Category: Nom Nom

Chilly nights call for Chili nights.

Published on by Charlotte Cajun QueenLeave a comment

I was hesitant to write a post about this because if you’re anything like me, I’m very particular about my chili, and I assume everyone else is too. Most people have their “go-to” chili recipe, one that they’ve grown up on and can replicate over and over again blindfolded. But for those of you who don’t have a “go-to” chili recipe or you want to deviate and try something different, allow me to share mine. It’s SUPER easy 30 minute recipe, and you can obviously tailor it to how you like it, creating your own “go-to” chili recipe.

Ratio. It’s all about the ratio for me and I love beans! Lots of beans!!! If beans aren’t for you, you may want to quit reading now. But if you’re a bean lover, you’re in good company. Without further ado, here’s my “recipe”:

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  • 1 lb ground organic turkey or beef
  • 1 can dark red kidney beans
  • 1 can of black beans, strained and rinsed (you can use any kind of beans you like)
  • 1 14oz can diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup diced zucchini
  • 1 packet of Chili seasoning mix (we prefer mild McCormick)
  • Shredded cheddar cheese and Fritos, for toppings

Instructions:

  1. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large heavy pot over medium/high heat, and brown the meat. If using a high fat content beef, drain excess grease after browning meat.
  2. Add zucchini and cook for a few more minutes, until softened.
  3. Stir in packet of seasoning and let cook 1 min.
  4. Add kidney beans and strained black beans.
  5. Add can of diced tomatoes.
  6. Add 1/2 cup of water and stir all together.
  7. Bring chili to simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
  8. Ladle chili into bowl and top with cheese and Fritos.
  9. Enjoy!
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Evie loves chili! ❤ 

 

Don’t play with your food…or do!

Published on by Charlotte Cajun Queen3 Comments

As a mom of two, I know how hard it can be to get your kids to eat their food at meal time. Dinner is by far our most challenging meal, as many of you can probably relate. After a long, stressful day at work, the last thing you want to do is have to figure out a dinner that you can throw together in less than 30 minutes that will make everyone happy. Add on the juggle of a 4 year old and 18 month old, and dinner prep is not usually something I look forward to either. It’s on nights like these, when I have nothing planned for dinner that I like to turn to some of my easy, go-to staples. And when you can throw in a little FUN, sometimes it turns the dinner challenge into a dinner winner. Tonight, we incorporated a little ghoulish Halloween fun into our dinner!

On the menu…

  • GHOST TOAST with extra GHOST EYEBALLS – any kind of bread toasted (we had pumpkin toast), spread with cream cheese and 2 blueberries as eyes. Extra “eyeballs” on the side
  • SCARECROW BRAINS – scrambled eggs with your favorite cheese
  • Magical WAND – fully cooked sausage links, heated in pan (hint: I told Brooks the magic only lasts for 3 spells, and then it’s gone – otherwise your little goblins will never eat it…didn’t foresee this coming)
  • WITCHES BREW – milk or drink of choice; kids can stir a little Nesquik into their cauldron if you choose

 

Evie’s wand had to be cut into pieces…
Brooks’ best “ooooooo” ghost sound

If you’re looking for some other ways to incorporate some fun into your food here’s what you need:

  1. Start with a vessel — whole grain bread, bagels, tortillas, pizza crusts, etc.
  2. Add a spread aka “the glue” — hummus, cream cheese (all flavors), peanut butter, tomato sauce, pesto, etc.
  3. Add whatever fun toppings you want — fruits, veggies, shredded cheese, pepperoni, beans, etc. Hint: letting your kiddos help “decorate” their creations gets them involved, which I find makes them want to try new things. Win win!
  4. Be creative! I keep an abundant amount of cookie cutters on hand to cut out fun shapes. Some of the faves include the teddy bear, heart, car, dinosaur, apple, flower, and airplane.
  5. Feel free to share some of your favorite fun food ideas — I would love to add them to my list!

