Ashley A's Nana's Jambalaya

It's been cold here lately, in fact we're expecting snow tonight or tomorrow sometime.  I'm telling you this because cold weather always gets me thinking about comfort food.  Something warm and delicious.  Recently I was at a New Years Eve party where Ashley gave me her Nana's Jambalaya recipe!  What a treat to be trusted with a family recipe.  Now, I have no idea if I did it justice or not, but I followed it to the letter and I have to say, the final product is pretty darn amazing. 

Jambalaya is one of those things that everyone in the South seems to have their own way of making.  It really could go in a million different directions.  I hope you'll give this a try, it's a keeper!

Here are the cast of characters.  Ham, sausage, chicken, onion, green pepper, celery, scallions, canned tomatoes, rice, chicken broth and spices. The shrimp is in the freezer...

I began by putting a small amount of oil in the bottom of a very large heavy pan and then adding the chicken and the sausage.  I let this brown a little before adding anything else.

Next I added the ham (which was already cooked, I couldn't find exactly what I wanted but I couldn't be too picky) onions, green peppers, spices, celery, and scallions. I let these cook together for about 15 to 20 minutes.

In go the tomatoes

Next I added 5 cups of chicken broth and brought this to a boil.

Now the rice.  I used a whole grain brown rice (not the quick cooking kind)

Because of the kind of rice I used I ended up adding another 5 cups of chicken broth so there would be enough juice to cook the shrimp after the rice was done.  Also, because of the kind of rice I used, I cooked this for at least an hour and stirred it often and tested it often for the doneness of the rice.  I didn't have to add anymore salt or spices.  I should also mention that I didn't make this very spicy just as a personal preference.

Add the shrimp in after the rice is done and watch it carefully.  The Shrimp is done when it turns pink.

This had a wonderful flavor and was just exactly what I was looking for on a cold day.  The sausage I used was Sweet Italian and it was so tender, the chicken was juicy and all the flavors melded nicely.  My husband also enjoyed it said I could make it again anytime!  This makes a lot, I would estimate it would serve between 8 to 10 people.  Don't forget to serve with some bakery bread to sop up all those good juices.

Here's the recipe:

1 pound bite sized pieces of smoked ham
1 pound bite sized pieces of spicy sausage (I used Sweet Italian)
1 pound bite sized pieces of boneless chicken
1 pound medium sized shrimp (uncooked frozen is fine)
1 Cup chopped onion
1 Cup chopped green pepper
1 Cup diced celery
1 Cup diced scallions
1/2 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
5 Cups chicken broth (32 ounce box) - I ended up using two of these
1 can 28 ounce diced tomatoes
2 Cups uncooked rice

In a large pot add a small amount of oil, then add the sausage and chicken.  Let cook for about 5 minutes and then add the ham, onion, green pepper, celery, scallion, garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme.  Let this cook for 15 to 20 minutes stirring often.
Next add the canned tomatoes, and the chicken broth.  Bring this up to a boil and then add the rice.  If you're using regular (not quick cooking) rice then simmer with the lid on for about an hour checking frequently until the rice is tender.  Add more chicken broth if needed, stir frequently to make sure there is plenty of broth and that its not sticking on the bottom. 
Once the rice is done add the shrimp and cook until they are pink.  Shrimp cook quickly so keep checking it.
Serve immediately.

Homemade Hot Cocoa

Yes, I bought snowman shaped marshmallows, yes they are vanilla flavored.  I thought they were cute, and they are, especially floating on top of hot cocoa.

This is easy, you should make some.

First mix the dry milk (I know you just happened to have this on hand right?), and the cocoa, powdered sugar, salt and cornstarch.

Add about half a mug full of this powder and add hot water.  This would have only been better with homemade marshmallows which I was too lazy to make.  I did leave out the cayenne pepper, for my daughters sake of course.

This is an Alton Brown recipe: Alton Brown Hot Cocoa

Ingredients


2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup cocoa (Dutch-process preferred)
2 1/2 cups powdered milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or more to taste
Hot water

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and incorporate evenly. In a small pot, heat 4 to 6 cups of water.
Fill your mug half full with the mixture and pour in hot water. Stir to combine. Seal the rest in an airtight container, keeps indefinitely in the pantry. This also works great with warm milk.

Creamy Mushroom and Asparagus Soup

It's been sort of chilly here lately, and because of that I think of soup.  I mean, really good soup not just a can of it.  I've tried several lately that I really like but I needed to browse for a recipe that called for ingredients I already had in my house.  I wouldn't want to go outside after all, it's cold out there.

I found this recipe for Golden State Mushroom Soup and it just so happened that I had mushrooms.  I tell you this because that's a big deal, what are the chances that I'd have mushrooms just sitting around not reserved for another recipe.  I feel like maybe it was fate. 

Anyway, it was just enough reason for me to choose this recipe.  I'm so glad I did because I altered it slightly and I feel like the base of this recipe can be used for any kind of creamy soup.  Whatever you have in your house at the moment.

Add some diced onion to some melted butter and cook until tender.

Next add the mushrooms.  This recipe called for a pound of mushrooms, which I didn't have. 

