New Orleans Gumbo

Quickie update with a favorite recipe!!  Enjoy!

New Orleans Gumbo

I made this gumbo just a couple of weeks before taking a trip to New Orleans. We ate gumbo in the French Quarter, and I was thrilled to find that my gumbo was just as good! Try to find file - it really helps with the traditional flavor.

Ingredients

6 strips center-cut bacon, diced
14 links (1 tray) regular breakfast sausage links, diced
6 T flour
2 onions, chopped
1.5 C celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 14oz cans diced tomatoes
1 8oz can tomato sauce
6 C chicken broth (or use bullion + water)
1 T salt
1t. black pepper
1 T parsley flakes
2 t creole seasoning (Tony Chachere's)
2 T file (ground sassafras) - can do without, but try to find it!
10 drops hot pepper sauce
1 lb frozen okra, sliced
2 chicken breasts, cubed and pre-cooked
8 oz container crab meat, with juice (lump or claw)
1.5 C shrimp, peeled (raw or cooked) (or like 2 lbs...)
3 T worcestershire sauce

Directions

Makes a whopping 18C of soup - use your biggest stock pot!

1. Saute diced bacon and link sausage in a soup pot over medium heat until cooked. Remove meat and save to add to soup at the end. If needed, add some EVOO to make drippings equal to appx. 1/3C. Add flour and whisk well to incorporate. Turn heat to very low and whisk constantly until the roux is very dark and fragrant - 20 to 30 minutes. (I usually skimp on this and just do it on medium for about 5 minutes)

2. Add onion, celery and garlic and saute 5-8 minutes or until turning translucent.

3. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth and all seasonings and simmer for 1 hour.

4. Add all meats and okra and simmer 20 minutes.

Nutritional Data

Servings Per Recipe: 18

• Calories: 164.6

• Total Fat: 7.0 g
• Cholesterol: 77.6 mg
• Sodium: 862.0 mg
• Total Carbs: 7.5 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1.5 g
• Protein: 17.9 g

West Coast Salmon & Shrimp

Here is another fish recipe for you! I'm supposed to eat more Salmon for the Omega-3s, according to my midwife. Here is a wonderful recipe to help me do that - although you can sub any fish you happen to like. It's also not as high in fat as many cream sauce recipes, because it's thickened with cornstarch instead of a roux. I try to make it once every week or 2!


West Coast Salmon & Shrimp

Serves 4, or 2 with great leftovers

Ingredients:
2 T butter or olive oil
1 onion, halved and sliced thinly (into 1/2 rings)
1C sliced mushrooms (or 1 can, drained)
1T minced garlic (about 3-4 cloves pressed - I use the stuff in a jar)

1.5 C milk
1 T fresh dill (1/2T dried)
1/2t salt
1/2 t fresh cracked pepper
1/4C milk
2T cornstarch (if you use arrowroot powder, the quantity will be different - hopefully you know how much!)

1 lb. salmon, cubed (or other fish - I've tried cod and it was good)
1 C shrimp (fresh or cooked)

Fresh parm
Hot, cooked rice - white or brown

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375F. Heat the butter in a large skillet and begin to sautee the onions. After 5 min, add the mushrooms and sautee until everything is tender and browning. Add the garlic for the last minute, to keep it from burning. It seems like a lot of garlic, but it mellows in the oven.
2. Pour in the 1.5C of milk, and add all the seasonings, and bring to a simmer. It looks like a lot of dill, but it also mellows with baking. Taste and adjust the salt & pepper if needed. It may taste a bit bland now - it will take a lot of flavor from the fish as it bakes. Just make sure it's salted enough, as you'll be serving it over unsalted rice.
3. Mix together the 1/4 C milk and 2T cornstarch until it is very smooth, then add to the skillet, stirring constantly. Simmer 1 min. or until thickened.
4. Stir in cubed fish and shrimp - if your shrimp was frozen, thaw it in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes then drain before adding.
5. Spray a 2 qt. casserole dish with oil and pour in your sauce. Cover and bake for 30 min. or until fish (and shrimp) are done. If you like, sprinkle with fresh parm and broil until brown. Or just serve each plate topped with some.
   
6. Serve over white or brown rice with a steamed green veggie!

My extra notes:

• This dish favors lots of changes. Last time I added a can of crab (undrained for more flavor). You can also sub whatever fish your meat dept. happens to have on sale. It works equally well with strong fish (like salmon) and white fish (cod, haddock, etc) although salmon is my favorite.
• Increase or decrease the fish ingredients - use all fish, or all shrimp, or one of those 'fish pie' mixes with several types of fish, squid, shrimp, clams, etc. Use around 2-3 C of meat total.
• Make it a complete meal by adding 1-2C frozen broccoli flowers(thawed), or peas. If you use fresh broccoli, steam it for 2-3 min. before adding, to be sure it cooks all the way through. I would make a bit more sauce (and of course use a bigger casserole) to make sure that there's plenty of sauce for the rice. If you need to thicken it more, you want to aim for a medium/thick consistency. It will thin slightly in the oven, and you want it to soak into your rice, not run all over your plate.
• If someone is not a mushroom lover, but is willing to pick them out, the person who will eat the mushrooms will thank you for leaving them in. They're super yummy.
• I usually make this up at lunchtime (while Abby is napping) and hold it in the fridge until dinner. If your casserole is cold, you'll want to give it 45 minutes to bake. Removing it from the fridge 30 min or so before baking will help, too.
  
• Wonderful with garlic bread!
  

Carrie's Catfish Larue

Finally, something to do with catfish besides frying it! A blend of tomatoes and Italian seasonings make this a mild fish dish. Great if you don't like that sometimes overpowering catfish taste. For a stronger fish flavor, try making the sauce and serving over grilled or broiled fish.

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Carrie's Catfish Larue

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
8 (4 ounce) fillets catfish fillets
salt and black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
garlic powder to taste
1 (14 ounce) can diced Italian tomatoes (undrained)
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup dry white wine

1. Place 1 tablespoon of oil in a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat. Sautee onion, green pepper, and carrot until golden brown; remove from the pan.
   
2. Using the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, sear all of the fillets on both sides. Then, lay all of the fillets into the skillet, sprinkle with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder. Top with the sauteed vegetables, and pour on the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and white wine.
3. Bring to a simmer, and cook gently until the sauce has thickened slightly, and fish flakes easily with a fork, about 10 minutes.