Southern Treats: Cajun Pot Pie

Southern Treats: Cajun Pot Pie: " In an effort to be creative and make new and interesting foods, I came up with the creation of a Cajun style potpie. I first started o..."

Cajun Pot Pie

 In an effort to be creative and make new and interesting foods, I came up with the creation of a Cajun style potpie. I first started out with Louisiana style smoked andouille sausage and rendered some of the fat in a frying pan. While the sausage was rendering in the pan, I started to dice up some onions and yellow and red peppers. Once the sausage was done, I started to sauté the onions and peppers, and used a packet of  Uncle Ben's wild rice. When the rice was done, I incorporated the rice and onions and peppers and added an 8 ounce can of Campbell's chicken and mushroom cream. I also added 2 tablespoons of Philadelphia cream cheese Santa Fe flavored cream. Once the mixture started to thicken up I then added 1 pound of shrimp and 1 pound of crawfish tails and a can of mix veggies. The mixture was seasoned with Old Bay seasoning, a pinch of salt and 2 teaspoons of black pepper. I heated the mixture over a low simmer, until it was warm and then removed it from the heat, to cool it off.

 I filled up two 9 inch deep pie crusts, with the filling. Using a pastry brush, I brushed the edges, with an egg wash mixture. I then covered the pie crust with pastry dough and crimp the edges with a fork, cutting off the excess dough. Meanwhile the oven was preheated to 425°.  Once the pies were crimped, I made four vent holes on the top of each pie using a knife, and brushed the top of the pies with the remainder of the egg wash.

The pies bake for approximately 18 to 20 min. or until the crust was golden brown. The pies were cooled for approximately 10 min., before being served. The pies tasted good, but next time, they could use a few more teaspoons of Old Bay seasoning. This recipe is very easy and simple, yet very wholesome and comforting. Thanks for checking out my blog.

Southern Treats: St.Patty's Day Cake Balls

Southern Treats: St.Patty's Day Cake Balls: "My wonderful wife, had a St. Patty's Day luncheon at work, and everyone had to bring something green to celebrate the day. After having see..."

St.Patty's Day Cake Balls

My wonderful wife, had a St. Patty's Day luncheon at work, and everyone had to bring something green to celebrate the day. After having seen and heard so much about cake balls, she thought of how to make them appropriate for the occasion. She started out with a regular box of Duncan Hines yellow cake and mixed according to the instructions, she then added green food coloring to the mix to give it it's green color. The cake was baked according to the instructions and then allowed to cool. She then proceed to crumble the cake into a mixing bowl.
A regular can of vanilla frosting was also tinted, with the green food coloring, to stay with the theme. The frosting is incorporated to the crumbled cake, to help it to bin and be able to shape them into golf size balls. The mix should be sticky, but not overly mushy. We inserted the lollipop sticks to make it easier, in the dipping process( I'll explain that later). The balls were then placed on wax paper and on a sheet tray and into the freezer, for about 25 minutes. This is done to help the mix harden and hold better.
Ready for the freezer. At this point she started to melt down some candy wafers, to type to make candy shell. We were able to find green candy wafer and in a small crock pot, she started to melt the candy and mixed about a 1/8-1/4 cup of milk to help loosen the melted wafers. After the balls were taken out of the freezer, she then started the dipping process. She actually found it easier to remove the sticks and dip with a dripping spoon and then re-insert the sticks for easy handling. These could also be served as truffles, on a small baking cup or other decorative setting.
The balls are setting with the candy shell.
And this is the finished product. The possibilities are endless. Next time, she said she would add candy sprinkles, as soon as they are taken out of the melted candy. These she used a icing piped through a thin tip and made a marble like effect over the candy shell, unfortunately, the camera battery died out. These are bite size, easy to make and portion controlled for those who want a treat and are conscious about their eating habits. Happy St. Patty's Day!

Southern Treats: Very Dirty Rice!

Southern Treats: Very Dirty Rice!: "One of our very good neighbors introduced to 'Dirty Rice' a little while back. It was so good and my wife asked her how hard it was to make..."

Very Dirty Rice!

One of our very good neighbors introduced to "Dirty Rice" a little while back. It was so good and my wife asked her how hard it was to make. She replied that it was pretty easy and then for my wife's birthday, she gave her a copy of the "River Road Recipes" by The Junior League of Baton Rogue, Inc. This book is regarded as one of the top ten Louisiana /Cajun Cookbooks. Well, now there was no excuse, for us, not to experiment. A few slight deviations from the actual recipe, but, for the most part tried to stay true to the origins. Started out by sautéeing some yellow and green onions. Then added some diced pepper, chopped chicken livers, chopped garlic, bulk mild pork sausage, and some diced up leftover brisket. Seasoned with Ancho Chili powder and black pepper.
While this was going on, my wife was making the long grain white rice, separately. Basic way of cooking rice, except didn't let all the liquid get absorbed. About 5 minutes, prior to the rice being done, we added the sautéed mixture to the rice.
Mixed it well and then into a pre-heated 350 degree oven, for 15 minutes, to finish. This is what the finished product looked like. It was very tasty and the addition of the brisket, gave it a hearty meaty taste. We omitted the spicy red peppers it called for, in the original recipe, because my wife doesn't like the spiciness....
But this made it all right for me. This is an easy, quick meal and there is really no need for a side dish. Now, let see what the real deal Cajun jury has to say (our neighbors). Hope you give it a try.

Southern Treats: Holiday Leftover Dinner Pie

Southern Treats: Holiday Leftover Dinner Pie: "Here is a little comfort fast food and a great idea to make use of all your holiday leftovers. I used some roasted turkey breast, honey gla..."