Kale and Turkey Sausage Crockpot Soup

This soup came about thanks to Helen Downey finding the recipe that i adapted it from on skinnytaste.com, so thank you Helen!!
I have made this several times and it is always a crowd pleaser, with young and old, boys and girls!!

Ingredients:
1 lb package of "sweet Italian" turkey sausage (I get the links and then squeeze out of the casings before cooking)
1 big bag of Pre-chopped Kale
2 lemons
1 large yellow onion chopped
3 carrots chopped
5 cloves garlic minced
1 1/2 boxes of vegetable broth or stock
6 small red potatoes, chopped and par boiled for 3-4 min
2 cans of Great Northern White beans
Olive Oil
Seasonings - Tony's, Italian seasoning, garlic salt, vinegar, salt and pepper, hot sauce


Add vegetable broth to your crock pot.  Add one can of beans to a blender and or Cuisinart and blend till smooth then add to the crock pot, whisk the broth and bean puree till smooth.  Drain the other can of beans, then add whole beans to the crock pot.  Brown sausage over med heat till cooked through, then add to crock pot.   Using the same pan, add a little olive oil and then add chopped onion, carrots and seasoning (I add Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and Tony's) and saute till translucent and soft; then add garlic and saute till fragrant.  Add veggies to the crock pot.   Again using the same pan, add a little more olive oil and add 1/2 the bag of kale, sprinkle with Tony's and juice of a lemon, cook the kale down till soft then add to crock pot.  Repeat this step with the other 1/2 of kale.    Add the par-boiled potatoes to the crock pot, you can also add some of the water from the pot if you need more liquid.  Add about 2T cider vinegar, salt an pepper to taste, and any other seasonings to the crock pot and stir everything together!
Cook on high till boiling and cooked, then keep on warm while you enjoy!


Enjoy and Happy Cooking!

Fast and Easy - Red Beans and Rice

Everyone from NOLA knows that Monday is red beans and rice day.  Yet at school it was an every other Wednesday lunch item!!  So no matter when you have them, if you want them fast, easy and delicious make them this way!

Kibbe's Red Beans and Rice -  (serves 4-6 adults)
3 cans light red kidney beans - open and mostly drained but not rinsed
1 package of your favorite sausage sliced, of course we use spicy Andouille around these parts!
1 large green bell pepper chopped
4 stalks celery chopped
1 large yellow onion chopped
Apple Cider Vinegar - 2-3 T
seasonings - Tony's, garlic salt, salt and pepper
hot sauce  - your favorite brand
3-4 bay leaves
olive oil
2-3 T butter

White Rice - cooked to desired consistency

Place your sliced sausage in a large saute pan, I use one with high sides so that I can make the entire dish in the same pan.   Cook over med heat till slightly browned.  Transfer sausage to a plate.  In the same pan add olive oil and a little butter, as the butter melts add some Tony's or Cajun seasoning to flavor the butter/oil mixture.  Add all your chopped vegetables, along with your other seasonings.  Sauteed till wilted/translucent and soft.

Add two cans of your red beans. Take the third can and using a blender or Cuisinart puree till smooth and creamy, I add cider vinegar here to help make the mix even smoother.  Add your pureed beans to the saute pan along with several dashes of your favorite hot sauce.  Add your browned sausage back to the pan.  Stir over med-high heat till boiling, then add your bay leaves reduce heat to low and simmer till ready to eat.  Make sure to stir occasionally so that the beans do not stick to the bottom of the pan.
I serve hot over rice.

We all know that in Cajun food flavor grows over time, so I will often make the red beans a day or so ahead and let sit so that all the flavors can mature!  You can also freeze any left overs.

ENJOY and happy cooking!!!!

Cheesy Chicken Roll Ups - Family Favorite

If you haven't noticed....I love to cook, so give me a challenge in the kitchen and I will take it on.    Everyone now knows if you have a baby, have surgery, hurt yourself or just need someone to cook you dinner I am game!!!!  This is one of my goto's when making dinner for a whole family because  you can make it ahead of time, it's fairly easy, and it tastes AMAZING!!  (adapted from The Do Ahead Cookbook)

Cheesy Chicken Roll Ups -

6 chicken breasts (skinless and boneless)
1/2 C sharp Cheddar cheese
3oz plain cream cheese
2T butter softened
1 small can chopped green chilies
2T grated onion
2 C crushed Cheddar Cheese Crackers (i use cheeze it's)
1 stick butter melted
salt, pepper, garlic salt, Tony's

Pre-heat your oven to 400.

Place the chicken between 2 plastics sheets and pound them out till 1/4 inch thick.
Mix cheddar cheese and next 4 ingredients in a bowl till well combined.
Crush the crackers and place in a bowl, add seasonings and mix well.

Take the thin chicken breasts one at a time and put a small amount of the cream cheese mixture down the middle, roll them up and secure with 2-3 toothpicks.  Roll all of your chicken first.
Then one at a time, dip the chicken in the melted butter, then the crushed cracker mixture till well coated.  Place seam side down in a baking dish.
Once you have all your chicken in the pan, if you have any left over cracker mix you can add to the baking pan then pour the rest of the melted butter on top (these will be the best "picking" pieces"!)

****at this point you can cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours***

Bake at 400 for 25 minutes or till done,  MAKE SURE TO TAKE OUT THE TOOTHPICKS BEFORE EATING!

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!!

This picture was taken BEFORE cooking, as I was bringing it to a new mom today!! 

