Jambalaya for Fat Tuesday

The first time I had Jambalaya was at my son and daughter-in-laws home in New Orleans. I fell in love. Trying to duplicate the recipe in Colorado is somewhat of a disappointment. Nobody but nobody can duplicate New Orleans, but this comes close. It is Emerill's recipe for Jambalaya. I have made a few minor adjustments.

1/4 cup olive oil

24 medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped
1/2 lb. chicken, diced
1 TBS Creole seasoning-Bayou Blast
10 oz. Andouille sausage, sliced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 cup chopped tomatoes
3 bay leaves
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp hot sauce, I used Louisana Hot sauce, but Tabasco will work
1 1/2 cups rice
3 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup chopped parsley or chopped green onion for garnish (optional)

2 chopped green onions (optional)
Salt and pepper 

In a bowl combine shrimp, chicken. Mix in the Bayou Blast seasoning till all of the meat is coated. Let set while you get everything ready or put in refrigerator until ready to cook. 

In a large saucepan or pot, heat oil over high heat. Stir-fry onion, pepper and celery about 3 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves, Worcestershire and hot sauces.

Stir in rice and slowly add chicken stock. Reduce heat to medium and cook until rice absorbs liquid and becomes tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. 

When rice is just tender add shrimp and chicken mixture and sausage. Cook until meat is done, about 10 minutes more. Season to taste with salt, pepper and Creole seasoning. 

This is delicious the next day for lunch with a little cheese melted on top.

Cuban Sandwich

Saturday night, Michael and I watched the movie "Chef." One of the stars of the film, IMO, is the Cuban Sandwich.  I had no idea what this was, but after witnessing the creative process of constructing this sandwich, I wanted to try one.

Naturally, it had to be gluten free. Since I don't live in Miami, Florida, I figured it would be futile to find a restaurant that makes gluten free Cubanos.  I found a recipe posted in the Denver Post from the movie. I wanted to make these for lunch, but this recipe required 24 hour marinating of the pork and 2 1/2 hours to cook. I found a very similar one that used a pressure cooker to speed the process. I thought I could recreate it using gluten free french bread.

If you've seen the movie, you'll notice right away, that my sandwich does not live up to the standard of NEVER letting the outside of this grilled sandwich become over toasted, not even a little bit. Mine burned before the inside cheese was good and melted. Today is National Sandwich Day, so I am sharing the recipe anyway.

Loaf of GF french bread

6-8 slices Swiss Cheese

6-8 Ham, thinly sliced
sliced, marinated pork

Dill Pickles sliced length-wise

Butter

Slice bread in half. Butter each half, and warm in skillet over medium high heat. Remove from pan when lightly browned. Spread mustard generously over one side. Place 3 slices onto mustard, pork, pickles, ham, and top with cheese and other half of bread.

To cook, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Brush outside of sandwich generously with butter and place in the skillet. Place another heavy skillet on top and press down. I placed some large sweet potatoes inside to weigh it down. Cook until lightly browned (not burned, if cooking too quickly and the cheese is not melting, turn heat down.) Before flipping over, brush the other side of the bread with melted butter. Heat until this side is also lightly browned and cheese is nice and gooey. (Don't forget to press down with heavy skillet.) Remove from pan, slice and serve.

To make marinated pork:

2-3 lbs Boneless Pork Shoulder 

1 Onion, sliced

1 cup fresh Orange Juice
1 cup Chicken Broth

1 Lime, juiced

4 Garlic Cloves, minced

2 Bay Leaves

1 TBS ground Cumin
1 TBS dried Oregano
1 TBS olive oil

Salt and fresh ground Pepper
 Brown pork in olive oil in pressure cooker pan. Add garlic and onions and saute for a minute or two. Add broth, orange juice, lime juice, bay leaves, cumin, oregano. Salt and pepper meat and place top on pressure cooker. Cook until rocker pressure is reached and turn down heat to medium. Cook 25 minutes. Let cool before slicing.

If you have time to marinate meat overnight and roast it, you might want to try the Chef recipe for Cubanos.

