Mom News
Cajun Stew
(Recipe: Courtesy of Martha Stewart’s “One Pot” Recipe Book)
I’m soooooooo happy to share this post with y’all! I found the “Holy Grail” of fast Gumbo recipes!
Not too long ago, I made Gumbo for the first time ever. It was FANTASTIC! …………….. It also took me 4 1/2 hours to make!
Now don’t get me wrong. Gumbo…….. “authentic” gumbo just can’t be duplicated completely in only 50 minutes. But it can definitely come in at a close 2nd!
I bought Martha Stewart’s new cookbook the other day and couldn’t wait to start trying out the recipes!
I did what I usually do when I get a new cookbook………………..
I attacked it!
……………With Post It Notes! 😉
I fully recommend this book and depending on what recipes you choose to fix, only because certain cuts of meat are more expensive than others, it can be really reasonable to cook these recipes.
Most of them only have 7 to 10 ingredients and considering that most of those ingredients include staples like oil, salt/pepper and spices……… I don’t thing that is a lot. It surprised me because most of her stuff seems to take forever and involves a ton of steps and ingredients, but not this book!
Considering that everyone is pressed for time and wants good, wholesome, quick meals for their families and themselves, I think this recipe book is a WINNER!
This recipe only took 50 minutes to make, which half of that time was really just contributed to simmering so I definitely wasn’t standing at the stove that entire time.
My kids loved it. The girls went back for 2nds and even 3rds. My littlest only ate his sausage and shrimp, but he is also going through his “picky faze”, and the hubster near about made himself sick on how many extra servings he got. Even with all that eating, we still had leftovers for lunch the next day.
I decided to serve the Stew over Cheese Grits and OH BOY! So good!
Recipe: Cajun Stew
Ingredients:
– 2 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil
– 2 Tbsp. All-Purpose Flour
– 1 Red Onion, thinly sliced (*I used pre-chopped red onion from the produce department b/c red onion is not nice to my poor eyes)
– 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
– 2 Celery Stalks, coarsely chopped
– Red or Green Bell Pepper, coarsely chopped (*I used red)
– 1/4 Tsp. Cayenne Pepper
– Coarse Salt
– 1 Can (28oz.) Diced Tomatoes
– 1 1/2 Cups Water
– 3/4 lb. Andouille or Kielbasa Sausage, sliced into 1/2 in. thick rounds (*I used Kielbasa)
– 2 Cups Frozen Sliced Okra (from a 12 oz package), thawed
– 1/2 lb. Shrimp, peeled and deveined (*I used a whole lb. because my family wouldn’t have forgiven me for only using 1/2!!!!! LOL!)
Directions:
– Heat a large skillet (*I used my large cast iron) over medium heat. Add oil and flour; cook, whisking constantly, until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes.
– Add onion, garlic, celery, and bell pepper; cook until crisp-tender, about 7 minutes. Add cayenne and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
– Stir in tomatoes (with their liquid), the water, and sausage. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, partially covered, until slightly thickened, about 25 minutes.
– Add okra and simmer 3 minutes. Add shrimp and cook until opaque, 3 to 4 minutes more.
– Season with salt.
– Serve either over white rice or cheese grits, like I did.
*And here is just one more pic to make your mouth water…………………
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family and I did!
Can’t wait to try some of the rest and share the best ones with y’all!
Enjoy your Tuesday, friends!
XOXO,
Esther
Rustic Apple Pie
A lot has been happening around here lately. For starters………………..
MY BABY BROTHER GOT MARRIED!
We are so so so happy for him and his new wife. We gained a sister, friend, and an entire new family that we deeply care for and love!
Now they just need to start having babies and my life will be complete. No pressure, right? LOL!
Well, Mom and Dad were here as well and one of the last nights they were here, we had everyone over for Sunday dinner and mom made Apple Pie! I have made it before, but when Mom is in town, it’s best to just leave things like this to the “professionals”. 😉
I LOOOOOOOVE HER APPLE PIE!
It always has this Rustic quality to it and I love that she never tries to make it too “fake looking”. Everything is from scratch, including the crust.
Just let me set the stage for you. It’s a crisp cool day in Fall. The aroma from the kitchen is taking over the house as the cinnamon and sugar fills the air. As you bring your fork to your mouth filled with that bite of perfection…….. um YEAH! That happened here that day! The crust was slightly crunchy, while the filling was a thick cinnamon apple yumminess!
Come on y’all, it’s FALL!!!
Why not get in the kitchen and bake you up some Apple Pie?
You know you want too! And just in case, because I love you so much……..Here is Mom’s recipe!
Recipe: Rustic Apple Pie
– 2 Homemade or Prepared Deep Dish Pie Crusts (*You will need 2 crusts, one for the bottom and one for the top. *NOTE: Crusts perform better when refrigerated well. If frozen, make sure to thaw completely and chill in fridge until you need it.)
– 15 Granny Smith Apples, Peeled, Cored and Sliced (*NOTE: Slice no larger than a 1/2 inch in thickness or apples will not cook properly)
– 1 Heaping Tbsp. Cinnamon
– 2 Cups Sugar
– 1 Tbsp. Cornstarch
– 4 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter
– 2 Tbsp. Milk
– Small amount of additional cinnamon and sugar for dusting the top of pie.
Directions:
– Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
– Take a 9in. pie plate and spread first crust evenly over bottom. Refrigerate.
– Place apple slices into a large mixing bowl.
– In a separate bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar and cornstarch.
– Add Cinnamon mixture to apples and mix well using hands, making sure all apples are coated well.
– Remove pie plate from fridge and add apple slice mixture. *NOTE: Apples will mound up in dish. This is normal and makes for a great pie!
