All posts by cajunmamacookin

Hey! I'm Aimee! I wear many hats in my crazy life! I am a food blogger, primarily blogging about recipes that I really love and now adding low carb recipes that are Keto friendly. I am also a substitute teacher. I am an independent Pampered Chef consultant. I love Pampered Chef products because they make it easy to create tasty, healthy dishes for my family! You can check out my website at www.pamperedchef.biz/cajunmama. I am a mom, wife, friend, HBIC in our house and I love to write about what’s cooking in my kitchen and in my life. My roots are in Central Louisiana and I always remember where I come from. I live in the Arklatex and am learning to bloom where I’m planted. My #goals are to write a book and stay home with our miniature wire haired dachshund, Roy!
Keto/low carb, quick and easy

Chicken tenders in cajun mama keto gravy

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I love chicken. I love gravy. I mean I was raised Avoyelles parish style (my parents are both from Marksville, Bluetown and Broulliette to be exact) and loving gravy is just part of my genetic makeup. I think. Maybe it’s not that scientific, but I love of gravy is deeply engrained in me. So now that I have adopted the ketogenic woe, the rice is not on the list of items I choose to eat, I have found a way to make sure I can still have me some gravy. Yay!! Happy cajun girl over here! This is the tastiest, lip smacking, plum larapin’ gravy I think I’ve ever had. My dad says plum larapin when he likes something he is eating so I figured I’d toss that in there. Ha!! Love my daddy. And I love this gravy. This chicken in the gravy is over the top! I serve it over creamed spinach but it would go great with steamed broccoli with a little butter or even a salad. But me, I prefer to eat it over a nice bed of creamed spinach, which I suppose sort of acts like rice for me. All the same…a vehicle for getting that gravy into my mouth!!! I sort of concocted this recipe one night when I had chicken tenders and I wanted something creamy that fit within my macros. Now, if you are strict keto, you might take umbrage with this as a keto recipe, but it’s lazy keto, which is perfect for me. Ok. So this is an easy recipe and comes together fast! Make sure to make enough to have it for lunch the next day…you’ll want it again. Trust me.

Chicken tenders in cajun mama keto gravy

Stuff you need~

Package of chicken tenders

2 tablespoons Real butter

Himalayan pink salt and cracked black pepper

1 cup Heavy whipping cream

2 teaspoons Chicken bouillon base

What to do with the stuff~

Melt butter in a sauté pan. I use my pampered chef grill pan and it works perfectly for this. Salt and pepper the chicken tenders on both sides. Add seasoned chicken tenders to the melted butter in the hot skillet. Cook on both sides until nicely browned and no longer pink inside. Remove the chicken from the pan. Stir in the heavy cream. Let this come to a simmer over medium heat. Whisk in bouillon base. You can add more to taste if desired. I add just enough to give my gravy that good chicken-y flavor. Once you have the gravy like you want it, add the chicken tenders back in. The “gravy” will thicken up the longer it simmers and the tenders will get more…tender. All in all, a perfect combination of tender tenders and chicken-y gravy. 🤣 I crack myself up! Make up some creamed spinach and you are good to go! Even the carb eaters in my house love this dish! Because it’s delish!

<<
t the best pictures but what can I say? I was ready to dig in!!

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Keto/low carb

Feta, lemon chicken

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I’m going to share one of my most favorite, tastiest, healthiest chicken recipes. I found it several years ago in People magazine as part of a get healthy America initiative and was hooked after the first try. It has some serious flavor. I adore feta cheese and green onions already, but when sprinkled on top of the lemony chicken, it is just magical. You can serve this alongside a spinach salad or sliced on top of a bed of greens, or you can serve baked sweet potatoes with it, depending on the different macros you are wanting to hit. This chicken recipe is low carb, filling and taste wonderful as leftovers. Make extra. Now, recently I’ve started using the thin sliced chicken breasts whenever possible. They are a little higher but worth it to me since they cook up better. If I can only find the huge chicken breasts, then I slice the breads in half and pondé (pound) them a little to make them thinner. I hope you will try this and let me know how much you love it.