Cinco de Mayo

I wasn't sure what to serve for Cinco de Mayo today.  I decided on Carnitas-basically pork served in soft corn tortillas.  What is Cinco de Mayo without Margaritas?  It was a gorgeous evening to sit outside and sip the drink of choice, so I opted on Basic Black Beans, avocado slices, watermelon & chips & salsa. It came together fairly quick and then I was able to enjoy the evening with the family.

 I was in the mood for something a little lighter & fresher tasting, so along with a spicy salsa, I mixed up a mango salsa with cucumber.  It had a nice crisp, clean taste.  I'll post the recipe tomorrow.

Fettuccini Carbonara-Gluten Free

1 lb. bacon, sliced
1 boneless chicken breast, thin sliced
1 onion, slivered
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup sour cream
4 oz. cream cheese
1 12-16 oz. pkg gluten free pasta, cooked
salt & pepper
fresh chopped parsley
parmesan cheese

Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon, onion, and garlic, cooking until bacon is evenly browned. Remove to paper towels and drain all but 1-2 TBS bacon grease from pan.

Add chicken to pan. Cook over medium high heat until lightly browned. Add mushrooms to pan. Stir-fry until a minute or two, until tender. Remove from pan or push to one side.

Turn heat to low, add cream cheese & sour cream. When mixed thoroughly and creamy, add bacon, chicken/mushrooms, & cooked pasta. Serve topped with parmesan cheese & parsley.

Creamy Casserole

I didn't know what to make for dinner tonight. I had some leftovers taht I didn't want to go to waste. I decided to use the glazed pork loin I'd made two days earlier.  Normally I shred and add some BBQ sauce, but thought I'd try something different.  This casserole is based on Mexican Chicken Casserole, only gluten free.

2-3 cups Leftover Pork, diced or shredded (or chicken)
Half Dozen Corn Tortillas
2 cups Sour Cream
2 cups Shredded Cheese
1/4 cup Milk
1 can Green Chilies
1/2 cup Chopped Onions

1 gf chicken bouillon cube
Salsa

Crush bouillon cube and dissolve in 1 TBS hot water.  Place 2 cups sour cream in bowl.  Add bouillon, 1/4-1/2 cup salsa, green chilies, and milk mixing well.  Spray or grease casserole dish.  Spread thin layer of sauce on bottom.  Place layer of tortillas, meat, onion, cheese.  Pour half the sauce over, then tortillas.  Repeat, ending with tortillas, then a sprinkling of cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.  Serve with additional salsa, and avocado slices if desired.

Ham & Cheese Tortilla Sandwich

These are easy little sandwiches to make.

1 dozen corn tortillas
thin slices of your favorite deli ham
shredded cheddar/jack cheese
butter

On a tortilla, place some cheese and ham. Top with another tortilla and repeat until you have 6 sandwiches. Brush or spread butter on one side. Place in a preheated pan. (A large electric griddle or skillet works great.) Brush top sides with melted butter. When the bottom begins to shrink and crisp up a bit, carefully flip over to cook the other side. Remove from pan onto a paper plate or paper towel to soak up any excess butter. (If desired, don't add additional butter to top side, merely brown in leftover butter in pan.) You control how much butter.

Slice into quarters with pizza cutter. These are good plain or can be topped with just about any topping: salsa, guacamole, ranch dressing, etc. Also good in the winter with a warm soup.

Spring Ham Casserole-Updated

Wanting to use up the leftover Easter ham? This is an easy dish my family enjoys. It varies each time I make it, but here is the basic recipe:

As usually happens, my menu plan this week was altered. I haven't cooked this since going gluten free. But this most certainly is now. Unfortunately as I finished up I realized I did not have any Parmesan cheese. C'est la vie.

2 TBS butter
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup chopped red pepper
1 cup light cream
3/4 cup sour cream
2 tsp. gf chicken boullion
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
2 cups diced ham
1 8 oz pkg. gluten free pasta-I used Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste
1-2 TBS fresh chopped Parsley to garnish

Saute onion, celery, mushrooms, & red pepper in butter until tender. Add in sour cream and light cream or milk stirring until smooth and warmed. Do not let boil. Toss with ham, pasta, salt, pepper and parsley. Top with parmesan cheese and serve.

