Recipe of the Week: Black-Eyed Peas, Creole Style

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Start the New Year off right with a southern meal designed to create plenty of luck for everyone at the dinner table. Black eyed peas form the solid foundation of a tasty southern New Year’s Day tradition. To bring financial good fortune, serve up a side of your favorite leafy green. Mustard greens are standard, but you can use any leafy green you love – spinach, cabbage, or the interesting greens from sweet potatoes.

What delicious New Year’s Day traditions do you enjoy?

Happy New Year!

Ingredients:

4 oz bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 oz ham, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, deseeded and chopped
1 cup celery, chopped – include some of the delicious leaves
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, deseeded, and minced
2 t Creole seasoning mix
1 t dried thyme
3/4 t dried oregano
1/2 t dried basil
2 bay leaves
1 pound black-eyed peas, sorted, rinsed, and soaked
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock
Water as needed

Garnish: sliced green onion

Click here for directions.

Cajun Green Beans and Brown Rice

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Green Beans Brown Rice 1Ingredients:

2 T olive oil
1/2 cup sweet onion, chopped
1 banana pepper, deveined, and chopped
1/4 cup celery, chopped – or a pinch of ground celery seed
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups green beans, sliced on the diagonal
1 cup uncooked brown rice
1/4 t paprika
1/4 t oregano
1/4 t thyme
1/8 t ground black pepper
1/8 t ground white pepper
1/8 t cumin
Pinch of salt
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup slivered almonds

Garnish: 2 green onions, sliced, hot red pepper flakes Read More

Black-Eyed Peas, Creole Style

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Black Eyed Peas rice kale WMIngredients:

4 oz bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 oz ham, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, deseeded and chopped
1 cup celery, chopped – include some of the delicious leaves
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, deseeded, and minced
2 t Creole seasoning mix
1 t dried thyme
3/4 t dried oregano
1/2 t dried basil
2 bay leaves
1 pound black-eyed peas, sorted, rinsed, and soaked
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock
Water as needed

Garnish: sliced green onion Read More

Jambalaya with Chicken and Pecan Smoked Sausage

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Jambalaya WM

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil
1 T butter, unsalted
12 oz pecan or garlic smoked sausage, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 lb tasso diced
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 large shallot, minced
1 T garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
2 t paprika
1 1/2 t granulated onion
1 1/2 t granulated garlic
1 1/2 t dried basil
1 t chili powder
1 t dried oregano
1/2 t dried thyme
1/4 1 ground black pepper
1/4 t ground white pepper
1/4 t celery seed
1/4 t cayenne pepper, more or less to taste
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5 oz) can tomatoes, diced
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cup rice

Garnish: green onion, sliced Read More

Wild and Brown Rice Stuffed Acorn Squash

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Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 medium (or 3 small) acorn squashes, halved with seeds and fibers removed
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup Wild and Brown Rice
1 1/4 T dried ground garlic
1 T dried basil
2 t dried ground rosemary
1/2 cup dried currants, cranberries, or raisins
1/3 cup (or more if you just love nuts) smashed walnuts
2 T unsalted butter
2 T dark brown sugar, packed (3 T unpacked)
1/4 t ground black pepper Read More

Cuban Black Beans and Sausage

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Ingredients:

1 T olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1/2 large red pepper, diced
2 stalks celery (including the leaves), diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
14 oz smoked pork sausage, sliced lengthwise in half and then cut into chunks
1 T cumin
1/4 t ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 Serrano pepper, minced
1 (15 oz) can tomatoes, diced
3 cups chicken stock, unsalted
4 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup cilantro stems, chopped
2 oz pimentos, diced
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped (for garnish) Read More

Spanish Rice

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Spanish RiceIngredients:

1 1/2 cups long grain rice
1 1/2 T olive oil
1 small sweet onion, chopped
1 medium sweet pepper (bell, red, banana, etc), deseeded and chopped
3 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1-2 Serrano peppers, rinsed, deveined, deseeded, and finely minced
1 T chili powder
2 t Spanish paprika
2 t ground cumin
1/2 t oregano
1/4 t fresh ground black pepper
2 t balsamic vinegar
1 (15 oz) can tomatoes, chopped
2 1/4 cups vegetable stock
2 T parsley, chopped

Garnish: sliced green onion and chopped cilantro Read More

Creole Chicken and Rice Stew

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Serves 8
Ingredients:

1 T olive oil
2 cups carrots, sliced
1/2 cup celery, sliced – include a bunch of the leaves
1 small onion, chopped, approximately 1 cup
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1 heaping T fresh chopped garlic
1 bay leaf
2 T Creole Seasoning mix
1 t dried basil
1/4 t fresh cracked black pepper, or to taste
2 cups chicken stock, low to no sodium
28 oz tomatoes, hand squished
1 cup brown rice
1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, approximately 2 breasts
Dashes of Tabasco sauce to taste
2 T parsley
2 green onions, sliced Read More

Spinach on Rice by The Silver Spoon

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SpinachOnRice WMMama D (Giovanna D’Agostino) guided my earliest cooking experiments. As a novice cook, I found the old-style Italian-American recipes in her cookery books simple to follow and delicious – although I do increase the garlic!

Immigrant Italians in Chicago and Minneapolis were cooking some serious deliciousness for dinner, but was it the same as meals made in Calabria?

To learn old country Italian cooking, I turned to The Silver Spoon, from Phaidon Press. Read More