Down on the Bayou

I've said before that I love trying new things. In fact, sometimes it drives Nathan crazy. Instead of whatever new flavor Cheez-It is out there, he just wants the original... LAME!

So the other day I walked in the grocery store with my sis-in-law and I specifically didn't bring my wallet so I wouldn't get anything I didn't need. Well then I saw the magnificent display of Cajun spices and foods. Cajun Alligator Boudin. Say whaaaaat?! Now I have had alligator in the past but never alligator sausage. I actually came back to the store that evening just to get the alligator because I just couldn't stop thinking about it.

The only other place I have had alligator is at my mom's family reunion. They don't have it every year, but occasionally they do. Thinking about this made me crave my uncle's jambalaya. It is SO good! I would definitely say it is one of his specialties. He usually makes 2 batches; one mild and one spicy. I didn't make it to the reunion last year, and we don't live very close, so it's been a while since I've had it.

When I got home I started searching for jambalaya recipes. I went with one on Allrecipes.com. It is called Easy Cajun Jambalaya. Now I thought I remembered my uncle's jambalaya having tomato in it, so I decided to substitute some of the water with diced tomatoes when cooking the rice. Later I found out this was a mistake. I used the alligator sausage in place of kielbasa. I also added shrimp at the end, and I really liked that combo. Having chicken, (alligator) sausage, and shrimp really gave a good depth of flavor. However, my rice would not soften! Near the end of the cooking time I tasted and added more liquid and let it simmer some more. Nothing seemed to fix it. So I searched for what the problem was. I searched 'Rice still crunchy'. Here is the answer I got from Yahoo answers:

"Are there any tomato products or citrus in this recipe? The acid in tomatoes or citrus fruits can seize the rice, making it impossible to cook. If so, add your acidic foods in the last stage of cooking, after the rice is soft. OR, you may have a bad bag or rice. Try another brand."

But, now I know. I'm just grateful that it had really good flavor in spite of the rice being a little crunchy. So through trial and error I learned something very valuable, and I hope it was helpful to you. I also hope you give in to your craving for Cajun food and cook up a nice family size pot of jambalaya!

Tortilla Soup 2 ways

A friend of mine was having a really rough week last week and needed some girl time. I told her i was coming to spend the day and make dinner. I asked if she wanted Mexican (an easy fallback for me) or homemade noodles and she specifically requested my chicken tortilla soup. I made it once before at her house when we had a small personal shower :)


My other friend who was visiting, however, is vegetarian. So I decided to make it both ways: one Chicken Tortilla Soup and one Vegetarian Tortilla Soup. These are kind of non-recipes since I don't really measure but that's kind of the beauty of them!

Here they are:
Chicken Tortilla Soup

*Chicken Breast
*Black Beans, rinsed
*Corn (canned, frozen, or fresh)
*Taco Seasoning (or garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, salt & pepper)
*Chicken Broth
*Salsa

*Coat chicken with taco seasoning.
*Sauté chicken in a little olive oil on med-low heat in a Dutch oven. It doesn't need to fully cook at this point, it will cook more in broth.
*Add chicken broth- I used one 32oz box, black beans-one can, corn-one can, and salsa 1/2 small jar. Season with some extra taco seasoning.
*Bring to a boil on med-high heat. Reduce heat to med-low and cook until chicken starts to shred when you take a fork to it. (bad explanation lol). Then turn heat off and shred chicken.

Vegetable Tortilla Soup
2 servings
1 can vegetable broth
1/2 can corn
1/2 can rinsed black beans
2 Tbsp Salsa
Taco Seasoning
* Put beans and corn in sauce pan. Add seasoning. Add broth and salsa. Bring to a boil and reduce heat.

TOPPINGS:
Tortilla chips (duh! hehe)
Shredded Cheese
Avocado
Sour Cream
Salsa
Cilantro

Let's Talk Lasagna

Lasagna has always been one of my favorite foods. My mom makes a killer lasagna. I find that the way we eat growing up shapes our palate when we're older.

For instance, one of my mottos is that I will try just about anything once. (exceptions being anything with blood in it and probably cockroaches... Even covered in chocolate I don't think I could stomach that!) this probably comes from my dad.. He is pretty adventurous with what he eats. And he ate all of our leftovers. In fact, even today if the grand kids don't finish their food they get a lecture... And then he finishes it for them.

