My Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

I decided the other day to make my husband a nice dinner. :) He has been dying for some gumbo, so I figured I should make him some since he IS the most wonderful husband in the world, AND he just got a new job. :) So here is my recipe.

I would just like to point out, though, that this is just how I make MY gumbo. There are HUNDREDS of different ways to make this. The only thing that must must MUST be in a gumbo to make it a "real gumbo," is roux. Roux is a flour and oil mixture that is cooked on the stove (or in your oven depending on your recipe) until the flour and oil mixture is a little darker than you want your gravy or juice to be. Roux is used in stew, gumbo, etoufée, fricassée, and many other cajun dishes. The recipe for roux below can be doubled or tripled or whatever depending on how much you want to make or save. :) Just keep the proportions the same.

Roux (For Gumbo)

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 cup oil

Directions:

1) Mix oil and flour together in sauce pan.

2) Cook on medium heat until milk chocolate color. Stir constantly.

3) Use all in gumbo (or whatever) or store in ziploc or other container in freezer until needed.

FAQs (Or rather the Questions I called my mom to answer for me the first time I made this):

-Is it supposed to bubble like that?
A: While cooking it yes. When it stops bubbling as much is when it starts to brown. You are basically frying the flour until its the color you want your roux.

-Is it supposed to look kinda chunky?
A: Yes.

-My arm hurts. :(
A: Suck it up or make it in the oven. xD Gumbo is worth this bit of effort! I promise!

-What color should my roux be if I want to make an etoufée or something?
A: Lighter than this one. Dark roux are usually used for gumbo or stew. Light roux is for etoufée. :)


Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

(FYI: I NEVER usually measure. This is all approximate. If there seems to be too much or too little of something, add it or take it away. xD Sorry!)

Ingredients:

1/2 -1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2-3/4 yellow onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, minced
2-3 chicken breasts, chopped
2-3 links of sausage, chopped
Roux (see above)
6 cups water (approximately)
Seasonings to taste:
Season-all
Garlic powder
Cayenne

Directions:

1) Saute veggies. :)

2) Add water and roux. Let come to boil.

3) Add sausage. Let cook for a bit. Add chicken. I usually put the raw chicken and uncooked sausage in the water itself, but you can put precooked meat in this too. :) Let come to boil again and then bring to simmer. Let cook on low for a while until it's magical. While it does this, make some rice. :D

4) Add seasonings. When completed, turn off heat and let sit for a minute. Skim grease off of the top. Serve on rice with crackers, filé, or whatever you want! :D

 Before grease is removed.

 After grease is removed.

 The amount of grease removed is uncanny!

My husband was super excited about having gumbo for supper. :) And I was super happy to make it! I also made a few plates of cookies for desert!

Home-made Pizza and Friends

Last Sunday my friends Aimee and Robert and Travis' friend James came over for supper and a Doctor Who marathon provided by Netflix. As requested, I made my semi-famous home-made pizza, and I will explain how to make it here for anyone else who would like some delicious pizza that I dare to say is better than Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, and Domino's. :O

First up: The Dough (Recipe modified from Allrecipes Pizza Dough III Recipe)

Ingredients 

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (or 2 1/2 teaspoons of yeast if you buy in bulk like I do)

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

2-3 cups all purpose flour (separated)

2 tablespoons olive oil 

1 teaspoon salt 

2 tablespoons honey

Directions 

1) In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. 

2) In same bowl, combine 2 cups bread flour, olive oil, salt, honey, and the yeast mixture.

3) Stir well to combine. Beat well until a stiff dough has formed. (Use extra flour to stiffen the dough if it is too moist.) Warning: Should still be a little sticky. 

4) Cover and let rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). (Or wait like I do because I like to let my dough rise inside my oven when it is off.) Should look like below when done.

5) Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Form dough into a round and roll out into a pizza crust shape. 

6) Cover with your favorite sauce and toppings and bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

 Second: Pizza Sauce (Going to be honest, I don't usually measure this.)

Ingredients 

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 yellow onion, chopped
3-5 cloves garlic, minced

2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce

1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 (6oz) can tomato paste

2 (6oz) cans filled with water

1/2 regular sized container Parmesan Cheese

Seasonings to taste:

Season-all

Dried Basil

Garlic powder

Directions

1) Saute onions, bell pepper, and garlic. Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and water.

2) Add Parmesan and seasonings. Let simmer until all warm and toasty. Put on pizza or add browned ground meat for awesome spaghetti sauce! :D

Third: Alfredo Sauce 

Ingredients 

3 cups whole milk

2 TBS butter

1/4 cup flour

1/2 regular sized container Parmesan Cheese

Seasonings to taste:
Salt and pepper
Dried Basil
Garlic powder

Directions

1) Put butter in pot and let melt. Then add in flour. Mix well until pasty. Add milk. On medium heat, stir forever until it is thickened.

2) Once thickened, add Parmesan and seasonings. Use as sauce for an Alfredo pizza (like I did) or add some cooked chicken in there and have some yummy Alfredo sauce!

We ended up making 3 different pizzas: A supreme, a meat-lovers, and a chicken Alfredo. I made pan fried chicken bits, browned ground meat, and bought the other delicious toppings. Unfortunately I did NOT take pictures of the finished products. :( I am so sorry! But they were so good that I only had a few pieces of pizza left over when we were done eating! I also served a salad, grapes, and cookies with this meal. 

On a different note, the Doctor Who marathon was FANTASTIC! We sadly finished all of the newest episodes Netflix has to offer for the series though. I'm still 2 seasons behind! :( Not to worry though. Aimee and Robert have those DVRed. ;) And now I leave you with an awesome image of the coolest alien in the universe. :)

Introductions

Many people feel as if they have only one talent or none at all. The truth is that most people are good at many different things, and with some practice, perseverance, and faith, they can be great at almost anything.

I like to think I am good at many things. I may not be great at them, but I'm working on it. This blog will be my documentation of that work. I will be working to get better at various different things, mostly things I find fun and interesting. I will happily share my failures and discoveries here for anyone else who would like to improve.

So what kind of things do I want to improve about myself? I want to become a great elementary school teacher. I want to become a semi-well known actress. I want to become a children's book author. I want to be a better wife. I want to be a better Christian woman. I want to be a better chef and baker. I want to be a better seamstress. I want to be a better crocheter. I want to be a better crafter. I want to be a better bookworm. I want to be a better person.

And little by little, I will get there.

So if this blog seems random, I'm sorry. I'm a little awkward. But don't worry! I'm not shy. Some might even call me an extrovert. And I am glad you are along for the ride.