• 3 cups crawfish tails or shrimp
  • 5 onions minced
  • 3 stalks celery minced
  • 4 bell peppers minced
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup cooking oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper
  • 3 tablespoons salt
  • parsley chopped
  • shallots chopped

Combine flour and cooking oil over a low fire to make a dark golden  brown roux.   Add minced vegetables and let cook 20 minutes.   stir and add small amount of water if necessary.   Add 2 quarts of hot water and cook for 20 minutes more at least.   Add crawfish tails or shrimp.   Season with salt and black / red pepper and cover pot.   Cook on a low fire until meat is tender.   when done, add chopped shallots and parsley and let cook 10 minutes more.   serve with steaming rice.   Serves about 8.    If Crawfish fat or shrimp head fat is available it can be used to add a distinctive taste.

  • 3 pounds cleaned crawfish tails
  • 1/4 cup crawfish fat(if available)
  • 1 cup onion chopped
  • 1 tablespoon parsley chopped
  • 1 tablespoon green onions chopped
  • 2 teaspoons celery chopped
  • 2 teaspoons bell pepper chopped
  • 3/4 cup oil
  • 1 cup flour
  • salt and pepper
  • water
  • 2 tablespoons paprika.  Tabasco to taste

Using flour and cooking oil make a small semi dark roux.   Add chopped onion, parsley, green onions, celery and bell pepper.   Cook until tender.   Add crawfish.   Cook 15-20 minutes.   Add very little water(1 tablespoon) at a time.   Your etouffe should be very thick.   Salt and pepper to taste.   Serve over rice.   Can use 3 pounds of shrimp or cleaned crabmeat as a substitute for crawfish.

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup oil
  • 1 quart tomato sauce
  • 1 quart rotel tomatoes
  • 1 cup celery chopped
  • 1 cup onions chopped
  • 1/2 cup bell pepper chopped
  • 2 pints mushrooms
  • 1/2 cup shallots chopped
  • 6 pods garlic chopped
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • ground bay leaves
  • 3 pounds of meat(turtle, gator, chicken or rabbit)
  • 1/2 cup parsley chopped.
  • salt, black and red pepper to taste

Made a roux with flour and oil.   Add Rotel tomatoes, tomato sauce, celery, onion, bell pepper, shallots, garlic, sugar, ground bay leaves and cook for 3 hours.    Add seasoned meat to sauce.   Cook for 2 hours or until meat is tender but not falling off bones.   A half hour before meat is tender add parsley and mushromms.   Season to taste with spices.   Serve over rice.

  • 1 teaspoon onion tops and parsley chopped
  • 1 large onion minced
  • 1 bell pepper minced
  • 1 stalk celery minced
  • 1/2 cup cooking oil
  • 1/3 cup of flour
  • 4 pounds of catfish, redfish, red snapper or gaspergou
  • 1 can tomatoes
  • a few bay leaves, cayenne, black pepper, salt to taste

Make roux to golden brown.   Add onions and garlic.    Cook slowly until onions are clear.   Add pepper, celery and bay leaves.   Cook a few minutes.   Add tomatoes and cook slowly strirring until the oil seperates from the mass; add water enough to serve six and let cook over low fire for an hour.    Add fish which has been cut into pieces, cook slowly.     Add parsley, onion tops and seasoning.   Fish should be tender but not broken.   Serve with hot rice or toasted crackers.

  • 1 pound fresh shrimp
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper
  • 2 cup of water
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil
  • 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 1 onion minced
  • 1/2 clove garlic minced
  • 1/2 can of whole tomatoes chopped
  • 1 cup water
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • 6 boiled eggs halved

Boil shrimp in salted water 5 minutes.   Let cool in broth and drain liquid in to seperate container to keep.    In a heavy pot make roux.   Add onions and garlic and cook 3-4 minutes.   Add tomatoes, water, nutmeg and shrimp broth; cook over medium heat about 15 minutes.   Add shrimp and cook on simmering heat for 1-2 hours.   Salt and pepper again.   Serve over rice and garnish with eggs.

