Gumbo

Out of no where I got this cold...sore throat, achy body.....runny nose. My sister offered to fly from CA to MN to make me chicken noodle soup (which she make the best...) but I ended up making some Gumbo. This recipe is pretty easy to make, and prep time is ~ 30 minutes.

Here's what you need:

1 lb of italian or spicy italian sausage
Andouille Sausage
1 lb of fresh shrimp (uncooked)
1 green bell pepper
1 red or yellow bell pepper
6 cups of chicken broth
2 cans of diced tomato
1 TBSB creole or cajun seasoning
1 yellow onion
1 1/2 cups of fresh or frozen okra
1/2 cup of uncooked rice

A mini step by step below:


I make this recipe in a dutch oven- I'd love to get one from Le Cruset, but I actually got this one from Ikea for $19.99 and it's been pretty great!





Cook your italian sausage and andouille sausage



Chop your onion (and remember not to chop the "butt of the onion off" or you'll be crying...and add to the sausage as it's cooking. Also chop your 2 bell peppers and add.



Here's what the cooked sausage, onion, and peppers look like.




Add your 2 cans of diced tomato + your 6 cups of Chicken broth and simmer on low




Add your creole or cajun seasoning. If your seasoning has salt in it, go easy on it. I also added 1 TBSP of red pepper flakes to add a little heat.




When the soup has simmered on low for 45 minutes add your uncooked shrimp, 1/2 cup of rice, and your fresh or frozen Okra. cook another 30 minutes.

 ~*~ Kris

5:30 am crockpot beef

I made this half awake on my way out. Let it cook on low for 12 hours. It was really good. I felt bad that poor Koda had to sit at home and smell this cooking all day. He never drools and when I came home he actually was drooling :-)

Total prep time- 10 minutes

Roast

1/2 bag of baby carrots

6-8 baby red potatos washed and halved

1 packet of Lipton's Beefy Onion Soup Mix

Garlic powder/thyme/Sage seasoning

Put the roast on the bottom of your crockpot and season with garlic powder, thyme and sage. Cover your roast with 1 packet of beefy onion soup mix. Surround the roast with your baby red potatoes, and lastly add your carrots to the top. You put the carrots on top because they don't take as long to cook, and if they are near the bottom they'll be too soft. Add about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of water over everything. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

~*~ Kris

Football Chili

Is it fall yet? I keep thinking it's here and then another 80+ degree day sneaks in. Don't get me wrong this California girl loves summer, but I'm so ready for Fall to come. I know I've talked about it before but Fall is the BEST time for soups, and stews, and baking, and crockpot creations. I decided to make some Chili tonight. Normally this is a crockpot dish for me b/c I'm bringing it to a potluck or feeding people on football Sunday. Tonight I just made it on the stove. I'm curious if any of you guys have chili recipes your willing to share?

Here's what I put in mine:

1 lb ground beef
29 oz can tomato sauce
2 cans dark kidney beans
1 can light kidney beans
1 can of garbanzo beans (no reason other than it makes it look different :)
1 jalapeno
combination of chili powder, cayenne pepper, blended seasoning mix, garlic powder

Occasionally I will buy a chili seasoning mix, but I try not to because of the amount of salt in those mixes. Also word of caution on those jalapenos. I don't think it's hot at all, sometimes I'll even throw in 2 especially if I have mouthy guys I'm feeding that claim they like hot food.....BUT in general if kids are eating this chili you may want to keep them out.
 

 

 

 

Now you know why I had to chop the onions in my previous post... :)

~*~ Kristen

Onion without tears

I think I watch too many cooking shows! I'm always in awe how fast they chop things, especially onions. It's not a race, and I don't really want to lose any precious fingers, but I still try. The reason I want to chop them so fast is because my eyes are watering and stinging the second my knife hits the onion. You know how it goes....you start chopping and then you're running to the sink with cold running water hoping it some how will alleviate your burning eyes and it works for like 2 seconds....WELL not anymore. I recently learned the "butt" part of the onion holds a majority of the amino acid sulfoxides (what makes your eyes water). Instead of madly chopping the onion as fast as you can try to keep the butt end together and chop around it. It really works!

