Meal Makeover: Jambalaya

Frozen meals are great when you're in a pinch and need something fast and delicious. But one or two additional steps can take that one bag meal from this:

To THIS:

Bumblebee has these new frozen seafood meals and we got to try one for FREE! The meal itself looked good enough, but I couldn't help trying to kick it up a notch. So I decided to use their Spicy Shrimp Romesco to make jambalaya. The result? A festival of awesome.

2 cups diced peppers
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
3 cloves garlic, sliced
5 sausages, sliced
1 tbsp vegetable oil*

1 tbsp paprika

1/2 tbsp onion powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp worchestershire sauce

1/3 cup chicken broth

1 package Bumblebee Spicy Shrimp Romesco 

1 can small red beans, 14 ounces, rinsed and drained

2 cups cooked rice

Salt

Hot sauce

Heat a large pan over high heat. Add peppers and onions. Caramelize until golden.

Add oil, garlic and sausages and cook until garlic is golden brown. Reduce heat to medium and add chicken broth to deglaze the pan.

Add paprika, onion powder, pepper, worchestershire sauce, beans and Spicy Shrimp package contents. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Stir in rice. Salt and hot sauce to taste. It's time to eat!

*Don't use olive oil or any other oil with a low smoking point.

10 Essential Ingredients

There's nothing worse than trying to scrape together a meal with what you've got hanging around and realizing you are missing a few little things that could take your meal from edible to epic.

But if you make sure you always keep these items stocked, you will never again try to justify a bowl of cereal as a dinner option.

In no particular order:

10.

Liquid smoke - This little bottle is full of big flavor. A little bit of this magical elixir transforms ground turkey, tofu, or portabella mushrooms into an amazing beef substitute. Or try a few drops in mac and cheese, potato salad or guacamole.

9.

Onions -  In our house yellow, white and red onions are essential staples. White onions are very strong and are best used in fresh salsas or roasts. Yellow onions are sweeter and are perfect for sautéing. Red onions have a lightly sweet and pungent flavor that is best utilized uncooked.

8.

Garlic - I think this is self explanatory. It's garlic. It's delicious. Use it.

7.

Oils - Sesame, Olive, Chili, Sunflower - Having many different oils available can change the whole flavor profile of your dish. Want it spicy? Use chili oil. Want to stir fry at a high heat without scorching your food? Use sesame oil.

6.

Lemons/Limes - A squeeze of citrus can brighten up any meal and balances out strong flavors. Got a slightly-too-salty sauce? A squirt of lemon will fix it. Got a too-spicy stew? A shot of lime will mellow it out.

5.

Rice or Pasta - If your meal needs a little more substance, this is a great way to bulk it up. Add it to soups or toss with veggies and you've got an instant meal!

4.

Beans/Legumes - These protein-packed little nuggets of tasty are my go-to for quick, high protein meals. Throw some chickpeas in your salad and suddenly it's a filling meal. Toss some red beans with broccoli rabe and sausage and you won't regret it.

3.

Fresh herbs - If you're using the dried versions of any green herb, you might as well be sprinkling your food with sawdust. Green herbs get their flavor from chlorophyll and once that is gone, so is the flavor. They cost a little more but this is NOT the area you want to be cheap.

2.

Dijon mustard - This little condiment is a lifesaver. Mix it with a little butter and lemon and you've got a killer dressing for veggies. Whisk with olive oil and herbs and BAM - your salads and pasta have never tasted better. Brush it over chicken, add it to potato and macaroni salads or use it in marinades for poultry and pork.

1.

Chicken stock (not broth) - Chicken stock (not broth) is the base for the most flavorful gravies, soups, sauces and brines. If you don't have this in your kitchen all the time, you're doing it wrong.

A Chinatown Adventure

We recently decided to increase our cookbook library and the addition of Bee Linn Low's Easy Chinese Recipes required us to stock our kitchen with items like black vinegar, chili oil, and sesame oil. Most of these things can be found in a large enough supermarket with a whole 'ethnic foods' aisle. But where is the fun in that? So this weekend Richard and I set out on a grand adventure to Chinatown. If you are lucky enough to have a Chinatown or Asian market in your city, it is certainly worth the trip.

Chinatown is a festival for the senses. Tourists waddle slowly through the streets while locals gracefully weave through the throng. Street vendors clang spatulas and shout their wares in a sing-songy tune. Bins and baskets outside small markets overflow with colorful mushrooms, chilis, dried fruits, and dried fish.

If you could stand in the middle of a Chinatown market blindfolded (You couldn't. You'd be run over by the masses.) the smells alone would be enough to send you digging into your imagination for something familiar.

As a lover of new adventures, I browsed the aisles all wide-eyed and curious. I must have looked like a small child as I bombarded Richard with "What's this?" and "What's that for?" every three seconds. I don't know why, but I believe he knows everything - even when he doesn't. ;)

After a long day of shopping, we came home and got right to work on our first recipe out of the book - Sichuan Chicken! We instantly changed some of the ingredients to suit our palates. First, we switched out Sichuan peppercorn oil for sesame oil since the recipe already calls for chilies and chili oil and we wanted to control the heat. We also added green bell pepper for some crunch. You could just serve it with steamed veggies, but I really liked the textural addition of a crunchy veggie. Be warned, if you do not like spicy food, this is not the recipe for you.

Sichuan Chicken

4 boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 tbsp Chinese rice wine or sherry
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
oil, for frying
1 tbsp chili oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
20 dried red finger-length chilies, deseeded and cut in half
1/2 tsp chicken bouillon powder
1/4 tsp sugar
3 green onions (scallions), chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, diced

In medium bowl, combine cornstarch, rice wine and salt. Mix with a fork until fine and crumbly. Toss chicken in mixture and coat well. Allow to marinate for 15 minutes.

Heat 2 inches of oil in a wok or pot to 350 degrees. Gently drop the chicken into the oil and loosen them up with a spatula. Fry until golden brown. Remove from the oil and allow to drain on a dish lined with paper towels.

In a wok or skillet, heat chili oil and sesame oil over high heat. Add garlic, green pepper and chilies. Stir-fry until you can smell the aroma of the chilies.

Add the chicken, bouillon powder, sugar and green onion. Stir quickly with a spatula to combine all ingredients. Allow to cook for another 2 minutes. Serve with rice.

Crispy Rice Waffles

This recipe was created out of a desire to make a light, wheat-free breakfast. These crispy treats are so light that you certainly won't be stuck with that bloated, food coma feeling after enjoying them.

Rice flour is surprisingly easy to find, but it isn't cheap. At about $4.50 for 4 cups worth of flour, it isn't likely that most people will toss out their wheat flour and stock up on rice flour. But it is a handy item to have in the kitchen and has become my go-to for breakfast breads. Rice flour has a natural hint of sweetness to it and it's powdery fine texture is divine.

Waffle irons are a fantastic kitchen utensil and everyone should have one. They don't have to be expensive and honestly, most fancy waffle irons are no better than a $20 generic one.

Crispy Rice Waffles



Ingredients

1 cup rice flour

1 large egg

1 cup rice milk or regular milk

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tbsp granulated sugar

1/2 cup blueberries (optional)

In a medium mixing bowl, beat egg until fluffy. Add remaining ingredients and mix until just combined. Let rest for 3-5 minutes. 

Lightly grease waffle iron with cooking spray or vegetable oil. Heat waffle iron. Use a ladle or measuring cup to pour batter into waffle iron. Cook until golden brown. Serve warm with syrup.