Tag: celery

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.  

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
 

Keto Chili

 

I have been busy “ketoizing” some of my favorite recipes.  Mainly cold weather foods that my family enjoys.  There are a few that I am getting a little frustrated with, Beef Stew being one of them.  I have discovered an excellent potato substitute, but I just have not found the taste I’m looking for.

Chili is also one of our favorite meals.  There is nothing quite like curling up on the couch with a fire in the fireplace,  a hot bowl of chili, and your favorite movie.
 
I recently read about black soybeans and could not wait to try them!  It took me a while to find them, but I finally found them near my Mom’s house in Cumming, at Whole Foods. (Since making this I have found the black soybeans at Ingles in a neighboring town.)
 

The nutritional facts on a 1/2 cup of black soybeans is 8 grams of carbs and 7 grams of fiber — pretty awesome, making them have only 1 net gram of carbs.

Soybeans are high in protein and fiber, low in saturated fat and cholesterol, lactose-free, and a great source of omega-3 fatty acids.
I thought they were terrific and have plans to stock up on a few cans the next time I visit my mom.

3 1/2 tablespoons of chili powder was perfect for my family, but if you are cooking for people that don’t care for the heat and spice, you may want to add less.  I added diced avocado to my bowl, along with sour cream and cheese and it was fantastic!

 

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Keto Chili

Course Main Course
Servings 8
Calories 392kcal
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 3 slices bacon diced
  • 2 lb. ground beef or ground venison
  • 1/2 c. diced celery
  • 1/2 c. diced yellow onion
  • 1 (14.5-oz.) can beef bone broth
  • 1 (10.5-oz.) can Chipotle Rotel tomatoes
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 3 1/2 Tbsp. chili powder or to taste
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp. Swerve brown sugar
  • 1 (15-oz.) can black soy beans rinsed and drained

Instructions

  • Cook bacon in Dutch oven until crisp, remove from pan and drain on paper towels, set aside.   
  • Add onion and celery to the pan and cook, stirring, until tender.  
  • Add beef and cook, breaking up, until cooked through.
  • Pour mixture into a slow cooker.  
  • Add broth, Rotel, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, Swerve brown sugar, and soy beans, stir to combine. 
  • Cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours.  
  • Serve topped with shredded cheese, sour cream, and reserved bacon.

Notes

Beef:  
3.5 g carbs
20 g fat
43 g protein
392 calories
 
Ven ison:
3.5 g carbs
17 g fat
43 g protein
362 calories

Buffalo Chicken Flatbread

buffalo chicken flatbread

 

When the kids were younger, I hated it when Greg worked late or had to go out of town. That meant that I had to get the kids fed, bathed, make sure homework was completed. Plus do everything else involved with raising kids while he was having dinner at a nice restaurant without a care in the world. That is the way it played out in my mind anyway. In reality, he has worked hard for years to provide for the kids and me. I’m sure; in fact, I know there were plenty of times he felt unappreciated because, from my point of view back then, I was doing IT ALL! Looking back, it took both of us (plus one) doing everything we did to accomplish what we have!  I did, however, gain much respect during those days for military spouses and single parents!

Now, with the kids grown and Greg still traveling occasionally, I sometimes enjoy dinner alone. I can sit in his recliner, NOT watching ESPN or his recorded television shows, and make myself a leisurely meal with little to no mess!

Flatbreads are one of my new “go-to” quick meals. I love the versatility, and I have not tried one yet that I did not like. This Buffalo Chicken Flatbread is fantastic! This is a Weight Watchers recipe with 7 Smart Points. I love buffalo shrimp and think it would be an excellent substitute for the chicken in this dish. Adjust the hot sauce to your taste and enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Flatbread
 
Author:
Serves: 1
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Ingredients
  • 1 Flatout Light Original flatbread
  • ¼ c. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
  • 3 oz. cooked shredded chicken breast
  • 4 tbsp. hot sauce, or to taste
  • ¼ c. shredded carrots
  • ¼ c. thinly sliced celery
  • ¼ c. reduced fat crumbled blue cheese
  • 1 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375℉.
  2. Place flatbread on baking sheet; bake 2 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine chicken with 2 - 3 tbsp. hot sauce.
  3. Sprinkle flatbread with mozzarella cheese; top with chicken. Sprinkle with carrot and celery; crumble blue cheese over top and drizzle with more hot sauce (optional). Bake until heated through and cheese is melted, 4 - 5 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle with cilantro.
Notes
1 serving = 7 Weight Watchers Smart Points