Cajun, Recipes, Soup

Johnson Family Gumbo

In my family we have many variations of gumbo. It really depends on which part of Louisiana you grew up in, as to what your gumbo looks like or what is in it. This receipt is a comb of several family recipes. I took what I loved from each one and added it together. This turned out fantastic. I am very happy with it, and it will be our go to gumbo. There are many things you can do to make it a little fresher. Homemade broth, fresh okra, homemade stewed tomatoes and so on. I hope you love it as much as we do. I know that in many parts of the country and world you will not be able to find the same ingredients but if you look online you can find replacements that may work just fine.

Ingredients:

  • 1-pound andouille sausage cut into 1-1/2 pieces
  • ½ cup flour
  • ¼ cup bacon drippings
  • ¼ cup butter
  • 2 onions chopped
  • 2 bell peppers chopped
  • 3 stalk celery

Spices:

  • 5 cloves garlic minced
  • 1-14oz can stewed tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ tsp pepper white
  • 4 bouillon cubes
  • 2 tsp thyme
  • 2 tsp Tony Chachere’s seasoning or other Cajun seasoning
  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (leave out to reduce the spiciness)
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 bay leaf

Additional Ingredients:

  • 48 ounces plus more bone broth
  • ¼ pound smoked ham hock
  • 1-pound shrimp, cleaned, deveined and shells removed
  • 1-pound crawfish tails cleaned and deshelled
  • 16oz frozen Okra slices
  • 1 cup green onion sliced
  • Crystals hot sauce for extra heat
  • Cooked white rice
  • Additional Salt to taste

Directions:

  1. Using a 6-quart add chunked sliced sausage to the pot. Cook until the sausage has a nice brown crust on it. You will not want to cook this on too high of a heat to prevent burning. Watch it closely.
  2. Once the sausage is crispy remove it from the pot and set it aside. Leave the drippings in the pot.
  3. Next add flour to the pot. Turn your heat to a medium heat. Whisk the flour until it becomes the color of peanut butter this is the process of creating a roux. You must watch the flour close or it will burn fast.
  4. Next quickly whisk in the bacon drippings and the butter into the browned flour. This will create a thin paste. You will need to continue watching closely. The paste should start to darken up. You will continue to cook your roux until it becomes a chocolate brown color. The color is important because it adds flavor.
  5. Next add the bell pepper, onion, and celery and mix well into the roux. Continue to cook until the vegetables soften. Next add the garlic. Cook until the garlic becomes fragrant. Next add stewed tomatoes and the Worcestershire sauce. Follow that by adding in the bouillon cubes and all of the spices and mix well.
  6. Next add in 48 ounces of bone broth and the smoked ham hock and add the sausage back in. Bring the pot to a boil. Once the pot is at a rolling bowl. Turn the heat to a low simmer and cover the pot with a lid. Cook for two hours.
  7. Next add shrimp, crawfish, and okra. Cook for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes turn the heat off until you are ready to serve, then heat your gumbo up to desired heat. Add green onions and additional salt to taste.
  8. Serve over ½ cup of cooked white rice and top with additional sliced green onions and Crystals hot sauce for additional heat.
Chicken, Fall, Low Calorie, pasta, Recipe, Soup, WW Friendly

Rustic Chicken Noodle Soup

With all the early cold weather we have been having soup and stew have been on the dinner table all week. We had this soup last night and I must say it was probably one of the best chicken noodle soups I have ever had.

I didn’t really get the recipe from any one place it was more a combination of recipes I had seen online, a recipe my grandmother would make, and my own ideas. I am stunned how good this recipe turned out to be. It’s nice a hearty yet light and delicious.

What makes it kind of rustic in my opinion is that everything is basically a rough chop you don’t really need to measure or be precise on anything just chop and go. This is a huge time save and makes for a hearty delicious soup!
It’s so easy to make its almost criminal. I had everything chopped and cooking in less than 30 minutes now that’s my kind of recipe. If you are looking for something quick, easy, and delicious this is the recipe.

 

One of my favorite parts of this recipe is the fact that most things in it are pantry staples so you don’t have to spend a fortune to make it. It’s a great way to use up left over chicken, pasta, and vegetables that will be leaving this world soon. This recipe could be a base for just about anything you want to add to it. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

  • 12 oz., Cooked Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast -diced
  • 4 medium, Carrots – cut into ½ inch rings
  • 1 Onion Medium White – rough chopped
  • 4 Celery Stalks – rough chopped
  • 4 oz., White Button Mushrooms-  thick sliced
  • 3 Garlic Cloves – minced
  • 1 tablespoon Oil
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 Can light Cream of Chicken Soup
  • 1/3 cup Chardonnay
  • 1 cup dry, Fusilli
  • 3 oz. Raw Spinach

Directions:

  1. To a large pot add prepared onion, celery, and carrots and olive oil. Cook until the onion and celery are tender.
  2. Add garlic and chardonnay. Cook until the chardonnay is reduced to half.
  3. Add light cream of mushroom soup, diced chicken breast, mushrooms, chicken broth and water.
  4. Bring to a boil then cook on low for 1 hour occasionally stir to ensure nothing is sticking or burning.
  5. After 1 hour add fusilli bring soup to a boil then turn the soup back down to medium low and cook for about 15 minutes or until fusilli is tender.
  6. For the last 5 minutes of the fusilli’s cooking time add spinach. Serve with a hearty crusty bread on the side.
Chicken, Low Calorie, Recipe, Soup, WW Friendly

Chicken Tortilla Soup (Ree Drummond)

This recipe is delicious and super easy. Don’t let the ingredient list overwhelm you this is so easy because you are opening up a lot of cans and spices.

Everyone in the house freaked out over how amazing this was. I love the ease of it and I love that if you have left over chicken you can easily make this soup.

I love Ree Drummond! Her recipes are amazing! They are easy and delicious and best of all totally filling! Make it even easier by using left over chicken!!

Ingredients

  • 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1-1/4 teaspoons chilli powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
  • 1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 10-ounce can diced tomatoes and green chilies, such as Rotel
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 4 cups hot water
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2- 15-ounce cans black beans, drained
  • 3 tablespoons cornmeal
  • 5 small corn tortillas

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Start by mixing together the cumin, 1 teaspoon of the chili powder, the garlic powder and salt. Drizzle the chicken breasts with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Then sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the spice mixture. Set the rest of the spice mixture aside. Bake until the chicken is cooked all the way through, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove it from the oven. Cut the chicken into cubes and set aside.
  3. Next, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Throw in the onions, green and red bell peppers and garlic. Throw in a tablespoon of the spice mixture used to season the chicken. Add a little extra chili powder (about 1/4 teaspoon) for heat. Stir to cook the vegetables until they begin to turn golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the cubed chicken and diced tomatoes, juice and all. Add the chicken broth, hot water and tomato paste. Stir to combine and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Add the drained black beans. Next, mix together the cornmeal with 1/2 cup water. Add the mixture to the pot, and then simmer the soup for 10 to 15 minutes. Give it a taste and add salt or seasonings as needed; be sure to not under salt it!
  4. Cut the tortillas into uniform 2- to 3-inch strips. Stir most of them into the soup just before serving. This is what makes tortilla soup tortilla soup! Turn off the heat and get ready to serve it up. Ladle the soup into a bowl, then add avocado, red onion, sour cream, cilantro and extra tortilla strips to the top. The more toppings on tortilla soup, the merrier.

Original Recipe Source