Red Beans & Rice

I have never made and never had red beans and rice before so this was a total experiment. I did the beans in the crock pot. Since I work during the day and I usually do not have 2 hours on a week night to cook dinner. It came out really good and so easy. I took a traditional recipe that I found and changed some things and added cheddarwurst. I love to add cheddarwurst to spicy dishes, it just goes well with them. Also I made a box of Rice a Roni herb and butter as the rice, but I would think you can use whatever you like.

Ingredients:
16 ounces dry red beans, soaked overnight
1 yellow onion, diced
1 jalapeno, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 tablespoons Creole Seasoning, you can add more or less depending on your taste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon thyme
2 bay leaves
6 cups water
2 spicy sausages, andouille or linguica diced
3 cheddarwurst diced
2 cups chicken broth

Make It:
Heat a large saucepan over medium high heat, spray with cooking spray. Add onion, bell pepper, jalapeno and celery to pan. Cook stirring often until softened. Pour beans into crock pot. Pour vegetable mixture over beans. Place saucepan back over heat and add sausage to the pan, cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour sausage into crock pot. Add creole seasoning, salt, bay leaves and thyme to crock pot. Pour into crock pot water and broth, stir to combine. Cover and set on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Remove lid and using a potato masher, mash 1/3 of the beans in the crock pot, this gives them a creamy consistency. Add cheddarwurst, stir to combine. Cover and cook for 15 to 30 more minutes with the crock pot set on high. Uncover and serve over rice. Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Believe or not I had never had or made anything red velvet before this. I wanted to make them last year for valentines day but was so pregnant I didn't have the energy. I can't believe how good they are. Light and spongy and the cream cheese so good. I'm already dreaming of all the different things it can go on.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
2 eggs at room temperature
4 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Make It:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffins cups. In a big bowl sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa and salt. In a mixing bowl gently mix together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vanilla and vinegar. After all is combined on low speed slowly add in dry ingredients. Add about a half cup and allow to incorporate before adding another. After all is combined, fill each cupcake liner 1/2 full. Bake for 20-22 minutes based on your oven. When a toothpick can be inserted in the center and come out clean they are done. Allow to cool completely before frosting. Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 pound cream cheese, softened
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups sifted powdered sugar

Make It:
In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar a little at a time until completely incorporated. Turn mixer to high speed and beat until fluffy. Enjoy!

Menu for February 14th - February 21st

After taking a little break from blogging and a little beach trip with the family, i'm back with new recipes and new ideas. Hope everybody is still interested. Since I started this blog I have not gone more than a couple days without posting. I was terrified I might lose my audience, but everybody seems to enjoy it as much as I do and i'm so proud. Well enough of that lets get to the menu. First off I made this a sunday to sunday menu so I could include Valentines Day. I have had lots of requests for crock pot recipes so I will be posting one every week(until I run out that is). I'm doing a lot of experimenting with dry beans. They are a good low cost source of protein, and I enjoy them. It seems winter is almost gone so casserole and soup season in our house will be ending. I try to only use the oven a couple of days a week once it warms up. My array of seasonal veggies is interesting right now. I find myself cooking and eating things I never would have bought out of a grocery store. The enjoyment of opening my veggie box every week never gets old. I will be happy when we get other fruit besides citrus though. I encourage everyone to at least for one week go to the farmers market and see whats in season locally. Even if it looks strange buy it and try it. You might find something you love that you would not have tried before. For me recently it has been turnips. I had never eaten or cooked them before this year. Now they are one of my favorites, to me they are like a radish and potato mixed together. Also Tuesday is "Fat Tuesday" so we have to have some cajun food.

Sunday- Valentines Day- King crab legs, Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes, asparagus
Monday- Beef Enchilada Casserole, refried beans, green beans
Tuesday- Red Beans & Rice, bread
Wednesday- Chicken Winter Veggie Casserole, orange slices
Thursday- Pinto Beans & Beef, cheese quesadillas
Friday- pizza, green salad
Saturday- Roasted Chicken & Winter Veggies with Gravy
Sunday- Ribeyes, Spicy Baked Beans, green salad

Dessert of the Week- Red Velvet Cupcakes

Cuban Burger

This idea was based on a quick click on the food network website. I saw a picture of Bobby Flay's Miami Burger, read the recipe and thought yum, i'm creating my own version of that. Feel free to adapt this burger to your liking.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef, I use 80/20
4 hamburger buns
12 thin slices honey ham
8 slices swiss cheese
8 dill pickle slices
salt, pepper and granulated garlic

Make It:
Divide ground beef into 4 equal size patties. Season patties with salt, pepper and granulated garlic. Place patties in refrigerator for 10 minutes, I think they cook better if they are cold. Heat a large iron skillet over high heat, for 2 minutes. Turn down to medium high heat and place patties in pan. Allow each pattie to cook 3 minutes per side. Meanwhile turn broiler on high. Place hamburger buns on cookie sheet, and place under broiler for 2 minutes. Remove patties from pan on a plate. Build burgers by placing a slice of cheese on bottom bun, then pattie, then 3 slices ham, then 2 pickle slices, then 2nd piece of cheese and top with bun. Wrap burger in foil and place back in hot skillet. Use a heavy skillet to press burger, 2 minutes per side. Unwrap and enjoy!

