Reduced Calorie Crab & Corn Bisque

This is one of my all-time favorite dishes. And one of the first "cajun" dishes I ever attempted cooking. However, it was certainly NOT "healthed-up" the first time I made it. I don't even want to attempt to fathom the calories that were in that version. So, I've tweaked it over the years, and now it's equally delicious, but much lower in fat (thanks to the many Lower Fat versions of ingredients that are currently available).

Please note that this recipe calls for imitation crab meat...yes, the real stuff is infinitely fabulous, however, a) most of us don't have ready access to fresh crab, b) the frozen real stuff is rather pricey, compared to it's surimi counterpart, and c) the imitation stuff is quite good for you! I will issue fair warning--I use Louis Kemp Crab Delights, and it doesn't flake extremely well when you're breaking it apart for the soup. In fact, it looks a little like noodles. But delicious crab-esque noodles in a rich & creamy soup. So it's all good. :)

This recipe will make 8-10 servings; each serving is less than 300 calories, and approximately 6g of fat. And if you're living just about anywhere other than Louisiana right now, you're probably experiencing this same wicked El Nino winter we are here in Missouri, so it should go without saying (but I'll say it anyway, because I'm obnoxious like that) that this makes a fabulous winter meal alternative to chili or your other winter staples.



Is your mouth watering? It should be. ;)

Ingredients:
2 medium onions chopped
2 tbs. olive oil (Extra Virgin)
1/4 large red bell pepper chopped
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
1 - 16oz. can whole kernel corn, undrained
8oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced (or you can use canned sliced mushrooms, undrained)
1 - 16oz. can Italian style tomatoes coarsely diced
1 tsp. sugar
1 - 10 3/4oz. can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
1 - 16oz. can cream style corn
1 lb. Louis Kemp Crab Delights imitation crab, flaked
1 tsp. dried and crushed sweet basil
3 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
4 tsp cajun seasoning (as usual, I have to throw in my plug for Fontenot & A Half right here. It's lower sodium than most of the cajun seasonings around, and is made by two very good friends of mine down in Louisiana, so it's about as authentic as you can get. And it's now available for purchase online!)
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 - tsp. liquid crab boil (not dried)
1 cup fat free Half-N-Half cream
2 tbs. fresh parsley chopped
1/2 lb. light Velveeta
Salt and Pepper to taste
Thinly sliced green onion tops
Your favorite crackers (I get the "Buttery Smooth" club-style crackers)

Directions::
In a 6 - quart dutch oven (or your largest pot), over medium heat, heat the olive oil, then sauté the onion until transparent. Add bell pepper and celery, sauté until just tender. (I use red bell pepper for the added color, and because for some reason, right now they're the same price as green bells). Season vegetables with a pinch of salt & pepper as they saute.

Stir in the whole kernel corn, mushrooms, tomatoes and sugar. Bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes. Add mushroom soup, cream style corn and half of the crab meat mixing well after each addition.

Add the sweet basil, bay leaves, thyme, garlic powder, 2 tsp of the cajun seasoning, and the liquid crab boil.

Lower heat to medium and cook 15 minutes, stirring often to prevent scorching. Turn heat to low and blend in the Half-N-Half, parsley and remaining crab meat. Simmer 5 minutes, then remove the bay leaves (because they're nearly impossible to find in the pot if you do it after you add the Velveeta), then stir in cheese until melted. (I cube up the Velveeta in order to speed up the melting.)

Season to taste with more cajun seasoning, salt, & pepper. Serve nice-n-warm, garnished with green onions. BE SURE TO SERVE WITH CRACKERS, as this is a very rich dish; the crackers help balance everything out nicely.

Nutritional Info:
* Calories: 279.7
* Total Fat: 6.0 g
* Cholesterol: 11.9 mg
* Total Carbs: 47.5 g
* Dietary Fiber: 4.1 g
* Protein: 11.8 g

Enjoy!

Pan-Seared Fish & Boiled Veggie Medley: A creole-cajun hybrid fish dish.

Hello all! It's been a while! How've you been? Hectic as always here. But not too hectic for me to share my most recent creation with you. And by recent, I mean I just ate devoured it about half an hour ago.

This was inspired by an amazing dish I had at the famous Commander's Palace in New Orleans. Now, as you may or may not know, there are two primary "camps" of cooking here in Louisiana: Cajun, and Creole. Creole is typically associated with the city, specifically New Orleans, a more "classic" style of cooking, historically eaten by the upper class. Cajun is more akin to what the average "country" Louisianian might eat. For the math or word play buffs out there:

Cajun : Creole, as Ruth's Chris : your favorite local hole-in-the-wall diner

or even

Boeuf Bourguignon : Chicken Fried Steak

It's ALL good as far as taste goes, it's just stylistically different.