Best Banana Bread - if you love Banana Bread and Chocolate

I am the worst about sticking the brown bananas in the fridge and promising myself i will make bread!  Well I finally found a super easy recipe that I can make and not only is the bread amazing but it makes 2 loafs so there is one to eat and one to share!!!  As always it's adapted from some recipe somewhere and I changed something along the way, but really how can you go wrong with bananas, bread and chocolate!!

Ingredients:
3-4 overripe banana's smashed and smashed and smashed
1 box of your favorite yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (or you can do a full cup if you REALLY love chocolate)

Smash and Smash the bananas in a bowl, then add the rest of your ingredients and stir till mixed well.
Pour into 2 greased loaf pans and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes

Eat at least one slice while it is still hot and you have think you have died and gone to chocolate banana heaven!!!

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!!!

One Pot Veggie pasta

Who doesn't like easy, who doesn't like one pot cooking!!    I have made this for girls trips, and I have made it at home, everyone is a fan!  You can add onion, you can add meat you can anything you think will enhance the flavor and or taste to this dish!  Here is my adapted version of a one pot pasta :)

Ingredients:

1 16oz package dry linguine
1 can 14oz diced tomatoes
1 can 14oz Fire Roasted Tomatoes
Several Sprigs Fresh Basil
4-5 garlic cloves minced/chopped 
2 cups vegetable stock
2 cups water
Seasoning - pinches of Tony's, Red Pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, Garlic Salt, chives Salt and Pepper
1 T Olive Oil
Crumbled Goat Cheese
salt and pepper to taste!

Place first 9 ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 10 min, making sure to stir and or use tongs to move pasta around.  After cooking  you should cover if you won't be serving right away.
Once done, serve with a sprinkle of goat cheese on to top and enjoy!!

Krabby Bar's - aka THE BEST Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bars

Thank you Alison for officially naming these bars - Krabby Bar's!  This recipe is adapted from the Cake Doctor (who has the most amazing desserts!) and have now become not only a favorite in my house but for just about anyone that tries them!!  They are a staple for any party and I always include them if I am bringing dinner to anyone!!
My daughter, Abie, is slowly but surely becoming a kitchen guru and this happens to be one of her go to's as well!

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!!!

Krabby Bar's:

1 box plain yellow cake mix
1 cup smooth peanut butter*****
1 stick butter melted
2 large eggs
1 bag semi sweet chocolate chips
1 can (14oz) condensed milk
2 T butter
2 t vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Place cake mix, peanut butter, melted butter and eggs in a large mixing bowl and mix still it all comes together and is thick.  Measure out about 1 1/2 cup of this to keep for the top.  Take the rest and use your hands to push into an ungreased 13x9 pan then set it aside.  Put chocolate chips, condensed milk and butter in a sauce pan and stir over low heat till melted and combined, removed from heat and stir in vanilla.  Pour mixture over the crust and use the spoon to push it to all the edges.  Crumble reserved peanut butter mixture evenly over the top.  Cook for 20-25 min. till golden brown and set.  Let cool completely before cutting (if you can wait that long!!)

Picture coming soon!


*****My friend Deena assures me that WOW butter can replace peanut butter in anything for those that have peanut allergies and are dying for a wonderful peanut free dessert!! thank you Deena!!

Weekend's are for FUN....

Hi!  I just wanted to write a quick post to let everyone know that I won't be posting on the weekends.  With three kids, a job that I work on the weekends, and trying to have a "life" there just isn't enough time :0...
I am going to try and post something new every week day so make sure to check back! 

This week I will continue with my Cajun roots and do my Red Beans and Rice and Jambalaya recipes as they have been requested.  I will also dish up some of my dips and desserts that everyone seems to love!!   

Tip for today, when you are at the grocery make sure you always grab the items for one meal that has ingredients which won't go bad....IE canned goods, frozen vegetables, rice or pasta etc.  That way when you find yourself on a busy day at 5:30 saying WTF am i making for dinner you will always have a back up!!! 

Happy Cooking!!!!

Kibbe's NOLA Crawfish Etouffee

Born and raised in New Orleans, I love love love crawfish....to the point of Forrest Gump shrimp status!   I want to make it into anything and everything as many different ways that I can.  So be prepared to see LOTS of crawfish dishes from dips to main course meals on here!
This recipe was adapted from the front of a bag of frozen crawfish tails and it is soooooo good that every time I make it I think "why don't I make this more often???"

1 lb crawfish tails peeled
1 large onion chopped
several celery stalks chopped
1 large bell pepper chopped
1/2 stick butter (can be light or your favorite cooking butter substitute)
1 T flour
Cajun spices: Tony's (see soup recipe if you don't know what this is!), thyme, salt, pepper, Crystal or Tabasco, bay leaves, garlic salt etc.
chopped green onion for topping
rice - you can make any rice you like the crawfish will be served over the top

Directions;
Melt the butter and add flour.  Brown slightly, till the aroma fills the air.  Add onion, celery and bell pepper and any spices you want to use then saute till wilted and soft.  Add crawfish tails, if using a bag of frozen tails make sure to add the juice from the bag as well (i even add a little more water to the bag so i get all the "good" stuff!). Lower heat and simmer about 20-30 min or until ready to eat.  Serve over rice and top with green onions!!  My garlic bread goes really well with this....recipe to follow another day :)

Organized Recipes

Ok so that title is a joke, because if I am ANYTHING it is NOT organized, and especially not with my recipes!  I just know what I like and I cook from there, you should to!
I am attaching a picture of my "home made" cookbook that I have had since college and it houses ALL the Kibbe "secret" recipes!  It is really my go to for all my favorites and now I am going to try and slowly get them all on this blog so I can be more organized.  Once that is done, I will take the books that like the wall of the blog and THROW THEM AWAY because we won't need any cookbooks we will only need this blog!!!!