Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya

It might still feel like Summer during the day time here in Southern California, but the cooler temperature in the evening has signaled that Fall is here. With all the record breaking heat that August and September brought us, a bit of dip in the mercury is welcome change.

The types of food we eat tend to change with the seasons as well. Aside from soups, we tend to crave meals that are a bit heartier, stick to your ribs type meals as the temperatures begin to dip.

Enter, Jambalaya. Born out of Louisiana, this Creole dish, influenced by the French and the Spanish has many incarnations depending on which region of Louisiana you just happen to be.

My version will be for the busy parent trying to get a quality dinner on the table as quickly as possible. We'll call it the 15 Jambalaya. Remember, I said quality. This isn't going to be the crappy Jambalaya that disappointed you at some buffet you went to. That version has been sitting in that steam table for HOURS. This recipe is wife approved and she's never the type to pretend she likes a particular dish I cooked for the sake of my ego. I'm confident you and yours will like it too.



Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya

1/2 lb medium shrimp peeled and deveined
1/2 lb sausage of your choice, large diced (Andouille sausage was used for this recipe)
1 green bell pepper diced
1 medium onion diced
1/2 head of garlic minced
1/2 cup of stewed tomatoes
3 tbsp Creole spice mix (recipe below)
1 cup chicken broth
3 cups cooked white rice
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Creole spice mix

3 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp table salt
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp sugar

mix well and store in a jar

Procedure

Cook the rice then reserve three cups

in a separate pot, saute the sausage until nicely caramelized. about 3 minutes on high heat. remove from pot then set aside.

in the same pot, sweat the garlic for about 30 seconds then add the onions and the peppers. add 3 tbsp of the Creole spice mix and saute until softened on medium fire.

add the chicken broth and rice and also the sausage and stir to incorporate. once the rice has been well coated, add the shrimp and stir for another minute or so, until the shrimp is pink and cooked through.

serve piping hot and Enjoy!

"Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead"

It sneaks up on all of us. You wake up in the morning and you have these aches and pains that you can't remember where they came from. Maybe you went in for a check up just to see how things are doing and your doctor drops a few subtle hints about maybe indulging on fast food a lot less than you would like to admit. For my wife and I, it was simple. Make the changes in order to set an example for our daughter and in turn having a better quality of life, but just as important, quantity of life.

Now unlike the documentary, we won't be going on a juice fast. For now, one 16 ounce glass of raw juice should be a great start to bumping up our vegetable intake. Coupled with a reduced intake of meat a whole lot fewer trips eating out and we should be on our way to better health. Sort of like a tune up for the daily driver that we so often under appreciate and at times....abuse. 

So off to Amazon and saw this well reviewed juicer which was actually the brand used on the documentary. 

Breville BJE200XL Compact Juice Fountain

This one is $99 plus tax with free shipping and it was at the doorstep in 2 days. Not too shabby. There are some that are cheaper and plenty that are much more expensive, but after skimming through the reviews, the keywords that kept coming up were quiet and durable. It was good enough for us. A friend had bought the Black and Decker version for well under $100 and it was about half the size of this and it sounded like an industrial wood chipper while juicing a carrot. Again, different strokes for different folks...

The first of hopefully many juices to come! The apple was there to try to balance out the kale, but we realized the carrots added enough sweetness to the concoction and so we left it out in our subsequent juices. On that note, our daughter has enjoyed the apple juice. We will be sneaking in some carrot juice in there so hopefully she doesn't end up "accidentally"  spilling the juice.... in the toilet. Stay tuned for that. In any case, we will be sticking to juicing vegetables from now on because from the articles we've read, the sugar and the calories along with that from fruits really do start to pile up and so it starts to become counterproductive in that regard. 

True to the tune of most of the reviews on this product, it was strong, fast and quiet. Job well done. 

I gotta say, looking at this glass of juice filled with vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients makes me want to honestly go out and grab a nice juicy burger. We will have to save that for a cheat day. I'd like to say after finishing this tall glass of goodness that my wife and I felt like 2 million bucks. Sing the praises of our bodies feeling more alive than it has in a long time. Not quite, but it did feel great to put great things in our bodies. The prospect of regularly replacing bad meals with raw juice and more vegetables is an exciting one because even if the results aren't as quick and drastic as those people in the documentary, they will come. 

There hasn't been much research done on the benefits of juicing, but if common sense prevails, it could only help, right? Treat it as a supplement to your regular diet. It really is a difficult prospect to eat in a day our recommended daily intake of vegetables. Juicing will help get you the vitamins and minerals you need, but realize that the fiber, which is very important for our diets are practically eliminated during the juicing process. Eating whole vegetables and fruits is still just as important, so try not to completely neglect them in your diet. 

On a side note. If you do get in to juicing, it might be an opportune time to start a compost bin. All that processed pulp will turn out some quick compost and in turn, maybe have yourself an organic garden of vegetables that will eventually find its way through your juicer... and so a cycle begins. Just a thought. Until the next time!

Health is Wealth.

Farfalle with Andouille Sausage and Mushrooms

Almost 3 months have passed and another trek across the country has brought us back to the very hot Southern California. We are finally settling in to our busy schedule here and so we are just now starting to get in to a routine. Home cooked meals are finally becoming the norm again and we are making an effort to make them healthier than their takeout counterpart.... which should be very easy taking in to consideration what we have been eating lately.

Home cooked meals have been a drag since taking on a busier schedule. It always comes down to just being too tired at the end of the day to cooking up a meal. Grabbing takeout was a much easier chore than slaving away behind a stove and so the cycle started and the pounds and the inches began to pile up as well. 

It was time to make better choices. Nothing too drastic. A little less meat and a little more vegetables. Whole grain foods and less processed. We even got a juicer to replace a meal or two. 

Before going on this journey, first things first... lunch.

30 minutes is all it took and it was much cheaper than takeout and most importantly, much much healthier. Give it a try and let us know.

Farfalle with Andouille Sausage and Mushrooms

Farfalle with Andouille Sausage and Mushrooms

1 pound organic whole wheat Farfalle (cooked al dente according to package instructions) (make sure not to drain away ALL of the pasta water)

8 ounces Andouille Sausage large diced (feel free to omit the sausage if you want the dish vegetarian and just double the mushrooms)

6-8 ounces button mushrooms quartered (any mushroom would get the job done so go ahead and experiment)

5 ounces cleaned and washed spinach 

2 Roma tomatoes large diced

1/2 a medium sized yellow onion large diced

6 cloves of garlic minced

3 tbsp chopped basil

1 tsp salt 

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup of pasta water

Parmesan cheese 

2 tbsp oil

Procedure

Boil water and cook the pasta. The time it takes to cook the pasta which is about 11 minutes, the sauce would be ready just in time as you are draining the pasta. Make sure you have all your ingredients prepared so as to not miss a beat. :)

In a separate pot, sweat the garlic for 30 seconds then add the onions. 

After another 30 seconds or so, add the sausage and the mushrooms. 

Once the mushrooms has softened a bit, add the tomatoes and saute until slightly broken down.

Add the pasta water then toss in the pasta and then season with salt and pepper. 

Toss in the chopped basil, turn off the fire and give it a final quick stir and serve hot with shaved Parmesan on top. Enjoy!