However...hybrids happen. Particularly when you're like me and have lived all over the state, and as an "outsider", have no loyalties to either camp.

So...that's how we have this: Feauxcajun's Fresh Catch Fish & Veggie Melange:


So, here's the breakdown & what's what about this dish:
Creole: classic plating, sauce separate from primary dish, creole mustard sauce
Cajun: "Boiled*" vegetable medley, cajun seasoning, freshly caught bayou Channel Catfish

(* I never experienced a traditional Louisiana seafood boil (you Northerners, think "backyard BBQ" only with a big pot of spicy water & seafood) until I moved into Cajun Country, so "boils" will always be "Cajun" to me.)

Shopping List:
- 1 tbsp Liquid crab boil
- 6 baby carrots, halved
- 1 rib celery, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 6 cloves garlic, whole
- ½ mirliton (or chayote), cubed
- 6 mushrooms, quartered
- ½ cup fresh corn kernels
- 4 new potatoes, quartered
- 4 fresh fish filets (catfish, drum, redfish, flounder, or bass is recommended)
- Cajun seasoning, to taste (Feauxcajun recommends: Fontenot & A Half--more details later)
- White wine (for deglazing pan)
- 1 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
- 1 lemon
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 4 tbsp creole mustard
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- ¼ tsp thyme
- ½ tsp minced dried onion
- 1 tsp flour

Directions:
Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water, and a medium pasta pot ¾ full of water, setting both to boil. When the saucepan water reaches a boil, add crab boil, stir, and remove from heat, letting cool.

When pasta pot comes to boil, add garlic & potatoes to the water and cook for about 15 minutes (or until potatoes are tender). Take half of the crab boil water & add to a bowl of ice to create an ice bath for the veggies. Remove the potatoes from the water, shock in the ice bath, then move to a colander to drain. Add the rest of the veggies plus ½ of the lemon to the boiling water and let cook until tender but firm (about 15-20 minutes).

Boiling veggies:


While that batch of veggies is cooking, season the fish filets liberally with the Cajun seasoning. This is where I pause to SHAMELESSLY promote a fantastic product made by two of my good friends. Fontenot & A Half is the ONLY cajun seasoning I use in my house anymore--it's less salty than the more commercial brands (read: Tony's or Zatarains) but still has a great flavor and perfect amount of heat. They're currently working on their website, but if you'd like to order, it's $3/can (plus shipping), and until the site's back up, it can be ordered by calling 225.749.4049.


Okay--back to the good stuff.

Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat, then add fish filets & cook 2-3 minutes on each side. If fish begins to stick to pan, sprinkle a few teaspoons of white wine into the pan to loosen when flipping or removing.

The fish is done when it's flaky white on the inside, and looks like this on the outside:


I can see you drooling. :)

Once fish is cooked, set aside on a plate & cover with aluminum foil to rest. Add chicken broth, mustard, thyme, dried onion, a few splashes of white wine, juice from the other half of the lemon, & vinegar to the sauté pan & stir well. Sprinkle in flour & whisk until thickened (about 2 minutes).



While sauce is cooking, reheat the saucepan of crab boil water over medium-low heat. When veggies are done, shock in the ice bath, drain, then add all veggies back into the remaining crab boil water to reheat (about 1 minute). Drain well, then season with Cajun seasoning to taste. Arrange vegetables on plate, & drizzle mustard sauce over the fish. Serve with a fresh warm roll.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional Info
Calories 331.2
Total Fat 16.0 g
Saturated Fat 3.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2.6 g
Monounsaturated Fat 8.9 g
Cholesterol 91.8 mg
Sodium 471.5 mg
Potassium 997.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate 17.9 g
Dietary Fiber 4.7 g
Sugars 2.1 g
Protein 30.6 g
Vitamin A 49.2 %
Vitamin B-12 67.0 %
Vitamin B-6 22.6 %
Vitamin C 53.3 %
Vitamin D 3.3 %
Vitamin E 4.3 %
Calcium 8.1 %
Copper 20.0 %
Folate 9.4 %
Iron 15.1 %
Magnesium 19.0 %
Manganese 18.5 %
Niacin 26.8 %
Pantothenic Acid 16.6 %
Phosphorus 43.6 %
Riboflavin 13.6 %
Selenium 41.2 %
Thiamin 50.3 %
Zinc 13.4 %

Nana D's Avocado-Jalapeno Dip

HOLIDAYS!

