Natchitoches Meat Pie

Ingredients:
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup chopped red pepper
1 large clove of garlic, diced
2 cups beef stock
2 9-inch pie shells
1 egg
1/2 cup water
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large saute pan, heat oil over medium high heat. Saute beef and pork until golden brown, and no liquid remaining. Add onions, celery, peppers and garlic. Cook 3 to 5 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Slow cook for about an hour, adding beef stock as needed to keep it from sticking. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Roll out the pie dough and cut into halves. Spoon a generous helping of the meat into the shells. Brush a little egg wash around the edge, fold over the dough and press with a fork (like a turnover). Now: you can either deep fry (the preferred way, in my opinion) or bake - just placed on a greased cookie sheet, make small slits for steam, egg wash the entire pie, and then bake for 30 minutes.

Chicken Gumbo

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 whole chicken, cut up
2 cups andouille sausage
4 slices of bacon
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped celery
4 cloves diced garlic
3 bay leaves
1 1/2 tsp creole seasoning
1 T. tabasco sauce
2 1/2 quarts chicken stock (or you can sub water, I do)
1 cup green onions
1/2 cup chopped parsley

Directions:
Add oil and flour in a large pot, cook until about the color of milk chocolate.
Add onions, green peppers, celery, garlic. Saute over low heat until soft, about 10 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients, except for green onions and parsley. Stir well. Bring up to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for at least 2 hours, 3 hours is best. Add water as needed, stir occasionally.
When it's done, add green onions and parsley, stir and cover. Let it sit for 15 minutes. Add salt to taste.
Serve over white rice.

Serves about 10 to 12.

Crock pot Jambalaya

Ingredients:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cubed (about 1" pieces)
1 pound Andouille sausage, sliced
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes (we use petite diced, peeled, when we can)
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green pepper, shopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons parsley
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 pound shimp, peeled, deveined (you can use frozen if you like, too.)

Directions:
1. Add all ingredients to your crock pot (except for shrimp!). Cover and cook on Low for 7 to 8 hours, or High for 3 to 4 hours. Stir in shrimp in last 30 minutes of cook time, if frozen, and 20 minutes if fresh. Serve over rice.

Sauce Piquante

4 pounds meat (alligator, shrimp, chicken, beef, game - anything works here)
2 sticks of butter
3 medium onions, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 T. white flour
3 cans of cooked whole tomatoes (Ro-tel)
4 bay leaves
4 T. vegetable oil
1 T. paprika
1/4 c. chopped parsley
1 1/2 bunches onion tops
2 cups water
cayenne pepper, to taste
salt & pepper, to taste
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
1 pound of andouille sausage

Brown meat in a large pot. Place oil and flour in the pot, cook stirring constantly until as dark as chocolate. Add onions and bell pepper. Cook until dark brown and soft. Add tomato sauce and cooked tomatoes and simmer for 30 minutes. Add garlic, meat, seasonings, and andouille, and simmer 25 minutes. Add butter and cook for another 40 minutes. Serve over rice.

Steak Marinade Recipe

I literally JUST got off the phone with my mom who called asking for this recipe, so I thought while I had it on my mind, I would go ahead and post it here:

BEST EVER Steak Marinade Recipe:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste.

Combine in a large sealable (Ziploc) bag. Add steak, close the bag, and massage the marinade into the steak. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Then grill, or pan fry as desired.

BBQ Meatloaf

2 beaten eggs
3/4 c. milk
2/3 c. breadcrumbs
1 tsp salt
pepper to taste
1/4 c. finely chopped onion
1 1/2 pound ground beef or pork
1 tsp basil
1 tsp parsley
BBQ sauce

Mix all the ingredients. Shape into a loaf on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 1 hour, 15 minutes. Top with BBQ sauce and continue to bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until done. Let stand for a 5 to 10 minutes, slice and serve.

Notes: It's fairly common in our house to serve with mashed potatoes and a side - tonight it was crispy Brussels sprouts.

Orange Marmalade Glaze for Pork Roast

3/4 cup orange marmalade
1 1/2 teaspoons ginger
1 tsp water
salt & pepper to taste

Season roast with salt and pepper.  Mix remaining ingredients and set aside.  Bake roast at 425 for 15 minutes, then top with glaze. Finish roast as directed.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. 

This was great!  Served it with rice and veggies. 

Sweet and Spicy Steak & Onions

Holy Moly!  This is such a great recipe!  Trust me, and try it immediately!  You won't be sorry, and if your husband is anything like mine neither will he!

Sweet and Spicy Steak & Onions
Breakfast steaks - enough for your family, we usually get 3
1 T. butter
1/2 sweet onion, thinly sliced
2 T. brown sugar
2 tsp. hot chili powder

*Melt butter in a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add onions; cook for 5 to 6 minutes until crisp-tender.  Season with salt and pepper if desired.  Remove from skillet and set aside.
*Combine brown sugar and chili powder; press into steaks.
*Place steaks in skillet over medium heat and cook until done, turning just once (breakfast steaks cook fast!  Maybe 5 minutes!)  Remove steaks, but keep warm. 
*Return onions to skillet.  Cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes until heated through and browned bits from the bottom of the pan are dissolved. 
*Serve steaks with onions on top.

I serve this with cottage fried potatoes, a salad, and maybe some baked beans.  It's delicious, and my family eats it up!  The next time we make it, I'll have to take pictures to post.

Salsa Chicken

This is a quick, easy recipe.  We make it a couple of times a month and the kids just love it.

Salsa Chicken for the Crock-Pot
3 or 4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (this feeds my family of 4 with some leftovers)
1 cup of your favorite salsa
1 can of whole kernel corn, drained
1 can of kidney beans, drained
tortilla chips

Spray your crockpot interior with nonstick spray.  Add chicken breasts (they can even be frozen, this works just fine), top with salsa and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.  About half an hour before serving, shred the chicken with a fork. Stir in corn and kidney beans, cover crock pot and let heat through.  Serve over tortilla chips as nachos, top with whatever garnish you like - we use non-dairy cheese, black olives, etc.

Dairy-Free Red Beans and Rice

Growing up in the South for the most part, and being very close to my grandfather who was born in Louisiana, I have a fondness for Southern cooking.  Here is a great non-dairy recipe for Red Beans and Rice.

2 cups water
1 cup uncooked rice (try using brown rice for added nutrients - just cook according to package directions)
1 package beef kielbasa or smoked sausage sliced diagonally in 1/4 inch slices (check your packages for milk derivitives - they can be sneaky)
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove chopped garlic
2-15 ounce cans kidney beans, drained
1-16 ounce can petite diced tomatoes (or you can sub tomato puree if you're not a fan of the texture of cooked tomatoes, like me!)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon pepper

In a saucepan, bring water to boil.  Add rice and stir.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
In a large skillet over low heat, cook sausage for 5 minutes.  Stir in onion, green pepper and garlic.  saute until tender.  Add beans and tomatoes.  Season with oregano, salt, and pepper.  Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.  Serve over rice.

I pair this with a nice green salad and some dinner rolls (see my recipe for dairy-free bread).  If you're looking for a little kick to your meal, substitute Ro-Tel tomatoes with chiles instead of the regular tomatoes.