chili-cheese dip at Mizzou Tailgates, so it was also appropriate for this game.

Menu

Appetizers/Snacks:
Chili-cheese dip with chips (made with leftover homemade chili)
Fruit

Entree:
Tossed Salad
Crock-pot Red Beans and Rice
Mom's Homemade Bread

Dessert:
Decorated Sugar Cookies (Yellow and Purple for New Orleans)

Quick Red Beans and Rice

This is a quick version of Red Beans and Rice that uses canned beans instead of dried.

Have you noticed that most of my recipes are the quick versions of something that would normally take 2 days to make?? (I'll make/blog Miss Annette's, my mom's friend from Louisana, recipe some weekend when I have time.)

Adapted from Epicurious recipe.

Printable recipe

Oh I just now saw that the original recipe said to add in the juice from the beans! Oops! Next time I won't drain them and see how it turns out. But it doesn't have tomatoes...so I would maybe drain the tomatoes a little or use less chicken broth.

Ingredients

• Olive Oil
• Sausage (Andouille, Smoked Sausage, or Kielbasa), sliced into half-moons or discs
• Cajun or Creole seasoning
  
• 1 Onion
• Celery
• Green Pepper (I didn't have one on hand and didn't want to go to the store for just 1 pepper, so I omitted)
• 3-4 cloves Garlic
• 1 can diced tomatoes
  
• 2 cans Red Beans - drain and rinse them
• 1 cup Chicken Broth
• Rice for serving
  

Directions

1. In a 4-5 quart sauce pan, cook the sausage until it gets brown.
   
2. Add in onion, celery, pepper and garlic until the veggies are soft. Season with cajun seasoning.
3. Add in tomatoes, red beans, and broth. Simmer for 30-45 minutes, or longer.
4. Serve over rice
5. YUM!

Some of the comments say to add bay leaves and using beer instead of broth. I'll have to do this next time!

I served this with a simple side salad and crackers. You could make a fancy salad and some garlic bread to make it suitable for company.

Gumbo

This is the quick-cooking gumbo I make for weeknight meals. It's not the "real" Cajun way of starting out with a roux, that takes 8+ hours to make. I wouldn't be eating till 1 o'clock in the morning if I made it that way!

And please don't ask me if it has seafood in it. We don't eat anything that swam to the kitchen.

This recipe makes a TON. Most of the time I half this recipe; I would say a half recipe has 6 servings. I still use about 4 cups or so of chicken broth for a half recipe, I like it more soupy. The whole recipe will serve at least 8 with seconds. My mom wanted to make this last night and invited us and some of their friends over. We had 8 people, some of them having second and third bowls, and STILL had some left over!

Adapted from Rachael Ray's recipe.

Printable recipe

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. BS Chicken Breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
  
• 2 packages Andouille Sausage, cut into discs or half-moons
• Trinity - onions, celery, bell pepper - 1 large onion, 4 or so stalks celery, 2 bell peppers
• Garlic - a few cloves, however much you like
• Cajun seasoning - sometimes I make a batch of Emeril's seasoning to use, and sometimes I just use Tony Chacere's or whatever
• 2 Bay Leaves
• Thyme - half a palmfull
• Butter
  
• 1/4 cup AP Flour
  
• 4-6 cups chicken broth
  
• 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• Okra - frozen or fresh - I used some from Papa's garden that I froze this summer
• Rice for serving
  

Directions

1. Cook the chicken in a BIG soup pot with EVOO, cajun seasoning, and maybe a little pepper, breaking it up as you go. (I like small pieces.) Remove it from the pot, cook the sausage and then remove it.
2. Cook the celery, peppers, onions, and garlic in 1/2 stick of butter, until they're a little soft. Season with hot sauce, thyme and bay leaves.
   
3. Add flour and cook for a minute, then add the chicken broth and bring to boil. This is what will thicken the gumbo.
4. Add in tomatoes, and put the chicken and sausage back in.
5. Let it simmer for a few minutes, or longer if you have time.
   
6. Wait to put the okra in until you're about ready to serve. It only takes about 5 minutes to cook. You don't want it to get gummy.
7. Serve over rice.