I tend to forget about Cajun food. It’s pretty simple and straight-forward and always totally delicious, yet for some reason, I never think about making it. However, every time I do, I always think to myself, “I really should make this more often!”.  Just one of those things, I guess. But not anymore! I promise, dear Cajun food, that I won’t neglect you anymore!

Now, I know I already have a recipe for okra gumbo posted, but this one is a teensy bit more involved and more complex than the other. Plus, it’s pretty much an entirely different recipe, and I thought you should have both! This isn’t a real, honest-to-goodness ‘Nawlins style gumbo that starts with a roux. Honestly, I’m not a big fan of that “deep” (*cough* burnt) flavor it gives, so I started mine with some good ‘ol bacon grease (to all my gumbo aficionados out there, please don’t hate me). I sort of just threw some things together and ended up with one fantastic tasting gumbo! The great news is, this made a giant pot, so we had enough for 2 meals!

Sausage and Okra Gumbo

3 or 4 strips bacon
1 small onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 15-oz. can chopped tomatoes
1 bag frozen okra (I don’t actually know the size- it’s probably around 4-6 cups), thawed
1 package fully cooked turkey sausage (14 oz.), cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup rice
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon Tony Chachere’s seasoning
4 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste (you won’t need much salt at all since Tony C. has salt in it)

Cook rice according to instructions on packaging. In a large dutch oven or stock pot, heat the bacon over medium heat and render fat. Remove the bacon and set aside. Add onion, pepper and celery and cook for 7-10 minutes, or until onions are slightly translucent. Add tomatoes (with their juice), okra, seasonings and chicken broth. Add the bacon back to the pot. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Add sausage and rice. Cook for 10-15 more minutes (if it gets too thick for your liking, feel free to add a little more chicken broth or even a little water). Remove the bacon and bay leaves and serve.

*The okra can be a little “slimy” sometimes; adding a splash of white vinegar at the end helps to cut through the sliminess, and you’ll never know it’s there.

Doesn’t that title just draw you right in? Ok, ok – it might not sound too appealing to you, but you’ll just have to trust me on this one, ok? Should you ever find yourself with leftover BBQ – you’re going to want to try this…..trust me.

In my home town, there’s a restaurant that serves something called “Texas Trash”; it’s essentially a taco salad of sorts, but with BBQ instead (and lots of other yummy things!). It’s so good, most of the time I don’t even wait until I have leftover BBQ to use up – I’ll just run by a good BBQ joint and pick up some brisket, beans and sauce just for the sole purpose of making Texas Trash! Start with a bed of Fritos, top it off with some chopped brisket, a little BBQ sauce, pinto beans, cheddar cheese, sour cream, black olives (yes, black olives!), jalapeno peppers (lots of ‘em), lettuce, cherry tomatoes and a drizzle of ranch dressing and you’ve got yourself one tasty pile of food! I swear, my mouth is watering just thinking about it! This is seriously one of my favorite things to eat! Tired of the same old chef salads and taco salads, but still don’t want to cook?? Make this! I *promise* it’s delicious!!

Texas Trash
(there are no measurements because you just pile it on your plate according to how much you feel like eating!)

Fritos
Chopped BBQ brisket (if you’re using leftover, make sure to heat it first)
pinto beans
BBQ sauce
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
black olives
pickled jalapenos
ranch dressing
cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
lettuce, chopped

Place the Fritos on a plate and top with remaining ingredients (however much you want!). Enjoy! (Wasn’t that simple?!)

For August’s ‘You Want Pies With That?‘ challenge, Branny decided we should create a pie that represents our personality. How fun is that?! As soon as I saw her choice, I immediately started thinking about how I could come up with an A.D.D. pie. However, with us getting ready to go on a trip, and things being so busy and with me being so, well….A.D.D., it just didn’t work out for me to devote the time I needed for my A.D.D. pie (bummer- that would’ve been perfect). So instead, I asked my hubby what he thought was the best way to describe my personality; “sunny and bright”, he said with a smile (isn’t he sweet?). Although I’m not sure about “sunny and bright”….more like, “sunny and bright with a likely chance of severe thunderstorms”; I went to work on a pie that fit the bill. Somehow I ended up with a Strawberry-Lemonade Pie, then I took it a step further and came up with a Strawberry-Lemonade Cheesecake Pie. Muuuuch better (and really, really delicious!)! So anyway, this is the pie that best fits my personality (according to my husband….who is apparently blinded by love…).

Sunny and Bright Strawberry-Lemonade Cheesecake Pie with Chambord Whipped Cream

For the pie:
1 graham cracker crust (your favorite recipe or store-bought)
1 8-oz. block of cream cheese, at room temperature
10-15 strawberries, hulled and sliced
juice of 2 large lemons
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
splash orange liqueur, such as Triple Sec or Grand Marnier

For the Chambord Whipped cream:
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon Chambord (Raspberry liqueur)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the cream cheese, sugar and sour cream and beat at medium speed for 2 minutes, until the cream cheese is smooth. Add in the lemon juice, vanilla extract and orange liqueur. Mix just until combined. Transfer to another bowl and use the mixer bowl to whip the cream. Beat the 1/2 cup heavy cream at medium speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cheesecake mixture. Refrigerate until needed.

