Sourdough Stories, Chapter 8: Chicken & Homemade Egg Noodles

When I go to visit my folks in my hometown, there's a better than 70% chance my mom will make her famous chicken & noodles while we're up.  She stews the chicken to make a broth, then adds the noodles, lets it simmer for a long time, and by dinner, it's deliciousness served over mashed potatoes ("carbs on carbs" we joke--a midwestern specialty).  When I grew up Mom would also serve it with a side of buttered bread--the perfect carb trifecta (Note: this was the 90s, when carbs were considered a healthy primo-energy source, not the sadly demonized shadow they currently exist in).

When I make it, sometimes I serve over mashed potatoes, sometimes not, but always add some frozen vegetables to make it a more complete meal.  And in general, always make it with Reames frozen egg noodles.  

I saw a recipe on Pinterest for using sourdough discard in egg noodle dough, and the weather was a little gross this week, so it seemed a good time for some homemade chicken & noodles.  We had a 10 lb bag of chicken leg quarters to use up (we decided to go in on a cow with my folks, so we're needing to clean out the freezer a bit), so last weekend I did roasted chicken & potatoes in the oven with half, and then cooked the rest in the Instant Pot with a couple cups of chicken broth.  Once the chicken had cooled, I shredded it (made about 4 cups) and put it in the fridge for this recipe later, strained the stock from the Instant Pot & put it in a separate container (also made about 4 cups).

Noodles (makes about 2 lbs of noodles):

3 cups AP flour

3-4 eggs (I started with 3, but the dough was really crumbly & dry so I added another)

1 cup of sourdough discard

For this part--super simple. First thing in the morning, I put all the ingredients in my Kitchenaid stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, and then let it mix for about 10 minutes.  Then I transferred the dough ball to another bowl, covered it and let it hang out all day while I was at work.

When I got home, I split the dough in half, then rolled it out to about a 1/4-1/2 inch thick (I need to get some rolling pin spacers so I can actually tell how thick dough is...in my mind it was nice and thin, but really it probably needed to be thinner, as we'll discuss later.)  Then I used a pizza cutter to slice them into about the size of Reames noodles (1/2 inch wide by about 2-3 inches long)--enlisted the help of Lil' Man for a bit of it.

We only needed about a pound for the soup so I put the other half on a cookie sheet in the freezer, then bagged them up the next morning.

Soup (makes 7-8 servings):

4 cups chicken stock (preferably homemade)

6 cups water

3 tsp chicken bouillon powder

4 cups pre-cooked shredded chicken

ground dried rosemary

onion powder

garlic powder

black pepper

12 oz bag frozen mixed vegetables (ours had green beans, peas, carrots & corn)

12-16 oz of fresh egg noodles

Directions:

Heat the stock, water, and bouillon powder over medium heat in a large stock pot until bubbling.  Then add the chicken, seasonings, and vegetables, cook for about 6 minutes over medium, then add the noodles.

The noodles fattened up immediately after we added them--this was the moment where I realized I hadn't made them thin enough.  I stirred the pot constantly for about 5-10 minutes, then turned off the heat, covered, and let it sit for about 10 minutes.  The original recipe said they should only take about 2-4 minutes (Clue #2 that maybe I'd cut them too thick).  They were also still tasting a bit bland after only 5-10 minutes so I wanted them to have a bit more time to soak up the chicken broth flavor.  But maybe a consequence of my adding an extra egg was that they didn't want to absorb as much.  

The extra sit time seemed to help with that, and they "deflated" a bit with time--I was worried that they would overcook but that wasn't an issue. In fact, in a few of the thicker ones when I bit into it, the center was still dry flour.  

This is one of those dishes where it actually tastes better the next day.  I had some leftovers over the weekend and the noodles were perfect at that point, had really soaked up a lot of that flavor.  I'll play around with the cook time a bit with the other half of the batch that we froze.  I definitely think we'll make these again--it was relatively low effort. I might try a different cut, like thin squares instead of the strips.