But I DID have some asparagus so I cut up some of that too.

The recipe also only called for milk, however I had some half and half I needed to use so I used 1 cup of half and half and 1/2 a Cup of milk.  Are you confused yet?

Next add some flour and stir it around until it coats the veggies.

Cook the flour for a couple of minutes to get rid of that raw flour taste.

I added the half and half next, stirring while pouring to make sure there are no clumps of flour. Add the milk next.

Next add a can of chicken broth.

The recipe called for chicken bullion granules but of course I didn't have those, so I used two cubes instead.

Add salt and pepper to taste.  Stir frequently as this will begin thickening up now.

I used Kosher salt.

Now the sour cream.  I'm sorry my sour cream looks weird above.  I had already dunked it into the soup and then remembered to take the picture; so out it came for it's close up.

This was nice and creamy and perfect for a cold day.  This is going down as one of my favorite recipes and I can't wait to experiment with it and different veggies or meat.  Yum.  Try this one for sure!

Here's the original recipe: Garden State Mushroom Soup

Here is the recipe with my modifications:

1 medium onion
1 (small blue container) of button mushrooms
6 stalks of asparagus, cut into bite sized pieces
1/4 C. butter
1/4 C. flour
salt and pepper to taste
1 C. half and half
1/2 C. milk
1 (14.5 ounce) can of chicken broth
1 chicken bullion cubes
1 C. sour cream

Saute the chopped onion in the butter until tender.  Add the sliced mushrooms and asparagus and cook until they begin to get tender.  Add the flour and coat the veggies well, let cook for a few minutes.  Add the milk, half and half, broth, bullion, salt (keep in mind that the bullion is salty) and pepper and bring to a boil.  Stir continuously until smooth. Add the chicken bullion cubes and stir to make sure they break apart and dissolve.  Add the sour cream and mix well. 

Neiman Marcus Cookies

You are looking at one of my favorite cookies.  The reasons I like them so much are these: They don't flatten out when baking, they taste good, they have big chunks of chocolate, they taste good.

I do recommend that you half or even quarter this recipe however as this original recipe makes over 100 cookies.

Have you ever heard the story behind these cookies?  I mean, I discovered that it's false, but it is a fun little story. Snopes Neiman Marcus Cookie Recipe and Story

Inside the bowl above is brown sugar, white sugar and butter.

Take some oatmeal, I used the old fashioned kind and put into a blender. 

Blend until it looks sort of like a coarse powder.

This is all of the oatmeal that has been blended.

Add the eggs to the butter/sugar mixture.

There, blended.

The picture above is the oatmeal and the other dry ingredients like flour, salt, etc. Mix this in with the wet ingredients until combined.

Coarsely chop up the chocolate bars

Add the chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, and nuts to the dough mixture and mix by hand.

Now that the mixture is ready, line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Roll the dough into balls and place about two inches apart.

Bake for about 10 - 12 minutes.  I suggest under cooking them ever so slightly so that they stay chewy; unless you like crispy cookies of course.

Here's the recipe:

2 C. Butter
2 C. Granulated Sugar
2 C. Brown Sugar
4 Eggs
2 tsp. Vanilla
4 C. All-purpose Flour
5 C. Blended Oatmeal
2 tsp. Baking Soda
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Salt
24 ounces of Chocolate Chips - semi sweet
1 - 8 ounce Hershey bar coarsely chopped
3 C chopped nuts (I never usually use this much) use whatever kind you like.

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cream both sugars and butter. Add the eggs and the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, blended oatmeal, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Slowly add this dry mixture in with the sugar/butter mixture until combined.  By hand, add the nuts, and chocolates.  Stir until combined. 
Roll the dough into a ball (slightly smaller than a golf ball) and place on cookie sheets that have been lined with parchment paper.  Place the balls 2 inches apart.
Bake for about 10 minutes. 
Makes 112 cookies.

Dinner Rolls

This is the second time making these yummy rolls.  I just love working with yeast now that I'm not scared of it.  It does require some time however, these need three different rise cycles.  Boy are they yummy, and your kitchen smells so good...

Begin by warming some milk and then dumping the yeast on top and letting it rest for 5 minutes.

Add the butter, eggs, sugar and salt and add to the yeast mixture.  Mix thoroughly.

Gradually add the flour and mix until combined.  Do not over mix.

Plop this mixture into a buttered bowl and turn to coat.

Put a clean towel on top and put in a warm area for an hour.  I usually put a space heater in a small room like my laundry room to get the heat needed to make these rise in the winter time.

This is what it'll look like after about an hour.  Punch it down, turn it over and let it rise again - another hour.  When that hour is up, do it one more time and wait another hour.

OK, now that it's been three hours, pull pieces of the dough off and plop them into a greased 9x13 inch pan.  You want these to be in a ball shape, but you also don't want to work it too much.  They'll get heavier and more dense the more they are handled.

Put into the oven and let bake for 10 - 15 minutes or until they are a golden brown all over.  As soon as they come out of the oven, slather them with softened salted butter.

Now, sit down and enjoy these babies.  They took up your entire afternoon but they are soooooo worth it.

Here is the original recipe: Angies Perfect Dinner Rolls