Tag: bell pepper

Seafood Gumbo

Seafood Gumbo

The cold weather in Georgia lately has me craving big bowls of soup, chili, and chowder. One of my favorite meals is seafood gumbo. My mother made a killer gumbo, and what I wouldn’t give for a big bowl at her house.

This gumbo contains succulent shrimp, oysters, crab, and crawfish. Fortunately, I had plenty in my freezer to make a big pot. Serve gumbo over steamed rice with plenty of garlic bread. Reheat over low heat on the stovetop for best results. Use the bits of goodness and add to a quesadilla or nachos the next day. Pick out the seafood and vegetables only, avoiding any extra soupy mixture. You will appreciate having leftovers when you bite into these wonderfully delicious treats!

This gumbo has a slight kick. If you are sensitive to heat, you can adjust the seasonings to your taste. I like my gumbo slightly thick and usually have extra filé on hand, just in case I need it. It is best to add the seafood about 20 minutes before serving to avoid overcooking.

Seafood Gumbo
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Seafood Gumbo

Course Main Course
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup diced yellow onion
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 1 cup diced green bell pepper
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 cup chopped green onions, divided
  • 1 1/2 gallons water
  • 1/2 pound fresh or frozen okra
  • 1 (10-ounce can) Rotel
  • 1/2 tablespoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 cup Old Bay Seasoning
  • Louisiana hot sauce to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or to taste
  • 2 tablespoons Paul Prudhomme's Seafood Magic
  • 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
  • 2 tablespoons dried basil
  • 2 tablespoons dried thyme
  • 2 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined shrimp (70 to 90 ct.)
  • 1 pound crab meat
  • 1 pint fresh oysters
  • 2 to 3 ounces Pure Ground Gumbo File

Instructions

  • Make a roux in a large heavy pot over medium heat: Add oil to pot and heat over medium heat, add flour, it will sizzle when it's at the correct temperature. Use a whisk and stir constantly. Stir until it reaches the color of peanut butter. DO NOT BURN!!
  • Add onions, celery, bell pepper, garlic, and 1/2 c. green onions. Cook until ingredients are cooked down.
  • Add water, okra, Rotel, and seasonings and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer at least 1 hour. Add seafood and continue to cook on medium for about 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Taste for seasoning. Add file to thicken.
  • Stir in remaining green onions and simmer a few more minutes. Serve over rice in bowls.

Shrimp and Andouille Sausage Jambalaya

 shrimp-and-andouille-sausage-jambalaya

Cooking is one of my favorite pastimes. My time in the kitchen is relaxing and therapeutic, and I enjoy making people happy with the food I prepare. However, sometimes writing about food does not come easy. Sometimes there is so much going on in the world around me that writing about food seems trivial.

Currently, Covid is touching so many lives around me that it’s hard to focus on anything else. Even though I had a very mild case, it’s just not that way for everyone.

Currently, I still have no taste or smell. It’s pointless to try new recipes right now. My son made this amazing jambalaya for me over the weekend. I could actually taste it, somewhat.

This is one of my old recipes. Wes changed it up a bit by using chicken and spicy deer sausage. In my world, where everything is tasteless, this was so enjoyable!

This jambalaya recipe is super easy and comes together fast. I used a spice blend from Legion of Spice called Bayou Blue, but any cajun seasoning will work. If you do not use Legion of Spice, I would recommend that you add the seasonings a little at a time. Sometimes the salt content can be high, and you do not want to ruin the pot by getting it too salty.

Hillshire Farms has a Cajun Style Andouille Smoked Sausage that tastes great and works well in this recipe. I typically use shrimp, but as Wes did, you can substitute boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes if desired.

Shrimp and Andouille Sausage Jambalaya
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Shrimp and Andouille Sausage Jambalaya

Course Main Course
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 pound andouille sausage cut into 1/2-inch rounds
  • 1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
  • 1 large yellow onion diced
  • 1 large green bell pepper seeded and chopped
  • 2 stalks celery chopped
  • 2 large fresh tomatoes chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 tablespoons Cajun or Creole seasoning
  • 1 cup uncooked long grain rice
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 bunch green onions green part only, chopped
  • 1 bunch chopped fresh parsley leaves

Instructions

  • In a large Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook until lightly browned, about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from pot and set aside.
  • Add a drizzle of olive oilin the pan, if needed. Add the chopped onion, bell pepper, and celery and cook until softened, stirring occasionally.
  • Add shrimp, sausage, tomatoes, garlic, seasoning, rice, and chicken broth to the pan. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cover. Simmer until rice is cooked through, about 20 minutes.
  • Stir in parsley and green onion just before serving.

Notes

To use chicken instead of shrimp:  Add1 pound chicken that has been cut into 1-inch cubes, to the Dutch oven with the sausage.  Cook until lightly browned.  Chicken does not have to be cooked through, it will continue to cook in the last 20 minutes or cooking.  

Beef Tamale Pie

While living this new normal life, my thoughts of cooking are changing. My once passion for cooking is turning into a thing I dread daily. I am getting tired of making a mess, I am over cleaning the kitchen constantly, and quite honestly, I am sick of my own cooking! On top of that, when I place my weekly grocery order, I find out that the store is out of many of the items I requested.

And while it is so easy to be petty, there is much to be thankful for, though. We have food in our freezer and plenty in the pantry. We have not lacked for food on the table and in our bellies. My family is still healthy. We do not battle the loneliness of isolation because we have each other. No matter how much I complain about being in the kitchen, I am oh so thankful!

I found a handwritten recipe from my Aunt Janis last week. I knew, without a doubt, it would be delicious coming from my aunt. This recipe for Beef Tamale Pie seemed simple enough, and I almost had all the ingredients. Since I had no chili mix in the house, I substituted taco seasoning, and it was terrific! I cooked everything in one skillet, so I had minimal cleanup, which is always a plus.

