I took yesterday off from work to cook.  That was the sole purpose of my day and I was in heaven.  I’ve shared often that my work family loves to eat.  In fact, everyone either loves to eat or loves to cook (or both).  Which makes for some great special occasion spreads.  Today we celebrated Mardi Gras with a giant pot of Chili Gumbo and a platter of Mardi Gras Wings.  It was a good day.

I was a bit nervous at the thought of making gumbo.  I had some true Cajuns to feed and by no means wanted to compete with what they grew up on.  That would require making roux, from ingredients not already in my pantry (fee-lee, fii-lee, fo)…which would inevitably require me to leave my house and my pj’s.  Remember, I took the day off to avoid such things.

So instead I first sought out a gumbo recipe that would utilize some of the pounds and pounds of Andouille sausage in my freezer.  Long story short, we helped rescue a Trader Joe’s freezer truck filled with bacon and sausage.  It was the least we could do.

So while looking for a recipe that didn’t require file powder, I stumbled upon this beauty for Chili Gumbo.  Great flavor combinations that came together easily.  I highly recommend this recipe, which got a thumbs up today from my work family.

Did I mention I was cooking to feed my entire work family?  The Chili Gumbo recipe listed below is doubled from the original and easily fed twenty people.

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Chili Gumbo

Prep Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 20

Author adapted from Abbie Argersi via Food52

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 dried Guajillo chilis
• 1 dark beer
• 30 ounces Chicken Andouille Sausage or favorite
• 2 Tbl. olive oil
• 3 Tbl. ground cumin
• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 2 onions diced (about 4 cups)
• 4-5 jalapeno peppers diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 4 celery ribs diced (about 2 cups)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 4 Tbl. chili powder
• 1 30- ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 14.5- ounce can diced tomatoes
• 3-4 cups beef broth
• 3 Tbl. red wine vinegar
• 3-4 Tbl. Cajun seasoning according to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place flour in a baking dish. Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until golden brown, stirring every 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, remove stems and seeds from dried peppers and chop them fine. Place in bowl and pour in beer. Set aside.
• In a large skillet place Andouille sausage in one-inch of water. Heat over medium heat, turning once until water evaporates. Remove sausage and slice them. Brown them in oil then remove from the pan. Add cumin to pan and toast for one minute before adding ground beef. Season beef with salt & pepper and brown. Remove from pan and reserve with Andouille.
• Add the onions to the pan and cook them for 5 minutes. Add in celery, jalapenos and garlic; cook mixture until just softened. Add the vegetable oil, toasted flour and chili powder; stir for 3-4 minutes.
• Add in diced tomatoes, chilis and beer, and cooked meats with their juices. Add 3 cups of beef broth, red wine vinegar and 3 Tbl. Cajun seasoning (or more to taste). Simmer for at least 30 minutes. If too thick, add additional cup of beef broth.
• Serve with cooked white rice, lime wedges, fresh cilantro, and Louisiana Hot Sauce

The post Chili Gumbo appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Smoked Cheddar & Bacon Jalapeño Beer Bread.

When this bread recipe from Chocolate, Chocolate and More appeared in my newsfeed I was instantly hooked.  Joan took a classic beer bread and gave it personality.  Her gorgeous photo drew me in but the fact that you can have it ready for the oven in 5 minutes sealed the deal.

In 5 minutes you can have a bread baking in the oven.  In 45 minutes the smell of freshly baked bread will be wafting through your kitchen.  In one hour, start to finish, you will be fighting off the family as you try and picture this bread.  You’ll want to remember it….because within mere minutes, you’ll need to make another one.

Okay, that’s not entirely true.  You see we don’t generally keep bread on hand.  It’s a self control thing.  So when we do make it I try and come up with some fun ways to use it.  We did put a healthy dent in it while it was still warm from the oven.  However we saved enough to make a Three Cheese Mac ‘n’ Cheese Grilled Cheese which was pure indulgence.  AND we discovered that Smoked Cheddar & Bacon Jalapeno Beer Bread ground up and added to your meatball mix is pure genius!!

