Need a warm meal? Try this gumbo!

I haven't felt like cooking much lately, but I did make a big pot of this gumbo the other day. Let me tell you, this recipe lasts, especially if you serve it with rice. Yum! Perfect for my finals week(s). Good news? I'm almost done! YAY! Greater news? That means more time to try out everyone's recipes!! So keep them coming.

Any-who, this recipe was sent to me by Claire after I had smelled the yummy concoction in the break room one day. The recipe is from this site. It is originally a vegan recipe, but I added some shrimp to it in mine. It would have been delicious without but I had a bag of frozen shrimp on hand and it worked out for me.

I also didn't have tomato paste so I made a roux with some flour to thicken it up just a tad, worked out but I'm going to make it with the tomato paste next time for the flavor. I also used frozen black-eyed peas and okra, worked like a charm and no hassle. Enjoy!

Black-eyed Pea Gumbo

Ingredients

• 2 medium onions, diced
• 1 bell pepper (any color), chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic
• 4 cups vegetable broth, water, or a combination
• 2 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes
• 1 pound okra, tops removed and sliced
• 1 1/2 tsp. thyme
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/8 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1-2 tsp. chopped chipotle peppers (canned in adobo)
• 1/4 tsp. Liquid Smoke (optional)
• 2 1/2 cups cooked black-eyed peas, plus cooking liquid (1 cup dried black-eyed peas cooked in 3 cups water)*
• salt to taste (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat a large, non-stick stock pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions and cook, stirring regularly, until they begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the bell pepper and celery, and cook for 3 more minutes. Add the tomato paste and garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat until okra is done and mixture has thickened, about 45-55 minutes. Add more water as needed–this will be thicker than a soup but still have a good amount of broth. Serve over freshly cooked brown rice and add hot sauce at the table.

Salad Dressing - Easy Peasy

Hey everyone! Julie J was kind enough to share this recipe she found here. Although I haven't had time to try it out, I felt neglectful of this poor little blog so I wanted to get a recipe up here for you! She assured it was yummy and quite easy when you just throw everything in a mason jar, so give it a try! AND you don't have to deal with High Fructose Corn Syrup!! yay!!!

Since I didn't make it I don't have a picture. :( but just imagine a jar full of liquidy goodness!

Ingredients

Dressing:

• 3/4 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
• 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan, more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• Dash or 2 of paprika
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and left whole

Salad:

• Green lettuce leaves
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup red grape tomatoes, halved

Directions

Place the olive oil, Parmesan, salt, pepper to taste, sugar, paprika, lemon juice and garlic into a jar. Shake it up and store in the fridge at least 24 hours before serving.

Serve the dressing with green lettuce leaves, sliced red onions and halved grape tomatoes. Also works well on pasta salad.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ok, folks. This recipe was the one I've been ever so patiently waiting for it to come into my grasp! Ever since Kandy brought these suckers in to the break room, and I alone demolished 4 (yes, 4!), I've been awaiting this day. So here it is folks, the recipe for the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip wonder cookies.

(I almost wanted to make this picture super-sized so you can all bask in the glory of the pumpkin-y, chocolate-y goodness, but I spared you.)

·         PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

14.5 ounce can pumpkin
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
4 teaspoons baking powder
4 cups all-purpose flour
12 ounce package chocolate chips (milk or semi-sweet, I add a few mini chips also)

Oven at 375 degrees

In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, eggs, sugar, oil, milk and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, blend flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture.
Stir until nicely combined but don’t over mix.  Then fold in the chocolate chips.
On ungreased cookie sheets, make small dollops of mixture (about a tablespoons’ worth).  Cookies  do not bake larger—they bake to the size you make them.
Sprinkle a sugar/nutmeg mixture over the unbaked cookie.
Bake about 10 minutes.
This recipe makes a LOT!!!  About 70 cookies (I don't think I have a problem with this one, Kandy. The more the merrier.)

P.S. Sorry for the delay, I've got more recipes coming I swear! Just a matter of fitting in the graduation requirements first. I'll get there! Thanks for the patience. :) Oh, and keep the recipes coming!!