  • 1/3 cup oil
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 2 cups minced onions
  • 1 cup minced green pepper
  • 1/2 cup minced celery
  • 8 ounce can tomato sauce
  • 2 pounds cleaned shrimp
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup water
  • 1.5 tablespoons chopped parsley
  • 1.5 tablespoons chopped green onions
  • hot cooked rice

Make a golden brown roux of oil and flour.   Add onion, green pepper and cellery;  cook slowly until clear, stirring often.   Add tomato sauce and cook covered over low heat for 20 minutes.   Add shrimp, salt, black and red pepper.   If mixture becomes dry add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water.   Cook 10 to 15 minutes longer or until shrimp turn pink.   When ready to serve, stir in parsley and onion tops.   Serve on rice.   Makes 4 servings.

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup oil
  • 2 large onions chopped
  • 1 cup celery chopped
  • 1 bunch green onions chopped
  • 1 gallon water
  • 1/2 cup parsley chopped
  • 2 lbs shrimp
  • 1 lb crabmeat
  • 1 pint oysters
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • salt and pepper

In a gumbo pot mix oil and flour to make a roux.   Add onions, celery and saute well.   Stir in green onions.   Add 1 gallon of water and boil slowly for one hour.   Add parsley and shrimp; cook for 20 minutes on a low fire.   Add crab meat and oysters.    Add salt and pepper to taste.   Server over rice.   If okra gumbo is desired, cook down cut up okra until it is not slimy.   Add to gumbo during the boiling period.

  • 3 lbs shrimp peeled
  • 1 lb crabmeat
  • 1 dozen oysters
  • 1 lb sliced smoked sausage
  • 3 cups rice
  • 1 small can tomato sauce
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 2/3 cup parsley chopped
  • 2/3 cup shallots chopped
  • 2/3 cup bell pepper chopped
  • 2/3 cup cooking oil

Boil rice and set aside.   Saute onion over medium-low heat in oil until almost brown.   Add shrimp and cook 15 minutes stirring occasionally.   Add parsley, shallots and bell pepper; saute 10 minutes, stirring.   Add smoked sausage and cook for 10 minutes.   Add 3 cups water and cook 1/2 hour over medium heat.   Add oysters and crabmeat; cook 15 minutes and season to taste.    Add rice a little at a time, steadily stirring, until all rice is in.   Heat over medium heat for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.   Serves 6 to 8 people.

A roux is needed for many Cajun and French dishes like gumbo, sauce piquante and stew.    A roux is a mixture of oil and flour browned slowly to a deep golden brown.   Put oil in a heavy pan with a temperature of low to medium heat.   Stir in the amount of flour called for in the recipe.   Stir and stir almost constantly to prevent burning until the mixture becomes golden or deep brown.   A good roux takes 15 to 30 minutres to make.   Now add chopped onions and cook until clear.    Take your time and you’ll get it right.

Over the weekend I was looking for something to eat delicious. I’m trying to watch what I eat so I’m big on cooking my own things right now. Well I found this great beef stew recipe which is awesome served on it’s own without rice. It really eats almost like a very hearty beef and vegetable soup. I loved it and ate it for 4 of my meals this week. I’m losing weight for a weight loss challenge at work and this hasn’t seemed to hurt me much. The only real carbs in there are the potatoes and since I’m not on “no carb” just “lower carb” it worked out. Give it a try at the link above. I repeat it here so I won’t lose it but the lady who submitted it added lots of detail.

Ingredients
3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/3 cup Italian salad dressing
2 cups water
2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed beef broth, undiluted
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon pepper
6 small potatoes, quartered
6 medium carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cold water

Directions
1.In a Dutch oven, brown meat in salad dressing over medium heat. Add the next 10 ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/2 hours or until meat is tender. Add the potatoes, carrots, green pepper and onion. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Combine flour and cold water until smooth; stir into stew. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Discard bay leaf before serving.