Chicken Gumbo

With the first week of school coming to an end, Fall is in the air.  Well, maybe not technically in the air, or the calendar for that matter...but it should be.  Sorry...school supplies and pictures of children dressed in long sleeves evoke a lot of emotion in me.  So, I guess you could say, Fall is in my head and I can't get it out.  And nothing says fall quite like a pot of soup on the stove.  So in tribute to my "would be fall day", I would like to share with you one of my family's favorite soups.  My Mother found this recipe years ago in a magazine article sharing ways to use up that leftover Thanksgiving turkey.  She tried it and we have been eating it ever since.  So, dust off your soup pot, turn your air conditioner down and cozy up to a bowl of this amazing soup.

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
3 ribs of celery, halved length-wise and then sliced
2 quarts (8 cups) chicken or turkey broth
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/3 cup long grain rice, uncooked
16 oz. frozen cut okra
2 cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
1 Bay leaf
Dash of Worcestershire sauce (or in our house a glug)

Directions:
Heat oil over medium heat in your favorite soup pot.  Saute' onion, pepper and celery slightly.  Add all remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce heat.  Simmer until veggies and rice are tender...about 20 minutes.
*A piece of cornbread is a great companion to a bowl of this soup.
**Also, in our house, we have a contest to see who gets the bay leaf.  That person has bragging rights until the next pot of gumbo is made.  Enjoy!

Taco Salad with Chunky Tomato Dressing


Even though my Mother's birthday is not until Sunday, we celebrated with her last night night, because she is leaving to go back home to Florida today.  I asked her to pick what she wanted for dinner.  She loves Mexican food, so she asked for Taco Salads.  Of course, I couldn't just pull out the packet of mix and add beef.  I had to find something suitable for a birthday dinner.  I hit the jackpot with this recipe.  It is super fresh tasting and oh-so-yummy...AND it is also very easy to make.  The base recipe is by Ellie Krieger and can be found in her cookbook entitled "So Easy".  I made some variations and put them into the recipe below.


Ingredients:
1-1 1/4 lb. lean ground beef
1 can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper, plus more to taste
4 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
handful of fresh chopped cilantro
1 lime
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
2 hearts of romaine lettuce, chopped
1-2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
sour cream
2-3 green onions, sliced thinly
Bag of your favorite tortilla chips
Taco sauce (optional)

Directions:
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the beef and cook until no longer pink, breaking up the meat with a spoon.  Add the beans and garlic and cook for 2 minutes more.  Add the water, chili powder, and cayenne pepper and stir until well combined.  Cover the pot with a lid and put on low heat to keep warm, until ready to serve.

In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes (with their juices), oil, and cilantro.  Add the zest and juice of the lime.  Add enough salt and pepper to suit your taste.

Put on your plate in this order:  chips, lettuce, beef mixture, tomato dressing, cheese, sour cream, onions.

**This is a great meal to serve buffet style and let each person fix their own plate.  Kids and adults alike will enjoy this dish!

Buttercream Icing
I just love making my kids birthday cakes.  I am no professional baker, but I do try to make the cakes look interesting and fun.  My kids pick a different birthday theme every year...no two years are the same.  This year Genevieve picked Strawberry Shortcake.  Dawson wanted several themes that they do not make party goods for (maybe another year), so he asked me to surprise him.  I picked Super Mario Bros. because I knew that he would be getting enough money for his birthday to purchase his DSi.

Genevieve's cake was a strawberry cake with white buttercream icing.  Most grocery stores, that bake cakes, will sell you the toppers that they use.  I got this one at the Commissary.  I used strawberry and cherry flavored Starbursts to make the circles around the sides and the strawberries on the top of the cake.  To make Starburst shapes just melt a few fruit chews in a microwavable bowl for 3-5 seconds and then roll to desired thickness between two pieces of waxed paper.  Then, cut into shapes with a small knife or a cookie cutter.  To make the strawberries more realistic, I pressed the end of a toothpick in a random pattern to look like seeds.

Dawson's cake was dark chocolate fudge with white buttercream icing.  I decided not to go the character route on his cake, but mimic the wonderful primary colors on the plates and napkins.  I found the idea for  this cake on parents.com.  I made this cake by pressing rows of mini, regular, and peanut butter M&M's into the icing.

