Super Easy Jambalaya

Super Easy Jambalaya

Jambalaya has always been one of my favorite dishes... when I go to a restaurant, it would be my #1 choice to order if the restaurant offers Jambalaya. But every restaurant has their own recipe, they taste different in some way... some are way too salty, made me feel like they got the salt for free that's they put so much salt in the dish; some chicken came out TOO DRY, and having the dry chicken stuck in between my teeth was very uncomfortable...

You don't have to go to a restaurant to have a restaurant quality Jambalaya, you can make it in your own kitchen! and I can guarantee you... this recipe is WAY BETTER than the restaurants, yes, I am very proud of this recipe!

This recipe is good for 4 servings, I did not make this Jambalaya with rice because... rice will get mushy and soggy if they soaked in the sauce for too long, and what if you don't feel like eating your Jambalaya for your next meal...? don't be so restricted with your dish, Jambalaya is is good with Rice, Pasta, or you could even eat it as a dip...  

try it, cook it, eat it, share it, love it!!!

Ingredients:
* 2 tablespoons of butter
* 2 andouille sausages; I used Louisiana Brand Sausages from Fresh & Easy; diced
* 1/2 cup of onion; diced
* 1 medium bell pepper; diced
* 1 stalk of celery; diced
* 3 chicken drumsticks (about 1.5 cup); diced
* 3 gloves of garlic; minced
* 1 teaspoon of parsley flakes
* 2 cups of chicken stock
* 2 cans of 8oz tomato sauce
* 1/2 teaspoon of dry chilli flakes
* 1/2 teaspoon of chilli powder
* salt; to taste

Directions:
* place the chicken in a pot that is deep enough to hold the chicken drumsticks + enough water to cover them; bring the liquid to boil, then turn off the heat.
* do not throw away the liquid because you will need to use it later; the chicken do not have to cook all the way through at this point.
*  remove the chicken from liquid and let it cool; dice the chicken into bite size.
* medium heat; melt the butter in a medium pot.
* add chilli flakes, garlic, onion; saute till aromatic.
* add sausages, bell pepper, celery, chicken, parsley; saute for about 2~3mins.
* add the tomato sauce and the stock we made earlier from the poached chicken; bring to boil.
* add chilli powder & salt to taste.
* lower the heat to medium, uncovered, cook for another 15~20min.

my cost…
Chicken	$2.70	($4.05 in a box, total 5 pieces, only used 3pieces)
Sausage	$1.50	($3.00 a pack, total 4pieces; only used 2pieces)
Onion & Celery	Free	(my sister gave it to me)
Garlic	$0.06	(5 bulbs of garlic each bag, about 10 glove; 99cents a bag, used 3cloves)
Bell pepper	$0.32
Tomato Sauce	$0.98	($0.49 a can)
total	$5.56		*cost is not including the seasonings.

tomato sauce 

Louisiana Brand Sausage

Sauteed Cabbage and Bacon

Sauteed Cabbage and Bacon
 
Cabbage... argh, there are so many leaves from the cabbage... washing a cabbage has always been one of my nightmares... I've always wondered if they are really CLEAN after I deep-washed them, so many leaves, using so much water (not economical for me), and wasting so much time... no no no.. this is unacceptable! 


Then I found the "washed & ready to eat" shredded green cabbage from the grocery store, only $0.98 a pack, perfect portion... there is no rule says I can only use it for coleslaw...!


Ingredients:
* 1 pack of shredded cabbage
* 2 strips of bacon; diced
* 3 cloves of garlic; minced
* 2 tablespoon of olive oil
* salt; to taste 


Directions:
* high heat; heat the olive oil in medium saucepan.
* add bacon in the the pan; turn to medium heat.
* cook the bacon till it begins to sizzle; add the garlic.
* once the bacon is getting brown and the fat starts to render, add the whole pack of shredded cabbage into the pan.
* stir occasionally until cabbage is soften; add salt to taste.  

my cost…
shredded cabbage	$    0.98
bacon	$    0.30	($2.99 a pack, about 20 strips, only used 2strips)
garlic	$    0.06	(5 bulbs of garlic each bag, about 10 glove; 99cents a bag, used 3cloves)
Total:	$    1.34	*cost is not including seasonings

Shredded Green Cabbage from Fresh & Easy

Quick Cucumber Salad

Quick Cucumber Salad 

Fridge was low on stock, didn't have time to do the grocery shopping; still got some fresh tomatoes from my backyard, found the leftover onion from my previous dish & a bag of Japanese cucumber I bought a couple days ago from the local grocer... stir fry? nah.. then i will have to make some rice to go with it, but i am too hungry to wait for my rice to be cooked. Soup? couldn't think of a recipe for these ingredients at this moment... Salad??? ding ding ding ding!!  


