Slow Cooker Charro Beans

If your are planning on having a Mexican fiesta be sure to add these to the menu. Slow cooked charro beans are extremely flavorful and very easy to make. Cooking them in the crock-pot makes them very tender and hold all the flavor of the vegetables. Definitely one to add to your list of recipes to try!

Slow Cooker Charro Beans

Ingredients:

1 1b. bag of dried pinto beans, rinsed
2 cans Rotel
2 packets Goya ham flavoring
1 medium-large onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
3-4 slices bacon, chopped
Seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, tony chacheries)

Directions:

Put rinsed beans into crock-pot, add enough water to cover beans by a few inches. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours. If you don't have time to do this on "cook day" soak the beans in water overnight.
Drain the beans and again add enough water to cover beans by a few inches.
Stir in remaining ingredients. I typically season heavily since there is so much water. You can do this now or wait till they are almost finished and season them to taste then.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours or until beans are cooked and tender.
Can be topped with cilantro, avacados, shredded cheese, or sour cream

Chicken and Rice Soup

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped small
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
3 celery stalks, chopped small
2-3 cloves garlic
1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
2 cups cooked rice
64 oz chicken broth
1 tbsp dry ranch dressing
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp hot sauce
Season to taste (salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, tony chacheries)

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium heat. Sauté onions, celery, and carrots for 7-8 minutes. Add garlic, sauté 1 minute.
2. Stir in chicken, rice, and broth.
3. Add ranch dressing, Dijon, hot sauce, and seasonings.
4. Simmer on low for about 20 minutes or until ready to serve.

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

I love anything with rice but one of my favorite things to eat is gumbo. It's just a perfect way to warm you up on a cold day. This is the first I've made this year but know there will be plenty more to come.

I know it's cheating a bit but I always use jarred roux. You can definitely make your own if you want to take the time. I just think the jarred is a little easier. You always want to make sure you include the trinity of New Orleans cooking: ONION, BELL PEPPER, and CELERY. You can hardly find a good cajun recipe without those three. Also make sure you have a big enough stock pot. For this time around I tripled the recipe since we had pe

ople coming over to watch the Alabama LSU game, which we won by the way! GEAUX TIGERS!! Anyway, I ended up having to transfer a third of the gumbo to another pot because when I tried to add all the meat it was almost overflowing. Definitely compensate for the meat and veggies when you are figuring out the water level. We also like our gumbo very meaty so I tend to go a little overboard on the meat. It's totally up to you how much you use.

Just a suggestion...DJ's family loves to eat their gumbo with a serving of potato salad. Just make your plate and spoon the potato salad right on top of it. I've never tried it but they claim it's the only way to eat gumbo. Just thought I'd throw that out there for anyone who wants to try something different.

The Cajun Trio:

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

8 quarts of water

1 16 oz jar of roux (or you can make your own)

2 large yellow onion, chopped

2 green bell peppers, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 pounds of chicken breasts

1-2 pounds of andouille sausage, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (if you can't find andouille use a high quality smoked)

season to taste with pepper, Tony Chachere's, cayenne pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder

Directions:

1. Combine water and roux in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil and boil for about 30 minutes or until roux is completely dissolved. Make sure to stir constantly so the roux doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot and burn.

2. While the roux is dissolving, saute the veggies in a small amount of olive oil until tender.

3. Add veggies, sausage, and chicken to boiling water/roux. Reduce heat and simmer on low for about 2 hours. The longer you cook it the better the flavors mend.

4. While cooking, season to taste.

5. Serve with rice and enjoy!

Weeknight Simple Tortilla Soup

It's starting to get a little cooler here in Houston, though that's not saying too much (it's currently 57 F). Anyway...it's a nasty rainy day which seemed perfect for soup. This is one of my favorite soups and it super easy! Definitely good for a middle of the week dinner after a long day of work.

Weeknight Simple Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

1 package Bear Creek Tortilla Soup Mix (or any other tortilla soup mix)

4 cups chicken broth

6 cups water

1 can original Rotel

1 small can chopped chilis

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 package frozen corn

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded

1/2 tbsp. onion powder

1/2 tbsp. garlic powder

Optional Toppings:

sour cream

avacado

salad tortilla strips

cheese

pica de gallo

Directions:

1. Bring chicken broth and water to a boil in a large pot

2. Once boiling, whisk in soup mix until combined

3. Reduce heat to low

4. Add remaining ingredients

5. Let simmer for about 30 minutes

6. Serve with desired toppings and enjoy!

Goes great with homemade cheese quesadillas.

Homemade Red Beans and Rice

As much as I hate to admit this, for the last several years when ever I got a craving for red beans I always opened a can of Blue Runner red beans, doctored it up a little bit and I was good to go. I finally decided it was time to move on to the real thing. This was my first time attempting red beans from scratch and it was a complete success. My fiance, DJ, said they were the best he's ever eaten!

Homemade Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients:

1 pound dry red beans

1 package smoked sausage

1 smoked ham steak

1 ham hock

1 large onion chopped

3-4 stalks of celery chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

4-5 green onions chopped

3-4 tbsp fresh parsley

10 cups water

seasonings:

2 bay leaves

1 tsp basil

1 tsp thyme

1/2 tbsp garlic powder

1/2 tbsp onion powder

1/2 tbsp pepper

1/2 tbsp Tony Chachere's

Directions:

1. Soak beans in water overnight

2. When you are ready for cooking. Chop sausage and ham then brown in a large pot over medium heat.

3. Add vegetables to pot and saute until soft (appx. 5 minutes)

4. Drain red beans and add to the large pot. Mix in and cook for about 3 minutes.

5. Add water and seasonings. You may have to adjust seasonings while cooking. Taste halfway and test.

6. Bring to a boil then immediately reduce heat and simmer on low for about 2-3 hours or until beans are tender. If you like you beans a little creamy, use a potato masher to mash some of the beans while everything is cooking.

7. Serve with rice and enjoy!