My Lime Green Kitchen

Archive for August, 2009

If you can make a roux, you can make a gumbo. I found this at About.com that has good instructions for making a roux (it isn’t hard but you can burn it and then it’s ruined!  Nothing worse than scorched roux.  It’s time to start over when that happens.) http://southernfood.about.com/library/howto/htmakeroux.htm

That’s basically what I do to make my roux. They say to let it cool a bit before adding the chopped veggies but I don’t. I put the onions, peppers and garlic in while it’s hot so they saute. Don’t add the veggies until the roux is as dark as you want it. You have to get it pretty dark — cook it slow and stir it constantly.

Veggies:

2 onions, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
garlic, chopped (however much you’d like)

Add to roux and saute.

Add about 2 quarts hot water (can mix a little broth in here if you’d like). I usually boil my chicken a day ahead of time. Put the broth in the fridge so the fat can be skimmed off. Remove the chicken from the bones and chop it for the gumbo. I don’t measure but you can cook it down or add more water to get the consistency you like.

Add salt, black and red pepper to taste. If you want to add sausage to the gumbo, slice it and fry it to remove the grease before adding to the gumbo.

Add a couple of bay leaves. Simmer for a couple of hours. Before serving, add chopped parsley and chopped green onions.

Serve with a bowl of hot rice and file (spice you probably can’t find if you don’t live way down south . . can’t find it in Kentucky). But you can make your own file if you have a sassafras tree nearby. Here’s how you do it: http://generalhorticulture.tamu.edu/prof/Recipes/File-Sassafras/file.html

Never add the file to the pot . . it will get very slimey. Add it to your own bowl right before you’re ready to start eating.

Buttermilk Pie

1-3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. butter, melted
3 eggs
2 T. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
Pinch of salt
1 – 9″ pie shell, unbaked

Combine all ingredients in the order given. Mix well and pour into pie shell. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until brown. Filling is set when a light crust forms on top.

Here’s a pressure cooker recipe for you. We’ve used this one for years and love it!

Cut the pork into pieces bigger than bit size but not as big as serving size. I slice my loin like it’s going to be a thick pork chop, then cut those into three pieces.

Season the meat well. I use Slap Ya Mama and it truly doesn’t come out hot because of the sweetness. I think the original recipe said to coat the meat with spicy mustard.

Heat the oil and brown the meat well. Once the meat is nice and browned, remove it. Deglaze the pot with the wine. Add the apples, garlic and onions. Put the meat on top.

Add about 1/2 – 1 cup water. Cook on low pressure for about 20 minutes.

I take everything out and make a gravy, then put everything back in and let it simmer for a little while, adding more seasoning if necessary.

Serve over saffron rice. This makes great leftovers!

What pretty flower pots! Maybe too pretty for planting flowers?

OK. Let’s do something else with them! How about . . we make flower pot bread?

We’ve had these pots for years! When Chad was a kid, he loved to help make flower pot bread. It’s actually just any old bread recipe you want to use but baked in glazed flower pots.

For this batch, I made Herb Bread.

Yes, it was really good! But, homemade bread, fresh from the oven is always good. Here’s the recipe I used but you can use any recipe you desire.

Herb Bread

2 packages active dry yeast
2-1/2 c. warm water
2 T. sugar
1/4 c. olive oil
1 T. salt
1 T. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/3 c. grated Romano cheese
2 c. whole wheat flour
4 c. bread flour (I used the patent flour that I use for everything)

1. Mix yeast, water and sugar in mixer bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes.
2. Stir in olive oil, salt, herbs, garlic and onion powders, cheese and the whole wheat flour. Gradually add in the bread flour, adding more water or a bit more flour to get to the consistency desired.
3. Knead dough by hand 8 – 10 minutes, in the Bosch mixer 4 minutes (probably 6 minutes with a Kitchen Aid mixer).
4. Put dough in an oiled bowl. Cover with a damp towel and let rise until doubled.
5. Punch dough down. Shape into either two loaves or one loaf and four flower pots. Allow to rise til doubled.
6. Bake at 350 for 35 – 40 minutes if using loaf pans; for 25 – 30 minutes if using flower pots.

Chicken Marbella is a dish we’ve enjoyed for years! Some like it room temp but we serve ours hot.

Ingredients:

2 chickens, quartered (we mostly like white meat so I bought boneless, skinless breasts)
5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/4 c. dried oregano
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
1/2 c. olive oil
1/2 c. pitted prunes
1/4 c. Spanish green olives
1/4 c. capers with a bit of juice
6 bay leaves
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. white wine
1/4 c. parsley, chopped

Directions:

Place chicken in a ziplock bag.

Combine garlic, oregano, salt and pepper, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives, capers and juice, and bay leaves.

Pour over chicken, seal and let marinate in the fridge overnight.

Preheat oven to 350.

Arrange chicken in a baking dish. Spoon marinade over it.

Sprinkle chicken with brown sugar and parsley.

Pour wine around the chicken.

Bake for one hour, basting frequently with juices.