21-Day Keto Diet: Day 9 (Pi Day)

As a follow up to yesterday's post about my child's wake-up patterns...today I had to get up at 6:20a for a work meeting...but when I left the house at 7am, Lil' Man was still snoozing.  So, the obvious conclusion here is, despite everything that comes out of his mouth, he truly does love his Daddy more. ;)

So...Happy Pi Day all!  I had almost forgotten, until our HR manager sent out an email yesterday noting that in honor of Pi Day, they were buying pizza for the office for lunch, and folks were welcome to bring in dessert pies.  

And y'all, I REALLY wanted to come up with a brilliant keto-friendly pie and bring it so I could participate.  I thought, "hey...we've got coconut flour...surely that would make a great faux-graham cracker crust, for a no-bake cheesecake, right?"  But I couldn't find a single recipe online that used ONLY coconut flour--most called for almond flour or a mix of the two.  

So, let's all just PRETEND that I made this beautiful cheesecake (which is the recipe I would have used if I had had the energy and supplies to make it).

Photo & Recipe from Simply So Healthy, click on photo for link.

Breakfast:  Raspberry coconut muffin with butter, 3 sausage links, soft boiled egg, water, and coffee w/DIY creamer.

Lunch:  Leftover Zuppa Toscana & celery (and the toppings from 1 slice of sausage pizza.  What? I don't turn down free food, dude.)

Dinner:  Chicken Pizza Bake, made with chicken, bacon, pepperoni, bell pepper, onion, kale, and mushrooms. I tried to cram as many veggies in there as I could.  This was pretty darn tasty--the kiddo loved it too. Also had a Michelob Ultra with dinner.

Totals: 1598 kcal, 110g fat, 22.6g net carbs, 91g protein

My Thoughts: I was pretty bummed to have to pass up all those pies today.  They looked really good.  But I did make it to the gym today (a good thing, since I was at my desk almost all day and pretty sedentary).  The gym scale tells me I'm only down 2 lbs, which is a little frustrating.  I should probably try to up my trips to the gym to balance things out a bit--would probably help with the low energy levels too.

The Hubs' Thoughts:  If yesterday was my best day, today is my worst.  Sore muscles and really low energy.

21 Day Keto: Day 0 (Prep)

The Hubs convinced me to do a 21 Day Keto Diet with him.  We've got a trip to Cancun coming up next month, so we thought it might help us get "beach ready" (well, as ready as two almost-40 year old white people can).  We did a fair bit of reading before deciding to do it, because in general I'm not a fan of "diets"--and most nutritionists agree.  The "diet" that most nutritionists recommend is simply "eat less, move more" and have a moderate balanced diet with none of the "can't have *insert food*" restrictions.  That being said, we both know folks who have lost a lot of weight doing keto, so we were interested to see if it lives up to the hype.

As with any diet, the first step is PREP.  So I created a Pinterest board with recipes that sounded good, especially leaning toward anything that starts with the word "easy".  Because life is chaotic.  We also brainstormed some of our existing favorite recipes to see what meals we already like could fit into the keto diet--like our Zuppa Toscana (but with turnips in place of potatoes and heavy cream instead of half & half) and my favorite balsamic glazed chicken with onions & mushrooms.

Then I hopped on PepperPlate, my handy-dandy meal-planning website, and started planning for the first week (note: my one request was that we wouldn't start until after Mardi Gras).

In order to track macros (70% fat, 25% protein, 5% carbs), I front-loaded each of these days' meal plans into my FitBit tracker, to make sure we'd be hitting the target ratios.  

Then I headed to the store and stocked up on supplies:

(Ignore the potato salad.  That's for a Mardi Gras Potluck at work. And is sadly not keto-friendly.)

Our shopping list included:

Heavy cream

Butter

Sour Cream

Pork Sausage

Cabbage (green and red)

Olive Oil Mayo

Deli Meat (pepperoni & salami) & Smoked Provolone for roll ups

Broccoli Slaw (for this sesame Asian chicken salad)

Pepperoncinis & Pickled Okra

Meatballs (which may or may not be eaten during this keto thing--they're 5g carbs in a serving, but I had 2 coupons that were getting ready to expire)

Steamable cauliflower rice

Avocados

Cucumber

Cauliflower

Bell Peppers (for these pepper "sandwiches")

Frozen tuna steaks

Spaghetti Squash

(Note: we already had 2 dozen eggs at home, and 8 packs of bacon, which is why we didn't need to buy any of those things.)

