Mexican Vegetable Chowder

I know this is not a seasonal dish, but I have been thinking about Calabacitas. [Click here for the recipe I usually make] I love this dish! Zucchini and squash with spicy poblanos? What’s not to like! Well I had bought the ingredients, but for one reason or another never got around to making the dish. Last night sister was visiting and I decided to make us a vegetable soup with the ingredients.

The soup was the easy part. But I can’t believe how hard it was for me to name this recipe. I always come up with a name right away. This was a first! I came up with lots of names but I just could not commit to one. Even now as I type this I am wondering if I picked the right one. What do you think? Should I change it?

Mexican Zucchini Corn Soup

Mexican Vegetable Chowder

Spicy Squash and Corn Soup

Spicy Calabacitas and Corn Soup

Calabacitas Chowder

Calabacitas Soup

Calabacitas and Corn Soup

Creamy Mexican Zucchini Corn Soup

Spicy Mexican Zucchini Corn Soup

Sopa de Calabacitas (Mexican Zucchini and Corn Soup)

I finally decided on Mexican Vegetable Chowder. It was one of my first thoughts. And since this was totally invented by a Louisiana girl, I don’t think it is authentic enough to call it Sopa de Calabacitas. Well now that is done! Now I can tell you about the chowder. It was great! Spicy, creamy and filling. I thought it was creamy enough before adding the cream but sister kept saying, “Use the cream!” You could totally omit the cream or even use fat free half and half if you like. I do think it helps mellow the spice of the peppers a little. Since you never know just how hot a chili will be, you can use the cream to control the heat of the dish. The only regret I have is that I did not have queso fresco in the frig. I think it will make an amazing garnish for this chowder. There is always next time!

Mexican Vegetable Chowder

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, diced small

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 Jalapeno, seeded and minced

1 poblano, seeded and chopped

3 small zucchini, diced

2 medium yellow squash, diced

2 mirliton or chayote squash, seeded and diced

2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 tsp. Mexican oregano

3/4 tsp. kosher salt, or to taste

1/4 tsp. Black pepper, or to taste

1/8 tsp. Red pepper flakes, or to taste

4 cups chicken stock

16 oz. frozen corn, thawed

1/4 cup whipping cream (optional or you could use fat free half and half)

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

In a medium stock pot over medium heat, add olive oil onions, garlic, jalapeno and poblano.  Sauté until onions become translucent. Add zucchini, squash and mirliton; sauté for several minutes until the zucchini begins to become tender. Season with 2 Tbsp. cilantro, oregano, salt, and peppers. Add stock bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer for about 10 minutes or until zucchini is tender.

Remove about 2 cups of vegetables and set aside. Puree the rest with a stick blender (or in a blender in batches). Add corn and bring to a simmer. Return vegetables to the pot and heat through. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Remove from heat and add cream and remaining cilantro. Serve hot or room temperature, garnished with fresh cilantro.

Variation:

Add queso fresco for a garnish.

Linking to:
Love Bakes Good Cakes: The Ultimate Soup Recipe List Linky
Buns In My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday
Turnips 2 Tangerines: The Four Seasons Blog Hop
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
Love Bakes Good Cakes: Freedom Fridays
Townsend House: What I Am Eating

Sandwich Art

Okay here it is a confession of sorts. I work at home a lot and the TV is always on. I must confess I have been watching General Hospital! There I have said it! Well I have to share something hilarious from today's episode. I just kept laughing and laughing. It appeals to both the foodie and artist in me.

Here is my recap. Crazy lady Heather Weber has been escaping the looney bin to paint abstract art for Franco. Franco passes it off as his own. Heather in disguise attends the art show. She tells the art dealer she will buy all Franco's paintings if he can explain them. Of course he can't. Heather gets mad and confronts him blowing her cover. She says the paintings which are of colorful stripes hanging vertically are hanging wrong. She re-positions the stripes horizontally and says "It's a BLT, you idiot!" She then goes around fixing the paintings and telling the guest which sandwich from Kelley's menu each painting represents.

I don't know why I find this so funny but I do!

Click here for a Video at ABC. (Will only be available for 7 days)

Also Soap Central had a recap leading up to the BLT reveal here is an excerpt:

"No, no, no," Heather barked as she approached Franco. "It's a BLT, you idiot," Heather explained. She angrily accused Franco of taking advantage of her creativity and then approached the painting to adjust it, so everyone could see that the horizontal lines represented layers of a BLT sandwich. 