Lemon Feta Chicken

Stuff you need~

1/4 cup freshly squeeze lemon juice

2 T. Olive oil

1 tsp. Dried oregano

1/4 tsp. Himalayan pink salt

1/4 tsp. cracked black pepper

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I use the thin sliced ones)

8 T. crumbled feta cheese (I use full fat, but do your thing)

4 t. sliced green onions (I use more than this because I adore green onions)

What to do with the stuff~

First off, let’s make the marinade. I use my Pampered Chef juicer to get my fresh lemon juice. It’s easy peasy.

Then I combine the marinade ingredients to my Pampered Chef classic batter bowl. It’s the perfect size!!

Add the chicken to the marinade and let it marinate in the fridge for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350. Remove chicken from marinade. Discard the marinade. Sear the chicken breasts over medium high heat in a skillet. About 3-5 minutes on each side should do it. I use my PC grill pan for this job. It’s perfect.

Now if you are not using an oven safe skillet, then transfer the chicken breasts to 9 x 13 oven safe dish. But my grill pan goes from stove top to oven easily so I just kept my chicken breasts in that. Top the seared chicken breasts with the crumbled feta and sliced green onions and pop in oven for a few minutes. Let the feta melt a little. Serve and enjoy!

You can also serve roasted broccoli or asparagus alongside this dish. Since I am following the Ketogenic WOE, both of these veggies are my go to sides these days. The Pampered Chef large bar pan is fantabulous for roasting veggies! The veggies come out tender yet crispy, a hard combo to achieve!

Now you have a perfect low carb dish that is full of flavor. Hope you love this recipe as much as we do in the Cajun mama house!!

Holiday Perfect, Keto/low carb, Uncategorized

Twice baked cauliflower casserole

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Now, one of my former favorite side dishes to make has always been my “special potatoes”. Love, love, love their cheesy, creamy deliciousness and I used to crave them but now that I am following the ketogenic diet, I choose not to eat potatoes. This way of eating is my choice and I am certainly better for it. So I had seen mashed cauliflower recipes and this and that but none of them really caught my eye. Far as I am concerned, I may as well just do without boiling cauliflower to make it like potatoes. I’ll eat my favorite creamed spinach or some asparagus with my meat and keep on rolling. I get why people do it and certainly does give you some options for sides, but it is not something I have to have. BUT Big Daddy had bought some cauliflower a few days ago and he took some ribs out to smoke this weekend and I needed to come up with a side. I made deviled eggs (a keto no brainer and I even made enough to have for lunch tomorrow!! I had saved this twice baked baked cauliflower casserole a few weeks ago annnddd I had cauliflower so today was our lucky to try it!! So glad I did! It is fantastic! It is creamy and cheesy and the texture is just right! The only thing I think I might try next time is to beat it until it is creamy with my mixer. I mashed it as the original recipe from Kayln’s Kitchen had called for this time just to see how it was and all in all the texture was fine. We had a friend come over to eat supper and he thought it was fantastic. Big Daddy was so excited about it (the man will literally eat a boot if it is smothered in gravy and not complain but he genuinely enjoyed this!!). It is definitely a good side option if you are following keto WOE or living the low carb life!

Twice Baked cauliflower casserole

Stuff you need~

One head cauliflower

1/2 cup sour cream

4 ounces cream cheese, cubed

Green onions

6 slices of bacon, cooked until crispy and then crumbled

1 cup shredded cheddar

What to do with the stuff~

Cut the cauliflower into smaller pieces. Remove the core/stem. Boil in salted water until fork tender.

Drain well and then mash with a potato masher. The original recipe said to leave some chunks in it.

Now, add all ingredients except the shredded cheddar to the mashed cauliflower. I added some Himalayan pink salt and cracked black pepper and some Tony’s to it.

Mix well and then transfer to a 9 x 13 baking dish. I used a slightly smaller dish and it was fine. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Sprinkle the shredded cheddar all over the casserole and some more crumbled bacon if you did not eat the extra like I did (😏 🥓) then return to the oven until cheese is melted. Enjoy without the guilt! Yum!!

Here are a few pictures my friend Natalie, who is a mom boss who runs Soul Rebels Photography took for us earlier this month. These pictures make me happy on so many levels. Check out more of her work at http://www.soulrebelsphotography.com. She is so very talented and a wonderful person to work with! My family is changing everyday and my kids are growing up so fast, but for a moment she captured us in that moment in a cotton field just before the sun went down. It was a magical evening and the pictures turned out so well.

