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Sunday, October 25, 2015

A Taste of the South

 

My youngest brother served his mission in Mississippi, so we decided to have a southern food theme night to help him bring back some good food memories.

 

Glazed Cajun Meatloaf

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1/2 cup finely diced celery (2-3 stalks)
1/2 cup finely diced red or green bell pepper
3 green onions (scallions), white and green parts thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely diced
1/2 cup beef broth or milk
1/2 cup ketchup
1 1/2 tablespoons Traeger Cajun Rub, or your favorite Louisiana-style rub
1 to 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 to 2 tablespoons Louisiana-style hot sauce such as Crystal or Frank's RedHot
1 tablespoon Creole-style mustard, brown mustard, or yellow mustard
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound andouille or other spicy sausage, removed from casing
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1 cup ketchup (for the glaze)
3 tablespoons brown sugar (for the glaze)
1 tablespoons Louisiana-style hot sauce, or more to taste (for the glaze)
1 tablespoon white vinegar, or more to taste (for the glaze)
2 teaspoons Creole-style mustard, brown mustard, or yellow mustard (for the glaze)

Directions:

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Spray a wire cooling rack with cooking spray and set on top of the baking sheet. In a large frying pan, saute the onion, celery, bell pepper, green onion, garlic, and jalepeno(s) in the oil until the vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Add the beef broth, ketchup, Traeger Cajun Rub, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, mustard, and pepper, and stir to combine. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, pork, and andouille sausage. Add the egg, bread crumbs, and the cooled vegetable mixture. Mix lightly but thoroughly with your hands until well combined. Form a rectangular loaf about 8 inches long and 1 1/2 to 2 inches high. Lay it on top of the cooling rack. When ready to cook, start the Traeger grill on Smoke with the lid open until the fire is established (4 to 5 minutes). Put the pan with the meatloaf on the grill grate and smoke for 1 hour. Increase the temperature to 325 and bake the meatloaf for 1 hour.

In the meantime, make the glaze: Combine the ketchup, brown sugar, hot sauce, white vinegar, and mustard in a small saucepan. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Pour the glaze evenly over the meatloaf, or brush it on with a pastry brush. Continue to cook the meatloaf for 30 minutes more, or until the internal temperature in the thickest part is 160 degrees F. Let the meatloaf rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Source: Traeger Grill website. You can find it here.

Notes: My brother has a Traeger Grill and as a result, he has gotten into a cooking craze of his own and contributes to our family Sunday dinners greatly with his amazing smoked meats! This was awesome. You can always bake this in your oven...but it won't have the same smoky flavor.

 

 

Authentic Louisiana Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients:

1 pound dry kidney beans
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 stalks celery, chopped
6 cups water
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried sage
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1 pound andouille sausage, sliced
4 cups water
2 cups long grain white rice

Directions:

Rinse beans, and then soak in a large pot of water overnight.

In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion, bell pepper, garlic, and celery in olive oil for 3-4 minutes.

Rinse beans, and transfer to a large pot with 6 cups water. Stir coked vegetables into beans. Season with bay leaves, cayenne pepper, thyme, sage, parsley, and Cajun seasoning. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 2 1/2 hours.

Stir sausage into beans, and continue to simmer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the rice. In a saucepan, bring water and rice to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve beans over steamed white rice.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by MIAMI BEACH. You can find it here.

 

Kickin' Collard Greens

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 slices bacon
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 pound fresh collard greens, cut into 2-inch pieces

Directions:

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add bacon, and cook until crisp. Remove bacon frm pan, crumble, and return to the pan. Add onion, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, and cook until just fragrant. Add collard greens, and fry until they start to wilt.

Pour in chicken broth, and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes, or until greens are tender.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by Ken Adams. You can find it here.

 

Cajun Potato Salad

Ingredients:

3 lbs. red potatoes
1/3 cup creole mustard
1/2 teaspoon creole seasoning (or cajun spice)
1/2 cup green pepper, diced1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup bacon, cooked and chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Add potatoes to lightly salted water; cover, bring to a boil on high heat, then reduce to a simmer about 20 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Drain and cut into 1" chunks (you can peel them or leave them unpeeled, according to your preference).

Combine mustard and creole seasoning in a medium sized bowl. Add warm potatoes. Toss to combine.

Add green pepper, green onion, and bacon.

Combine mayonnaise, sour cream, and sugar. Add to potatoe mixture and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired.

Refrigerate for at least 3 hours prior to serving.

Source: Food.com. Recipe submitted by BakinBaby. You can find it here.

Notes: I always love potato salad...no matter the flavor combination! This was really good.


 

Sour Cream 7-Up Biscuits

Ingredients:

4-5 cups buttermilk baking mix (like Bisquick)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar, or to taste
1/8 tsp. baking powder
1 cup sour cream
Up to 1 cup regular or diet lemon-lime soda
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Whisk together the dry ingredients; add in the sour cream. Stir, adding in the lemon lime soda, a little at a time, until dough comes together and is shaggy. Add more baking mix if needed. Sprinkle a bit of the baking mix on the counter. Turn out dough onto counter and gently pat into a round about 1 inch thick. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter or a glass dipped into flour, begin to cut out biscuits. Place them on a half sheet baking pan that has been lightly sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, sides slightly touching for soft biscuits, or about an inch apart if you like the edges more crisp. Drizzle with melted butter, if desired.

Bake at 375 degrees F. for 20-25 minutes, or until light golden brown.

Cook's note: Make sure you are using fresh baking powder, and also shake or stir it in the container before measuring out.

Source: Deep South Dish. You can find the recipe here.

 

Banana Pudding

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups 2% milk
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 ounces vanilla wafers (about 60 cookies), divided
4 large ripe bananas, cut into 1/4-inch slices

Directions:

In a large saucepan, mix sugar, flour, and salt. Whisk in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat to low; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat.

In a small bowl, whisk eggs. Whisk a small amount of hot mixture into eggs; return all to pan, whisking constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Cool 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In an ungreased 8-inch square baking dish, layer 25 vanilla wafers, half of the banana slices, and half of the pudding. Repeat layers.

Press plastic wrap onto surface of pudding. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Just before serving, crush remaining wafers and sprinkle over top.

Yield: 9 servings.

Nutrition information: 1 serving equals 302 calories, 7 g fat, 80 mg cholesterol, 206 mg sodium, 55 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 7 g protein.

Source: Taste of Home. You can find it here.

Notes: Great comfort food! Enough said!

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