In honor of the good laugh I had at this show. I have created my own Sandwich Art for you. For the recipe and an actual photo of the sandwich click on the name below each piece of Sandwich Art. 

Avocado Delight

Cornbread Sandwich

Georgetown Turkey Avocado Sandwich

Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Sandwich

I wish I was designing a sandwich shop right now. This would be a great art idea. I hope this made you smile. I know I am.

Beef Tips with Mushrooms

Dear sister has been asking for this dish since fall arrived. I have been without my car for a few days. So on sister's day off she brought me the groceries and I got busy cooking this family recipe.  Beef Tips with Mushrooms is a family recipe Mom cooked often when we were growing up. When the world got more health conscious she cooked it less and less frequently. The funny thing is I learned yesterday as I planned to cook this dish that Mom made a pot the day before. Does that mean food cravings run in the family? 

Anyway, this is a hearty stick to your ribs kind of meal that would please any beef or mushroom lover. Serve it over rice or egg noodles. Mom likes egg noodles, sister requested rice. I can tell you both are absolutely delicious. I think the key to this dish is browning the beef. That is where all the flavor begins to develop, so be sure not to crowd the pan. Make sure there is a lot of room around each beef cube so it browns and does not steam. You won't be disappointed. You might be wondering what is sirloin tips? I really did not know. Mom just always said to look for it at the store. So I looked it up [Click here or information]. I will tell you, I have made this recipe with a sirloin tip roast and sirloin steaks. Both worked well. I really think you could use any cut of beef that is suitable for stewing or braising. Just simmer until tender. I hope you will give it a try. It is perfect for the colder days we are having and will keep you warm this winter.

Beef Tips with Mushrooms

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

2-1/2 to 3 lbs Sirloin Tips

Salt, pepper and red pepper flakes

Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning

Olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 (8 oz) carton mushrooms, sliced

2 cups beef broth

2 Tbsp flour

1/2 cup water

Handful of fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

Cut the beef into 1" cubes. Season beef with salt, peppers and Creole seasoning. Brown in a dutch oven in just enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pot. Be sure to do this in batches so not to over crowd the pan. Remove beef from pan and set aside. Add one diced onion and one carton of sliced fresh mushrooms. Saute until they begin to soften, return beef to pan and add 2 cups beef stock. Simmer covered until beef is tender; approximately a hour or a hour and a half. Whisk together 1/2 cup of water with 2 Tbsp of flour. Add to pot and simmer until gravy has thickened. You can also add fresh parsley at this point too. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Serve over hot cooked egg noodles or rice.

Linking to:
My Turn for Us: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
Horrific Knits: Fall Into the Holidays
My Mixing Spoon: Random Recipe Roundup
Call Me PMc: Marvelous Mondays
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
Jam Hands: Recipe Sharing Monday
The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen: Show Me Your Plaid Mondays
Townsend House: What I Am Eating
The Tumbleweed Contessa: What'd You Do This Weekend?
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday
Buns In My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday
Turnips 2 Tangerines: The Four Seasons Blog Hop
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
Anyonita Nibbles: Get Him Fed

PB&C Sandwich

This is not a recipe. It is more like a discovery. I never keep jelly in the house but I always seem to have peanut butter around. I guess it is because I use it to make Thai Style Peanut Dipping Sauce for spring rolls. The other day I was craving a good ole PB&J. I looked in the frig of course there was no jelly, but there was sweet chili sauce. You know the stuff you dip spring rolls in or use to make Asian chicken wings. Would that work? Yes it does! It has that salty, sweet and spicy thing going on. It is not hot and spicy. And it is not like sweet fruity jelly. It is savory sweet with a touch of heat. So delicious! A new twist on the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I call it a PB&C or a Peanut Butter and Chili Sandwich. Try it! Let me know what you think. 

Do you have an unusual twist on the PB&J? Please share it with us.

PB&C Sandwich
aka Peanut Butter and Chili Sandwich
Serves 1

Ingredients

2 slices of bread
Creamy peanut butter
Sweet chili sauce(for spring rolls)

Directions

Spread one slice of bread with peanut butter. Spread the other slice with sweet chili sauce. Place slices together and cut in half.