Keto/low carb

Cajun Mama Goes Keto…Jalapeno popper chicken!

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Hey my friends!! I am coming straight at you today with a bomb chicken recipe that will make your taste buds tingle! You might have read in my previous post that I have been following the ketogenic diet and I am feeling amazing! Better than I have in a long while! The ketogenic diet basically is a high fat, moderaten protein, low carb way of eating and I love it! I am not a doctor nor a nutritionist and I don’t claim to be an expert on health, but this way of eating has done wonders for me and I am currently into finding new recipes that fit in with my lifestyle. I’m not selling anything, but I am promoting the idea that foods can improve our mindset and enhance our lifestyle. So take that with a grain of salt and just know that many of the recipes I blog about these days will likely have a low carb twist to them. I am still Cajun Mama, just a little lighter (well 40 pounds plus some lighter if anyone is keeping track lol!!) This chicken recipe will make you forget that it is low carb. It is so very tasty. It’s got a hint of spice and is just so cheesy that it will become a new favorite comfort food. Trust me!! I found it on Facebook and here is the original link. It’s from Aunt Bee’s Kitchen. She says it is her most popular post and I totally get why!! Hope y’all make it and enjoy! Let me know if you do! This chicken is proof that change can be good!

Jalapeño Popper chicken

Stuff you need~

6 chicken breasts (I used 3 big breasts and cut them in half then pounded them a little flatter. Worked perfectly!)

Salt and pepper

5 slices of bacon, chopped up

1/4 cup diced onions

8 ounce package cream cheese

1/4 cup sliced jalapenos (the kind in the jar, like what you use for nachos)

1 cup shredded cheddar

1/2 cup mayonnaise (full fat if you are doing keto)

1/2 cup Kraft grated Parmesan (the kind you grew up shaking into your spaghetti or at least I did! My kids call it shaky cheese. Lol!)

4 tablespoons butter, the real stuff please

2 ounces pork rinds, crushed

1/4 Kraft grated Parmesan

What to do with the stuff~

Preheat oven to 350. Place chicken busoms in a baking dish and sprinkle with Himilayan pink salt (my favorite go to nowadays) and cracked black pepper. Bake in oven for 30-40 minutes or until cooked.

Fry the bacon pieces in a big ole skillet until crispy. Drain on a paper towel and set aside. Sauté your onions in the bacon grease until tender. Set aside.

In a bowl, combine cream cheese, onions, bacon, cheddar, jalapeños, and mayo.

When chicken is cooked, spread the cream cheese mixture all over the top of the cooked chicken. Return to oven for 15 minutes or so, just until the cheese is all bubbly and melty perfection.

While the chicken and cream cheese mixture are baking together in harmony, crush your pork skins, melt the butter and stir together. Throw in the grated Parm. When the cream cheese is all melty and bubbly, sprinkle the pork skin/butter/Parm mixture all over the top of the cream cheese. Hold your horses. You can devour it soon!!

Broil on high for about 3-4 minutes or until the pork skin butter Parm layer is browned just right. You will know. And it will be so right.

And there you have a keto lover’s dream!! It will break that mealtime monotony! If you love the fact that Cajun mama is shaking stuff up a bit and posting Keto/Low Carb recipes…Drop me a line In the comments please! Please be nice and if you are not a fan, it is ok to keep that to yourself. Thanks for all of your support during this exciting time!!

Traditional cajun faire, Uncategorized

Round here these days…a round up of two Cajun recipes and life in the fast lane!

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Well life has been really busy on my home front. Back in May I took a long term substitute teaching position at my kids’ school and life has gotten busier than I can imagine. On top of that, between 2 middle schoolers and 2 elementary school kids, their student council business, horseback riding lessons, football practice, cheer practice and tumbling lessons, I feel like a chicken running around with its head cut off. We’ve celebrated 4 birthdays, went back to school, took on an LSU game, on and on! It has been WILD!!