The above stated would/should explain my absence. But, I wanted to make it up to you, since it's not quite New Years Eve yet, and I assume some of you might be attending New Year's parties? Maybe looking for something different & unique & somewhat healthy to take with you?

Origins: While this recipe is not intrinsically "Cajun" as the stereotype goes (ie, it's not red beans or jumbalaya), it was passed on to me by my friend's mother, who's about as Cajun as a woman can get, and she's been making it for her family functions for, well...decades. So, I'd say that makes it worthy of sharing here. Not to mention the fact that it's RIDICULOUSLY delicious. She made a double batch for the family Christmas dinner, and it was GONE by this Sunday.

Difficulty level: None.

I have only made ONE modification to her original recipe, and that's the use of light sour cream rather than regular. So you're getting the real deal here.

So what's this miracle concoction, you ask? Well, we'll title it:

Nana D's Jalapeno Dip

You will need:
1 food processor (preferably an 8 or 10 cup capacity, but you should be okay with a 6-cup)
1 16oz container of light sour cream
1 bunch of fresh cilantro, unleafy bottom stem portion torn off and tossed in the trash
4-5 roasted jalapenos (I'll explain how to roast in a sec)
1 medium-size ripe avocado
1 clove roasted garlic, or 1/2 tsp garlic salt
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
1. If you're lucky enough to have a gas stove, you can turn a burner on high, and use tongs to roast your jalapenos over the burner. If you aren't that lucky, you can roast them on the BBQ pit the same way. Or, if you don’t have a gas stove, you can make roasted peppers in your oven or toaster oven. Preheat the oven to 400 and cook until the skin is blistered. You can also use a grill pan on your stove top to roast peppers in the same manner as on a gas flame. Continually turn and flip until the whole pepper has a brown blistered "char" to it, but the flesh still feels soft. Set aside to cool.

2. While that's cooling, cut up your avocado. Since it's going in the food processor, you don't need to get fancy, just remove the skin & pit, and cut into about 4 pieces, then toss into the food processor, followed by the cilantro, garlic, & sour cream.

3. Cut the jalapenos so you can remove the seeds and discard the seeds. Peel the charred skin off the jalapenos and toss the flesh into the processor as well.

NOTE! If you're not sure how much heat you want your dip to have, add only 3 or 4 peppers at first. You can always add the other one(s) after you've given it a good first blend.

4. Blend on medium speed until the contents are well combined and smooth, then taste. If it's too mild, add the other pepper(s) now, and add the salt & pepper to taste. Re-blend 'til smooth.

5. Serve with assorted dipping devices--chips are always popular, but not terribly healthy. We had some pretzel chips that were divine, but always good is an assortment of veggies--this stuff tastes good with ANYTHING, just about, and I mean that.

If you have leftovers, it even makes a fantastic sandwich spread...though I imagine you'll just keep dipping to your heart's content.



And why not? A quarter-cup serving of this divine dip is only 74 calories, plus you're getting calcium from the dairy, heart-healthy fats monounsaturated fats from the avocado, and peppers are a good source of most B vitamins, vitamin B6 in particular. They are also very high in potassium and high in magnesium and iron, and their high vitamin C content can also substantially increase the uptake of iron from other ingredients in a meal, such as beans and grains. And the capsaicin in jalapeno peppers have also been said to shrink prostate tumors (should anyone out there need that particular trait). Cilantro is known to aid in digestion, lower blood sugar and bad cholesterol, is an anti-inflammatory, and is a good source of fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium, phytonutrients and flavonoids.

So eat up! And HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!


Nutrition Facts

14 Servings

Amount Per Serving
Calories 74.0
Total Fat 5.1 g
Saturated Fat 2.7 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.4 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.2 g
Cholesterol 11.4 mg
Sodium 195.3 mg
Potassium 95.5 mg
Total Carbohydrate 4.5 g
Dietary Fiber 1.4 g
Sugars 3.0 g
Protein 2.9 g
Vitamin A 6.4 %
Vitamin B-12 0.0 %
Vitamin B-6 2.3 %
Vitamin C 10.6 %
Vitamin D 0.0 %
Vitamin E 0.4 %
Calcium 5.0 %
Copper 4.1 %
Folate 2.8 %
Iron 0.9 %
Magnesium 1.6 %
Manganese 2.5 %
Niacin 1.1 %
Pantothenic Acid 2.3 %
Phosphorus 1.1 %
Riboflavin 1.1 %
Selenium 0.1 %
Thiamin 0.9 %
Zinc 0.8 %