Beignets

Do you know what a Beignet is?  First off, let's work on pronunciation - Beignet is pronounced Ben-Yey.  Second off, it's a French donut.  In New Orleans they are served at coffee shops with extremely strong coffee.  Here in Missouri though, we eat them just plain ;).

Beignets via Justin Wilson Homegrown Louisiana Cookin'

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 medium-sized egg
3 tbsp sugar
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 quart oil for deep frying
Confectioners' sugar

Half fill a large, deep saucepan with oil and preheat it to 375 degrees F.  Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon into a large mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl, beat the egg well, then beat in the sugar, milk, and vanilla.  Pour the egg mixture into the flour and mix slightly until moistened.  Turn onto a floured surface and knead lightly.  Roll the dough out to a 1/4 inch thickness.  Slice into diamond shapes and about 3 inches long.  Fry in oil, turning once, until they are golden brown and puffed up.  Remove, drain on paper towels, and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.  Serve immediately with the cafe au lait.

Shared here:
Scrumptious Sunday

Creamy Chicken Cajun Pasta

Tuesday Night Patty brought Creamy Chicken Cajun Pasta.  She found the recipe on Pinterest.  That seems to be a great place to find things when you're looking!

Source: delish.com via Patty on Pinterest

Creamy Chicken Cajun Pasta (via delish)

• 8 ounce(s) whole-wheat fusilli or rotini
• 1 tablespoon(s) canola oil
• 2 slice(s) bacon, chopped
• 1 large sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 pound(s) boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 medium green bell pepper, sliced
• 3 clove(s) garlic, minced
• 4 teaspoon(s) Cajun seasoning (see Tip)
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon(s) all-purpose flour
• 1 can(s) (28-ounce) crushed tomatoes
• 1/3 cup(s) reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/2 cup(s) sliced scallions for garnish

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes or according to package directions. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add bacon and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add chicken, bell pepper, garlic, Cajun seasoning, and pepper. Cook stirring, until the onion and bell pepper are beginning to soften, about 4 minutes.
3. Add flour and stir to coat. Add tomatoes and their juice; bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring often, until the sauce is bubbling and thickened and the chicken is cooked through, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in sour cream.
4. Stir the pasta into the sauce. Serve sprinkled with scallions, if desired.
   
   Exchanges: 2 starch, 2 vegetable, 2 lean meat, 1 fat Carbohydrate Servings: 2 1/2 Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (53% daily value), Vitamin A (23% dv), Iron (21% dv), Magnesium & Potassium (20% dv).

And in fashion, this is what ours looked like:
 Hello Yum!! 

Linking up here:
Creative Thursday
Delightfully Inspiring Thursday
Full Plate Thursday

Tuesday Night - Cajun Night

Last night was Cajun Night.  Sadly it was a low turnout, people had things to do.  I sure hope that they weren't staying away because of Cajun night, because, mmm mmm good did they miss out!

Here's what was on last night's menu:

Crawdad or Crawfish Etouffee

Creamy Chicken Cajun Pasta

Beignets (pronounced Ben-Yey's)

Next week is a Pot Luck... That leaves a lot of room to see what everyone comes up with!!!!  Stay tuned!

Cajun Night!!!!!

I'm so ready for Cajun night at the shack tonight!! Cajun food has always been one of my favorites because it features some of my favorite things, onions, sausage, lots of spice, and of course crawdads!!! So since I'm so excited I'm going to go ahead and share my recipe for tonight, Crawdad Etouffe! This is one of my families favorite meals, I have made it many times and it always disappears quickly!



Crawdad Etouffe

1 1/2 to 2 sticks of butter
2 medium sized yellow onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups finely chopped celery
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 to 1 cup of flour
1 Tablespoon of salt
1/2 Tablespoon of pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning, whatever kind you prefer
1/2 to 1 Teaspoon Cayenne pepper
4 to 6 cups of water
1 or 2 Tablespoons chicken bouillion, or even better fish or seafood bouillion
1/2 to 1 cup chopped green onions
2 pounds peeled and cleaned crawdad tails

1. In a large pot melt your butter, then add the onions, garlic, and celery (you can also add a 1/2 cup or so of bell peppers if you want, I don't care for them so I don't include them). Let the onions and celery cook until nicely carmelized and tender.