White Bean, Sausage, & Kale Soup

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One of my favorite soups of all time…White beans, sausage, and kale. I have a love for anything white beans or sausage, so I knew I couldn’t go wrong marrying the two together in this hearty soup. Living in the trendy “super foods” era, the addition of kale  made this recipe ever more popular with friends and family. Quick and easy, this is a stove top recipe that takes less than 30 minutes to make, but as with any soup, is better the longer it simmers, and even more savory the next day. Topped with shaved Parmesan and a piece (or 2) of crusty bread, and this soup will leave you feeling warm and satiated long into the night. Without further ado, here are the ingredients and step by step.

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 Ingredients list:

(Note: I tend to use what I already have on hand so feel free to do the same.)

  • 1 pack (12-16 oz) of sausages, sliced (I used precooked Boar’s Head chicken sausage, but you can use whatever you like or have. If my kids weren’t eating it, I would use Italian spicy sausage.)
  • 2 cans white beans, one drained and rinsed and one with their juice
  • Bag of kale, or a bunch of fresh kale, chopped (make your life easy and buy the bag – you will only use some of it, and will have leftovers for your kale smoothies or chip)
  • Small yellow onion, chopped
  • Garlic clove, minced
  • 3/4 c. Baby Carrots or 2-3 whole carrots, sliced (I had a bag of baby carrots from the kids’ snacks so I used those)
  • 1 can of diced tomatoes (can also use crushed tomatoes, or actual tomatoes)
  • 8 cups or two 32 oz. cartons of chicken stock
  • Italian seasoning (my go-to is Mrs. Dash Italian Medley)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 TBSP Olive oil
  • Optional: small yellow potatoes (I had a few leftover so I quartered them and tossed them in the pot); crusty bread and Parmesan for serving.

Step by Step:

  1. Heat 2 TBSP olive oil in large heavy pot over medium/high heat. Add chopped onions and carrots, and cook until softened, about 6 minutes.
  2. Add the sliced, precooked sausage and garlic and cook another 2 minutes. Note: if you are using uncooked sausage, you will want to reverse steps 1 and 3 and cook the sausage first before adding in the carrots and onions. 

  3. Season with about 1 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp of pepper, and 1/2 – 1 tsp of Italian seasoning. I don’t measure but rather give it a few hefty shakes.
  4. Add the can of diced tomatoes, and 8 cups of chicken stock.
  5. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium/low and simmer for at least 10 minutes.
  6. Add white beans, and 2 heaping handfuls of kale (about 2 cups). It will look like a lot in the pot but it will cook down. img_20180927_164520
  7. Raise heat to medium and cook for another 5-10 minutes, until kale is tender. Taste soup and add more salt/pepper if you’d like. Continue to simmer on low for 30 minutes if you want to and have time, but not necessary!
  8. Ladle soup into bowl and garnish with Parmesan cheese, served with a side of crusty bread. Enjoy!psx_20180928_1646358527463151440186472.jpg

Birthday Kabobs!

Published on by Charlotte Cajun Queen2 Comments

Birthday KabobsAllow me to introduce you to our newly turned 4 year old B-Man, formerly Baby Brooks (but will always be BB if you ask his daddy). For the past 3 years, we have done the obligatory cupcakes or cookies for his class birthday celebration. Although I may groan about it, not recognizing what I get myself into sometimes, I secretly love doing it. But this year I vowed to do something different. Tired of the fake-colored, sugary store-bought treats, I feverishly searched Pinterest for “alternatives to school cupcakes”. While I did not find exactly what I was looking for, partly because I did not know what I was looking for, I did come away from my search with some ideas.

  1. I wanted to do something fun for the kids and something B could help me make for his friends. That’s how we came up with the kabob idea.
  2. I wanted something decently healthy, so fruit was the focus.
  3. It also had to have a “birthday flare” to it, so of course, sprinkles came to mind. And what could I douse in sprinkles, that would also fit on a kabob? One of Brooks’ favorite treats, MARSHMALLOWS.
  4. Thus, 1+2+3 = Birthday Kabobs!