Finally, because I know I have a busy week, I went ahead and started some meal prep:  bagging up veggies for lunches, making deli roll-ups, this breakfast casserole, and this chicken salad (cooked the chicken in the Instant Pot, and added avocado and dill pickles).

I'm planning to try to post each day--the first week will be interesting, because The Hubs is also traveling for work.  So I'll try to make sure each post represents both of our challenges/thoughts on the program, so we have both a  male and female opinion.

Have you done a Keto diet? I'd love to hear about it!  Please leave a comment below, or on Facebook or Instagram!  Thanks!

Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

So up to this point (yes, 10 years into this blog) I have only ever shared recipes for "shortcut" gumbos--i.e, gumbo using an instant roux.  Because honestly, that's what my life demands most of the time.  Real, true, made from scratch gumbo starts with a roux, and takes about 2-3 hours to make.  And when you're a working mom, that's a time commitment most of us don't have on a weekday.  And making a roux means standing by the stove, stirring for about 40-45 minutes, so if you've got a busy weekend, it can be hard to fit then as well.

BUT...I did it.  With the help of my friend Amy.

Amy & I met through a friend, who basically said, "hey--you used to live in Louisiana, and Amy's from Louisiana.  You should meet."  So we did, and thank goodness.  Amy is one of the sweetest people on the planet, full of Southern hospitality and a big, beautiful laugh.  Her family hails from Napoleonville (aka "up da bayou"), and Amy was gracious enough to let me help her make her mama's gumbo recipe.  (She was also gracious enough to let me borrow her camera, after I left mine at my house.)  

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup flour
1.5 cups chopped onion
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced bell pepper
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
4 bay leaves
1 lb andouille or smoked sausage (Johnsonville New Orleans style sausage works well if you can't find andouille)
1 lb raw chicken, cubed
1 Tbsp cajun seasoning (or to taste)

To accompany:
cooked rice (white or brown, about 1/2-1 cup per person)
potato salad
French bread
green onions


DIRECTIONS:
First up--clear your schedule for about 2 hours.  Amy says her mama would always say, "if you need something from me you better ask now, because I'm gettin' ready to start the gumbo."

Step 1 - ROUX
Many recipes vary on ratios, but ours calls for a 1:1 ratio of oil to flour.  In a large cast iron pot, heat the oil over medium heat, until shiny but not smoking.  Then stir in the flour.  Some folks use a whisk, but depending on your whisk it can be really hard to get the corners of the pot.  So Amy recommends a flat bottomed wooden spoon.  There is such a thing as a "roux spoon", but really, any spoon or spatula with a flat edge will work (or a flat whisk would probably be perfect). (Note: if you're using a cast iron pot, don't use a metal spoon.) 

And most importantly: KEEP STIRRING.  YES. THE WHOLE TIME.  (Amy & I tag-teamed this stage.)

Set a timer, counting up from the time you add the flour.  This is just a reference, because in general, it's going to take about 40-45 minutes to get from white to the beautiful chocolate brown you want for gumbo base.  You'll go through stages:  blonde (which would be a perfect place to start for a alfredo or bechamel sauce), cafe au lait... 

Which is why it's handy to have a cup of coffee while cooking.

...peanut butter, and then finally to dark chocolate.  

Amy has this article in her recipe binder that makes a good reference (particularly the "bless your heart" on the last one).  

This was really helpful for me because I tend to get nervous and jump off around the "peanut butter stage"--which won't ruin your gumbo, but it also won't have the same depth of flavor you get from a chocolate roux.

Step 1a - Heat the other things
You're going to need hot water and hot chicken stock later.  These need to be hot or they'll cause the roux to break when you add them to the main pot.  So go ahead and get these going on your other burners so they're ready to rock when you are.

Step 1b - Cook Sausage
In a small skillet, while the roux is going, brown your sausage.  Once cooked, transfer it to a bowl to wait. 

Step 2 - Add Veggies
Amy had prepped all the veggies before I got there, so we piled them in together and dumped 'em all in once we hit our chocolate roux stage. 

These will need to soften with periodic stirring for about 10-12 minutes (so this is a good time to sit with a cup of coffee and flip through old issues of "Louisiana Cooking" or coffee table books with tasty sounding recipes).