This cucumber salad goes well with all kinds of meals, or you could just eat it as a meal.. it's fast, easy,tasty & refreshing~!!!


Ingredients:
* 3 small cucumbers; peeled & sliced
* 1/4 onion; sliced
* 1 small tomato; diced
* 1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 1 tablespoon honey
* 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
* salt; to taste
* pepper; to taste 


Directions: 
* medium bow; combine olive oil, honey, salt & pepper and stir well.
* add the cucumber mixture (cucumber, onion & tomato) and toss to coat.
* refrigerate for 10~15min, tossing or stirring occasionally.

 

my cost…
Onion	free	(my sister gave it to me)
Tomato	free	(from my backyard)
Lemon	free	(from my backyard)
Cucumbers	$0.89	($2.99 a bag, 10 cucumbers in a bag, only used  3)
		*cost is not including seasonings
total:	$0.89

Homemade Strawberry Honey Jam

Homemade Strawberry Honey Jam


I overbought the strawberries -.-" it was really cheap, I couldn't help myself but to get more... it was only $0.89 a box!!! ridiculously cheap!!! but it was too much strawberries in my fridge at once, I don't have a big fridge, must figure out how to finish my strawberries and create more space in the fridge...

Perfect timing, my strawberry jam was about to run out, why not turn the fresh strawberries into Homemade strawberry jam?! 


ok, so... I am not a professional at canning and I didn't have time to go to the grocery store to buy the new jam jars. This time, I am just using the jar I kept from the previous store bought strawberry jam, make sure give it a DEEP CLEAN before using it. This homemade strawberry jam will last up to 10~15 days, enough for 7~8 slices of bread.


Ingredients:
* 2 cups of strawberries; finely chopped.
* 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
* 1/4 cup of honey


Directions:
* in a small saucepan; combine all the ingredients together; medium heat about 5min.
* stir frequently; turn to low heat; keep on stirring.
* once the jam is thicken and you see the bubble on the surface, then your jam is ready!! (approx. 10~15min) 

 

my cost…
Strawberries	$    0.89
Lemon	free!!	from my backyard
Total:	$    0.89	*cost is not including seasonings

Bacon Wrapped Artichoke Dip Stuffed Chicken

Bacon Wrapped Artichoke Dip Stuffed Chicken

I like my chicken tender and juicy, there are plenty of ways to make the chicken breasts tender & juicy like the dark meat, BUT I would still rather choose dark meat over white meat… therefore, Chicken Thigh/Leg v.s. Chicken Breast…?!?! Chicken Thigh/Leg won!!!

I don’t know how to make artichoke dip, the $$$ I have to spend + just to think of the ingredients I have to prepare to make that small bowl of artichoke dip is already giving me enough headache… Target store is just down the street, and it only costs $2.99 a jar!!! (on sale price, regular @ $ 3+ not too sure how much) save yourself some trouble, just get it from the store...

I am not much of a “sodium” person, all of my homemade food is lightly salted, I love the original authentic flavors…  I don’t think we need any seasonings for this dish, because there’s already enough flavor from the bacon & the artichoke dip, don’t’ add too much additional seasonings to ruin its authenticity…  

Ingredients:

* artichoke dip; 3 tablespoons

* 1.5 chicken thighs(deboned)

* 4.5 strips of bacon

Directions:

* Flatten the chicken thighs to 1/4-in.

* cut bacon in half.

* crisscross the 2 pieces of half-sized bacon on the top of the chicken; flip upside down.

* spread the artichoke dip over as much as needed; the size of the chicken is very SMALL, you will not need a lot.

