SOWEGA Chicken Soup

It is very hot here in Georgia so I decided to make soup, go figure! SOWEGA stands for South West Georgia. This is my super hearty and healthy soup. This was originally named South West Chicken Soup, but in keeping with my trend I threw in GA to keep it close to home. (This soup has one more name and if you happen to read this then you know what it is, BT Soup) It works out though considering all the flavors of this soup are grown in that region, except the black beans. I have no clue where they came from. The recipe itself is very easy and requires no technique. All you need is love ;) If you believe this recipe is a copy of something Rachel Ray does I promise it was not. This recipe was invented in a college household with what was around. While it has been tweaked through the years it is still my favorite soup to this day.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of: onion, carrot, celery

3 ears of fresh sweet corn or 1 can

1 can of black beans, washed and drained

1 can of stewed tomatoes, chopped

1 3.5 pound rotisserie chicken

4 cups of chicken stock (Yes, it must be home made)

64oz bottle of V8 juice (Most of it)

Spices: (To be honest I do not know the measurements on these. It changes every time to how I feel so I am just going to write what is in it.)
Cumin

Thyme

Oregano

Basil

Paprika

Chili Powder

Red Pepper Flakes

2 Bay Leaves
2 Cloves of Garlic, minces

Hot Sauce (Louisiana IS THE ONLY KIND)

Black Pepper

Salt 

The recipe is very straight forward. Sweat your onions, carrots and celery until soft. Pull the meat from your chicken while this is happening. I usually use mostly this darker meat for this and save the prettier white meat for salads. SAVE YOUR BONES FOR STOCK! Do whatever you feel. Toss in the rest of you vegetables, stock, V8, chicken, and spices to taste. Bring to a boil the lower to a simmer for seriously an hour. 

This makes a lot of soup, but you can freeze it or eat on it for awhile. It is actually, like most soups, a lot better the next day. I hope you enjoy my favorite soup! 

 

Carolina Shrimp-n-Grits!

     Shrimp and Grits is a super easy yet super...er yummy meal. This is a southern classic and everyone has their own style. To be honest this isn't the way I usually make this, but I found a recipe from a favorite chef of mine (Chef John of FoodWishes.com) I am not certain if this is the exact way he did it, but I have to give him credit for this one.
     I you are wondering what I have made in the past it is a play on my Savannah Shrimp Etouffee, with jalapeno cheddar cheese grits. I will demo that soon enough.

Supposed to be for 4 light portions, but you will only want to make it for 2 ;)

Grits:
1 cup quick grits (sorry to my Southerns, but I am a busy girl)
4 cups of water
1tbs butter
salt to taste

     Bring water and butter to a boil. Toss in grits, boil again, then turn to the lowest setting. Cover your grits, but stir a decent amount. Grits are very notorious for sticking to the pot. I like to have mine cooked to the "5 minute" mark before starting everything else. I believe the grits should be "firmer". You will see what I mean.

Shrimp and "Gravy":
1 pound fresh shrimp
3 strips of bacon sliced
1 bunch of green onion thinly sliced (just the whites)
1 jalapeno finely diced
2 cloves garlic finely diced
1/3 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio)
Splash of light cream (probably 3-4 tbs)
1 tbs worcestershire
1 squeeze of lemon juice (1tsp)
Old Bay and white pepper

     There is one very important step in this recipe; Have everything prepped in advance. Google "Mise en place". This will go quick so be ready. Render the fat from the bacon in a saute pan on med-low heat. When the bacon is almost crispy remove with a slotted spoon and reserve. You want about a tbs of fat in your pan but whatever came from the bacon is fine. Turn your heat to med to med-high. Toss in your shrimp, preseasoned with Old Bay and white pepper, cook for about a minute. Throw in your veggies and cook about 2 minutes. Pour in your wine, cream, and worcestershire then cook down for about 2-3 minutes. The rest is easy. Spoon 2 ladles of grits in a bowl then pour in shrimp to your heart's content!     

Daddy's Day Dinner, Strawberry Pepper Brined Pork Chops and Grilled Zucchini

I didn't do the recipe for this but I wanted to share a quick pic. If you are interested then let me know in the comments and I will redo this right.

