So we have been sick in the cajun mama household. Looking around, I know it could be so much worse, but I will straight up say, 4 sick kids and a sick mama es no bueno. My youngest started running fever on Christmas Day and it just sort of spiraled from there. We fell like neatly placed dominoes. Christmas 2015…the Christmas of the fonk. But truthfully it was so much more than that. Even in the hazy eyes of the after illness, in my cough syrup induced haze, I know it’s not all that bad. And bad moments don’t make a bad life. Having some time together (albeit time where everyone is coughing and a little cranky) has not been so bad. There has been some cabin fever, lots of eye rolling, some “get out of my face!” And “mama he Is coughing on me!!” But we have also had lots of family time to take naps…

Dress the dog up in scarves…

Play games…and pose for selfies…

Have group discussions…

Choreograph dances…

And get lots of puppy kisses…

So all in all, we have been pretty lucky. We have all been together and we have laughed a lot. I can honestly say one thing that has not happened a lot is cooking. Whatever we had left us with little appetite. It’s been lots of cereal and sandwiches around here. But the other day, my best friend posted a link to a recipe for cabbage and chicken stir fry and I had to make it. Nearly everyone in our family loves cabbage and it is super cheap, so that makes it a great option! The recipe came from http://www.pomanmeals.com and I really like this blog. This cabbage and chicken stir fry was absolutely lip smacking de-licious! Now, I kind of added a few things and I will give you the recipe the way I made it, but I wanted to make sure ya’ll got the original website, because I must always give credit where credit is due. If you love cabbage and you love stir fry, try this recipe. I am telling you…you will be so happy you did. I ate it for breakfast this morning ya’ll. It’s that good!!

Cabbage and chicken stir fry

Stuff you need~

2 tablespoons canola oil
3 chicken breasts, cut up into cubes
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 head of cabbage, cut up into chunks
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 large onion, cut into large chunks
1 carrot, peeled and cut diagonally into large chunks
Chicken stock
Cornstarch OR Tony’s instant roux*

*If you don’t have this stuff…get some! My daddy swears by it at the camp and BD came home after a stay at the camp and said “must have this stuff! Your daddy loves it!!”

What to do with the stuff~

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken to the warmed up oil. Now sprinkle with kosher salt and black pepper. Just let the chicken brown on one side. don’t disturb it for a few minutes. This gives it that nice stir fried effect. After one side is done, I flipped it with a spatula and Cooked the other side. I did not mess with it much.

Ok, now you may need to work in batches as to not overfill the skillet. The chicken cooks quickly So it’s not a big deal. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.

Next add the butter to your skillet. Let it melt. Toss in the garlic, the carrots and onion. Let them cook a few minutes, and then add in the cabbage. Don’t stir much so the cabbage stays crisp and does not turn to mush. Using a spoon and spatula I kind of tossed the cabbage around, making sure it all gets in that butter. Just cook for about 5-10 minutes as cabbage becomes tender crisp. You can add a little salt and pepper here as well. Be judicious with your salt addition though (I am sensitive to salty flavors and don’t use a bunch so maybe you need or like more. Do your thing. You are your own boss!)
Next, I removed the veggies from the pot. I just placed them in a bowl and set aside. I added in my chicken stock. Now what I used was Knorr concentrated stock. I keep this stuff on hand all the time. I diluted with a cup of water. Let it come to a boil and then sprinkle in about 1 tablespoon of Tony’s instant roux. Cook over medium high heat and whisk well. Let the sauce cook down for a few minutes or until it is thickened up some. Add veggies and chicken to this yummy sauce. Serve over hot cooked brown or white rice. Plum larapin’ as my daddy would say.

as delicious as I imagined it would be

Since this is New Year’s Eve, I want to take a moment, on my last post of 2014, to say I wish you and yours an abundance of blessings in the coming year. I look forward to sharing plenty of tales from the trenches and the kitchen. So much inspiration for tastier food and an abundant life, right where we are. No need to go to a restaurant to eat good every night. We can keep it simple, keep it real and eat good (and for less!!) at home. Not every night because that is no fun (and completely unrealistic) but more often than not. There are so many recipes for us to share…so enjoy your New Year’s Eve and I will see ya’ll back here sooner than later in cajun mama’s kitchen for some more inspiration. Thank you for reading along and letting me be a part of your life and for being a part of mine. More of that in 2015 please. Happy new year.