(Original Recipe)
2 TBS butter
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup chopped green or red pepper
1 cup light cream (or sour cream)
1 TBS flour
2 tsp. instant chicken boullion
8 oz. sliced mushrooms (optional)
2 cups diced ham
1 8 oz pkg. spaghetti, cooked
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste
1-2 TBS fresh chopped Parsley to garnish

Melt butter on high in microwave. Add diced celery, onion, mushrooms and green pepper. Cook 2 minutes, or until onion is transparent. .Add cream, bouillion, flour. Then gradually add 1 cup water. Mix, then cook on high 12-14 minutes, or until thick, stirring twice during cooking. Toss in ham, spaghetti and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and garnish with parsley.

This can be cooked in a pot on the stove instead of microwaved.

Chicken Ham Cha-ching

2-3 boneless chicken breasts, sliced thin or cubed
2 cups chopped ham (leftovers are great, use whatever you have)
1/4 cup all-purpose gluten free flour (I used Bob's all-purpose)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/2 cup white wine (white merlot, doesn't look white, a very pretty dark pink is what I used)
1-1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 gluten free chicken boullion cube
2 TBS olive oil
1 beaten egg
1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Mix flour, cornstarch, and onion powder in large ziploc bag. Dip chicken in beaten egg, then place in cornstarch mixture. I shake all of the chicken around in the bag until well coated. In a pan, heat the olive oil. Lightly brown chicken in oil. Remove chicken from pan and place in a baking dish. Toss ham in with the chicken.

In the same pan you cooked the chicken, add sour cream and wine, scraping any bits of browned chicken into sauce. Add boullion and mix well. Pour sauce over chicken and ham. Top with cheese and if you feel like it, you can add some bacon bits-I did. I also had one last piece of gluten free bread I thought would make a nice crunchy topping if I toasted it a bit and shredded over the top. But I burned it in the new gluten free toaster, so it was thrown out. (I've gotta quit throwing food away.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Someone mentioned that this would taste good with Swiss Cheese and be somewhat like Chicken Cordon Bleu, but I've never had CCB, nor have I ever made it so I have no clue.

Pork w/Mustard Sauce

2-2 1/2 lb. pork loin or tenderloin
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup dijon mustard
3/4 cup Daisy sour cream
1 TBS olive oil or butter
1 TBS fresh chopped parsley
1 TBS capers
salt
pepper

Slice pork into 1/2 inch medallions. Lightly salt and pepper meat and cook in oil over medium high heat. Remove from pan and keep warm. Add green onion and saute 1 minute. Add wine and continue cooking for another minute or so. Add mustard and sour cream until well blended. Add in capers. Serve warm over pork.



I made this tonight without the capers and used a honey mustard. Very tasty.

Pork Fajitas

These turned out decent. For Fajitas, I would normally use at least 2 different colors of peppers. I also ran out of fresh garlic. Horrors! Next time, I will have fresh garlic & use more seasoning. Or just shred the leftover pork and pour BBQ sauce over it. Nobody complained and these were eaten up.

Ingredients:

Leftover Pork Loin, sliced thin

1 onion, sliced

1 red pepper, 1 yellow, orange or green pepper
juice from 1/2 lime

2 garlic cloves

fresh ground pepper

1 TBS olive oil

Tortillas

Cheese*
Sour cream*

avocado*

I like colorful food, and as I mentioned, was disappointed not to have more peppers.

Chop or slice up meat. Saute sliced vegetables & garlic in oil. Sqeeze lime juice over them. Slide to one side of pan, and saute meat. Add salt, pepper, other seasonings. Mix together of serve separate. Serve in warmed tortillas with sour cream, cheese, avocado, salsa or desired toppings.

*optional

Grilled Pork Chops

2-2 1/2 lbs boneless pork chops
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 TBS olive oil or vegetable oil
fresh ground black pepper

Mix garlic salt, soy sauce, oil & pepper in dish or ziploc bag. Marinate pork in mixture for 2-3 hours. Drain and grill over hot coals for 3-4 minutes per side.