*Note:  My cousin, Regina, told me that she often puts chopped jalapeños in the corn meal mixture for a little extra zip!  Sounds great to me!  

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Beef Tamale Pie

Course Main Course
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 1 medium green bell pepper chopped
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 envelope chili mix
  • 1 (14.5-ounce can) petite diced tomatoes drained
  • 1 (15.25-ounce can) whole kernel corn drained
  • 1 cup self-rising yellow corn meal
  • 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
  • water

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400℉.
  • In a large skillet brown the beef, drain.
  • Add onions, bell pepper, salt, chili mix and tomatoes. Simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Stir in corn.
  • In a bowl mix corn meal, shredded cheese and enough water for spreading consistency.
  • Drop mixture by spoonfuls over beef mixture and slightly spread out.
  • Bake 20 minutes or until the cornmeal mixture has browned.
  • Serve warm with desired toppings.

Pizza Pot Pie

Pizza Pot Pie

Today as I sit down to share a recipe with you, I struggle for words. As we are living in uncertain times, chatting about recipes seems so trivial. It appears that the health scare escalates daily. For the time being, life, as we know it, has changed.

Even during this time, I am choosing to live without fear. I am concerned and taking precautions, but I am electing to look at this time as a gift. First, I have my mother here with us. I didn’t even give my mother a choice. I told her to pack, and I went to get her ten days ago. I am blessed to spend this time with my 80-year-old mother. Greg has stopped traveling for work. It’s been nice to have him around the house. Wes and Ashley live down the hill, and they are both at home. We have eaten together as a family more than we have since he married and moved out. I wish Savannah were here, but she is staying safe in her Atlanta apartment.

Even in this uncertain time, we still have to eat. Here is a recipe that can be customized to your taste or simply with what you have on hand. I always have marinara sauce in the cupboard and ground beef or deer meat in the freezer. If you do not have crescent rolls, you could top with a canned biscuit, frozen puff pastry, pie crust dough.  Get creative!

 

Pizza Pot Pie
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Pizza Pot Pie

Course Main Course
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 1 medium green bell pepper
  • 4 ounces fresh mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil
  • 1/2 pound ground beef or Italian sausage
  • 12 ounces marinara sauce
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
  • 8 ounce can Crescent Roll Dough Sheet
  • 1 large egg beaten

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375℉.
  • Spray four 8-ounce custard cups with nonstick cooking spray. Place cups on a sheet pan and set aside.
  • Slice bell pepper into 4 rounds. Chop remaining bell pepper.
  • Heat oil in skillet. Add meat and brown, stirring ofter to break up. When browned, removed from pan with a slotted spoon onto a paper-towel lined pan.
  • Add the chopped bell pepper to the pan and saute until the pepper starts to soften. Add mushrooms and saute a few more minutes.
  • In a medium bowl, add meat, bell pepper and mushrooms, marinara sauce, cheese, and basil. Mix well.
  • Divide evenly among the cups. (about 3/4 cup)
  • On a lightly floured surface, cut the dough into four 4 1/2-inch rounds. Top each ramekin with a dough circl. Gently press dough around edges. Brush the top of dough with beaten egg.
  • Top with a bell pepper ring.
  • Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until lightsly browned and heated through.
  • Serve warm.

Keto Cajun Chicken (Keto, Low-Carb, GF)

keto cajun chicken

 

One of my favorite cuisines, if not my favorite, is Cajun! I was first introduced to it as a child when my mom made the best gumbo ever! That was all I had ever tried until I moved to the gulf coast at the age of 29. Soon after we moved to Pensacola, Florida we were introduced to authentic Cajun food, and I honestly thought I had found the food of my long, lost forefathers!

I found this recipe on centercutcook.com, where there were a ton of delicious looking recipes. Most Cajun dishes begin with The Holy Trinity which consists of onion, celery and bell pepper. For carbohydrate’s sake, the onions were not used in this recipe. However, add a small amount of chopped onions if you prefer and recalculate the macros.

I have tried many wonderful keto dishes, but this is by far my favorite! Served over riced cauliflower, you will never know you are eating for health. This recipe is just the beginning of my keto Cajun journey; I have all sorts of ideas running through my head.

keto cajun chicken
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Keto Cajun Chicken

Course Main Course
Servings 4
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts sliced thin and cut into strips
  • 2 tbsp. Cajun seasoning or to taste
  • 2 tbsp. butter
  • 1 med. red bell pepper diced
  • 1 med. green bell pepper diced
  • 1/2 c. diced celery
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tsp. smoked paprika
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
  • 3/4 c. chicken bone broth
  • 1/3 c. heavy cream
  • 2 tbsp. tomato paste
  • 8 oz. Monterey Jack cheese shredded
  • 2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

  • Sprinkle sliced chicken with Cajun seasoning, set aside.  
  • Melt butter in a large skillet, over medium-high heat.  
  • Add chicken, stirring occasionally, saute until cooked through.  Remove from pan and set aside.   
  • Add bell pepper and celery and cook until tender.  
  • Add garlic and cook until fragrant.  
  • Stir in paprika, salt, and pepper.  
  • Add chicken broth, cream and tomato sauce and whisk.  
  • Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer for several minutes until the mixture has thickened slightly.  
  • Stir in cheese, stirring until melted.  
  • Add chicken to sauce and stir to coat.  
  • Serve over riced cauliflower, if desired.  Sprinkle each serving with chopped parsley.

Notes

Nutritional Information:
Net Carbs: 6 g.; Fat: 35 g.; Protein:  51 g.; Calories:  558