Note:  Amy's recipe didn't call for okra, but you can add it if you like.  You would cook about 1 cup of sliced okra in a separate pan (called "stringing", it removes much of the sliminess from the okra), stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes. Though, Amy told me she's always been told not to use okra if you're cooking in cast iron because the okra will turn black.  So...there you go. You've been warned.

Step 3 - Add Sausage (okra if using), Chicken Stock, Hot Water, and Bay Leaves
So ideally, here you want your main pot, water, and chicken stock to be as close to the same temp as possible.  If your roux is hot and you add a bunch of cold liquid, the roux will break.  Conversely, if your roux mixture is starting to cool down and you add stuff that's too hot your roux will also break (but should come back together as it simmers).

Once that's all in the pot, simmer for about 30 min - 1 hour.

Step 4 - Add Chicken & Cajun Seasoning
Seems pretty self-explanatory.

Then cover and simmer for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.  You can let it simmer longer than this--the flavors will only get more rich and delicious.

Serve with rice, green onions, potato salad, sweet tea, and French bread...and plenty of good friends!

The beautiful Amy!

Her mama's recipe is even kiddo-approved!

Cajun Cashew Chicken

Y'all....I invented something.  I know so many of the things I cook are just recipes from a cookbook or Pinterest...but I actually had an ORIGINAL thought.  Trust me--I checked the internet.

I was laying in bed, having trouble falling asleep because I drank caffeine too close to bedtime.  And somewhere, somehow, a lateral train of thought took me to "I wonder if I could make a Cajun version of cashew chicken?"

If'n you're not from Missouri...specifically Springfield, Missouri... y'all.  Springfield, Missouri is famous for exactly two things.
1) It's where the original Bass Pro Shops is located and headquartered, and 
2) It's where "Springfield-style" cashew chicken was invented.

In 1963, David Leong created this dish for a supper club, and the entire city went bonkers.  His family's restaurant is still famous for it, and there isn't a single Asian restaurant in town that doesn't have a version of cashew chicken on their menu---even some non-Asian restaurants, as evidenced by the cashew chicken poutine served by Lindberg's Tavern.

So...what is it?  Well, it's awesome.  Tasty little deep fried morsels of chicken, served with either a light brown garlic sauce or a darker, thicker brown gravy made with chicken stock, oyster sauce and soy....and then topped with cashews.  It's basically fried chicken & brown gravy, served with rice (usually fried rice).

So somewhere in the lateral processes of my brain, something clicked:  how is cashew chicken all that different from all the rice & gravy dishes in Louisiana?  Can I make something that honors both the original dish, and a Cajun dish, while still tasting amazing?  

...well...why not?  After all--it's the experimental dishes that are the most fun to make:  like Primo's crawchos and red beans & fries, and the bacon-wrapped boudin jalapeno poppers.

So--this dish has four components:
1) Fried chicken - the secret to great Springfield style chicken is the fry batter, which uses cornstarch, so we're not going to mess with that.  But...what if we brine our chicken with a crab boil mixture first?
2) Brown gravy - Anyone who's followed this blog for a while knows my love of Tony Chacheres's brown gravy & instant roux mix.  While I catch a lot of flack for using this shortcut instead of making my roux's from scratch, you just can't deny the fact that this stuff makes a great quick gravy.  So...let's use that as a base, and then tinker a bit to bring in some of the traditional cashew sauce elements.
3) Rice - white rice just seemed too vanilla for this adventure. So what's the closest thing Cajun country has to fried rice?  Why...that's dirty rice, son.
4) Cashews - because it's freakin' cashew chicken.  

So...how did it go?  Well, my first attempt was a little salt heavy.  The chicken was great, but rice and the gravy both came out with too much salt, which really took away from my enjoyment of my new invention.  And I was testing out a new recipe for the dirty rice, using my Instant Pot instead of something tried and true--so the rice was on the mushy side, rather than more like a "pilaf" like dirty rice should be.  Also...I completely forgot to buy cashews and green onions, so my topping game was not on point. I wanted to make Tabasco-spiced cashews using their Chipotle sauce.  So instead we had dried green onions and some spicy peanuts. *shrugs*

I think it requires a do-over.  Next time, I'll thin the sauce out more and lower the salt, and then use a dirty rice recipe that I know works.  Oh--and make sure I have cashews and green onions.

