We Swear It's Gumbo!

Not jambalaya. We're guilty as charged - both of us kept confusing the name of this dish. But it's gumbo, not jambalaya, we promise! But hey, it's an honest mistake! Both gumbo and jambalaya originate from Louisiana, they both have similar ingredients, and they are both outrageously tasty! Our gumbo, like all other crockpot recipes, is super easy to make. Here's how it's done:

Gumbo? It should be called YUM-bo!

Ingredients:
~Gumbo~

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup oil

5 Tbs butter

3 celery stalks
1 white onion
1 green bell pepper
4 cups of H₂O (well, we are chemists after all)
5 chicken bullion cubes
about 1 Tbs worcestershire
garlic salt salt, pepper, oregano to taste
1 lb saussage
2 chicken breasts
1 can of stewed tomatoes
1 can of red beans
~Rice~
2 cups long grained rice
3 1/2 cups cooking liquid (water, stock, whatever)


The Gumbo:
First thing to do is to make the roux, the thickening agent for the sauce. Mix the flour, oil, and 2 Tbs of the butter and cook in the microwave for 15 seconds. Stir and heat again. Then add the remaining 3 Tbs of butter and heat as necessary until the mix is golden brown then add it to the crockpot. Dice the vegetables and put on top of the roux. Precook all your meats and cut them into bite-sized chunks and dump into the pot. Next add the water, worcestershire sauce, stewed tomatoes, beans, and the bullion. Cook on low for 7-9 hours.


**Note** Gumbo is traditionally made with shrimp. Since we didn't really want Kate to go into anaphylactic shock, we left out the shellfish. If you want, add 1/2 lb of cooked, shelled, and deveined shrimp for a more authentic taste. Also okra is used as an additional thickening agent. However Madison has had an unfortunate aversion to okra (we blame awful school cafeteria food) so that too was forgone. If you wish to add okra, use 2 cups, sliced.


The Rice:
Pour the uncooked rice into a large, microwave safe dish then add the cooking liquid overtop of it. Keep in mind that rice expands 2 to 3 times its original size as it cooks so take care in selecting your cookware. Microwave for 30 minutes without stirring or until all the liquid is gone. Fluff with a fork and add salt to taste.


This gumbo recipe was inspired by the queen of southern cuisine: Paula Deen! Let's be honest, that woman could fry up a shoe and it would probably taste delicious. That being said this gumbo was wonderful. It's not too spicy so even lightweights can enjoy it. The inclusion of some red chili peppers or tabasco sauce would be an easy way to turn up the heat.


Well that's it for now! Keep cooking and remebmber:


No kitchen, no problem!


-K&M

A Southern Belle's Perfect Chili

There is nothing better than chili on a rainy day. And chili is just not chili without cornbread. And since it's not raining here we had to cook up a storm of our own... But instead of rain this storm is made up of tasty chili. Here's how we did it:

Chili and Cornbread

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef (93/7)
1/2 onion
1 green bell pepper
1-28 oz can of diced tomatoes
2-16 oz cans of kidney beans
1-8 oz can of tomato sauce
garlic powder, salt, pepper, cumin to taste
A package of your favorite cornbread mix


The Chili:
In a microwave safe container, nuke the beef for 2 minutes and 30 seconds then stir. Nuke for 2:30 and stir again then for 1:30 and drain off the grease. Add to the crockpot. Deseed the pepper and dice it along with the onion and put in the pot. Drain the beans and diced tomatoes and dump into the crockpot along with the tomato sauce. Cook on high heat for 5 hours. Top with sour cream and your favorite cheese and enjoy. Oh, and don't forget the cornbread!


The Cornbread:
This method of baking in the microwave should be familiar from our Ooey Gooey Microwave Brownies recipe because we made this cornbread the same way... Mix up the batter as per the directions then nuke for 9 minutes. Let the cornbread rest for at least 15 minutes so it can finish baking via carryover cooking. Cut into 9 squares and allow to cool further on a plate.


This chili isn't the spiciest thing on the planet but thanks to the cumin it's got a smoky heat of deliciousness. The sweetness of the cornbread brings a nice balance to the chili especially when it's crumbled up and mixed in along with the sour cream and cheese.


5 out of 5 scientists approve of this chili. The ratings were 8.8, 8.7, 8.0, 7.5 and 7.0. And we've had some pretty rocking chili in our lives. 


Well that's all for now. Keep cooking and remember:


No kitchen, no problem!


-K&M

Double Rainbow Ribs

These ribs are so tender they literally fall off the bone. The prep time for this is about ten minutes and, let's face it, that's pretty much all the work. Since these babies are cooked in a crock pot this recipe is exceedingly easy.

Double Rainbow Ribs

Ingredients:

-four pounds of bone in pork ribs

-one can of condensed tomato soup
-1/2 cup of vinegar (any will do- we used apple cider)
-1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
-1/2 onion
-1 Tbs soy sauce
-garlic powder
-chili powder
-salt and pepper


The night before, chop the onion into fine slices. The smaller the better that way you won't bite into a huge piece and get punched in the taste buds by overpowering onion flavor. Add them to the crock pot along with the can of tomato soup, the vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and seasonings to taste. Whisk to combine. If you prefer a thinner sauce, add no more than 1/2 of the soup can of water. Next trim any excess fat and gristle from the ribs. Arrange the ribs in the crock pot so that they are all submerged in the sauce of goodness. Cover and let them marinate in the refrigerator overnight.


The next morning turn the crock pot on low and cover. Now you're free to do whatever you need and/or want to do all day. These ribs will cook for 8 to 9 hours all on their own. During that last hour make sure the ribs are tender and cooked to your desired doneness. Before partaking in the deliciousness make sure you look out for the tiny little bones that will be floating around in you barbecue. They are highly unappetizing and tend to be very sharp. 


Caution: They will be HOT!


Yes, that's it. That's how easy it is to make fall off the bone, juicy ribs. Four out of four chemists said these were absolutely delicious and make one helluva sandwich. Two out of two graduate students were thrilled saying "these are better than what I get at home."


We hope you really enjoy them. And, as always, remember:


No kitchen, no problem!


-K&M


P.S. These are called "Double Rainbow Ribs" because as Madison and I were pulling them out of the pot we saw a double rainbow outside our window. As if these ribs needed any help being awesome.

It's hard to see but there's a second rainbow to the left of the really bright obvious one.
If you look close enough you can see that the second rainbow's colors are reversed.

Adelaide

We have a new baby in our kitchen nook! She is a bouncing baby crockpot (seriously though, it's only 4Qt!) She is blue, and shiny and we cannot wait to use her!

We are thinking about making ribs in her next week so we are QUITE excited! If you have any good crockpot recipes, please, send them our way! We would love to make them!