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These treats were super easy to make, and a really fun way to get your kiddos involved; only if you don’t mind them eating the project along the way, as evidenced above. Also, for those fans of the show Umizoomi and Milli’s pattern power (in your best singing voice), this activity provides a great opportunity for your kids to learn about patterns. And yes, I realize I missed a blueberry on one – oops!

Here’s what you need to make the kabobs:

  • Assortment of whatever fruit you like that can be skewered. We used strawberries, bananas, blueberries, and canned pineapple chunks.
  • A bag of big marshmallows
  • Sprinkles
  • Chocolate candy melts – you can find these at your local craft store in all colors. I used the white chocolate party melts.
  • 8″ treat sticks – also found at local craft store. They look like the white cake pop sticks.

And here is how:

  1. Wash hands 🙂
  2. Have your marshmallows ready to dip, and pour the sprinkles out on a plate or any shallow pan with sides.
  3. Melt the chocolate candy according to the directions on the bag. You have to work kind of fast before the chocolate hardens again, but even if it does, just nuke it again to melt it.
  4. Dip the ends of the marshmallows into the chocolate, then the sprinkles, and set on wax paper. Repeat for as many as you need. We made 20 kabobs, but probably had 25 marshmallows to begin with. They seemed to disappear along the way.
  5. Wash and prep the fruit. Trim the tops off the strawberries, and slice the larger ones in half. Cut the bananas into one inch rounds.
  6. Skewer the fruit and end the kabob with one of the birthday marshmallows. Brooks helped me with making the marshmallows but I skewered the actual fruit, while he helped me with the pattern.
  7. Enjoy! I will admit I was a little nervous about Brooks’ friends just eating the marshmallows and leaving the fruit on the stick, but I was pleasantly surprised that every kid (all 19 of them) ate every.single.bite. of the kabobs. And the teachers enjoyed them too. They were a hit and Brooks was so proud to be able to say he helped make them!

Note: you can make these ahead of time, and refrigerate them for the next day. Just be sure to tightly wrap them so the marshmallows don’t dry out.

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It’s Fall Yall.

Published on by Charlotte Cajun Queen3 Comments

Of course one of the first foodie posts has to be an ode to FALL. Above is my little pumpkin from last year.

Fall is my favorite time of the year. It used to be summer, but as I get older, I’ve learned to love the cooler temperatures, cozy leggings and scarves, and all of the yummy goodness that comes with this time of year. Although I will admit, I’m not a PSL fan. I know, I will probably lose some of you over that statement, but I just can’t get into the hype. Nevertheless, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite fall recipes. This side dish is a perfect accompaniment for your Thanksgiving feast, but can also be put together (yes, it’s more of an assembly meal than actual cooking, so any of you can do it) for a potluck or served alongside a grocery store rotisserie chicken for a scrumptious dinner.

Sweet & Salty Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Butternut Squash

This recipe is adopted from Julia’s Album, and linked above. I found it for Thanksgiving a few years ago and it has since become a staple every holiday. It’s a simple recipe and requires very little cooking knowledge or experience, but makes people think you spent time more than what it actually takes.  The colors are beautiful and represent the hues of fall – red, green, orange, yellow, brown – I love it!

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Photo cred: Julia’s Album

Personally, I am not a huge recipe follower, which is why I love to cook, and not bake. A little of this and that and you can’t go wrong. However, I follow this recipe fairly closely. The only minor adjustment I make (and maybe this will win back some of those PSL lovers) is the addition of BACON. Everything is better with bacon. For the brussels sprouts, sub out 1 TBSP of EVOO for 1 TBSP of the bacon drippings reserved from the cooked bacon. Then add the crumbled bacon at the end with the dried cranberries and walnuts. Yep, I prefer chopped walnuts over pecans, but you do you. Also, I do not add the extra syrup at the end as I find it makes it too sweet. Last thing, make your life easy and buy the pre-cubed butternut squash in the produce section at the grocery store. You can use the time you would have spent sawing a butternut squash drinking wine. You’re welcome! Enjoy!