We served the Chicken Marbella with yellow rice (from a package), green salad and crusty bread. And, since I started out with 8 chicken breasts, we have enough for two separate dishes for the freezer.

May not be too many of you rushing out to buy crawfish for this recipe but you can also use shrimp.

(Sorry but the green onions and flour were not in the photo. That’s what I get for cooking off the top of my head without using a recipe!)

Ingredients:

1/2 stick of butter
2 T. olive oil
1 c. onion, chopped
1 c. celery, chopped
1/2 c. bell pepper, chopped
1/2 c. green onions
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 c. parsley, chopped
2 T. tomato paste
1/2 c. flour
1 lb. crawfish
1 – 14 oz. can tomatoes
1 c. water
Salt, black pepper, red pepper to taste
Worcestershire sauce
Tabasco

Directions:

Melt butter and olive oil. Add onion, celery, garlic and bell pepper. Cook until the veggies are clear but not brown. Be sure they’re tender before going to the next step.

Add the flour and stir til the flour has cooked a bit . . doesn’t need to be brown at all. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley, crawfish and water.

Season to taste, including Worcestershire and tabasco. A little bit of Worcestershire goes a long way! I don’t really like the taste of it so I don’t actually put it in my etouffee. Tabasco can be added at the table to suit each individual’s tastes. Add the green onions. Simmer approximately 20 minutes, adding more water as needed. Serve over rice.

We had this with spinach salad and crusty bread.

Blackberry cobbler smothered in Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream.

Here’s the recipe I used:

Blackberry Cobbler

3 cups blackberries
3/4 c. sugar
1 c. flour
1 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. milk
1/4 lb. butter

Melt butter in 8″ x 8″ pan. Mix blackberries and 3/4 cup sugar. Mix flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and milk. Spread mixture over melted butter but don’t stir together. Pour berry mixture on top. Do not stir.

Bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes to an hour.

This is a strawberry pie I’ve been making for at least 15 years. Aren’t they cute for Easter?

This recipe makes 2 pies.

You’ll need:

Darn it! I forgot to stick the pastel peanut M&M’s in the picture. Here’s the list:

2 packs of Graham crackers (inside the box, there are 3 packs . . use 2 of those)
2/3 c. butter, softened
2 T. sugar
1-1/2 C. boiling water
1 – 6 oz. package strawberry Jello
1 pint strawberry ice cream, softened
1 – 6 oz. container strawberry yogurt
3 cups Cool Whip
1 – 12 – 16 oz. container of fresh strawberries, cut into small pieces
1 c. toasted coconut
A few pastel M&M’s with peanuts

To toast the coconut, spread it out in a baking dish and bake at 375 for about 10 minutes, stirring often and watching it closely.

To make the crust, place the graham crackers in a food processor or blender or crush them in a Ziplock bag with a rolling pin. Mix in 2 T. sugar and the butter. Spread into 2 pie pans and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For the pie filling:

Pour the boiling water into a mixing bowl and stir in the jello.

Add the softened ice cream and yogurt and stir til blended completely.

Place in the fridge for 30 minutes. Stir several times during that time.

Try not to eat the strawberries while chopping them.

Stir the strawberries and 1 cup of Cool Whip into the pie filling.

Pour into the 2 pie pans. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Top with Cool Whip.

Build coconut nests and place the pastel colored “eggs” (M&M’s really!) in the nests. Refrigerate at least two hours. Store in fridge (if there are any leftovers!)

Chocolate Cake – This makes 36 cupcakes or you can make a sheet cake or a 2 layer cake.

2-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
1-1/2 sticks butter, softened but not melted
3 large eggs or 4 small eggs, at room temp
1-1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. If using cake pans, grease and flour pans. If making cupcakes, line pans with paper liners.
Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Cream together sugar and butter. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
Add flour mixture, alternating with milk.
Add vanilla.
Pour into prepared pans. For cake, bake 30 – 35 minutes. For cupcakes, bake 15 – 20 minutes. Check with tester/toothpick.

Cool completely and frost. I used Buttercream Icing.

2 sticks butter, softened but not melted
1 pound powdered sugar
Cream or Half & Half to get to desired consistency (I use cream)
Flavoring (I mostly use almond for my icing but you could use any flavor you like)

Cream butter til fluffy and smooth. Add powdered sugar. Add cream til it reaches the desired consistency. Add flavoring . . different brands are stronger so use whatever it takes to achieve the flavor you want. Food coloring can also be added at this point.

1 c. boiling water
1 c. sugar
3 T. cornstarch
3 T. light Karo
3 T. strawberry jello powder
1 quart strawberries
1 baked and cooled pie shell

Stir sugar and cornstarch into boiling water and stir til sugar is dissolved. Add Karo and continue stirring til thick. Remove from heat and stir in jello powder.

Set aside to cool and continue stirring every 10 minutes or so or it may tend to get lumpy or have a thicker layer on top.

Half strawberries and spread into pie shell. Pour cooled glaze over strawberries. Refrigerate for at least a couple of hours.