Based on a lot of experimentation, serves 4-6
Date made: 2/7/2011
1 lb red kidney beans, sorted*
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
Cajun brown rice*
Salt, pepper, Tony's, cumin, thyme, to taste
1 lb andouille sausage, sliced or chopped, optional
Place beans in a pot and cover with water. Soak overnight.
Add more water to cover the beans and bring to a boil.
Boil for about 10 minutes and then transfer to crock for the slow cooker.
Add veggies and herbs/spices. Cook on low heat for 10 hours.
Add sausage about 20 minutes before serving (while you're cooking your rice).
You know how to do the rest...
Before I got this new Crock-Pot for Christmas, I'd been using my mom's old slow cooker from, like, 20 years ago. The first time I made red beans and rice in the Crock Pot it turned out disastrous since I cooked it on low and the beans didn't cook through AT ALL, even though they were there for 12 hours. Mind you, I also consulted several slow cooker recipes online that made no indication that this might happen.
I thought the culprit was a defective low setting since I tried to make slow cooker corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick's Day, which yielded similar results. Thus, I've been making red beans and rice on the high setting to avoid further culinary embarrassment. When I got this new Crock-Pot, I figured my low heat setting woes were a thing of the past, so I attempted to make chili a couple weeks ago over low heat.
This story is probably predictable, so I'm sure you can guess what happened -- crunchy chili. Lo and behold, when I consulted my handy-dandy Crock-Pot manual (which I had the foresight not to throw out, though I guess there's always the internet), it explicitly states that you have to boil the beans beforehand, especially if you're adding any acid (aka tomatoes) since apparently it acts as a hardening agent. Thank you, internet home cooks for not bringing this to my attention.
At least I got a sweet Crock-Pot out of it. Thanks, Mom and Dad.
Showing posts with label Cajun brown rice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cajun brown rice. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Mustard Mustard Greens
Adapted from Hollygrove Market, serves 2 (main course) or 4 (side dish)
Date made: 2/6/2011
1 bunch mustard greens, washed, destemmed, and torn into large pieces*
1 pint small shiitake mushrooms*
2 large turnips, sliced*
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp honey dijon mustard
1 Tbsp sugar
salt, pepper, and Tony Cacherie's to taste
water
Cajun brown rice*
Saute turnips on medium heat in a couple tablespoons of olive oil until they start to become translucent.
Add mushrooms and continue cooking until mushrooms are tender.
Remove from heat and set aside.
Meanwhile, saute garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil in a pot. Add greens and enough water to cover the bottom of the pot, 3-4 tablespoons.
Add a tablespoon of sugar and season with salt and pepper. Add Tony Cacherie's, if desired.
Cook until wilted. Remove greens and squeeze as much liquid as possible into the pot. Reduce liquid by half and add butter and mustard.
Add greens, mushrooms, and turnips to pot and mix well.
Serve over a bed of Cajun brown rice. Can also be served as a side dish alone with some sort of protein.
Trying to cook mustard greens has been the bane of my existence. For some reason, they'd always turn out bitter to the point of being inedible. I guess I should have done some reading first: apparently, wilted greens = bitter greens.
http://www.naturalchoice.net/articles/cookinggr.htm.
From Mimi's cooking lesson on collards and okra, I always add a little bit of sugar to my greens, and I'd like to think that it cuts the bitterness as well. I cooked these greens that day after I got them, and by following the source recipe and tweaking it a little, the greens turned out pretty well, the only bitterness coming from the dijon mustard. Although I chose the honey dijon because it was the first mustard I found in the fridge, I kind of like the slight sweetness it brings to the dish.
Date made: 2/6/2011
1 bunch mustard greens, washed, destemmed, and torn into large pieces*
1 pint small shiitake mushrooms*
2 large turnips, sliced*
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp honey dijon mustard
1 Tbsp sugar
salt, pepper, and Tony Cacherie's to taste
water
Cajun brown rice*
Saute turnips on medium heat in a couple tablespoons of olive oil until they start to become translucent.
Add mushrooms and continue cooking until mushrooms are tender.
Remove from heat and set aside.
Meanwhile, saute garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil in a pot. Add greens and enough water to cover the bottom of the pot, 3-4 tablespoons.