Other tips I've heard of- refridgerate the onion prior to cutting. I just cut this purple onion tonight and no tears...not a single one!

Cut lengthwise keeping the butt end of the onion intact

Once you've cut through lengthwise, chop away!

I've kind of been off the grid the past couple of weeks, life has been busier then normal + there was a 3 day holiday weekend thrown in the mix. I have a couple of posts I plan to do this coming weekend.

Stay tuned- good things to come I promise :)

On a side note here are some things to keep you entertained until then (got this in an email today):

Your favourite virtue ::
Integrity

Your favourite qualities in a person::
Being funny, open minded, respectful, and love life.

Your favorite occupation :: 
Healthcare/Medical Field but of course!

Your idea of happiness ::
loving and being loved

Your idea of misery ::
Constantly worrying and hating everything about life.

If not yourself, who would you be ::
A chef--- seriously--- I LOVE to cook and every time I watch top Chef I get goosebumps :)

Where would you like to live ::
Back in the sunshine state


Your favorite color and flower ::
Blue and any flowers that are colorful! 

Your favourite heroes in fiction ::
Game of Thrones-- Kahl Drogo 

Your favourite heroines in fiction :: Game of Thrones--   Daenerys Targaryen (ok I feel like a dork but the TV series was so good)
 

Your favorite heroes in real life ::
Our troops fighting for our country, the police and firemen who go out there day in and day out without ever thinking twice about saving your life/helping you. Also teachers because they are amazingly patient with little kids :)
 
Your favorite food and drink ::
Sunflower seeds, Chicken Pesto, and Riesling

Your favourite names ::
eh? I have no idea

Your pet peeve ::
When you ask for my opinion and then argue with me....

The change you most anticipate :: 
I try not to anticipate change/future and try to live in the right now and take it a day at a time.

A gift of nature which I would like to have ::
patience

How I would like to die ::
emotionally and physically ready (Ego integrity vs Ego despair)

What is your present state of mind ::
Tired really tired BUT happy :)

Of what fault are you most tolerant ::
People who try to be perfect and are extremely Type A--

Your favourite motto(s) ::
What you want is often at odds with what is right.


 

DIY Fall Wreath

It's still August, but Fall is just around the corner. It's been a hot/humid MN summer and I can't wait for fall. It's the perfect time for good casserole's (aka hot dish as they call it in the Midwest), soups, cookies, and nice crisp weather.

I was at Michael's and they have all their fall foliage out already along with Halloween stuff. I picked up a grapevine wreath for $4.99, a pumpkin berry garland for $5.59, (4) fall berry sprouts for $1.39 each, and (2) maple leaf sprouts for $0.90 each. Total was $17.94 before tax; not bad!

The best thing about this wreath is that all you need are your hands! No glue... no glitter... no paint.

 

 

 

18" Grapevine Wreath ($4.99 @ Michaels)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pumpkin Berry Garland (bottom right), Fall berry sprouts (bottom left)

Step 1-- Unwind your Pumpkin berry garland so that it looks like the picture above. The garland should be approximately 5 ft in length so that you have enough garland to wrape around the wereath.

Step 2-- Start wrapping your garland around the wreath and use the natural grapevine branches to intertwine the garland and the wreath. In the picture above I would lift up some of the branches within the wreath and run the garland under to hold in place. 

 

Garland wrapped around the entire wreath.

Step 3-- Add the additional berry sprouts around the outer edges of the wreath. You can poke them into the grapevine wreath and secure by twisting the ends. The last step is to add maple leaves (or pumpkins) to the bottom right corner. 

I'm sure I'll have this hanging on my front door some time in September. For now it's tucked away but ready to go. Another cute idea is to paint a wooden letter and then hang the letter from the wreath.
I made one below ($0.99) that I painted all black and then painted the edges with gold paint.

Happy (almost) Fall ~*~

Kristen

Last Summer Recipe

Fall is around the corner but here's one last fun Summer idea...kabobs! Drizzle some olive oil and season- grill ~350 degrees or you'll burn the kabobs if it's hotter.

Remember if you use wooden skewer to soak for 10 minutes prior so that they don't burn or catch on fire.


~Kristen