Crawfish Etouffee

3 cups of long grain white rice

6 cups of water

3/4 cup of butter (I use smart balance butter)

1 large onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 pound Crawfish tails

2 tablespoons canned tomato sauce

1/2 cup water, or as needed

3 green onions, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning

a couple of dashes of Tabasco, depending on how spicy you like things

Combine the rice and 6 cups of water in a saucepan, bring to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until rice is cooked and water has been absorbed.

While the rice is cooking, in a large skillet melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender and transparent, then add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. Stir in the flour until well blended. Gradually stir in the tomato sauce and then the water, then add the Crawfish and bring to a simmer. Add the chopped green onions and season with Cajun seasoning, pepper and then salt. Simmer for about 10 minutes over low heat, until the Crawfish is cooked through but not tough.

Serve over hot rice.

Enjoy!!!!

Blueberry & Raspberry Pie

1 box (2 crusts) of Pillsbury pie crust

1 frozen bag of whole blueberries

1 frozen bag of whole raspberries

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a pie dish place 1 of the pie crusts on the bottom.

In a bowl mix berries, sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon and then pour into pie crust.

Then top the filling for with the other pie crust and pinch the corners and put 4 slits in the middle for venting. Or you can cut the 2nd pie crust into strips and place on-top of the filling.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Serve warm, and it is great with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream or Vanilla yogurt.

Enjoy!!!!

Whole Oven Roasted Potatoes

1 bag of little whole potatoes

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Wash and pat dry the little potatoes

Put potatoes in medium sized baking pan/dish and then coat with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

Put in oven and roast for about 20 to 25 minutes or until potatoes are done.

Stir the potatoes around a couple of times while in the oven so all sides get good and roasted!

Enjoy!!!!

White Enchilada's

1 pound of ground beef (I use 93/7)

1 can Cream of Mushroom soup (I use reduced fat)

1-8 ounce carton of Sour Cream (lowfat)

1-7.5 ounce can of diced Green Chilies

1 can/jar of taco sauce

1 onion, chopped

1-10 count package of flour tortillas

1/2 - 3/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

For The Filling:

Brown the meat and onion in a saute pan and then drain, then return to pan and add the taco sauce, salt and pepper - then mix well together. Then fill each tortilla with meat filling (about 2 tablespoons per tortilla, then roll up and place in a baking dish.

For The Sauce:

In a saucepan - combine soup, sour cream and green chilies. Cook until sauce is warmed through.

Pour the sauce over the rolled enchiladas and then spread grated cheese over sauce.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until bubbly!

I top the enchiladas (once on the plate) with shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes. And serve Pinto Beans as a side.

Enjoy!!!!

Hot Artichoke Dip

Easiest artichoke dip ever,,,and taste great too!

1 can of Artichoke hearts, chopped

1 cup of mayonnaise (I use low-fat/reduced fat)

1 cup of Parmesan cheese (shredded or grated)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all together and put in a smaller backing dish (spray with PAM) and bake until golden brown and bubbly for about 20-25 minutes.

Serve with your choice of crackers. My husband likes it with Ritz crackers.

Enjoy!!!!

Warm Goat Cheese Salad

For The Salad:

cooking spray

1 egg

salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 cups plain bread crumbs

1 log (10.5 ounces) fresh goat cheese, chilled in the refrigerator

1/2 cup of grape tomatoes, sliced in half

whatever salad mix you prefer (I did romaine and red leaf lettuce)

Preheat oven to 395 degrees.

Spray a cookie sheet with the cooking spray.

In a small bowl whisk the egg, with a little bit of salt and pepper - this makes the egg wash for the goat cheese.

In another small bowl place the bread crumbs.

Slice the goat cheese log into 8 equal pieces. Working one piece at a time coat each slice of goat cheese with the egg wash and then cover with the bread crumbs....then place on the cookie sheet.

Place the cookie sheet on the top oven rack and bake for 5 to 7 minutes. The goat cheese crisps will be golden brown.

In a large bowl place the lettuce and tomatoes and top with vinaigrette (recipe below) and gently toss together. Then distribute the salad on 4 salad plates and top with 2 goat cheese crisps on each salad plate. Serve immediately while goat cheese is still warm.

For The Grainy Mustard Vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon whole-grain dijon mustard

6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

I used a mason jar to mix mine, but you can use whatever you like.

Combine the vinegar and mustard in a small bowl and whisk together. Slowly add the oil in a stream, whisking to emulsify. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

This makes about 1/4 cup.

Enjoy!!!!

Skillet Cheesy Chicken & Rice with Broccoli

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 boneless/skinless chicken breasts

1 can Campbell's Cream of Chicken condensed soup (I use 98% fat free)

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup long-grain white rice (I cook mine in the rice cooker, but you just need to have cooked rice)

2 cups of fresh broccoli (cut and steamed)

1/2 cup of shredded Cheddar cheese (I use reduced fat)

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until well browned on both sides, remove chicken from skillet.

Stir soup, water, onion powder and black pepper in skillet and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring a couple of times during 15 minutes.

Place chicken back in skillet, I diced my chicken up but you can leave as whole breasts if you like. Then add the cheese and cover and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.

Then add the steamed broccoli and stir.

Serve over steamed rice.

Enjoy!!!!

Chicken Noodle Soup

4 boneless/skinless chicken breast

4 stalks of celery, cut into 1/4 inch slices

3 carrots, peeled, cut into 1/4 inch round slices

1 white onion, chopped

5 chicken boulon cubes (I use low sodium)

9 to 10 cups of water

1 bag of no-yolk noodles (or whatever noodles you prefer)

salt and pepper to taste

Boil the chicken in a big pot, add 9 to 10 cups of water. Then let chicken cool in water. Take chicken out and shred or cube (whatever you prefer) and put back into the water that the chicken was in. then add all remaining ingredients and let it simmer for about 45 minutes, until the veggies are tender. Then add the salt and pepper to taste.

In a separate pot cook the noodles. Then drain.

I don't add the noodles to the soup, I drain them and set them aside for the soup to be ready and then place desired amount of noodles in bowl and ladle the soup on-top of the noodles!

Enjoy!!!!