Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler

Happy Fat Tuesday, gorgeous readers!  I am heading out for my book club meeting to discuss this month's read: The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton.  It was a total chick lit type of book, but I flew through 548 pages in 10 days.  I couldn't put it down!  Before I head out, I wanted to get you some yummy New Orleans-inspired recipes.  On Sunday, I pulled those chicken thighs and legs out of the freezer after I found a recipe for the slow cooker...oh ya.  I love slow cooker recipes--a little prep work and you can just walk away for a few hours.


Slow Cooker Creole Chicken (adapted from allrecipes.com)
4 chicken thighs, skinless
4 chicken legs, skinless
1 green bell pepper, finely diced
1 small onion, finely diced
1 can diced green chilies
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes with juice (no salt added)
4 oz. ham, cubed
several dashes of hot pepper sauce to taste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

In a slow cooker, combine, ham, chicken, bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper.  Set Slow cooker on low and cook for 4 -5 hours. 

Serve alongside rice and salad.  Or...you can kick up that rice a few notches and make it into a meal in itself:

Cajun Red Beans and Rice

1 cup long grain white rice
2 cups water
1 can light kidney beans
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 clove garlic, minced
a few dashes of hot pepper sauce
1 pound andouille sausage

In a saucepan, bring water and rice to a boil.  reduce to a simmer and cover for 20 minutes.  Add in beans, cayenne pepper, tomato paste, garlic, hot papper sauce and sausage.  Cover and let sit for three minutes.  Stir until combined and let sit until sausage is warmed through.  Eat it while it's hot!

Bon Nuit, mon frères!