Linking to:
My Turn for Us: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
My Mixing Spoon: Random Recipe Roundup
Call Me PMc: Marvelous Mondays
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
Carole's Chatter: Food on Fridays - Sandwiches

Cilantro Lime Salsa

I have been experimenting with salsa again. This salsa is so fresh you can still see the bubbles formed in the blender. I have made this recipe three times now. This batch went to a Halloween party with dear sister. This recipe is a combination of all the things I love from my other salsa recipes. I used the cumin and cilantro from the Hot and Smoky Salsa recipe. I used more garlic like the Garlic Lover's Hot Sauce recipe. Finally, I used lime juice, red wine vinegar and jalapeno from the Hot Sauce recipe. I left it a little on the chunky side too. I really like the texture and you can see so many of the ingredients that way. I think it is the perfect blend of all recipes. I don't think I can live with out the other recipes but I see myself making this salsa very often.

Cilantro Lime Salsa

Make 1 quart

Ingredients

1 small onion, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

1 jalapeno pepper, roughly chopped*

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1-1/2 Tbsp. lime juice

splash red wine vinegar

dash or two choula hot sauce

28 oz can whole tomatoes, undrained

1/2 bunch cilantro

Directions

Place onion through hot sauce in blender. Add enough of the liquid from the tomatoes to cover half of the ingredients. Process until finely chopped. Add the rest of the liquid, tomatoes and the cilantro. Pulse or blend until desired consistency. Refrigerate overnight.  Serve with corn chips.  Will keep in refrigerator about one week.

Note: *Seed the jalapeno for mild salsa, remove seeds from half for medium salsa, use whole jalapeno seeds and all for hot salsa.

Linking to:
My Mixing Spoon: Random Recipe Roundup
The Chicken Chick: Clever Chicks Blog Hop
Call Me PMc: Marvelous Mondays
The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen: Show Me Your Plaid Mondays
Townsend House: What I Am Eating
The Tumbleweed Contessa: What'd You Do This Weekend?
Jam Hands: Recipe Sharing Monday
Ms. enPlace: See Ya In the Gumbo
Anyonita Nibbles: Tasty Tuesdays
Memories by the Mile: Tuesday Trivia-South Dakota and Link Party
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday
Buns In My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
Turnips 2 Tangerines: Four Season's Blog Hop
My Turn for Us: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends

Crawfish Boil Soup

I guess I still haven't curbed my crawfish craving. I saw a recipe for Crawfish Boil Soup and it sounded so good. But the recipe had milk and flour in it. That did not sound like a crawfish boil to me. So I decided to make my own recipe. It really turned out good. This soup had lots of spicy crawfish flavor. It gets its spice from Cajun seasoning and a can of Rotel. I decided to puree the tomatoes because you don't have chunks of tomatoes at a crawfish boil. I added one link of smoked turkey sausage because after all some people do include sausage when they boil crawfish. I used Richard's turkey sausage, it is a delicious low fat sausage that is a mix of turkey and pork. I didn't forget the corn and potatoes. I love how the corn gave the soup some sweetness. Dear sister said it was tasty tasty. I agree. Definitely something I will make again. I decided to garnish it with parsley, green onions and lemon zest. The lemon zest was because we always throw lemon halves into our crawfish boil. It was delicious! Now I think I can't wait til spring for more crawfish.

Crawfish Boil Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1/2 bell pepper, diced

2 ribs of celery, diced

Spiced Salt, to taste

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

1 link of smoked turkey sausage, sliced (5 to 6 oz)

1 medium potato, diced

1 (15 oz) can corn, undrained

1 (10 oz) can original Rotel tomatoes, pureed*

1 quart fat free low sodium chicken broth

1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning

1 lb. crawfish tails

Parsley, chopped

Green onion, sliced

Lemon zest

Directions

In a large stockpot, heat butter and oil over medium-high heat until butter is melted. Add onion, bell pepper, and celery, and cook until onion is soft. Season with Spiced Salt. Add garlic, bay leaf, sausage, and potato; cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes.

Add corn, pureed Rotel and broth. Bring to a boil, add Cajun seasoning, and crawfish tails. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Remove the bay leaves and serve. Garnish with parsley, green onion and lemon zest, if desired.

Note: *If you are sensitive to spicy food use mild Rotel or maybe tomatoes with onions and garlic.

