It is the season for Gumbo...

Last weekend my DD was home from college and much to our delight she was in the mood to cook.  Saturday morning she baked cinnamon rolls and then on Saturday night she decided that she was in the mood for some Gumbo.  It was rainy and cool so it was really the perfect dish.  The recipe that she used was from the recent Taste of Home magazine "Heartwarming Soups" and it was delicious!!!  I am pretty impressed with my 19 year old chef if I do say so myself.







 New Orleans Gumbo

2 cups chicken broth
1 cup uncooked converted rice
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (23 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 pound kielbasa or Polish sausage, cute into 1/2-inch slices
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon pepper
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cold water
1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled & deveined
1 large green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

1.  In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Stir in the rice, celery, onion and garlic. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 20 minutes.

2.  Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, bring the tomatoes, chicken, kielbasa, thyme, pepper, bay leaves and cayenne to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

3.  Combine flour and water until smooth; gradually stir into chicken mixture. Stir in shrimp and green pepper. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 4-6 minutes or until shrimp turn pink and gumbo is thickened. Discard bay leaves.

4.  Remove rice from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes; stir in parsley.  Serve with gumbo.

Yield: 8 servings (2 quarts gumbo; 4 cups rice)

It is pretty cool having your child cook for you when she comes home! 

 I could probably get used to that.

Linking up with Amanda @ Serenity Now and her Family Friendly Food Week!

Back to School Meal Planning...What do you do to make life easier?

My sweet blog friend, Leigh @ Hines-Sight Blog is having a fun link up today that is so timely for those of us getting ready to get on the "Back to School" train (a train, by the way, that flies at the speed of light it seems).  Leigh is hosting a Meal Planning Made Easy linky party to help us get motivated with new ideas and recipes for the busy school year! 

Knowing this linking party was coming up and seeing as how I am desperate to start this school year being ultra organized (yep...a bit obsessive...but that is the way I roll) I couldn't resist picking up this little recipe booklet from the Taste of Home folks. It is filled with some yummy, healthy and most importantly... quick and easy recipes.  I particularly appreciate how many of the recipes give instructions on how to make ahead and how to use them from frozen!  There are offerings for breakfast, lunch, dinner, healthy snacks along with some slow cooker recipes. I can't wait to try many of the recipes because so many sound like they will be big hits with my boys. 

The 1st recipe I am going to try is:

Good-Morning Granola (submitted by to TOH by Mary Bilyeu from Ann Arbor, Michigan who says, "This is ridiculously easy to make and has lots of healthy ingredients. It's a great way to start your day and keep you going. With pretty packaging, this tasty granola makes a nice gift or bake sale item."

4 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1/2 cup sliced almonds
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup dried cherries
1 cup dried cranberries

Step 1  In a large bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients; set aside. In a small saucepan, combine the orange juice, honey and oil. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Pour over oat mixture and mix well.

Step 2 Transfer to a 15 in. x 10 in. x 1 in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown, stirring every 10 minutes.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

Step 3 Stir in dried fruits. Store in an airtight container.  Serve with yogurt if desired.

As far as back to school prep., I have already managed to do all our back to school shopping, clothes and supplies included so I am feeling so ahead of the game, especially since school doesn't start until August 16th! 

Y'all pop over to Leigh's and link up your Meal Planning ideas!

Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons - YUM!

'Tis the season to bake with abandon and not worry about fat and calories!  Right???? 

On Sunday I baked up a batch of these amazing Chocolate Dipped Macaroons to send back to school with DD (of course, I kept a few for me since none of my menfolk fancy coconut.)  They are super easy and have very few ingredients (++++ in my world.)  The original recipe came from Taste of Home magazine as a basic coconut macaroon, but I tweaked it and added the chocolate dip to make it work for me.  Hope you enjoy!

Chocolate Dipped Macaroons

•  2 (14 ounce) bags of flaked coconut (about 5 cups)
• 2/3 cups self rising flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (14 ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 package Candiquik (or other brand) Chocolate Coating

 1.  In large bowl combine the coconut, flour and salt.

2.  Add milk and vanilla and mix well (batter will be stiff!!!)

3. Grease baking sheet (I used Pam Spray)

4. Drop by tablespoons 1 inch apart (they don't spread)

5.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown (watch carefully because my first ones got too brown on the bottom).

***I also flipped mine in the last couple of minutes of baking because I like a nice golden brown toasted top but that is a personal preference.

6.  Remove to wire racks or wax paper to cool.

7.  Melt Candiquik according to package directions

8.  Dip bottoms of macaroons in melted chocolate and set on wax paper to cool! Store at room temperature.

9.  Enjoy!!!!!

Makes approximately 3 dozen large macaroons.

These are even better the next day!