Menu for February 1st - February 7th

What an exciting week its superbowl weekend so i'm off to the beach with the kids for a few days. So I was looking at Food Networks website last week and they have a ton of recipes that look really good. It is all the superbowl and Miami inspired stuff. I saw a picture of this burger that looked so good, so I added to this weeks menu, it's a Bobby Flay recipe. Since we purchased 1/2 a cow with my parents I have a ton of red meat, so I thought hmm whats something new you can do with round steak, spicy swiss steak that will work. Monterey chicken casserole is based on Chili's Monterey Chicken. In my AHO box this week we got some new stuff, brussel sprouts and a broccoflower. My husband says the broccoflower doesn't look edible, but I think it is, it just looks really strange. Also this week I will be posting 2 appetizer recipes for gameday. Also if your thinking hey blueberries are not in season, no they are not i'm using frozen. Everybody enjoy the game, and enjoy everyday!

Monday- Cuban Burger, potato chips, oranges
Tuesday- Spicy Swiss Steak, brown rice, green salad
Wednesday- Monterey Chicken Casserole, mashed potatoes, cauliflower
Thursday- Beef Enchilada Stack, Smothered Brussel Sprouts
Friday- Cheesy Ham Potato Broccoflower Soup, bread
Saturday- Headed to Beach
Sunday- Superbowl! Go Saints!

Dessert of the Week: Crumb Topped Blueberry Pie

Supreme Pizza Pasta

Before I started this blog I had an idea to make pizza pasta. I figured the whole house likes pizza and pasta so why not put the 2 together. It came out delicious. So when planning this weeks menu I thought I would make it again, but based on a supreme pizza this time.

Ingredients:
2 hot italian sausage, casings removed
8 to 10 slices of pepperoni
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 jar pasta sauce, warmed
5 mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
1 13oz. package whole wheat penne noodles, cooked
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
Feel free to add in any toppings you like on your supreme pizza

Make It:
Preheat oven to 375. Heat a small saute pan over medium heat, add italian sausage. Stir and break up with a spoon, cook until browned. Remove from pan, spray pan with pam and add bell pepper. Cook and stir until just barely softened, about 2 minutes, remove from pan. Spray pan with pam and add onion, cook and stir until barely softened, about 2 minutes, remove from pan. Spray pan again with pam and add mushrooms, cook and stir for a 1 minute, remove from pan. Put pepperoni in pan and cook for about 2 minutes, remove to a paper towel to drain some of the oil. Mix bell pepper, sausage, onion and mushroom together. Lightly spray a tall casserole dish with pam. Add 1/2 the noodles to the dish, ladle on enough sauce to cover pasta, and stir so noodles are coated. Layer on 1/2 the bell pepper combination, 1/2 the pepperoni, another ladle of sauce and smooth to cover. Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese onto sauce. Repeat these 6 steps again and put in the oven for 20 minutes until top layer of cheese is completely melted. Let sit outside the oven for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Sloppy Joe's

Well my first time making sloppy joe's was a hit. The sauce came out perfect, no need to tweak or try again. The family enjoyed these so much they will be appearing on the menu more. They are very easy to make, and not costly, most  of the ingredients I already had on hand.

Ingredients:
6 plain ole hamburger buns
1 pound ground beef
1 white onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon bottled chopped garlic
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 can tomato paste
1/4 cup ketchup
1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

Make It:
Heat a large pot over medium high heat, add meat to pot. Brown breaking with a spoon. When meat is completely browned add onion and bell pepper to pot. Stirring often cook until onion and pepper are tender, about 5 minutes. Drain off extra grease in pot. Add garlic, cook another minute. Add tomato paste, ketchup, chili powder, cumin, brown sugar and water to the pot, stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat slightly. Allow to cook 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often. Take each hamburger bun and open, place on a cookie sheet, open side up. Turn broiler on low. Place buns under broiler, cook until barely toasted but not brown, should take a minute maybe two. Remove buns form broiler. PLace on plate and scoop a good amount of sauce onto bottom part of bun, place top on and push down just a little. Repeat with all. Enjoy!