Ingredients: (makes 4-6 servings)
2 large chicken breasts, cubed into bite size pieces
Brine for Chicken
4 cups water
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup crab boil seasoning (I used dry--you could use the liquid instead, but will likely need to add more salt)
1 Tbsp cajun seasoning
1/4 cup Steen's cane syrup
1 Tbsp black pepper
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Batter for Chicken
DRY: 1 cup flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 Tbsp cornstarch
WET: 2-3 eggs, whisked

Gravy
4 Tbsp Tony Chacheres instant brown gravy mix
2 cup water
2 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
additional water as needed to thin gravy to desired consistency

Dirty Rice (link to recipe here)

Cashews & Green Onions, for serving

Directions:
First--brine the chicken at least 24 hours in advance. I chunked up the chicken pieces first to increase surface area, since there's a lot of debate as to how much aromatics and flavoring components really penetrate when brining/marinating.  I put all the brine ingredients in a gallon ziploc, and then added the chicken, and placed it in the fridge (inside a large bowl, in case of leakage) overnight.

Then, the immortal words of PooPoo Broussard: "cook sum rice". (NOTE: I think leftover dirty rice tastes better than "fresh", so feel free to make this the night before.) I decided to make this in the Instant Pot because...well...I own an Instant Pot. (I also made it with brown rice, because that's what we had on hand.)  Next time, I'll probably try something different, like my usual range-top recipe (linking to save space in this post).

Now, start the gravy--you can get this simmering in the background while you focus on frying the chicken.  We happened to have some brown gravy in the fridge from a meal earlier in the week, so I re-heated that, and then added the oyster sauce, low-sodium soy sauce, sesame oil, and then about 1/4 cup of water.  This resulted in a thick, tasty, but salty gravy--so if I had a do over I would have added more water to thin it out.  The flavor (aside from the salt) was very good.  Once your gravy is done, set it aside on Low, just to keep it warm--don't let it keep reducing or you'll end up with the salt issue, too.

When you're ready to cook the chicken:
1) heat up about 2-3 inches of peanut oil in a high-sided pot.  Have a splatter guard handy.  You want to make sure your oil is good and hot to fry the chicken--otherwise it's going to soak up a lot of the oil and be greasy and not as good, but not so hot as to scorch the coating. 365*F is a good target temp.
2) Drain the brine by pouring the chicken into a colander and letting the excess drain off.
3) Dip in the chicken in the flour mixture first, then the egg, then back in the flour.  Stage finished chicken on a cookie sheet until you're done with all of them.

4) Drop into the hot oil, and let fry for about 3-4 minutes.  Use a spoon or chopstick to flip the pieces about halfway through.
5) When golden brown, pull the chicken out and let it drain on paper towels or an elevated rack.

Serve up a scoop of the dirty rice, pile some chicken next to it, then add gravy, and top with the cashews and some sliced green onions.

Note: If you've never had original Springfield-style and want to try David Leong's original cashew chicken, here is his recipe.  

World's Best Grilled Cheese

Well...at least that's my humble opinion.

I was packing myself a lunch for work when this sandwich occurred to me.  We had some cinnamon swirl bread that needed to be used up--apparently I wasn't going through it fast enough just with breakfast nomming.  And then I saw the pepper jelly, and had an A-HA moment.

Sweet sauce?  Sweet bread!  Makes sense!

INGREDIENTS:
2 slices cinnamon swirl bread
2 slices Swiss cheese (provolone or pepper jack would also go really nicely)
2 oz deli-sliced chicken (I like the Rotisserie Seasoned from Oscar Meyer)
1 Tbsp Tabasco pepper jelly
1/2 Tbsp light mayo (NOT Miracle Whip)

DIRECTIONS:
Slather the mayo on to one side of each of the slices of bread.  You're using this instead of butter for frying.  Just...trust me.  Seriously.

Place one slice of bread in the skillet, mayo-side down, then add cheese, pepper jelly, chicken, the other slice of cheese, and the other piece of bread (mayo-side up).  Flip once golden (about 3-4 minutes), and cook until the other side matches. (Note: my second side always seems to cook faster than the first--anyone else notice this?)

