Black Eyed Peas and Rice

This a favorite of my wife's and pretty much every one down south cooks black eyed peas but my spouse must have it over rice, the better to soak up the juice. And of course we have to use frozen where she grew up with the ones her mother put up every year. Now that is a story for another day how our eating habits are so different today in fact I'll write about it on my next post. Now back to today.
2 2/3 cups fresh or frozen black eyed peas
2-3 slices of bacon
1/2 large onion chopped(yellow)
stalk celery diced
3 cloves garlic
4 cups chicken broth
pinch of salt and pepper to taste
In a dutch oven cook bacon until crisp, set aside on paper towel to drain
Cook onion,celery,garlic in bacon drippings until tender, add broth,salt,pepper and peas.
Bring to a boil and skim top if necessary
Lower to simmer add bacon and cook 30 min to 1 hour till peas are tender
Serve over rice or as side.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

This recipe has been on several sites but we saw it first on My Kitchen Cafe back in July and have fixed it twice now. You can get her recipe by looking at July 27 2009. We fixed it just like she has it laid out except for one thing we like to add some cauliflower as we like how it seems to adsorb the flavors and adds a vegetable to our dinner.

Red Beans and Rice

This is a staple here in the south and most people have a little variation on the dish. We use a spicy sausage to give it more kick but any will do.
1 yellow onion or ½ of a large one
¼ cup of bell pepper
2 to 3 cloves garlic
1 stalk of celery
two links sausage cut into bite size pieces
4cans kidney beans not drained
rinse the cans out and pour the water in pot at least 2 to 3 cans of water.
dash of Cajun spices we use Zatarains
my wife secret ingredient juice from Greek peppers about two tablespoons.

Cook onion,bell pepper,celery till clear then add beans reserving a few to smash up and place in to thicken mixture. Add everything else and let simmer for about 2 hours uncovered. Checking to see if more water needs to be added. Taste every now and then to see if anything needs to be adjusted like more Zatarains but over rice and garnish with green onions.

Add a little potato salad and garden tomatoes

Shrimp or Chicken Okra Gumbo

Hello, this is the other half of Will's Kitchen and I cook when he lets me in the kitchen. In fact, we both enjoy cooking together now that we have a large enough kitchen for us both to be in there. This is one of my family recipes I am attempting to create. Of course it will never taste as good as Maw Maw’s or my mothers but I have to keep the tradition alive as long as I can. Since we have, no children to pass this on to I hope some one out there in the Internet world will find this and enjoy it and maybe add it to their family favorites on Sunday.
Potato salad and fresh farmers market tomatoes go great with this.
E


Chicken or Shrimp Okra Gumbo

Cook chicken in skillet until it changes from raw
(Now my mom left out that she uses a whole chicken cut up and one with the bones does add a little more flavor than one with out bones. I tried it both ways and like the chicken cut up with the bones. For just me and my hubby we only used ½ of the chicken use the whole if feeding 4 or more)

Brown 1 large onion chopped (I use the oil I browned chicken in.)
Add ¾ cup celery (also add the tops or leaves)
¼ to ½ bell pepper
3 garlic cloves
then add 1/8 to ¼ cup of water
1 Tablespoon of vinegar ( I think this is the secret ingredient they used. In fact it is to keep the okra from becoming slimy.)
Now add about 1 to 1 ½ cup cut okra.
Let cook on low fire uncovered until okra stars to break up some.
Add a peeled chopped red or green tomatoes or a can of chopped tomatoes. ( I have used both can and a green one and prefer a green one if you can find it)
Add 2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon basil
2 cups water
1 can chicken broth
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
Chicken (If using shrimp add last 10 min to gumbo)
Hot sauce to taste or Zatarans. (I used hot sauce my Maw Maw did not have Zatarans when she made it.)
Let simmer with lid on about 1 to 1 1/2 hour or till chicken is cooked. Serve over rice. (Should be served like a soup lots of juice)
Even better the next day.
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