Add a tablespoon of sugar and season with salt and pepper. Add Tony Cacherie's, if desired.
Cook until wilted. Remove greens and squeeze as much liquid as possible into the pot. Reduce liquid by half and add butter and mustard.
Add greens, mushrooms, and turnips to pot and mix well.
Serve over a bed of Cajun brown rice. Can also be served as a side dish alone with some sort of protein.
Trying to cook mustard greens has been the bane of my existence. For some reason, they'd always turn out bitter to the point of being inedible. I guess I should have done some reading first: apparently, wilted greens = bitter greens.
http://www.naturalchoice.net/articles/cookinggr.htm.
From Mimi's cooking lesson on collards and okra, I always add a little bit of sugar to my greens, and I'd like to think that it cuts the bitterness as well. I cooked these greens that day after I got them, and by following the source recipe and tweaking it a little, the greens turned out pretty well, the only bitterness coming from the dijon mustard. Although I chose the honey dijon because it was the first mustard I found in the fridge, I kind of like the slight sweetness it brings to the dish.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Bounty Rice
Adapted from Simply in Season, serves 6-8
Date made: 1/28/2011
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 28 oz cans diced tomatoes
1/2 head of cabbage, shredded*
3 c cooked Cajun brown rice*
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 c sour cream
1 c mozzarella cheese
Saute ground turkey, onion, and green pepper in large skillet on medium heat until meat is browned and vegetables are soft.
Stir in tomatoes, cabbage, rice, and herbs and cover. Cook until cabbage is crisp tender, about 10-15 minutes.
Stir in sour cream and transfer into a grease 13x9 baking dish. Bake at 325°F until the cabbage is tender, about 30-45 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on top and let melt.
The acid is slightly overwhelming -- I might add more rice next time. Not sure if it was really 3 cups since I kind of eyeballed it. I eyeballed the cheese, too, so next time I think I'd add more cheese. Still tasty and very hearty!
Date made: 1/28/2011
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 28 oz cans diced tomatoes
1/2 head of cabbage, shredded*
3 c cooked Cajun brown rice*
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 c sour cream
1 c mozzarella cheese
Saute ground turkey, onion, and green pepper in large skillet on medium heat until meat is browned and vegetables are soft.
Stir in tomatoes, cabbage, rice, and herbs and cover. Cook until cabbage is crisp tender, about 10-15 minutes.
Stir in sour cream and transfer into a grease 13x9 baking dish. Bake at 325°F until the cabbage is tender, about 30-45 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on top and let melt.
The acid is slightly overwhelming -- I might add more rice next time. Not sure if it was really 3 cups since I kind of eyeballed it. I eyeballed the cheese, too, so next time I think I'd add more cheese. Still tasty and very hearty!
Gołąbki
Adapted from my mommy's recipe, Gather and another food blogger, 6-8 servings
Date made: 1/19/2011
1 large head of cabbage*
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
2 c cooked Cajun brown rice*
2 eggs
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 10 oz cans condensed tomato soup
1 14 oz can tomato sauce
3 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
3 ribs of celery, peeled and finely chopped
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
thyme, salt, pepper, parsley to taste, other seasonings can be used as desired.
Core cabbage and place in boiling water. Peel the leaves as they get soft and remove from the pot and set aside.
Saute onion in oil or butter until translucent. Mix half of the onion with ground beef, pork, one egg, one cup of rice, and two garlic cloves. Add about 1-2 tsp each of the seasonings.
Mix other half of onion with bell pepper, celery, carrot, the remaining rice, garlic, and one egg. Again, add about 1-2 tsp each of the seasonings.
Take a cabbage leaf and cut off the thick stem. Place a spoonful of filling in the middle of a leaf, fold the left and right sides over, and starting at the end closest to you, roll the cabbage up (see referenced recipes for photos).
Repeat until you have used all the mixture up.
Mix together two cans of tomato soup and tomato sauce. Add 3 bay leaves and salt and pepper to taste.