I am loving these little 1st graders I have had the blessing of teaching for the past few weeks though and I definitely feel like they have taught me so much. So we are taking a little road trip and my baby was studying some Louisiana history and one of the questions was “foods Louisiana is known for…?” Of course one of those was jambalaya! And that prompted him to ask when I’d make Mrs. Donna’s again. And then ask when I would make Mammaw Dianne’s crawfish étouffée again. It’s kind of like “if you give a mouse a cookie…” cajun style. If you give a Cajun kid jambalaya, he will probably ask for crawfish etouffé! So of course, this Cajun mama said “next week baby. I promise. I’ll make both!!” I’ve been doing the ketogenic diet for the past 3 months and I’ve lost over 40 pounds (and I feel amazing!!) so my jambalaya and étouffée has been non existent but I’m due a cheat meal soon and that sounds just right! So I thought to myself, I know my readers love both of those recipes and that would be so good to have the links to them both in one handy post. And for my new readers who might have missed those…that would be really fun! And useful! So it’s not a new recipe but it is a place where that fantastic jambalaya recipe and that amazing étouffée recipe can exist together in Cajun harmony. Just add some garlic bread and a green salad and oh mop tit (ma petite to my new readers. My Momee said ma petite all the time but it sounded like mop tit to my sisters and I and that’s what we thought it was until she corrected us one day! Lol!!) However you say it, whoever you make those recipes for…it will be divine!!!

Here is the link for the crawfish étouffée…

Dianne’s Quick and Easy Crawfish Étouffée | cajunmamacookin’s Blog

https://cajunmamacookinblog.com/2014/03/16/diannes-quick-and-easy-crawfish-etouffee/

Here the link for THE jambalaya

Donna’s simply divine jambalaya and have circus, will travel  | cajunmamacookin’s Blog

https://cajunmamacookinblog.com/2017/06/04/donnas-simply-divine-jambalaya-and-have-circus-will-travel/

desserts

 Cherry 🍒 fluff and my happy place 

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Ok so my mother in law, Deb, is a native of DeWitt, Arkansas. I am pretty sure before Big Daddy and I started dating, I’d never been to Arkansas, much less DeWitt. So it’s pretty funny for me to say the words “Dewitt is my favorite place on Earth.” Well, it likely rivals Perdido Key, Florida as my favorite place, but it is right up there at the top of my list. She and my father in law, Scott, run a hunting lodge, Bayou LaGrue. I’ve likely told y’all this before, but maybe you missed that so I’m saying it again. So technically Bayou LaGrue is one of my 2 favorite places on Earth. We love coming here. Last night when we arrived, Deb aka Granny had prepared a ham, fried potatoes, corn and peas with some rolls. My kids oohed and Aahed like they had not eaten in years. I could not blame them…everything tastes better at the camp! We all agreed on this. Forget Disney, for Cajun mama and family, Bayou LaGrue is the happiest place on Earth! 

Pappy’s favorite thing to do is catch fish in the pond

Now that I’ve been around for over two decades, Deb aka Granny sometimes gives me carte blanche in the lodge kitchen. Only sometimes though. Cajun Mama or not, that’s her lodge kitchen and she is the queen of it. I’ve been wanting to make Mr. Scott some of my mom’s dirty rice, so before coming up I grabbed the stuff I knew they would not carry in the Piggly or Kroger in DeWitt (it’s pretty small) and then I saw this recipe on Facebook and decided to make this “cherry fluff” while I was at it, here is original recipe link. Mr. Scott LOVES ambrosia and this dessert seemed like a pretty good fit. And I told Deb I would be commandeering the kitchen. She allowed it. This time.  Haha! 
Anyhow, I made up batch of this cherry fluff aka unicorn fluff and I cannot wait to get his take on it. My Madame toot (10 year old girly girl with a love of all things unicorn) said given its pink color, it’s fluffy texture, and that it has marshmallows in it, should be dubbed “Unicorn Fluff” so unicorn fluff it is!! This recipe is super simple to throw together and it is different than your regular cakes or pies, so it’s a fun, unexpected treat. Also, given that it is 9000 degrees outside anywhere in the South, this dessert is NO BAKE, possibly making it the perfect summer dessert! Can I get a whoop whoop?!! 