Linking to:
My Mixing Spoon: Random Recipe Roundup
The Chicken Chick: Clever Chicks Blog Hop
Call Me PMc: Marvelous Mondays
The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen: Show Me Your Plaid Mondays
Townsend House: What I Am Eating
The Tumbleweed Contessa: What'd You Do This Weekend?
Jam Hands: Recipe Sharing Monday
Ms. enPlace: See Ya In the Gumbo
Anyonita Nibbles: Tasty Tuesdays
Memories by the Mile: Tuesday Trivia-South Dakota and Link Party
Love Bakes Good Cakes: The Ultimate Soup Recipe List Linky
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday
Buns In My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
Turnips 2 Tangerines: Four Season's Blog Hop
My Turn for Us: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
My Pinterventures: Souper Bowl 2015 Party
Carole's Chatter: Food on Fridays - Crayfish, Lobster & Crab

Shrimp and Okra Gumbo

Oh! This was so good! I can't wait to have more tomorrow. Gumbo is always better the next day. This is my family recipe for Shrimp and Okra Gumbo with a twist. The twist is that I used the shrimp shells and the vegetable scraps to make a shrimp stock. My mother always added plain water to her gumbos. They were always delicious, but after hours and hours of watching Food Network I recognize the value of a good stock. It is totally optional if you are short on time, but I totally recommend it. It is so rich and full of shrimp flavor. To make the stock just throw in the ends and peels of all the vegetables with the shrimp shells. Nothing goes to waist here. The onion skins make the stock a beautiful dark color. On a side note, I have been saving all my veggie scraps in a freezer bag in the freezer. When I get a pot full I plan to make a vegetable stock for free. I will let you know how it turns out. If it turns out half as good as the gumbo it will be worth the used freezer space.

Back to the gumbo! I think this is one of my two favorite gumbos. It is just that good. The shrimp is definitely the star here. But the okra is great too, it gives the gumbo great body. I just can't say enough good things about this recipe. I hope you will give it a try real soon.

Shrimp and Okra Gumbo

Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients

1/2 cup vegetable oil  

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 small can tomato paste

1 large onion, finely chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped

3 stalks celery, finely chopped

16 oz frozen okra, defrosted

2-1/2 lbs of shrimp, peeled and deveined 

Kosher salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Red pepper flakes, to taste
Creole seasoning, to taste
1/2 bunch green onion, sliced

Handful parsley, chopped

Directions

Heat flour and oil on medium to medium-high heat until milk chocolate or dark caramel color. Add bell pepper, celery, and onion cook until softened. Add tomato paste and stir until well mixed. Add okra cook until soft. Add 2 quarts hot water or shrimp stock (recipe below) and bring to a boil. Add seasoned shrimp and lower heat to a simmer. Simmer 30 minutes and check for seasoning, adjust seasoning to taste. Add green onion and parsley. Serve over hot rice.

Shrimp Stock
Makes approx. 2 quarts

Ingredients

Shrimp shells from 2-1/2 lbs of shrimp
Vegetable scraps from onion, celery, bell pepper and tomato(optional)
1 bay leaf
10 black peppercorns
1 garlic clove, unpeeled and whole
Pinch of red pepper flakes
3/4 tsp kosher salt
2 quarts water

Directions

Place all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 10 minutes. Continue to simmer while preparing roux. Once vegetables are added to roux. Strain stock and set aside for use in gumbo. Discard solids removed from stock.

For my other favorite Gumbo see this previous post:

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

Linking to:

Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen: Show Me Your Plaid
Jam Hands: Recipe Sharing Monday
The Frugal Foodie Mama: Marvelous Mondays
The Chicken Chicken: Clever Chicks Blog Hop
The Tumbleweed Contessa: What'd You do This Weekend?
Memories By the Mile: Tuesday Trivia - Michigan and Link Party
Love Bakes Good Cakes: All My Bloggy Friends
Anyonita Nibbles: Tasty Tuesdays and Get Him Feed
Mommy On Demand: Create It Or Bake It
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday
Buns In My Oven: What's Cookin Wednesday
Easy Life Meal and Party Planning: Four Seasons Blog Hop
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
My Turn for Us: Freedom Fridays
My Mixing Spoon: Random Recipe Roundup
Love Bakes Good Cakes: The Ultimate Soup Recipe List Linky