***If my links are not working properly, are now inactive, or you just have something to say PLEASE tell me.

Red Snapper Bruschetta!

This recipe was made up on the fly. The hubby went out fishing with some friends and brought me back some Snapper to have my way with. HAHA! I am going to explain what I did right and what I think could be done better. I plan to try this again soon because it was quite tempting on my taste buds plus healthy. Who could say no to that? This topping would be AMAZING on some grilled fish, but that isn't what I did




Ingredients:
2 Snapper fillets (in the future I will use another fish)
1/2 cup diced red onion
2 cloves garlic
20 ripe cherry tomatoes halved or quartered
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbls FRESH basil
A few slices of sourdough bread (or any bread)

     Pour a small bit of olive oil into a medium pan, on medium heat, and sweat your onions to soften them. Make sure to add a little bit of salt with each addition of veggies to pull out moisture and layer flavor. When the onions are soft toss in your garlic and tomatoes. Cook them though for 3 to 4 minutes then pour in your white wine (I only used 1/4 so mine isn't as juicy as I wanted). You want to cook the wine down by half then toss in your vinegar, basil, and fresh black pepper. Set this aside until plating.
     Here is where I haven't figured everything out yet. I used the snapper we had, but I honestly didn't enjoy the fish. Either I have no clue how to cook it or I am just not a fan (if you have a cooking suggestion please let me know. We have tons now!) I decided you would broil it like I do salmon. I seasoned with salt and fresh pepper and brushed with a strawberry vinaigrette. In hind sight I realize snapper doesn't have the oil that salmon does so it just dried out.
     If I use snapper again I believe I will try to poach/braise the fish by preparing everything up until the wine is added then introduce my fillets to the pan and popping it all under the broiler. I haven't figured this snapper out yet. Let me know what you would do different.

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

    To the best of my knowledge there are two types of jambalaya, Red and Brown. Red jambalaya is given its color from the tomatoes used in the recipe. This type is also known as Creole jambalaya and is the most common. Brown jambalaya or Cajun jambalaya is given its color from the burnt bits or "fond" stuck to the bottom of the pan after sauteing the meat, and also from the omission of the tomatoes. As far as Cajun cooking goes jambalaya is the most basic and easiest of anything I can think of.

     After searching through numerous recipes for the perfect jambalaya I discovered that there isn't one. I needed a recipe to suit me and my family. Every recipe I found was either for large groups, wasn't spiced like I thought it should be, or just seemed bland. I decided that jambalaya was just some basic ingredients put in a pot with pretty much anything else you want to throw in so that is where I began. 

Ingredients:

1 pound of your choice of meat (I used 1/2 smoked sausage and 1/2 chicken thighs)

1 white onion

1 bell pepper

2 ribs celery

2 cloves of garlic

1 14.5oz can of diced tomatoes

1 tbls worcestershire sauce

2 1/2 cups chicken stock (HOMEMADE!!!)

1 1/2 cup long grain white rice

Spices:

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp paprika (preferably smoked)

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp white pepper

2 bay leaves

Dice and brown your smoked sausage on med-low heat to render out some of the fat. Remove the sausage, turn the heat to medium, and cook the cut chicken thighs. When the chicken is almost done toss in your "Holy Trinity" or onion, celery, and bell pepper and cook down for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook about 1 minute. Add back in your sausage along with the tomatoes, stock, worcestershire sauce, and spices. Bring everything to a boil then allow it to simmer, covered for 15-20 minutes. Bring back to a boil, add rice, turn your stove to its lowest setting, and clamp on your lid. Cook for 15 minutes then remove from heat for 15 minutes. DO NOT LIFT THE LID AFTER YOU ADD THE RICE! If you do this like I have told you then your rice will not stick or burn on the bottom. Spoon this Creole Jambalaya into a bowl, sprinkle with a little hot sauce, and get prepared to be full!

P.S: I did not mention salt in this recipe because everyone has different tastes. Salt this dish in layers by adding a small amount of salt with each step. You will want this to be a LITTLE over salted because of the rice. Use your tongue and your brain and you can't go wrong :)