This was part of the ‘Cajun Birthday Lunch’
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When I don’t have a lot of time I make ‘Cheater’s Jambalaya’ in a crock pot. But reading John Besh’s awesome My New Orleans cookbook inspired me to take one for the team and stand up at the stove for a bit. However unlike his recipe suggests I did not use a giant ’spade’ to stir my pot. Yikes. That’s a lot of jambalaya.

ingredients:
1 pound of bacon, chopped
4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1″ cubes
1-1/2 pounds smoked sausage, diced
3 onions, diced
2 bell peppers, seeded and diced
5 stalks of celery, diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 dried bay leaf
1-1/2 Tablespoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons celery seed
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
3 cups canned crushed tomatoes
3 cups chicken stock
2 pounds cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined

Heat a large stock pot cook on medium high. Cook the bacon until slightly crisp. Pull the bacon out to drain, and set aside. Make sure you leave the fatty oil in the pot. Oh yes. You will need that.

Now add the chicken (still on medium high) and the smoked sausage – cook until the chicken is browned. Add the onion and cook until carmelized a bit.

Then add the bell peppers, celery and garlic. Cook until softened, just about 5 minutes.

Add the thyme, bay leaf, paprika, cayenne, salt, pepper and celery seed. Cook and stir well, about 4 minutes.

Turn up the heat to high and add the tomatoes and chicken stock. Once it reaches a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 30+ minutes. Check and stir now and again, you really want the flavors to mix up.

Remember that bacon you cooked and set aside? Yeah, throw that back in and while you’re at it add the shrimp and simmer for another 10 minutes. Serve over rice and you are ready to EAT! (Also goes REALLY good with Sweet Cornbread Muffins…)

Part of Food Buzz 24, 24, 24: Cooking with Kids and the Farmer’s Market

Two of the Kid’s favorite things: cucumbers and yogurt. Since he also a fan of shrimp, when I mentioned this as a possibility for Food Buzz 24, 24, 24, his eyes lit right up. Also it was really easy for a little sous chef to help out with.

ingredients:
1 pint Greek yogurt
1 sliced hothouse cucumber
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper
skewers
1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails left intact

If you are using wood skewers as I like to do, make sure you soak them in water NOW. That will keep them from burning on the grill.

In a small bowl, mix yogurt, cucumber, dill, garlic, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside in the fridge.

Prep your grill by brushing it with oil. Take your skewers and skewer the shrimp on, brush with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Grill on both sides until pink, about 3 minutes per side. Serve with tzatziki sauce.

I had some unsalted pistachios in my pantry. I came up with a nice crust that isn’t over the top, and hey, if you don’t like nuts, just leave ‘em off, it still has great flavor. I am all about the quick both in cooking and clean up, so this bakes in the oven nicely.

ingredients:
4 salmon filets
3/4 pistachios, unsalted, roasted and shelled
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic salt
3 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put some non-stick foil down on a baking sheet.

Chop up the nuts. I like to do mine in a blender. If you use a food processor be very careful that you don’t take it too far, as it will turn into a paste. That is not what you want.

On a plate, stir together the nuts, breadcrumbs, pepper and garlic salt. Slowly add olive oil, a tablespoon at a time until it makes a nice mash. Approx. 3 Tablespoons, give or take.

Place the filets on the pan, top with the nut mixture. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, until the center of the salmon is cooked.

This goes great with my recipe for creamy ricotta pasta, as a side. The squirrel plate, is not a must.