Louisiana Cooking in a North Carolina Kitchen

I'm a south Louisiana girl, born and bred, and while not "officially" Cajun, I can cook Cajun food pretty well.  My sister, who by the way married a full blooded Cajun, says that anyone who was born and raised in South Louisiana and whose ancestors are from Louisiana, is Cajun.  (Cajun by the way means Acadiana French ancestry and we are about half Irish and the rest a mix of Native American, English, German and who knows what else : )
So even though I'm out of the bayou state, I still cook pretty much  the same food that I was raised on.  It wasn't until I went to college in Oklahoma that I begun to realize that not everyone eats gumbo, red beans and rice, okra, shrimp creole, oysters, etc.  I couldn't believe there was no grits or corn bread in my college cafeteria!  Well, I haven't done a food post in a while and even though everyone is talking pumpkin this and that with fall rolling in, I thought I would give y'all a good, authentic gumbo recipe.

This is the fresh vegetables you will need.  Green onions (no other onion will do!), bell peppers, and fresh okra.  Now if you can't find fresh okra, canned is the next best way to go and then frozen is OK too.  But please don't leave out the okra, it is what gives the gumbo the thickener.  And if you don't like okra, please try it anyway.  The tomatoes in the gumbo break the sliminess of the okra....I promise! Oh and this picture has purple okra because it was on sale and it was really good, but I usually buy green. 

    As far as seasoning, you will need Tony's (or some sort of Cajun seasoning, but Tony's is the best if you can find it), garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and crab/shrimp boil. 

 Every good southern cook knows how to make a roux.  You take equal parts flour and real butter (in this case 3 Tb. spoons of each).  You melt the butter on medium and then add the flour.  You cook it till it browns pretty dark, stirring at all times.  When it's almost burning you pour in 2 cups of water.  I took a picture of just the roux, but my camera fogged up from the steam and it didn't turn out.  This after I added the water and vegetables to the roux. 

You will need some good spicy sausage, preferably Andouille sausage.  But I know this is hard to find in places besides Louisiana, so whatever kind of spicy sausage you like.....even turkey sausage is fine.  Then get some good shrimp, not too big or too small.

Here's the finished product and boy was it good this time around.  My sister's authentic recipe below.....enjoy!

Shrimp and Okra Gumbo

Saute 3Tb butter with 3Tb flour until a very dark brown roux.
Immediately add 2 cups water. 
Then add:
1 bunch chopped green onions
1 chopped bell pepper (red or green)
1 pd. chopped fresh okra or 1 can okra
1 large can stewed tomatoes
1 teas. garlic powder
1 teas. cumin
1Tb salt
1Tb Tony's (Cajun seasoning)
1Tb chili powder
1Tb sugar
1Tb Worcestershire sauce
Cook on a low simmer for at least 1 hour.
Then add 2 more cups of water along with
1 pd. of raw, peeled shrimp
1 pd. of chopped sausage
1 teas. crab/shrimp boil 
Serve over cooked rice

Meals From Heaven

 Yes, we've been cooking up a storm since we had little Patrick!  Anna and I cooked barbecue ribs, tons of veggies and as you can see from the picture below......a homemade Angel Food Cake.....not! : )  I'm totally joking!  We have had wonderful meals coming from friends, mostly from our church.  It's one of the things I like and cherish most about the post-partum period.

Don't those ribs look nice!

 We've been so blessed this time around and I've been so shocked that people haven't shied away from bringing us meals even though there are so many of us.  I always tell people though, that they don't have to bring "Duggar size" portions.  Even though we are a family of 12, my oldest is back at college and my younger 5 don't eat much : )

Anna looks like she made this, but don't let her fool you!  It was made by a special friend who has 6 kids.

Anyway, this time around we've had some wonderful meals......barbecue ribs, as you see here....Hungarian dumplings.....Spanish brisket.......chicken pot pies.......chicken burritos....etc.

Some tips if you are bringing a meal over to a family post-baby or just to be a blessing:

1. Make sure it's somewhat kid friendly.

2. Don't worry about making a ton if they have small children, but it is always nice to have left overs or some to freeze for a later date when life is crazy.

3.  I had one friend bring over paper goods and even drinks.  That was really nice : )

4.  You really don't need a meal every night, which can get kind of overwhelming, so if you are the one organizing the meal schedule then every other night is good.

5.  Freezer friendly meals are always welcome and don't even have to be pre-planned.  You can drop that off any time unannounced.

6. A dessert is always much appreciated....my kids are spoiled and have come to expect this : )

7. If at all possible, bring your meal in a throw away container so that the person doesn't have to clean and keep track of your pots and then somehow get them back to you.

Well, I only have a few more days of meals coming, so I'm going to enjoy it.  After this week I'll have to break into my freezer meals or order pizza!

Dinner Meals

My Four Little Chefs in Training

It seems most days that I spend a large portion of my day in the kitchen.  I cook for  around 30 people (that's all my gang for 3 meals a day), so I feel like I run a small restaurant.  I like to have a dinner schedule so I'm not too unsure of what our big meal for the day will be.  What I did was I wrote down all the meals we like and that I cook regularly.  Then I put them into categories.  Then I designated each day of the week to a category.  One day of the week is for left overs or take-out pizza. Below is a list of my meals in their categories.  Hope this makes sense and can help someone out.  I posted this mostly for me so I can stay on track : )

Roasts           Italian            Mexican        Soups            Seafood        Chicken

Beef                 Spaghetti      Black Bean  Veg. Beef        Salmon          Grilled chicken

                                                 Soup

Chicken            Baked Ziti    Fajitas           Chicken           Shrimp           Chicken and Broccoli                                                             

                                                                         Noodle           Ettoufee

Ham                  Lasagna       Burritos          Red Beans     Gumbo           Chicken Pot Pie

                                                                          & Rice

Meatloaf           Stuffed Bell   Quesadillas  Spilt Pea         Tuna              Chicken and Dumplings

                           Peppers                                                        Casserole

Beef Tips          Tortellini          Chili                 Lentil            Shrimp          Chicken and Rice

                                                                                                   & Corn Soup