Place cabbage rolls seam side down into crockpot and pour tomato soup/sauce mixture over the rolls. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
Jason and I had made a Russian version (Голубцы - golubtsy) of this dish a while ago, but it it was my first time making this Polish version that my family has been eating at reunions, parties, etc. for years. My friends have been doing a "family dinner night" where every other Wednesday evening someone hosts the group for dinner. The veggie version was for the vegetarian in our group. Since I had gotten a huge head of cabbage from Hollygrove Market and Farm the week prior, I figured I'd try my hand at this and also make cabbage noodles. All-in-all it turned out okay -- it was pretty underseasoned, but that was my fault since I'm pretty timid when it comes to seasoning my food.
Date made: 1/19/2011
1 large head of cabbage*
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
2 c cooked Cajun brown rice*
2 eggs
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 10 oz cans condensed tomato soup
1 14 oz can tomato sauce
3 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
3 ribs of celery, peeled and finely chopped
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
thyme, salt, pepper, parsley to taste, other seasonings can be used as desired.
Core cabbage and place in boiling water. Peel the leaves as they get soft and remove from the pot and set aside.
Saute onion in oil or butter until translucent. Mix half of the onion with ground beef, pork, one egg, one cup of rice, and two garlic cloves. Add about 1-2 tsp each of the seasonings.
Mix other half of onion with bell pepper, celery, carrot, the remaining rice, garlic, and one egg. Again, add about 1-2 tsp each of the seasonings.
Take a cabbage leaf and cut off the thick stem. Place a spoonful of filling in the middle of a leaf, fold the left and right sides over, and starting at the end closest to you, roll the cabbage up (see referenced recipes for photos).
Repeat until you have used all the mixture up.
Mix together two cans of tomato soup and tomato sauce. Add 3 bay leaves and salt and pepper to taste.
Place cabbage rolls seam side down into crockpot and pour tomato soup/sauce mixture over the rolls. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Chicken and Bok Choy Stir Fry
Adapted from Real Simple, serves 2-4
Date made: 1/12/2011
1 c uncooked, Cajun brown rice*
1 T olive oil
1 lb chicken, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 head bok choy, greens and stalks separated*
1 green onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c soy sauce, approximate
3-4 T sesame sauce, approximate
1/4 t ground ginger
salt and pepper, to taste
Cook Cajun brown rice -- I have a rice cooker, which is almost as valuable as my Crock Pot, so I can't really help you with times for normal cooking.
Heat olive oil in large skillet (if you don't have a wok) on medium heat. Brown chicken, tossing occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
Add scallions and saute for about 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and continue to saute until fragrant.
Add soy sauce, sesame sauce, and bok choy stalks and spices. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to low.
Allow bok choy to simmer for 2-3 minutes, add the greens, and simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
Add chicken and allow it to heat through. Serve on a bed of rice.
I had a very vague idea of what to do with the bok choy. Only a day after I bought it at Hollygrove Market and Farm, it started to wilt because it was so big it didn't fit into my crisper, so I had to figure out what to do with it... fast. Over the past couple years, I've been bad at wasting my Hollygrove produce due to improper storage, and part of my New Year's resolution is to reduce the amount of spoiled produce that comes from my fridge.
I had had a lot of veggie-only dishes the few days prior (the veggie soup, rice bake, collards...), so I was really craving some protein. I knew I wanted to make a stir fry out of the bok choy, but wasn't really sure how to incorporate the chicken. If I had done it over again, I would have marinated the chicken for a few hours in a soy sauce/sesame sauce mixture since the flavor didn't get absorbed very well.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Wild Rice Vegetable Bake
Adapted from "Simply in Season", serves 6-8
Date made: 1/4/2011
1 c Cajun brown rice*
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 c quick pearl barley
4 medium Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut in 1-in pieces
1 acorn squash, peeled, seeded, and cut in 1-in pieces*
3 carrots, peeled and cut in 1-in pieces
1 c apple juice
3 c chicken broth
4 c water
salt and pepper to taste
Boil rice in water for about 10 minutes.
Saute onion until tender. Mix with rice and pearl barley in 9x13 casserole dish.
Spread potatoes, squash, and carrots on top of grains and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Pour apple juice and chicken broth on top, and bake at 375°F for 1 hour.
This dish is pretty hearty, and the apple juice brings a fruity flavor without it being too sweet. The recipe in the cookbook calls for you to cover the casserole dish, which I forgot to do, so the veggies got a little dry. Other than that it was pretty good!
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