* roll up the chicken; use 1 piece of half-sized bacon to wrap around the roll to close the opening.

* 350 degrees for 35~40minutes. 

Flatten Chicken Thighs 

Chicken with bacon

Artichoke Dip

Done

Artichoke dip	$0.15	($2.99 a jar, only used 3 tablespoons; I would say... only used 1/20 of the dip )
Chicken thighs	$1.53	(it was $3.07 a pack, only used half)
Bacon	$0.67	($2.99 a pack, about 20 strips, only used 4.5strips)
total	$2.35		*cost is not including the seasonings.

Paleolithic Diet & Gluten Free (Paleo Diet, Caveman Diet) Mango Tomato Salad

Paleolithic Diet & Gluten Free (Paleo Diet, Caveman Diet) Mango Tomato Salad 

Mango is on sale again!!! it's even cheaper than what i paid a few weeks ago. I couldn't stop myself from walking away the on sale mangoes, it's only $49cents each! what a great deal!

As soon as I laid my eyes on the on sale mangoes, the pictures of my tomatoes and lemons from my backyard popped out of my head... yep, that's right... I am going to make a Mango Tomato Salad!

Ingredients:

* 1 mango; cubed

* 1 small tomato; chopped

* 1/4 cup of onion; finely chopped

* 1 teaspoon of basil; chopped

* 2 table spoon of lemon juice

* salt; to taste

* pepper; to taste 

Directions:

* in a medium bowl, combine mango, onion, tomato and basil.

* in a separate bowl, combine all dressing ingredients, lemon juice, salt & pepper.

* toss with mango mixture. 

 

Mango	$0.49	(on sale for $1.99 a bag, used 1/4)
Tomatoes	Free	(from my backyard)
Basil	Free	(from my backyard)
Onion	$0.08	($0.99 a bag, total 3 onions, only used 1/4)
Lemon	Free	(from my backyard)
total	$0.57		*cost is not including the seasonings.

Paleolithic Diet & Gluten Free (Paleo Diet, Caveman Diet) Cioppino Style Seafood Stew

Paleolithic Diet & Gluten Free (Paleo Diet, Caveman Diet) Cioppino Style Seafood Stew

I have been doing some research on... Paleolithic Diet (aka Paleo Diet, Caveman diet)...

I think the easiest explanation to describe Paleo Diet = the type food caveman used to eat 10,000+ years ago, but no salt + pepper... but there are a lot of food that need to be avoid (see below link for the references), because some of them can not be eaten raw. Since we are in the 21st century, people are so used to the "flavorful food", but there was no salt & pepper available for the caveman... let just try not to put too much seasonings into our dish, and taste the authentic natural flavors~

Paleolithic Diet, what to eat, what to avoid= http://altmed.creighton.edu/Paleodiet/Foodlist.html

Ingredients:

* 1/4 onion; chopped

* 3 cloves of garlic; minced

* 1 cup of mixed seafood

* 1 tilapia fillet

* 1 can of 14.5oz tomato, diced, undrained 
* 1 cup of water

* 1 teaspoon of parsley flakes

* 2 tablespoon of olive oil

* chili powder; to taste

* salt; to taste

Directions:

* heat oil in medium stockpot; medium heat.

* sautee onion & garlic until aromatic; add mixed seafood + tilapia.

* sautee for 2 minutes; add parsley flakes, chili powder, water + diced tomatoes; reduce heat.

* Cover, simmer until all the seafood + tilapia fully cooked. 

* add salt + pepper to taste 

** Paleolithic Diet / Paleo Diet / Caveman Diet

** Gluten Free

 

Mixed Seafood	$0.99	(on sale for $1.99 a bag, used 1/4)
Diced Tomatoes	$0.99
Garlic	$0.06	(5 bulbs of garlic each bag, about 10 glove; 99cents a bag, used 3cloves)
Onion	$0.11	($0.99 a bag, total 3 onions, only used 1/3)
Tilapia	$0.83	($10.00/ 2 bags, total 12pieces, only used 1)
total	$2.98		*cost is not including the seasonings.

Free Chili Powder from one of my awesome friends!!! 

Mixed Seafood

Diced Tomatoes from Fresh & Easy