Gumbo

My husband has loved Gumbo and all things Cajan since he went with my brother Buddy on a company sponsored trip to Louisiana.   I have never made Gumbo because frankly it just seemed like too much trouble.  I rarely tackle recipes that have more than a few ingredients.  Tonight I made Gumbo and it was so easy I couldn't wait to share.

One day Zataran's box mixes were on sale and I had a coupon that made them almost free so I bought several with no idea what I would do with them.  One purchase was Gumbo Mix with rice.  It is the perfect base for gumbo.  Best part, it was easy and ready in about 30 minutes.
6 cups of water in a pot with a couple of chicken breast and let them cook while you do the next step.
Spray a large pot or Dutch oven with Pam for easy clean up. Add a little oil.  Add a diced onion and a package of Cajun andouille sausage sliced or diced, that's up to you.  Sautee the onion and sausage together till the onion is cooked.  If the chicken breast are done remove from water and shred.  Save the water.  Add chicken to the onion and sausage mix and sautee the chicken for just a minute so it can absorb some of the flavor.
Add the contents of the Zataran's gumbo mix.  Add 2 cans of Rotel tomatoes and the water you cooked the chicken in.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simner for about 30 minutes.
Here are a few hints...when you add the oil at the beginning you can add whatever oil you like to use.  I added bacon drippings which I always save for flavoring vegetables.  You can adjust the heat by adding smoked sausage instead if the cajan andouille.  You can add mild Rotel or use the hotter version .  I added about 1/4 cup of extra rice to make it thicker.  You can also add a little chicken broth to make it thinner.  If you like okra that's a good idea.  And you can add shrimp the last few minutes. Cook just until shrimp are pink or they will be tough.
My favorite thing to serve this with is jalepeno cornbread.


Jalepeno corn muffins

I make up my normal corn bread (recipe on blog).  To it I add about a half cup of corn.  I used frozen but canned will work.  I add about a half cup of grated cheese (I used sharp) and I added the jalepenos from a jar. Dice them up.  You control the heat here.  Personally I like the taste of Jalepenos but not the heat so I use the Tamed jalepenos that I've mentioned before.  The amount you add would also be up to your heat tollerance.  I always spray my muffin tin with Pam and then I had a splash of oil to the bottom of each cup in the tin before I spoon in the cornbread mix.  This will give it a nice crust.  Bake at 425 until golden brown.  Let them sit a couple of minutes before you try to remove them from pan.  The melted cheese on the inside can make them soft and a little hard to remove.  A good idea is to run a knife around the sides to loosen them before you remove.
Enjoy experimenting and let me know how you like it.

Tomato Pie

I've been working this summer on perfecting my version of Tomato Pie.  Today I think I finally got it.

1 frozen pie shell
1 or 2 tomatoes depending on size
1 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup Hellman's mayonnaise
1/2 cup diced onion
salt and pepper

Peal and slice tomatoes and lay in a colinder.  Go ahead and salt and pepper them and let them sit in the sink.  This will draw some of the water out of the tomatoes. Turn oven on to 400.  Go ahead and put frozen pie shell in while it's heating up.  After a few minutes the shell will be thawed enough for you to either prick with a fork several times or slit 2 or 3 times with a knife.  Cook just until the crust starts to brown slightly.   Remove from oven and lower heat to 350.  Dice up onions enough to cover the bottom.  I used red onions but Vidalia would be just as good.  Lay tomatoes on the onion enough to cover. Stir 1 1/2 cups finely grate cheese with about 1/2 cup Mayonaise.  Use a spatula to spread the cheese mix over the tomatoes.   Return to oven until it starts to brown.  I then increased the heat to 400 to finish browning and getting the cheese all bubbly.
I found this to be a good side dish but you can make a meal out of it by adding meat.

Cook and crumble about a half pound of bacon.  Add after the onions but before the tomatoes.

Thinly slice a smoked sausage.  My new favorite smoked sausage is McCormick brand with Montreal Steak season in it.
They come in a pack of six and are slightly larger than a hot dog.  Again, add between onion and tomatoes.

BTW...They are great grilled and served in a hot dog roll with mustard (preferably grain mustard)