Avocado, White Corn & Black Bean Salad

I'm super excited to share this next recipe with you all! This one is coming at you from Julie J. When she sent me the recipe I was looking forward to making it so I could:
1.  Have pictures to show you of the awesome salad.
2.  Eat it! And oh-boy is this one tasty!

I made this Friday night for my parents, and it went so well my mom made sure she had the recipe before she left! We ate it with fajita style chicken on tortillas as our salsa garnish, but since making it I've had the leftovers on salad and as a dip with blue corn chips. Really, you can't go wrong with this; super simple, fast, and easy.

  

Ingredients:
1 ripe avocado, diced into cubes
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
1/4 c. each of colored bell peppers, cut in 1/2 pieces
1/3 c. red onion, sliced
1/2 c. fresh white  or bicolor corn, cut off the cob (can use shoe peg white frozen corn)
Juice from 1 lime, strained
1/2 t, kosher salt
4T olive oil
1/2 t chili powder, cumin
1 T fresh cilantro, minced

Mix avocado, beans & onion.  Put 2 T. Olive oil in a large skillet over med high heat.  Add corn, bell peppers.  Next add chili powder & cumin to the skillet.  Sauté until corn and peppers are soft, 3-5 minutes.  Add warm corn mixture to bean mixture & cilantro. Finally, combine juice from 1 lime plus 2T olive oil. Add kosher salt.  Whisk juice, olive oil and salt.
Pour over bean,corn mixture.  Combine all ingredients .  Serve with blue chips or toasted pita.

Orange Cream Cheese Pie!

Now I don't know about you, but when I read this recipe I got all sorts of excited for summer and picnics. This recipe is coming at you from Jim, all the way out there in Washington D.C. He suggests enjoying it with an Oliver Momi! Sounds delish to me.

ORANGE CREAM CHEESE PIE

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups crushed graham crackers

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3 tablespoons sugar

4 to 6 navel oranges (2 – 2 1/2 lbs. total weight)

8 oz. (one brick) FULL-FAT cream cheese, at room temperature

1 can (14 fl. oz.) sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, strained

Directions:

1.            Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

2.            In a bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar and stir until the crumbs are well moistened.  Pat the mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom and all the way up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan or dish.

3.            Bake until the crust is firm, about 5 to 7 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

4.            Using a Microplane (rasp) grater, zest one of the oranges to measure 1 teaspoon finely grated zest.

5.            In a bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Add the condensed milk, orange zest, and vanilla and beat until smooth.

6.            Now stir in (or beat in with a mixer on low speed) the fresh, strained lemon juice.  Continue stirring/beating just until the lemon juice is blended in and the filling has thickened slightly.

7.            Pour the pie filling into the prepared graham cracker crust and smooth the top.  Place the pie in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare the orange topping.

8.            Using a sharp knife, peel the rinds off of all of the oranges the following way: slice the top and the bottom off of each orange, exposing the flesh underneath; now trim away the sides in strips, following the contour of the fruit with the knife so that the rind and all of the white pith underneath are removed; finally, slice the orange crosswise into thin rounds.  Set the orange rounds on paper towels to drain.

9.            Remove the pie from the fridge and arrange the orange slices on top of it, overlapping them in a decorative spiral pattern from the center until the filling is covered completely.

10.          Refrigerate the finished pie until chilled, about one hour, but let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving to take the chill off.  If desired, the top of the pie may be further garnished with thin strips of orange and lemon zest.  For best results, cut into slices with a sharp serrated knife.  Enjoy!

(adapted from a recipe in Carolyn Beth Weil's "Williams-Sonoma Collection: Pie & Tart" cookbook [2003])

Coriander-Crusted Fish with Chickpea Artichoke Salad

Another great recipe hot off the presses. Wendy sent this little gem to me, describing it as super simple and one no one walks away from without loving it. She made it on a girls weekend, and it got rave reviews! I'm excited to try it for myself!!

Coriander-Crusted Fish with Chickpea Artichoke Salad

Total Time - 15 minutes / Makes 4 Servings

Coriander-Crusted Fish

Ingredients

3 tablespoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon pepper
4 fish fillets (salmon, tuna, or swordfish; 1 1/2 lb)
2 tablespoons olive oil

Steps

1. Preheat large sauté pan on medium-high 2–3 minutes. Combine coriander, salt, and pepper; then coat both sides of fish (wash hands).
2. Place oil in pan, then add fish; cook 3–4 minutes on each side or until 145°F and fish flakes easily. May be served over Chickpea Salad (recipe below).