But, back to lasagna... Growing up I always remember my mom slaving over lasagnas. Boiling the noodles, wrestling the noodles into the pan. Sometimes she would even add pepperoni! And everybody makes lasagna a different way. My Mom's lasagna is made with cottage cheese. In fact, i always love an extra serving of cottage cheese along with it. The cool creaminess with the warm, saucy, cheesiness--yum! My husband likes both, but prefers ricotta... probably because that's how his mom made it.

When I make lasagna now it just depends what I have on hand since we really do like it both ways. But i always use no-boil noodles! No wrestling the noodles for me! They cost about the same, and they make a labor intensive meal into an easy meal.

Last week a friend had us over for dinner and made 2 different lasagnas. It was her first time making lasagna, but she did very good. One was a chicken and broccoli white lasagna and the other was a red sauce lasagna with squash and mushrooms. There are so many ways you can spice up a lasagna. One of my favorite new ways to make it is Lasagna Soup. It is loosely based on a recipe I found in a Family Fun magazine.

LASAGNA SOUP
1 jar spaghetti or marinara sauce
1 box chicken broth
1 tub ricotta cheese
1 box rotini or other small pasta
Mozzarella or other melty cheese
Salt, pepper, garlic
*In a small bowl combine ricotta, mozzarella, and spices to taste and set aside.
*On the stove, mix together spaghetti sauce and chicken broth to desired thickness (You want it to be fairly brothy). Bring to a boil and add pasta. Cook about 10 minutes or until pasta is cooked.
*Spoon ricotta mixture into individual bowls then top with soup and garnish with a little extra cheese or some fresh herbs and voila! A quick lasagna inspired dinner :)

So what do you love or hate about lasagna? Have you tried any unique lasagna recipes? What do you think of the Lasagna Soup? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Exploring the Windy City

A few weeks ago I surprised my husband with a trip to Chicago for our 8th anniversary. He is a big fan of Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture. Neither of us had ever been, so it would be an adventure. It was a lot of fun... we saw an awesome variety of architecture, walked (a lot!), and of course ATE at some really delicious restaurants! Below I have included links to some of the highlights of our trip.

We arrived Friday afternoon and first checked out the Rookery lobby which was remodeled by Frank Lloyd Wright. We snacked on some Garrett popcorn. I got half cheese and half pecan caramel crisp. We're not huge popcorn people, but it was so good that on our last day we went and got some for souvenirs, and for ourselves. We got the Chicago mix (cheese and caramel).

Our first Chicago meal was... You guessed it: Chicago style pizza from Giordanos. W-O-W! It was so awesome! It was at least 2 inches thick. My husband said "I've never eaten a pizza where just 2 pieces filled me up!"

We ended Friday getting food from this place in the mall called Wow Bao. They have Asian food that is really fresh and yummy. We split a spicy kung pao chicken bowl and a teriyaki chicken bao and and a thai curry chicken bao. They are steamed, filled buns. Their motto is Hot Asian Buns!

Saturday we just ate breakfast @ the hotel. We stopped to see Oak Park which is the area where Wright's home and studio are. Then we toured the Robie house, which is on the campus of the University of Chicago. After that we went to Navy Pier which has a lot of shops and restaurants, and a ferris wheel! We got lunch there and ate at the food court. He got pizza, but he was very disappointed because it wasn't Giordanos. I got a hot dog and curly fries from America's Dog.

F.L.W house in Oak Park

Wright's Home and Studio

Nathan at the Robie House

Robie House, Chicago, IL

For dinner we took a cue from Guy Fieri and went to Cemitas Puebla. We definitely had to trek off the beaten path, and the place was tiny, but it was delicious! They go to Mexico every month to get authentic spices. The majority of people there were Hispanic, so you know it has to be good!

 

Sunday we enjoyed leftover pizza for breakfast and then made our way to the John Hancock Observatory to get some good views of the city. For lunch we split a hoagie from Potbelly's sandwiches. There are several of these little shops throughout the city. For dinner we went a little fancier, The Grand Lux. For dessert we got pineapple upside down cake that they make from scratch when you order it! It was covered with caramel and macadamia nuts and served with ice cream! Yum! Then we got to see the city from the J.H. Observatory at night too.

