A Couple Recipes

Andrew has been on a muffin kick lately. He had prepackaged mini-muffins while visiting family, and he keeps asking for them. It's not so much the muffin he likes, but the "mini" part. But like most pre-prepared, prepackaged foods (you know all the easy stuff) those muffins are not only chock full of white flour, they are flowing with corn syrup, preservatives, chemicals, and partially hydrogenated oils. Before going on, let me say this, in my pantry next to Amy's Organic Soup you will find white powdered sugar donuts, granola bars, and chips and in my freezer there is Blue Bell (there is always room for Blue Bell) . . . biggest oxymoron ever . . . I know. I wish I could say we're always the picture of health around here. We're not, but we have our moments. In general, on a day-to-day basis, I try to make sure that we are eating as healthy as possible. We rarely eat fast food (at least that's true for Andrew and me . . . Patrick is another story), and when at all possible, I try to go the homemade, from scratch route for the foods we eat. I also try to go the most natural route possible when baking and cooking. I don't worry much about avoiding butter or flour (although I use whole wheat when and where it works) or oils. My biggest goal is to avoid chemicals . . . things our bodies weren't ever meant to process.

Okay sorry, I'm going somewhere with this. So in an effort to get Andrew off his mini-muffin kick, I pulled out my mini-muffin pan, which is a royal pain in the rear to wash, and made him his own mini banana-nut muffins. I ended up with 5 dozen. Which meant we had lots to eat, but still left plenty to put in a bunch freezer in individual ziploc bags. Now I can pull them out the night before and he can either eat them for breakfast or take them for his morning snack. The recipe I used is one my mom has used for years (best recipe for banana bread ever), but I modified it slightly to cut the sugar and add whole wheat flour (it may not be healthy, but it is healthier).

Banana Nut Muffins

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 cup sugar (white or raw sugar will work) (if using all white flour use 2 1/3 c. of sugar)
2/3 cup canola oil
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 cups of whole wheat flour 
1/4 cup of white flour (or instead of using whole wheat flour just use 2 1/4 c. of white)
dash of salt
1/4 cups of pecans (or whatever nut you prefer)
3 ripe bananas mashed

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together all the dry ingredients. Once they are well blended add in the eggs, oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and finally the mashed bananas. If doing mini-muffins bake at 350 for 20 minutes. If doing regular muffins or mini-loaves bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. For large bread loaf it will take 40-60 minutes.

The final, Andrew approved, product.

One of Patrick's (and my) favorite meals is a shrimp gumbo/etouffee hybrid that I make. This is another one that my mom taught me to make and I modified. It's far from healthy (since you're essentially eating gravy and let's be honest, who doesn't love gravy), but y'all it's yummy. And I serve it over brown rice, and brown rice is healthy. 

Shrimp Etouffee (Courtney Style)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs of raw shrimp

1 bell pepper

5-6 green onions

2 medium size tomatoes

1-2 cloves mashed garlic

1/2 cup olive or canola oil

1/2 cup of white flour

4 - 6 cups of water (if you happen to have shrimp stock you can use this, but I prefer to use raw rather than cooked shrimp in my etouffee)

Salt/Pepper

Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning

Pre cooking Prep:

Peel and devein shrimp (this was always my sister's and my job growing up . . . fun stuff) and cut into small pieces. Chop the bell pepper, green onions, and tomatoes. Set all that to the side. 

Cooking:

In a large dutch oven or soup pot heat oil (remember olive oil gets very hot and burns/catches fire very quickly so be careful). Once oil is hot add the flour and the garlic. Stir continually as the flour browns. This is called a roux. As a side note some rouxs are especially dark, but for this recipe we want the roux to be a dark tan to light brown. Once the roux reaches the desired color mix in the vegetables and coat them with the roux. Then pour in the water to the desired consistency. It's best not to use all of the water at once. You can always add more but can't take it out. Next put in the shrimp and mix well. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for at least an hour. Stir frequently so it doesn't burn to the bottom. If it seems too thick add a little water. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and Tony Chachere's (if you want a spicy kick). Serve over rice. 

Add ins: Sometimes when I have fresh okra I throw some in right at the end. Don't put it in too soon or you'll have slime. I also will add crawfish if I can get it. Crawfish makes everything better.

And this my friends is the glorious goodness that is etouffee. Like all soups this tastes even better the next day so make sure you prepare enough to enjoy leftovers.