Chickpea Artichoke Salad

Ingredients

1/2 cup canned quartered artichokes, finely chopped
1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
1 bag baby arugula leaves (4–5 oz)
1/2 cup canned chickpeas (garbanzos), drained and rinsed
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Prep

• Chop artichokes and onion.

Steps

1. Combine arugula, chickpeas, onions, and artichokes.
2. Whisk vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper until blended; add to salad. Toss and serve.

The original recipe can be found here.

Scallop Chowder

So I had a bag of frozen bay scallops in the freezer and nothing to do with them. The remedy? Chowder. Since I can't stand the look of clams, this is a win win for me.

Let me warn you, this chowder is not thick and creamy, nor does it ooze out of a can into the bowl. It is light, flavorful, and filling. Working with frozen scallops and not fresh? Take the suckers out now to thaw. Do it.

Start with a medium red onion and two ribs of celery diced. Saute them in a pot, the pot you're making the chowder in, in 1 tbs. of butter. Smell that? Glory.

Meanwhile, cube up 6 medium yukon gold potatoes. I like yukon gold for the taste and texture, use your fave. After cubing the potatoes, that should have given the onion and celery time to soften. Add the potatoes and immediately add 4 c. of broth, chicken or veggie. Don't have any? Water will be fine, it's what I use in a pinch. Still darn tasty. The liquid should just cover the potatoes, not drown them. Add spices. Set the lid on and wait for it to boil. What do you do while you wait? You can be ambitious and make some yeast rolls to go with this delicious chowder, or you can do what I did. Crack open a beer and sit on your porch while watching your dog amuse himself with a stick.

I cannot tell a lie. He has a stick, trust me.

Anyway, after the concoction boils for 10-15min, reduce heat to a simmer. Get the bay leaf out of there, it took me a good 5 minutes to find mine. Got those thawed oysters? Add them with two can's of evaporated milk. Stay away from sweetened condensed. Don't do it. Trust.....
Let those oysters hang for about 15-20 minutes, and viola. Tasty stuff. Remember that bread I didn't make? It was replaced by saltines. I'm classy like that. I needed a touch more pepper, but I like it spicy.

Ingredients:
1 medium red onion
2 ribs of celery
1 tbs. butter
6 medium potatoes
4 c. broth (or water)
1 bay leaf
1 tbs. tarragon
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. salt
1 tbs. pepper
1 lb. bay scallops (frozen or fresh)
2 cans evaporated milk

Directions:
Saute diced onion and celery in butter for 10 min. Cube potatoes and add to the onions and celery. cover potatoes with liquid and add spices. Bring to a boil, boil for 10 min. Reduce to a simmer. Remove bay leaf. Add scallops and milk and cook for another 15-20 min. Serve right away.

Salted Peanut Brownies with Peanut Butter Fudge

This post is coming at you from Heather Flores. She's the one you can thank for the delicious sample of this recipe in the break room this past weekend!! The original recipe is here.

 

Peanut Butter and Fudge Brownies with Salted Peanuts

Ingredients

BROWNIES

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter
• 7 ounces semisweet chocolate chip minis
• 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup roasted salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

FROSTING AND GANACHE

• 1 cup chunky peanut butter (do not use natural or old-fashioned)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, divided, room temperature
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 7 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Preparation

brownies

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Line 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan with foil, leaving long overhang; butter foil.
• Place 3/4 cup butter in heavy large saucepan. Add both chocolates; stir over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk in sugar, vanilla, and then eggs, 1 at a time. Fold in flour, then nuts. Spread in prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 30 minutes. Place pan on rack; cool.

frosting and ganache

• Using electric mixer, beat peanut butter and 1/4 cup butter in medium bowl to blend. Beat in powdered sugar, and nutmeg, then milk and vanilla. Spread frosting over brownies.
• Stir chocolate and 1/4 cup butter in heavy small saucepan over low heat until smooth. Drop ganache all over frosting; spread to cover. Chill until set, about 1 1/2 hours. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep chilled.
• Using foil as aid, transfer brownie cake to work surface; cut into squares. Bring to room temperature; serve.