Let rest briefly so that the cheese can bond with it's fellow sandwich-mates, and then cut in half (if you desire. I won't force you.  I like triangles myself).  Serve with a side of...well, whatever! Maybe chips and a pickle, maybe just a variety of veggies.  It's totally up to you.

The end result is a sweet, salty, slightly spicy, crispy sandwich that will having you wishing you'd made two.

NutriFacts:
Calories: 399
Fat: 14.3 g
Fiber: 0.8 g
Carbs: 45.8 g
Sodium: 1253 mg
Protein: 16.1g

What I've Been Cooking Lately

While I haven't had a ton of time to blog lately (the posts you've seen have been compiled over several weeks, pieced together here & there), I have still been cooking.  When I went back to work we quickly realized we needed to do some meal planning so we didn't starve to death or end up eating pizza every night.  Having a meal plan written down for the week helps us to figure out who's cooking what, which nights we won't need to cook anything and can just eat leftovers, and helps us to make sure we have enough leftovers for lunches.  

I've been ever-so-slowly working my way through my Recipes to Try on Pinterest. I try to keep a running list of what recipes I want to try next alongside my menu plan for the week, so I can cross things off as we use them and then add new recipes based on what's on sale or what we need to use up in the fridge. So, here's what I've tried recently, and my thoughts/tweaks to those recipes:

Easy Weeknight Chicken Parmesan - This was the recipe found inside a can of Progresso  Fire Roasted Tomato Recipe Starters in our pantry.  I've used a few of these Recipe Starters and have thus far been underwhelmed.  They all have a pretty "prepackaged" flavor.  I added a ton of garlic and basil to this sauce, which helped.  We used the excess sauce to make a pasta side dish.

"Chicken parm you taste so good..."  Thanks, Manning.

Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup:  This one was practically perfect as-is. I made it for my church small group and everyone requested that I send them the recipe. I did use more cumin (probably closer to 2-3 teaspoons) and used smoked salt instead of regular--what can I say, I like my Mexican dishes a little smoky!

Crockpot Spaghetti Squash & Meatballs:  This is possibly the easiest meal I've ever made, and it was really tasty.  You literally cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, plop the two halves into the crock, then pour in a jar of sauce and toss in some frozen meatballs, set to high for 3 hours, then go back to playing with your kid.  Perfect.

Crockpot Mashed Potatoes:  This one ended up being a flop for me, but I think I accidentally used too much milk--I also think it would have worked better with russets instead of red potatoes.  Reds have a tendency to not be as fluffy, and when I OD'd on milk the end result was a gluey mess.

Crock Pot Beef & Broccoli:  This one was also a flop.  The meat completely fell apart after having been cooked for 8 hours on low, so we essentially had shredded beef & broccoli over rice.  The sauce also didn't really ever thicken up, and was sweeter than I would have liked, so we added extra soy and sriracha. 

Baked Crispy Sweet Potato Wedges:  While not as crispy as I had hoped, these were still delicious.  Great as a side with burgers or brats.

All grilling best when completed by The Hubs with his young apprentice.

Hummus Crusted Chicken:  The hummus "crust" never really got crunchy, but it DID keep the chicken nice and moist and even my father-in-law, who doesn't like hummus, said this was a really tasty dish. I used Sundried Tomato Basil Sabra hummus, and seasoned both sides of the chicken with Cajun seasoning before adding the hummus.

Baked Garlic Paprika Chicken:  This was tasty. I recommend using smoked paprika.  Also--I was lazy and didn't heat the oil & spices together--I just tossed them in a gallon Ziploc and then added the chicken to the bag, tossing to coat.  Still a delicious result.

Biscuit Waffles 'n Gravy:  Technically only "pinspired" by Pinterest, and the trend of waffling everything these days.  We stuck some Grands biscuits in the waffle iron, and my Hubs made his famous sawmill gravy.  The biscuits were a little tough, but tasty--and no fork required, you could just pick them up & eat them.  Good schtuff.