There are so many flavor possibilities with beer bread.  We used smoked cheddar, bacon and jalapeño, all of which came through.  Imagine if we used maple bacon with pumpkin ale or added fresh herbs and lemon zest or I could go on and on.  If you’ve avoided bread making (like someone I know) because of the work and time required this is a great recipe for you (and me).

At the time of this post, our blogger friend Joan with Chocolate, Chocolate and More is facing an unimaginable battle.  Two days ago her daughter Grace was struck by a car while walking to school.  She was placed in a medically induced coma while her injuries were evaluated.  Today her meds were reduced enough for precious Grace to open her eyes to see and recognize her family at her side.  Please keep this beautiful family in your thoughts and prayers as they continue on this path of healing.

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Smoked Cheddar & Bacon Jalapeño Beer Bread

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 55 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Author Chocolate, Chocolate and More

Ingredients

• 3 cups Self-rising flour
• 3 Tbl. sugar
• 1 12- ounce bottle beer
• 1 cup cooked bacon diced
• 1 cup shredded smoked cheddar cheese
• 1 jalapeño fine diced
• 1/4 cup butter melted

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9×5 loaf pan.
• Combine flour, sugar and beer in a large bowl. Stir until moistened. Fold in bacon, cheese and jalapeño. Pour into greased loaf pan.
• Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, pour melted butter over top and bake an additional 10 minutes.
• Let cool for 10 minutes, then remove from loaf pan and serve.

The post Smoked Cheddar & Bacon Jalapeño Beer Bread appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Christmas Leftover Chili began by assessing the leftovers in the fridge.  Here’s a quick run down of what we found.

• A hunk of Prime Rib leftover from Christmas Eve dinner.
• 1/2 lb. of ground beef & 1/2 lb. ground pork leftover from Swedish Meatballs Christmas Day.
• An open jar of Rao’s Marinara sauce that was served with our Risotto Balls on Christmas Day.
• A bottle of Victoria beer leftover from my company Christmas Party.
• A Cowboy Cut Ribeye Bone leftover from a Christmas present :)

Our Chili started by frying bacon in the cast iron skillet.  No surprise to those that know us ;)

First, dice up two onions, 5 jalapenos, and a big hunk of prime rib leftover from Christmas Eve dinner.  From this point I will give you the process pictured below.

Remove browned bacon from the cast iron skillet, then add in diced onion and jalapenos.  Saute until just tender then transfer to a large crockpot.  Now add 1/2 lb. of ground pork and 1/2 lb. of ground beef to the skillet to brown off. Now add this to the crockpot along with the cubed beef and crispy bacon.  Deglaze pan with a beer.  We used a bottle of Victoria (thank you Rogelio for the tip on this beautiful beer).  Add that to the crockpot.  Then came a can of diced tomatoes (preferably no-salt added) and about 2 cups of tomato sauce (Rao’s Marinara Sauce is to die for).

Seasoning is often to taste.  I’m giving you my best assessment of the volume of spice that went into our Christmas Leftover Chili, adjust according to taste preference.  Here we go:

• 1 Tbl. chili powder
• 1 Tbl. ground cumin
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. ground oregano
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. ground thyme
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

This is when we threw in the rib bone from our Cowboy Cut Ribeye enjoyed on Friday night.  Totally optional.

Once all the goodness was in the crockpot we set it to low and walked away.  Not too far away.  I believe crockpot cooking is meant to happen on week days, when no one is home.  Rule #1 ~ Don’t lift the lid.  Let me tell you that was nearly impossible as the aromas of this rich beefy chili seeped into the air.  That’s when we decided to turn it to high and move dinner time up an hour or two.

I’m convinced that in our house, the best dishes happen when I stay out of the grocery store and instead shop my fridge & pantry. I hope you’ll adapt and personalize this recipe and then share the results with us.

I’m also quite proud to share that Christmas Leftover Chili is the 500th Recipe posted to Lemony Thyme.  Hehe.

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