La ingredients


Unicorn Fluff 🦄/Cherry Fluff 🍒 

Stuff you need~

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 

1 (8 ounce) container Cool Whip

1 (20 ounce) can of crushed pineapple, very well drained  

1 (21 ounce) can cherry pie filling 

2 cups mini marshmallows 

1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened works)

1/2 cup chopped pecans 

What to do with the stuff~

Combine the Cool Whip, cherry pie filling, crushed pineapple in a large mixing bowl.


 Stir in marshmallows, pecans, and shredded coconut.


  Now, cover and pop in fridge. Let chill until ready to enjoy! It will thicken up as it chills. Be sure to take in the lovely pink hue of this sweet concoction sure to add a bright dose of color to your next meal!! Madame Toot would insist on this! 


I hope you enjoy this luscious pink dessert in your happy place! 

This is a luscious dessert!
Papa and Madame Toot at BLL

Party foods, feed a crowd, crowd favorites

God bless America and this wedge salad dip!

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Happy Independence Day to all my Cajun mama peeps!! 🇱🇷💥 is Hope this posts finds all of you enjoying this day with family, friends and friends who are like family. We are waiting on some of those friends who are like family to get here to begin our 4th of July celebration but we might have started a little early! So I know several of y’all are wanting this recipe and I figured I’d try to bang out a post real quick while we waited on them! This wedge salad dip caught my eye a few weeks ago and I’ve been waiting for a chance to make it. It’s super duper easy to put together and that is the best thing of all. Besides the taste. Because the taste is just fantastic. Like fireworks in your mouth! How fitting!! So here we go! Thanks to Lemon Tree Dwelling for this recipe! Link to original recipe here. 

Wedge salad dip 

Stuff you need~

1 ranch seasoning packet 

1 8 ounce block cream cheese 

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup cooked, crumbled bacon

Romaine lettuce, chopped tomato, and chopped green onion (green parts only) 

Crumbled blue cheese (about 1/4 cup but you can use as much as your little heart desires!! It’s a free country! 😉)  

Ready?

What to do with the stuff~

Mix together the ranch seasoning with cream cheese and sour cream. 


Now you spread that in a pie plate. I used a shallow quiche dish. Sprinkle your chopped romaine, diced tomatoes, green onions all over the dip mixture.

Now sprinkle crumbled crispy bacon all over this. Now take your crumbled blue cheese and sprinkle it on top. That is it!!! God bless America and this completely delicious dip! 

It is as good as it looks!
My babies and Roy all decked out in their red, white and blue! 🇱🇷🇱🇷

Cajun delights/mardi gras perfect, Party foods, feed a crowd, crowd favorites, Traditional cajun faire, Uncategorized

Donna’s simply divine jambalaya and have circus, will travel 

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So Big Daddy worked at Farm Bureau for 14 years and over that time we made some really good friends. We’d take trips with the company and we would get to see those friends about once or twice a year. Well, Lloyd retired from Farm Bureau a few years ago and Big Daddy has moved on, so that leaves little opportunity for those bi-yearly visits. He and LLoyd text and talk pretty often and Donna and I keep in touch via Facebook, but sometimes little face to face is the best thing. But with 4 kids, 2 dogs, their grandkids and traveling, work…it was a daunting task to make it happen. But somehow we managed. It’s a miracle!! It’s so easy to say there is no time. It’s so easy after a long week to give in to just staying home and just talk about visiting friends. That’s one thing about Big Daddy…he is not all talk. He is a doer. When he sets his head to something, it’s happening. So we scheduled it, packed up on Friday and headed South. All 4 kids and the 2 dogs in tow in the mini van. Virtually our own little traveling circus! 

This little Cajun pup loves a good road trip!

So very glad we went through the trouble. Donna and Lloyd were so welcoming and gave the kids the run of the place.  They had some other friends from Raceland visiting, Anne and Alphonse, and they talked French and cut up and my kids had a ball. They picked blueberries from their many blueberry bushes, they fed the chickens and my baby got to pick up the freshly laid eggs.  We went shopping at the local Dirtcheap store. And as when visiting any Cajun friends, you can almost bet you will eat something delicious. And boy did we. She made a jambalaya so good and put it together so fast, I just knew I had to have the recipe. 