Cajun Black Bean Soup:  My soup did not end up as creamy as I would have liked--I could never get the puree to be thin enough, so it just had some bean chunks in it. I did use Camellia brand black beans. However, flavor-wise this was delicious.  Also--before you start this recipe, note the long cook time.  I didn't and we ended up eating dinner at about 8pm that night. :)

Mushroom & Kale Ramen:  This was a nice spin on regular ramen.  I used baby portabellas instead of shiitake, but it was still a yummy bite. I also added a bit of fish sauce because...well, because it's in our fridge, and it makes me feel fancy.

Ravioli Lasagna:  We didn't really follow any recipe exactly, but the recipe under the link is close to what we made.  I used frozen cheese raviolis from Aldi, 1 lb of sliced smoked sausage links, 1 jar Italian sausage pasta sauce, and tons of mozzarella & Italian cheese blend.  Just layered the ingredients and baked for 40 minutes at 350F.

PF Chang's Style Lettuce Wraps:  These were super-tasty & really easy to throw together. I will definitely be making again.

Herbed Chicken & Pasta:  This dish had great flavor but ended up being WAY too salty for our taste. I think if you could find a low-sodium version of the soup mixes it might help, or just eliminate one of the mixes (either the garlic mix or the onion soup mix).

There's a few other things I've made recently but they were tinkered with enough (or are Cajun enough) to warrant their own post, so I'll save those for later.  You know...when I have time. :)

Baked Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya Egg Rolls

Hey there—remember back in the day when I made St. Patty’s Day Egg Rolls?  Well, that little venture got a lot of gears turning, so that I just started making baked egg rolls with just about anything.  There’s the Southwest Egg Rolls, and at some point I’ll finish my post about the Sushi Egg Rolls (I forgot to take a photo of the finished product before we ate them all, which means I need to make them again!).

Really, my egg roll recipes are typically born out of necessity.  Because when you buy egg roll wrappers, there’s 20 in a pack.  And as much as I love them, we really can’t eat more than 8 between the two of us in a sitting.  Which means you still have 12 wrappers laying around, mocking you—“okay Captain Kitchen Improv, now what are you going to do with US????”  And oddly enough, I’ve never just said, “well, I have some pork & cabbage…guess I’ll just make normal egg rolls with you.”  Because that’s not how I roll. And I prefer to make baked rolls, because they’re just WAY better for you, and as long as you give a nice light spritz of olive oil on the wrapper, they still get a really satisfying crunch.
As we move through this post, you’re going to notice something---between the prep photos & the final product photos, it looks as though my jambalaya stuffing has magically changed color.  It hasn’t.  But the first time I made these, I was using my Crock Pot Jambalaya recipe, and then the second time I made them with my Chef Folse recipe.  You can choose either, depending upon your preference, time allotted, etc.  Or you can even cheat & buy some Zatarain’s jambalaya mix.  You can also mix it up & use seafood instead of chicken or sausage (or even venison).  Totes up to you.
PS—this is an awesome way to use up leftovers, if you’ve made a pot of jambalaya the night before.  And these are perfect for any upcoming SuperBowl parties you might have!

INGREDIENTS: (makes 8 egg rolls)
8 egg roll wrappers (you should find these in the produce section, usually near the tofu.  My Wal-Mart stocks them near the shredded cabbage/bagged lettuce & veggies)
about 3-4 cups of jambalaya (it can be cold or hot)
water
Olive Oil mister

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 425F.
Lay a wrapper on a clean, dry surface with a corner toward you.  Spoon about 1/3 – 1/2 cup of jambalaya onto the wrapper, not quite in the middle.

Roll the point that’s closest to you over the filling, gently squishing a bit so the filling is uniform in thickness. 
Now fold in the sides, and then roll over once toward the far point.  Now wet the far point with the water, and then finish rolling it up.

Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil, add the rolls, and then lightly spray each of the rolls with olive oil (you can use a brush to get good coverage).  This will help them to brown all over.

Bake for 10 minutes on each side (20 minutes total) so you get a good crust/seal on them. Then booyah—you’re done!

Now: dipping sauces.  They REALLY don’t need one.  But it’s an egg roll—so you sorta feel inclined to dip it.  I tried Cajun mustard, but it was a no-go: just WAY overpowered the flavor of the jambalaya.  However, you could try a remoulade with it…or ranch goes with about anything.  If you get creative & find a great sauce to go with these, please leave me a note! Enjoy!