To make the Chambord Whipped Cream Topping:
Beat the 1 cup of heavy cream, 1/3 cup sugar, Chambord and vanilla extract on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until needed.

To assemble:
In the prepared graham cracker crust, place half of the sliced strawberries in a single layer. Top with the cheesecake mixture; add another layer of sliced strawberries, then top with the Chambord whipped cream. Garnish with additional strawberries. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving. The pie is best served on the day its made.

*The liqueur is optional- it just adds a little extra flavor, but you can certainly leave it out if you want!

Yep, that’s right. Today is National S’mores Day (there’s practically a “day” for every kind of food these days…). So, in honor of the occasion, I’ve put together a list of all my S’mores recipes. They’re all fool-proof and they’re all GOOD! I’m a girl who LOVES her S’mores!

1.) S’mores Cookies- these were a huge hit with the rest of the opera chorus this season. They were gobbled up in no time!

2.) S’mores Truffles- I made these (along with 3 other flavors- scroll down a ways to get to the S’mores ones) around Christmas this past year and sent them to work with Hubby. They were everyone’s favorite! Who can say no to a dark chocolate graham cracker-coated truffle with a marshmallow in the center??? Certainly not me….

3.) S’mores Bars- I made these a looooong time ago! But boy are they good!! I like these a lot because the chocolate-to-graham cracker ratio is in perfect balance- not too much chocolate like so many S’mores recipes out there! YUM!

And lastly, 4.) Ooey Gooey S’more Stuffed Brownies (my personal favorite)- these were right on the money! Amazingly rich, gooey and chock-full of S’mores goodness! How could anybody resist these babies?? That’s right- they can’t! Try these- you won’t be sorry!

HELLOOOOO! We’re back! We’re tan and probably about 5 pounds chubbier than we used to be, but we’re happy to be home! Omigosh, y’all – we had SUCH a fantastic time in Cancun! The place we stayed at was just amazing- the food was great, our room was great, the pools (there were like, 7 or 8 pools including a lazy river!) were awesome, the people were super friendly and the beach….oh man, the beach was just pure heaven! It wasn’t crowded at all; in fact, you could always get a fantastic spot on the beach or by the pool at any time of day…ahh, to be there again, sitting under a large tiki umbrella snacking on chips and guacamole, sipping on tropical drinks….I’m telling you, pure heaven. However, it is good to be home. We certainly missed our sweet Izzy Bear (although I don’t think she missed us nearly as much! She was livin’ it up at my parents’ house, getting treats and toys and torturing her ‘Aunt’ Beatrice, my mom’s dog), and I definitely missed all of you! Here are just a few pictures from our trip- enjoy!

And finally, one of the pictures our friend Andrea took- she’s seriously amazing!

We’re headed to Mexico for vacation with our good friends Michael and Andrea! I’ll be back next week! Don’t be jealous…. I’ll miss you!

Here we are at Part 3, the final cupcake, of my Cupcake Week. I sort of like this whole “nothing but cupcakes” thing…kinda fun! I’m especially excited to post these because they happen to be my favorite of the 3. This is Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Buttercream – the very best chocolate cake recipe out there, in my opinion (and it translates beautifully to cupcakes!)! It’s so amazingly moist and tender and the frosting?? Oh MAN, don’t even get me started on that frosting! It’s the BEST chocolate frosting you will ever put in your mouth! Silky smooth, rich, thick, buttery and oh-so chocolaty. I ate an embarrassing amount of these cupcakes at the party. Then I took some home with me and ate another embarrassing amount. For breakfast. I’m in love with this recipe. I’ll never, never stray from it. I don’t want any other smelly old chocolate cake recipe- I’ll always be a Hershey’s girl. Now and forever. Wow, those sound like wedding vows! I’m pretty good at pledging my love to a cupcake, huh?

Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
2/3 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pans with liners.
Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.
Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes.
Stir in boiling water (batter will be very thin).
Pour batter into cupcake liners.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Meanwhile, make frosting: stir melted butter into cocoa.
Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency.
Add small amount additional milk, if needed.
Stir in vanilla. (Makes approx. 2 cups frosting)
Frost cupcakes when completely cooled, as desired. Makes approx. 24 cupcakes.

I really hope you’ve enjoyed my special “Birthday-Extravaganza-Week-of-Cupcakes” – I certainly have! I enjoyed making them, sharing them, blogging them and especially eating them (I’m starting to really understand the whole obsession with cupcakes now….albeit a little late…). Bottom line: everyone, from little kids having a birthday to 75 year-olds having a birthday to twenty-somethings having breakfast (tee hee) LOVES a good cupcake. They’re cheerful. They’re easy. And most importantly, they’re YUMMY!