 

Navy Pier

Monday we slept in a little and picked up our popcorn to take home. Then we tried to go to anothet Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives place called Panozzo's- but they are closed on Mondays! Boo! :( But it's okay, because instead we ate @ Yolk who has these delicious, vanilla-ey pancakes! I got a crepe filled with egg, mushrooms, and avocado, and Nathan got an omelet with chorizo and avocado. He said it was the best omelet he ever had!

We had a really awesome weekend, with good food and good sights, but the best part was getting to actually enjoy each other's company without feeling rushed or distracted (followed closely by the fact that I didn't gain any weight because we walked so much! Hehe).

So to all you out there who have places you've never been, take time to go! Enjoy it, have some fun, even if it's just a long weekend! :)

My March Madness - The Finale

So tomorrow is the last day of the month, and I must say I'm pretty proud of how I've done with this challenge. I didn't do perfect, but pretty good!

Week 3 I really had to make up for weeks 1&2 ($52 and $54), so I decided I was only going to spend $30 that week (especially because I surprised my husband with a weekend out of town for our anniversary). I made my list and only spent $25!

This week I did well too. I spent $44 on groceries... Buuuuttt, 2 days later there were a few things I needed. I made sweet potato and black bean burritos, but didn't have tortillas for the next day. Also, I had cilantro that was about to go bad, and I did NOT want to waste that so I really wanted to make salsa. I went to IGA with my limited budget in mind ($6!) I wanted tortillas, tortilla chips, and fruit for lunches. I realized this wasn't going to happen with my budget, so I had to rethink my list.

I saw these amazing looking portabello mushrooms, but they didnt have a price on them (grr!). One i got to the counter they told me they were 4.99 - no way! That was more than half my budget! Instead of getting tortillas I used the wonton wrappers I already had to make sweet potato/black bean wontons-yum! I ended up leaving with tortilla chips and sliced watermelon for under $5, and made a yummy new leftover recipe!

So, my totals were $52, $54, $25, and $49 equaling out to $180 for the month, give or take a few cents. It would be easy for me to spend more than that in just 2 trips to the grocery store, so I think I did really well.

This month has helped me to see that I can be much more frugal than I have been with groceries- and that was w/o couponing at all! It also helped me to see the benefit of making sure that i have a list when i go instead of just winging it. I am going to try to keep this mindset as time goes on. If any of you try a similar experiment let me know how it goes!

MY March Madness - check in

CHECK-IN 3/20.... I thought I was doing really good because I went 10 days before I bought groceries again. I thought that second shopping trip would be a cake walk, buuuttt I was wrong! At the first store I spent $39 which left me $11 to get meat, fruits, and frozen veggies.


I did get a whole chicken on sale because I knew I could make several meals out of it... I cooked it in the slow cooker that evening. Then a few days later I made chicken tortilla soup with the broth. I made chicken, black bean and corn enchiladas one night, and an avocado chicken salad I saw on Pinterest (actually made that twice, yum!). That's the first time I've done that with the whole chicken in the slow cooker. It's SO gross to pick it apart, but it sure tastes good, and it's cheap!


And I tried my best, but I still spent $15 at the second store... so my second shopping trip was even more over budget than my first! AND, I forgot dish soap, which I desperately need! 



So, this week, I am putting myself on an even sticter (more strict?) dietary budget... We are going to be out of town this weekend, so there is absolutely no reason why I can't only spend $30 on groceries. I do need a few things: milk, fruit, DISH SOAP. But I'm going to try not to get enticed by all the other goodies at the grocery store! I'll let you know how I do!

PB & J Paninis

I love a good grilled cheese sandwich, and had this awesome idea... WHAT IF... I made a grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich!?!?

I make a pretty good peanut butter and jelly sandwich if I might say so myself: the secret is to put peanut butter on both sides so the jelly doesn't make the bread soggy (ew!)

 















Then sandwich the jelly in between.
(I prefer homemade strawberry freezer jam) :)




















Next put a little butter and olive oil in the skillet and
 cook on medium heat for a few minutes. I like to put
a heavy can on it to smash it down a little.














Then flip it over just to toast the other side... and ENJOY!