2. Add your flour to the pot. Start with just a half cup and add more just until you have a nice thick roux that is almost like a paste. Turn the heat down to medium and let this cook just a bit but keep watch on it or it will burn.

3. When the roux is a nice brown color add the water and stir well making sure to get all the nice browned bits off the bottom. Add all of your seasonings and the bouillion and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and let cook for awhile stirring occasionally.

4. After that simmers for about 20 minutes add the crawdads and  green onions and simmer another 10 or fifteen minutes.

5. And finally serve over hot steamed or boiled rice or you can just eat it plain.

The seasonings in this recipe can be adapted according to your own personal tastes. If you like it spicy add more cayenne, or less if you don't like as much spice. Just remember to taste the food as it cooks to get the flavors just the way you like them. And remember most of the time the crawdads you find will be precooked so they don't have to cook very long, and also if you let them cook to long they can give the dish a bit of a fishy flavor.


I hope this day goes by quickly because typing up this recipe has my mouth watering for some Crawdad Etouffe and all the other great Cajun foods that I'm sure will be at the shack tonight. Anyway happy Tuesday to everyone!! I hope your days are sunshiny and fun filled!!!

Linking up with:
Tasty Tuesdays

Cajun Cuisine

So this week's food theme is Cajun.  I sometimes have a very inquisitive mind, especially when it comes to food so I started wondering how Cajun cuisine came to be:

Cajun cuisine is the style of cooking named for the French-speaking Acadian (Now day New Brunswick & Nova Scotia) or "Cajun" immigrants deported by the British from Acadia in Canada to the Acadiana region of Louisiana, USA. It is what could be called a rustic cuisine — locally available ingredients predominate, and preparation is simple. An authentic Cajun meal is usually a three-pot affair, with one pot dedicated to the main dish, one dedicated to steamed rice, special made sausages, or some other seafood dish, and the third containing whatever vegetable is plentiful or available. Ground Cayenne & Fresh Black Pepper are used often. (via wikipedia)

 Now I've noticed that Cajun and Creole get intertwined a lot so here's what I found about Louisiana Creole

Louisiana Creole cuisine is a style of cooking originating in Louisiana which blends French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Native American, and African influences, as well as general Southern cuisine. It is similar to Cajun cuisine in ingredients (such as the holy trinity), but the important distinction is that Cajun cuisine arose from the more rustic, provincial French cooking adapted by the Acadians to Louisiana ingredients, whereas the cooking of the Louisiana Creoles tended more toward classical European styles adapted to local foodstuffs. Broadly speaking, the French influence in Cajun cuisine is descended from various French Provincial cuisines of the peasantry, while Creole cuisine evolved in the homes of well-to-do aristocrats, or those who imitated their lifestyle. Although the Creole cuisine is closely identified with New Orleans culture today, much of it evolved in the country plantation estates so beloved of the pre-Civil War Creoles.  (via wikipedia)

So one commonality that they have is the Holy Trinity.  No, I'm not talking about the Father, the Son & the Holy Ghost... I'm referring to the Cooking Holy Trinity which is Onions, Bell Pepper & Celery in roughly similar quantities.

And most people look at Cajun cooking to be insainly spicy, but they prefer to look at it as "well seasoned".

Some Cajun or Cajun influenced chef's
Justin Wilson
Emeril Lagasse
Paul Prudhomme
Ryan Boudreaux

And here are some cool Cajun Websites I found:
Real Cajun Recipes
Great Cajun Cooking
Cajun Cooking Recipes
Real Cajun Cooking - Pure & Simple

Hey and after all of this, if you make it on to who wants to be a millionaire and the million dollar question you get from this blog post, by all means, I'd like some of that prize money too ;). haha!  Make checks payable to Nicole ;) haha.

I'll leave you with this...


and I think Emeril says it best


Linking up with Impulsive Addict & Seriously Shawn