Maybe I’ll do another Cupcake Week again sometime and see what other delicious flavors I can come up with- for now, I’m happy with the Holy Trinity – Vanilla, Strawberry and Chocolate. Who was and is; and is to come. Amen.

Today is my big sister’s 30th birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LINDSAY!!! Here’s cupcake #2 in my special “Week-o-Cupcakes”. Strawberry. My sister’s favorite. Every year on her birthday, strawberry cake is what she requests. I made her one last year and it was probably the ugliest cake I’ve ever made (but it sure did taste good! Why is it that the ugliest cakes always taste the best?). This year, I opted for cupcakes; and instead of using the stand-by cake mix/jello/frozen strawberries recipe, I just added fresh strawberries (lots of them) to half of the yellow buttermilk cupcake batter I already had on hand (that recipe makes a TON, so I split it in half and made half plain, half strawberry and still came out with over 40 cupcakes). I know it sounds a little “underwhelming” to just add strawberries to the batter and call it a day, but I promise that the end result is anything but! These were so incredibly moist and flavorful, but not too sweet like so many strawberry cakes. They were a huge hit and honestly, I wish I had made more of them!

To make these, I used this recipe. I added fresh, diced strawberries to the batter and iced them with vanilla buttercream. Perfection.

Happy Birthday, Lindsay *and* Uncle Steve!!! (And yesterday was my Nana’s birthday, so Happy Birthday to her too!!)

Yesterday was a fun day. We had a ginormous party for my sister, Nana and Uncle Steve who are all having a birthday this week (within two days of each other) and I made a boat-load of cupcakes (as well as a big batch of pulled pork tacos). It was a really great time- we had homemade guacamole and salsa, chicken enchiladas and pork tacos….and cupcakes. Lots and lots of cupcakes. I made chocolate with chocolate buttercream, strawberry with vanilla buttercream and buttermilk (yellow) with vanilla buttercream. Boy, you just can’t beat a good ‘ol yellow cupcake with good ‘ol vanilla buttercream. That’s the best there is! Normally, when I make cupcakes, I always use Dorie’s perfect party cake recipe (it’s perfect every single time!), but this time I wanted to try a yellow cake, so I chose Martha Stewart’s version. Good call- these were delicious! And as always, I used my stand-by Magnolia Bakery buttercream recipe- it’s everyone’s favorite. I’ll be posting the other cupcakes throughout the week (there’s no way I could possibly leave out those chocolate cupcakes…Lordy, were they good!).

Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes
-Martha Stewart ‘Cupcakes’
Makes 36

3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/4 cups sugar
5 large whole eggs plus 3 egg yolks, room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together both flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium. Add whole eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add yolks, and beat until thoroughly combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and beating until combined after each. Beat in vanilla.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until cupcakes spring back when lightly touched and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

Vanilla Buttercream
-Magnolia Bakery

2 sticks butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4-6 cups powdered sugar

Cream butter and gradually add powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until you reach piping or spreading consistency.  *I doubled the recipe- it’s always a good idea to have extra frosting, just in case! Plus, the birthday girl was entitled to a little extra frosting!

I always, always, always have cans of black beans, diced tomatoes and Mexi-corn in my pantry (Mexi-corn is just canned corn with chopped red and green peppers). They can transform pretty much anything into a spicy, fun, Tex-Mexy meal- which we just love. The other night I had some leftover grilled chicken breasts that were really tasty and I wanted to use them up. This dish was born. It started out just a way for me to use up leftovers and pantry staples, but ended up being one heck of a delicious meal- we couldn’t get enough of it! In fact, I can’t wait to make it again- it was SO easy and really, really delicious. The Ranch dressing really give it a fantastic flavor! If you find yourself in need of a recipe to use up leftover chicken, steak, ground beef, or whatever you have- this is for you! Give it a try!

Southwestern Skillet

2 fully cooked chicken breasts, diced into small pieces
1 can black beans
1 can Mex-corn (regular corn would work just fine too)
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1/2 red onion, diced
handful chopped cilantro (reserve some for the top)
1 packet taco seasoning (I didn’t use the entire packet, but if you feel like you want more spice, add the whole thing)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 shredded cheddar cheese (reserve some for the top)
2 large or 4 small tortillas
Ranch dressing
jarred pickled jalapenos

*Feel free to add in any additional vegetables you have on hand- bell peppers would work great, or even zucchini or potatoes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the diced onion until translucent; add the chicken, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, taco seasoning, sour cream and cheese. Stir to combine. Cook for 4-5 minutes, until the cheese melts.
Spray the tortillas with cooking spray and place on a baking sheet; bake for 5 minutes or until golden brown and slightly crisp.

Top the tortillas with the skillet mixture then drizzle with ranch dressing. Top with jalapenos, cilantro and cheese. Serves 2-3. Enjoy! We sure did!