Ham & Scalloped Potatoes

Scalloped Potatoes can be made without the ham as a side dish. But with the ham it makes a nice one pot dish. Of course, the potatoes make a nice accompaniment to grilled ham slices or baked ham.

5 medium sized potatoes, peeled and sliced very thin
1 onion, chopped or sliced
3 TBS butter
3 TBS flour
2 cups milk
1-2 cups shredded cheese
1-2 cups chopped, sliced, or shredded ham
1/2 tsp. salt
pepper to taste

Melt butter in pan (or microwave.) Add flour and stir until blended. Add milk Stirring constantly, add milk and heat until thickened. Add salt & pepper to taste. Add cheese. Place potatoes and onions in pot of crockpot. Pour cheese sauce over top. Add ham, if desired. Bake at 375 degrees for 1 1/2-2 hours. Top will brown. Or bake on high in crockpot 5-6 hours.

Ready for baking

Cooking in the crockpot

Sorry, I never took a photo of the finished product.

Chalupas

Happy Cinco De Mayo


This recipe came from my mother-in-law. Here is the original:


2-3 lb. pork roast
1 package pinto beans
1 can chopped green chilies
2-3 garlic cloves
2 TBS chili powder
1 TBS Cumin
1 TBS salt
1 tsp. oregano

Soak beans covered with water overnight. Drain beans and rinse. Add all ingredients except the salt in a slow cooker. Cover with water. Cook on high several hours until beans are tender. Add salt. Remove meat and shred. Add back to pot. If there is a lot of liquid, remove lid to thicken.

I haven't made this with pork for years. I began using chicken breasts and thighs, but hated getting the meat off the bones. So now I use boneless chicken breasts, about 2-3 lbs. The breasts cook faster, so add them after the beans have been cooking for awhile. If cooking on the stovetop, add additional water if necessary. I also cut back on the salt and cut the chili powder to 1 TBS since my husband doesn't really like chili powder. And it's almost impossible to cook this without adding chopped onion. This is what the consistency should be after cooking.


You can also just cook the chicken and spices without the beans, only use less water. Add 2 cans of pinto beans about an hour before serving.

Serve over tortilla chips (homemade are great) and top with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, salsa or any ingredients of your choosing: guacamole, olives, sour cream, avocado, etc.

One Pot Dish

I don't usually make one dish meals. Well, that isn't true, I make them, but I obsessively add side dishes to complement whatever it is. This I've made twice recently, when not feeling well. And truly, we did not have any side dishes, hence the name.

This recipe originated from a shopping trip to Sam's club on a day when I was hungry. I couldn't pass by the samples without tasting every one of them. When I'm hungry, everything tastes good and I buy one of each. I arrived home with a package of smoked sausage. (I think they were Keilbasa.) Can't remember the last time I bought these. So here is what I made.

I peeled and cut into cubes

4 potatoes &

chopped 1 cup of onion

I cooked these in 1/4 cup olive oil for about 15 minutes over medium/high heat. (Stirring frequently.)

I chopped and added:

1 red bell pepper

1 green pepper

And seasoned with:

3/4 tsp. garlic salt

fresh ground pepper

I covered the pot after stirring, as I couldn't tell if the potatoes were getting tender enough. After a few minutes I added:

approximately 1 lb. of sliced, smoked sausage

I cooked about 15 minutes more, uncovered until everything looked sufficiently browned and tender.

Ham & Bean Soup

For Easter we had Honey-Baked Ham. I tossed the bone in the freezer, with plenty of meat on it, for soup making. I was going to make Split Pea Soup, but instead made soup with pinto beans that my mother-in-law suggested. It was a hit.

1 lb. pinto beans
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 ham bone (smoked ham hocks will work if ham bone isn't available.)

Soak beans in water overnight, or do quick soak. (After rinsing beans, place in pot. Add water to more than cover, as beans will expand. Bring to boil for 2 minutes. Turn heat off, cover pan and let sit for 1 hour.)

