Crawfish Corn Chowder

One of my co-workers made this chowder for a Multi-Cultural luncheon at work recently. They had a whole slew of Louisiana dishes and I just had to have this recipe. My VP made Jambalaya & he kindly gave me his "secret" recipe too! It was so yummy!

Here's her chowder recipe....I hope you enjoy!

2-3 celery stalks, chopped

1 onion, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

2 cloves minced garlic

1 stick butter

2 lbs Crawfish tailmeat*

1 pint half and half

2 cans cream of potato soup

2 cans whole kernal corn, drained

celery seed to taste

salt & pepper to taste

ground red pepper to taste

1/2 bunch of parsley, destemmed & chopped

5-6 green onions, chopped

Saute veggies in butter. Add cream of potato soup, corn, celery seed, tailmeat and half and half to desired consistency. (I added water too). Stir until simmering. Add salt, black pepper and red pepper, let simmer a little more until all flavors are meshed. You can add a can of cream of celery soup, cream of shrimp soup, etc...if you like. Last 5 minutes, add parsley & green onions.

*Crawfish tailmeat can be found frozen in the seafood case at Wal-Mart. Shrimp or keilbasa sausage can be substituted and/or included.

I added a little Tony Chachere's seasoning to give it a more Louisiana flavor.

Pecan Pie

My in-laws came before Christmas to visit & brought 2 pecan pies. They were delicious! I was so glad my MIL shared her recipe!

3 eggs

1/2 c sugar

1 cup Karo Syrup

2 Tbsp melted butter

dash of salt

1 tsp vanilla

Combine eggs & sugar - beat by hand (with wisk or fork) until creamy. Add karo, melted butter, salt & vanilla - mix well. Pour into an unbaked pie crust. Place pecans on top until well covered. Bake 350 degrees for approximately 55 mins or until center doesn't "jiggle".

Use a pie crust cover to keep the edge from getting too brown. I think what I'll do next time is chop the pecans & add them to the mixture before adding to the crust.

From Mother's handwritten cookbook, here's her recipe & comment:

3/4 c dark Karo syrup

3/4 c sugar

3 eggs beaten

2 Tbsp flour

1/3 c melted butter

1 c pecans

Mix together and pour into an unbaked pie shell. Bake 40 minutes on 350 degrees.

Here's what makes this special...her added note: "Got this recipe at Southern State (now SAU). I think I made it once or twice but Kathy Turley (my aunt) always makes the pecan pies at Thanksgiving and Mamaw always makes them at her house. I did use a 9" deep dish pie crust. Maybe one day I'll make one...think I might for Christmas." (Handwritten in 2002)

Update...as I mentioned above, I did it. I made another pie & this time, I chopped the pecans & mixed it with my syrup mixture before pouring into my crust. Oh my stars, it was the best. It looks a little runny in the picture but only because I cut it while it was piping hot! It was super delicious!

Ham & Cheese Breakfast Casserole

This casserole was served at my Nashville baby shower! It was so good, I requested the recipe and made it for the teachers at our Back 2 School breakfast. Word of advice, serve it hot because it's not as good warmed up!

18 slices white bread, cubed

8 oz cooked ham, cubed (can use Pampered Chef chopper or buy it cubed)

2 c shredded Cheddar cheese

1 1/2 c diced Swiss cheese

6 eggs

3 1/2 c milk

1/2 tsp onion powder

2 c crushed cornflakes

1/2 c butter, melted

Lightly grease a 8x13 baking dish. Line the bottom of the dish with half the bread cubes. Sprinkle with ham, Cheddar & Swiss cheese. Top with remaining bread. In a bowl, beat together the eggs, milk & onion powder. Pour evenly over bread. Cover & refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 375. In a small bowl, blend the crushed cornflakes and melted butter. Spread evenly over casserole. Bake 40 minutes until bubbly and golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

You might want to add a little salt & pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

I love to read recipes, print them out & then file them. Larry laughs because I have a HUGE collection of recipe books and printed out recipes but always cook the same ole things. Every one in a while, I'll bust out a new recipe and even though it's delicious - I go back to the old reliables! Well, I've been in a cooking mood lately! Not sure if it's because Presley's coming so I'm obsessed with getting things in the freezer so it'll be so much easier with a new baby or what it is! Anywho...I found myself browsing Pioneer Woman's recipe index and found a few recipes (ok, more than a few) that caught my attention. I just so happened to be going to the store, so before the mood left me, I bought all of the ingredients for the following recipes: Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie, Onion Straws, The Marlboro Man Sandwich & Crash Hot Potatoes. And since the kids are not home, I decided I'd make the sandwhich, potatoes & pie for the ole hubby. I wasn't fond of the sandwich but Larry LOVED it! We both loved the Crash Hot Potatoes!
I only took pictures of the pie because it's obvious someone's been eating my pie - right out of the pan!
I think it tastes just like eating peanut butter fudge so beware on the serving sizes, you obviously do not want to cut a HUGE piece of this pie or you'll regret it!

Here's the recipe:

Crust: (I cheated & bought an Oreo crust)
25 Oreos
1 Tbsp butter, melted
Crust the Oreos until they're fine crumbs. Pour melted butter over the top & stir with a fork to combine. Press into pie pan and bake at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes or until set. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

Filling:
1 c creamy peanut butter
1 8-oz pkg softened cream cheese
1 1/4 c powdered sugar
1 8-oz container Cool Whip, thawed
Beat the peanut butter with the cream cheese until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add in the thawed Cool Whip and beat mixture until smooth, scraping the sides as needed.
Pour filling into crust, evening out the top with a knife or spatula. Chill for at least an hour before serving.
She even places the same warning...this is ultra, ultra rich! Cut into small slivers - your guests will thank you!