So Donna shared with me that this is her version of her brother in law, Don’s, award winning jambalaya recipe. He makes it for cook offs, different benefits and such…the point is this jambalaya feeds a crowd and people love it!! I have had numerous friends and readers ask me for my jambalaya recipe and until now I did not really have one. Jambalaya is not something I grew up eating very often. So I really hope you all will enjoy Donna’s truly fantastic (and easy) jambalaya as much as we enjoyed our visit with them.

Donna’s Divine Jambalaya 

Serves about 10 

Stuff you need~

2 bell peppers, diced 

4-6 smalll onions, diced

2 cups celery, chopped (optional) 

4 pounds of meat (pork, chicken, sausage)*

1 can Rotel 

4 cups rice (Zatarain’s parboiled rice only!!)**

Kitchen bouquet 

8 cups chicken broth (that’s about 4 cans or two 32 ounce boxes)

*Donna used 2 packs of pork chops, 2 packages chicken tenderloins, and 2 packs of sausage) 

**Donna says regular rice turns too mushy in this recipe. And said this is the only time she uses parboiled rice lol. 

What to do with the stuff~

Heat a little canola oil in your stock pot.*** Brown the diced onion. 

While this is happening cut up your meats. She sprinkled her chicken and pork liberally with Morton’s all seasoning. No not tony’s. Yes we Cajuns do love Tony’s but we don’t add it ad nauseum to every single dish.

 Add all your pork and chicken to this and brown the meat well. Let that all cook down. At the end, throw in the sausage and brown that too. 

Pour the undrained can of Rotel into the pot. Stir in the rice and stir it around so it can soak up all that juice from the meats and veggies. Pour in the chicken broth. Pour in a capful of Kitchen Bouquet (in the condiment aisle on the top shelf almost always in every grocery store, yellow top, black bottle). Stir in some salt and pepper. She did not give specific amounts. So I always say add a little and you can always add more to taste later. 


Bring to a boil and cover. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes on low. Stir about halfway through. Enjoy!! 

***Donna used a 7 1/2 quart non stick stock pot and it worked perfectly. I’ll be getting one from amazon asap. 

Me and the lady of the hour, this is THE Donna
Big Daddy and his padnuh, LLoyd
My #4bowlinbabes and LLoyd and Donna

Hearty casseroles, pasta dishes, Weeknight Meals, Weeknight wonder

Cheesy Spaghetti Pie (this recipe has it all) 

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So from time to time Momou would make spaghetti pie. And I always loved it when she did. Her spaghetti and meatballs were always legendary and the spaghetti pie kind of seemed like a step down. But then I took a bite of that spagbetti pie and it was all better. Not a step down at all. Just a step to the side. Now that I have a family of my own, I realize the beauty in spaghetti pie. It’s spaghetti and meatball’s creamy cheesy, low maintenance older sister. It satisfies those spaghetti cravings and goes a step further. Now spaghetti and meatballs have their place. We are not in any way saying that spaghetti pie replaces spaghetti and meatballs…no, no baby. We are just saying spaghetti pie is a nice low key, cheesy  alternative. Did I mention spaghetti pie is cheesy? Because it is…so…cheesy. Now as stated in the original blog post from http://www.centercutcook.com, what makes this spaghetti pie recipe unique is that the noodles are mixed with the sauce ahead of time and the noodles are perfect, not all dry like in other recipes I have tried. Also a nice twist is the Monterrey jack and cheddar cheese instead of same ole, same ole mozzarella. And it has sliced green onions in it. There is a special place in my heart for sliced green onions. So this spaghetti pie has it all!! Just like this Cajun mama does! 

Cheesy spaghetti pie 

Stuff you need~

1 pound of angel hair pasta (that’s one box), cooked and drained 

5 cups spaghetti sauce, divided (I used Prego)

1 pound Italian sausage, browned and drained *

1 tablespoon olive oil 

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 teaspoon oregano 

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder 

8 ounce block cream cheese

3/4 cup sour cream 

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning 

3 green onions, green parts only, sliced 

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese 

*I buy one package of Italian sausage links and then I slice open the casing and just dump the meat into my skillet. I do that for each one. And voila! 

What to do with the stuff ~

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the cooked and drained pasta with 2 cups of the spaghetti sauce. Set aside.

 

In a skillet heat olive oil over medium heat. Sauté  diced yellow onion until tender. Add Italian sausage and brown over medium heat until done. Drain. Sprinkle in the oregano, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder. Stir in the remaining 3 cups of spaghetti sauce and simmer for about 10 minutes. 