Buttercream Icing:
1/2 cup Crisco
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp. vanilla
4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 Tbsp. milk

Cream butter and shortening with electric mixer.  Add vanilla.  Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed.  Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often.  When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry.  Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.
*You made need to add more or less milk to reach desired consistency.
**Keep icing covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.  Refrigerate leftover icing in an airtight container, up to 2 weeks.  Rewhip before using.

Mango Salsa

Okay, so I have a confession to make.  I have been afraid of mangoes.  Not like "boo" scared, but "afraid of the unknown" scared.  I love the way they taste.  But, I shied away from recipes where they were an ingredient, because I didn't know how to pick out a good mango or how to cut one.  I came across a wonderful website by the National Mango Board full of great information about...what else, MANGOES.  I even learned how to pick out and cut a ripe mango.  Super easy...in fact, I don't know what I was even afraid of.  Click here to go to the website or watch the video below if you have a mango phobia of your own to get over.

Now that you are not afraid of mangoes either, you MUST try this Mango Salsa recipe.  It is wonderful on freshly grilled fish or on soft tacos (of the steak or fish variety).  You could even eat it by dipping a chip in the bowl, scooping it up and putting it in your mouth.  Any way you choose to eat it...it's DEE-LISH!!

Ingredients:
1 ripe mango, peeled, seeded and diced
1 Tbsp. finely diced red onion
1 small chile of your choice, stemmed, seeded and minced
   **(I used a jalapeno, because I have kids and I'm a wimp.)
1 medium tomato, diced
fresh cilantro, chopped (how ever much you like to taste...a small handful is a good amount)
1 lime, juiced
Kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Stir the mango, onion, chile, tomato, chopped cilantro and the lime juice together in a bowl.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Corn, Avocado and Tomato Salad

This is a wonderful recipe that I found online courtesy of Paula Deen.  It is an excellent summer salad that won't disappoint.  It is a great stand alone dish or a nice complement to grilled meat.  My husband, David, absolutely loves it and I can barely keep him from licking the bowl clean!

**Few variations:  I put the zest and juice of one whole lime in mine.  Also, this would be great with a can of black bean, rinsed and drained.  I've also seen other recipes similar to this with basil and mozzarella cheese.

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked corn, fresh or frozen

• 1 avocado, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup finely diced red onion

Dressing:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lime zest
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Combine the corn, avocado, tomatoes and onion in a large glass bowl. Mix together the dressing ingredients in another bowl, pour over the salad, and gently toss to mix.

the best Banana bread...EVER

**  I originally posted this several years ago, on my other blog Momblings.  But I thought it bore repeating.  It is one of my faves!

I love to be in the kitchen and cook, especially this time of year. This morning I was inspired by 3 overly ripe bananas that were a day or two from their trashcan fate. I made my o' so delicious chocolate chip banana bread. I got the recipe from a family magazine and it is the best that I've ever had. I believe that food is at it's best when shared and that recipes are not to be kept to one's self. So, I've decided to share this fabulous recipe with you. Enjoy!!

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 medium-large very ripe bananas (1 cup mashed)
1/2 cup sour cream

2/3 cup chocolate chips

1. Heat the oven to 325°. Line a 5- by 9-inch loaf pan, preferably one with a light interior, with enough waxed paper to drape over the long sides. This will make the baked bread a cinch to remove and the pan easy to clean. Set the pan aside.

2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. In a large bowl, cream the butter using an electric mixer. Gradually add the sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Next, add the vanilla extract and blend briefly. Set both bowls aside.

3. Peel the bananas and place them in a separate bowl. Mash them with a fork or a potato masher and measure out 1 cup. Add the sour cream and stir to blend. Set the bowl aside.

4. Using a wooden spoon, blend a third of the dry mixture into the butter-sugar mixture. Add the rest of the ingredients in this order, stirring well after each addition: half of the banana mixture, half of the remaining dry mixture, the rest of the banana mixture, the rest of the dry mixture. Next, add 2/3 cup of chocolate chips.

5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spoon. Bake on the center oven rack until a tester inserted deep into the center of the bread comes out clean, about 70 to 75 minutes.

6. Transfer the bread to a cooling rack and cool it in the pan for about 20 minutes. Using the waxed paper, lift the bread from the pan and place it on the rack. Pull down the sides of the paper and allow the bread to cool thoroughly before slicing. Makes 10 or more servings.