Drain beans. Place in pot. Add onion, garlic, hambone, carrots and celery. Fill pot with water. Bring to boil, then cook on low for a couple of hours. Add water if necessary. When beans are tender, remove meat from bone and put back in pot. Add tomatoes and a grated carrot. Cook an additional hour. My mother-in-law doesn't add any celery or carrots during cooking. At the end she adds only the can of tomatoes and 1 grated carrot. She make sure there is also plenty of crusty sugar included from the outer of the honey ham. I couldn't resist adding the celery and carrot in the beginning and didn't really have the sugar crust.

Can be done in a slow cooker, but I've had trouble with pintos not getting soft enough. Never salt pintos until they are finished cooking, as it tends to make them hard. I'd cook it on high in the slow cooker for 6-8 hours.

Teriyaki Pork

As I perused Star Recipes by Melanie, I ran across one for Teriyaki Pork Roast. I didn't have a pork roast on hand, so thought I'd try pork loin chops and add some veggies. This is what I ended up with. Next time, I'll do it a bit different. I'm also going to try the recipe as stated in the original. But Michael like this one, so thought I'd write it up or else I will forget.

3/4 c unsweetened apple juice
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 inch piece grated fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves pressed
fresh ground pepper
6 boneless pork chops
garlic salt

1 TBS oil

1 TBS butter or olive oil

6 oz. sliced mushrooms

1 zucchini julienned

1 red bell pepper, julienned

1/2 cup slivered onions

3/4 cup snow peas

Add first 7 ingredients to crockpot. Brown pork in 1 TBS oil, sprinkle with garlic salt. Add to crockpot. Run 1/2 cup water to the browned bits from cooking the chops. Add to crockpot. Cook on high 3 1/2 hours or 6 hours on low. At this point, I pulled out the chops and cut them into bite-size pieces.

Half hour before serving stir-fry onion, zuccini, mushrooms in butter or olive oil until tender. Add to pork. Add red peppers and pea pods. Mix 1/4 cup of water with 1 TBS of cornstarch to thicken, if desired. Serve over rice.

Boneless Pork Ribs

4 lbs. boneless pork ribs
1/2-1 tsp. garlic salt
fresh ground pepper
K.C. Masterpiece BBQ Sauce
Kraft Honey BBQ Sauce

These can be cooked on the grill, oven, crockpot, or a combination of cooking methods. For baking: Place meat in roasting pan or 9 x 13" baking pan. Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes to an hour. (This is approximate, as I often start baking mine while still partially frozen and bake up to 2 hours.) Remove meat from pan. Mix 1 part honey BBQ, to 2 parts KC BBQ sauce. Add a 1/2 cup or so of the pan juice and mix with sauce to desired consistency. Pour off any extra liquid. Place ribs back in pan and pour sauce over top. Bake an additional 20-30 minutes.

For crockpot: Place meat in crockpot. Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper. An hour before serving remove meat and add sauce as described above. Place all back in pot and serve when ready.

Grill: Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper. Grill each side 3 minutes. Brush with the 2 BBQ sauces mixed together and grill until done. If you want the grill flavor, but want it made ahead, after grilling 3 minutes a side, toss in crockpot with the BBQ sauce on low until ready to serve.

(I have tried to make homemade BBQ sauce, but never found a recipe I love. I grew up on Kraft, so probably prefer the taste. Eventually, this is the combination I came to like the best. If anyone has a good homemade recipe, I'd love to hear yours. Of course, it won't be as easy as opening a bottle of premade.)

Glazed Pork Roast

1 4-5 lb. boneless pork loin
1 tsp. garlic salt
Freshly ground pepper

3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 TBS cornstarch
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons soy sauce (gluten free Tamari)

Place pork, fat side up, in a covered roasting pan. (I use a pampered chef stoneware.) If there is a lot of fat, trim off as much as possible.
Sprinkle garlic salt and pepper over the top. Bake at 325 degrees for approx. 3 hours.

Mix sugar, cornstarch, vinegar, water, and soy sauce in a small saucepan. Heat, stirring, until mixture thickens slightly. Brush roast with glaze 3 or 4 times during the last 1/2 hour of cooking. Pour remaining glaze over roast, or serve on the side.