– Cut 4 Tbsp. Butter in half and dot over apple mixture evenly.
– Top apples with remaining pie crust. Pinch all around edges of pie to “seal” crusts together. *NOTE: This can be done by using a fork or by index finger and thumb method all the way around.
– Brush top of pie with 2 Tbsp. Milk.
– Lightly dust top of pie with additional cinnamon and sugar.
-Cut 2-3 slits (1 in. long) in top of pie crust for steam to escape during baking.
– Bake pie in oven for 15 minutes.
– Turn temperature down to 350 degrees and continue baking pie for an additional 45 minutes.
– If at end of baking, pie is not golden brown, turn temperature back to 400 degrees and watch closely for 5 minutes. *That should do the trick! 😉
*APPLE PIE ALWAYS TASTES BETTER WITH VANILLA ICE CREAM! ……….. just sayin !
I hope you enjoy the recipe!
XOXO,
Esther
End of Summer Risotto
Do you love Risotto? Do you love Summer?
Well friends, let me tell you…… if the answer was yes to either one of those questions, you WILL LOVE this recipe!
For some reason, I have always loved veggies. That’s not to say that I eat them all the time, or I’m a vegetarian (I tried to be a couple of times and FAILED MISERABLY!………….BOTH ………TIMES!)
I just haven’t met a vegetable I didn’t like. I have asked my mother what she did differently during her pregnancy with me, but she wouldn’t give me the secret, so alas, I have not been able to recreate this my own kiddos.
I have to say that while this wasn’t a hit with all 3 of the kids, it WAS with one and Mom and Dad. (*So maybe I got the pregnancy secret down with one of the kids and not the others, right? LOL!)
For some who aren’t familiar with risotto, it is basically rice that you cook slowly and add liquid and other ingredients too that in the end, becomes a rich, creamy, thick rice dish. In other words, YUMMY!
I cannot claim this recipe for my own. I got it from one of my go to Cookbooks, Cooking Light: Good Mood Food.
I always seem to tweak my recipes just a little, so it never ends up exactly like the original, but that’s ok with me. 😉
I really think you are going to love this!
Here you go!
Recipe: End of Summer Risotto
• 6 cups of water
• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 3/4 in. pieces
• 1 3/4 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup uncooked Arborio Rice
• 1 cup Frozen Shelled Edamame
• 1/2 Kosher Salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 2 oz. (1/3 – less- fat cream cheese (about 1/4 cup)
• 1/2 Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 oz. Shredded Parmesan (about 1/4 cup) * You can find this in the pre-shredded packaged cheese in your grocery store.
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme or * Dried Thyme works just fine! Just remember to reduce the amount. Dried is stronger than fresh.
Directions:
– Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a saucepan. Add asparagus, and cook 2 minutes. Drain. Bring 2 cups water and chicken broth to a simmer in a saucepan.
– Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add olive oil, and swirl to coat. Add onions; cook 4 minutes. Add garlic, and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in rice, edamame, and salt; cook 1 minute. Stir in 1 cup broth mixture,; cook 4 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Add remaining broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until liquid is absorbed before adding more ( about 20 minutes total.)
– Stir in asparagus, cream cheese, and pepper; cook 1 minute.
– Spoon risotto into a large serving bowl, OR * 4 individual bowls if main dish. Top the large bowl with 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese or 1 Tbsp. of the parmesan if you are serving in individual bowls.
– Sprinkle with Thyme.
SERVES: 4 if serving as main dish, and much more if serving as side.
SIDE NOTE:
I loved this so much, I had it the next day with left overs! For dinner the night before, we served it with Grilled Chicken. So for left overs, I made it a single bowl full of yumminess!
I ended up with left over Risotto, Grilled Chicken, and added Wilted Kale over top. I love pepper too so I got a little heavy handed on that end, but oh my word!
So So Good!
Hope you enjoy!
XoXo,
Esther
Laundry Room Make Over Series: DIY “WASH” Sign
I have been wanting to “Spruce” up my Laundry Room for a while.
I didn’t want to break the bank in the process though, so I decided I would do it in fazes. This is the first post in a series of posts I will do as I update it. 🙂
I had seen the letters “W A S H” on someone else’s Laundry Room wall and I decided to do it myself. I think it was Kathryn from Do It On a Dime, which is a Youtube channel, but she also has a blog that she started recently to go along with it. LOVE her! She has great tips for ……. you guessed it, Doing things on a Dime, or on the cheap. You can check out her youtube channel here, and her blog here.
So, first off, I went to my local craft store, AC Moore and bought the unfinished wooden letters. They were 2 for $5.00, which I thought was pretty good.
I also picked up a can of Rust-Oleum’s Painter’s Touch Spray Paint in a Metallic Aluminum Color for $6.99. My walls are painted Stonington Gray by Benjamin Moore in the Laundry Room and instead of painting them a contrasting color, I wanted them to have almost an “embossed” look, so I chose a color as similar as possible to the wall color.
I sprayed them with 2 light coats of paint and it covered VERY VERY well.
This was the end result, which I’m really happy with.
However, I might move the letters because since I did the letters, we have decided to do a few more updates to the Laundry Room, which I am REALLY excited about.
I will make sure to do updates on it as we progress through the work.
While I was at it, I decided to take a White Wired Trash Can I purchased at the Dollar Tree and spray it too.
While you might not be able to tell a huge difference on photo, it did spice it up a little and not make it look so “Dollar Tree”ish. Did that sound bad? I hope not. I was definitely happy with the fact that I was able to get more uses out of the one can of spray paint and still had some left to do other projects!
Stay tuned for more updates on the Laundry Room Makeover!
XOXO,
Esther
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