Spray a 9 x 13 casserole dish with cooking spray. Layer the pasta tossed with sauce in the bottom of the dish. 

Now, add the block of softened cream cheese, the sour cream, the sliced green onions and Italian seasoning to a mixing bowl. Mix all together. 


Layer this on top of the noodles. What I did was put several dollops of the cream cheese mixture on top of the noodles and then I smoothed it out with a plastic spatula  where it made a layer. Now layer the meat sauce on top of the cream cheese layer. Next sprinkle the cheeses all over that meat sauce. And then I added some more green onions for good measure. 


Bake in your preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until that cheese is melted to an irrisitbly ooey gooey level. Spaghetti pie perfection. I used my favorite Pampered Chef flat metal spatula to dish it up. 

Ethnic and spicy, quick and easy, Weeknight Meals, Weeknight wonder

Korean beef bowls and impromptu perfection 

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Summer is in full swing in this house! Not sure where your peeps are in the school year but here in Cajun mama land we are done. Peace out, 2016-2017 school year!! And my kids are glad for it. They are taking full advantage of the whole summertime thang. 

Yes, they are in the pool with clothes on. Because summer…lol

They are also like ravenous monkeys several times a day and I am not gonna lie…I am already struggling to keep up. My kids would love, love, love to eat fast food or at restaurants 3 meals a day. I, of course, do not allow that. We cannot even hang with that lifestyle. Big Daddy started a new job a few months ago and it’s been tight over here. Big Daddy will likely fuss when he reads this asking why would I even mention that but you know…being real is my thing. I am always real with y’all and that is a major thing that has happened in our lives. So eating out a whole bunch with a family of 6 is not in the plan. I assume most of you realize this is why I cook so much (and I love it) but if not please consider this my newsflash…I cook to save money a good bit of the time. Not to mention, we are trying to teach our kids about that eating out every day is not the norm and that there is nothing wrong with cooking. And when you can cook your own food, you can be self sufficient. 

In that same vein, I adore cooking things that my kids enjoy and they resent that it is not our favorite Chinese takeout a little less. Cooking at home is a necessity for many of us, but it does not have to be boring! So in comes this meal. Korean beef bowls.  Oh sweet spicy morsels of beef this is good stuff. And every last one of my kids absolutely devoured it. Also, it is not expensive to make. So perfect. As perfect as the other day was. Woke up to a loud boom at 5:45. Yep, transformer blowing. No power in sight. So I told the kids to load up we were headed to Tyler, TX to go to the Caldwell zoo. We had the best time. The weather was unseasonably perfect. Not the sauna that it usually is. The high was in the 70’s! In May!!! And I ran into 2 friends while at the zoo. These Korean beef bowls were perfect like that.  Unexpected, came out of nowhere, born from lacking, and crazy low expectations. You will love it!!! 

Me and my bebes during our impromptu zoo visit.

I found this recipe on http://www.damndelicious.net. I am so happy I stumbled across it. It is recipe gold, my friends.

Korean Beef bowls 

Stuff you need~

1 pound lean ground beef 

Canola oil 

2 teaspoons minced garlic (or more)

1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce 

1/4 cup packed brown sugar 

2 teaspoons sesame oil 

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger *

2 Sliced green onions, green and white parts 

Slicd green onions and Sesame seeds for garnish (optional) 

Cooked white rice 

*I used the McCormick spice stuff and it was fine. Next time I’ll try the squeeze tube produce section ginger just to see if it enhances the flavor. 

What to do with the stuff~

Drizzle some canola oil In skillet. Warm over medium heat then add garlic. Sauté on medium low until fragrant, about a minute or 2.  Add ground meat to skillet. Brown until no longer pink and then some. Drain if necessary. 

While browning meat, combine the sesame oil, brown sugar, soy sauce, red pepper flakes and ginger in a bowl. Whisk together.  When ground beef is browned and drained, add the soy sauce concoction and some sliced green onions. Cook on medium low for a minute or 2. The smell will be amazing and your mouth will water!! 


Serve this over hot rice. Prepare to be so glad you stayed at home and cooked for your family. It is HEAVEN!