Easy Shrimp/ Sausage Gumbo

2 tabl butter
3 garlic cloves chopped
bread crumbs for toppings (optional)
1 teas herbs de Provence
12 oc andouille sausage or a mild sausage if you prefer, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, i liked red to add color
1/3 cup flour
1 cup frozen shelled edamane
2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed
1lb med - large shrimp, peeled

in large pot or dutch oven cook sausage until browned and tranfer to plate. add onion, pepper, butter, garlic, herbs and cook until vegs are crisp-tender (5 mins). Add flour and stir until mixed. add 2 cups of water and bring to boil over med-high heat. add the sausage back, edamame, white beans until simmering again. Add shrimp until fully cooked. Add salt/pepper if desired.


I made this last night and thought it was very good and pretty easy. It would be great during the winter!!!

Shrimp

Apparently, they're currently inexpensive. Anybody have recipe suggestions?

Medina Chili

On a recent summer evening I threw a simple chili together in the crock pot. I used two particular ingredients that made me think of two communities that lie on either side of Medina Lake. The base of the soup is a Cajun 15 Bean Soup (Hurst’s Brand) and reminds me of the Cajun Festival of Lakehills. The meat in the chili is a link of Alsatian Sausage from the Dzuik’s meat market in Castroville. It turned out to be quite a good combination.

Let the chili wars begin

Ingredients:

1 medium-sized onion

2-3 cloves of garlic

2 medium-sized zucchini

1 bag Cajun 15 Bean Soup (Hurst’s Brand) including spice packet

1 link Alsatian Sausage

1-2 tbsp olive oil

Dried garden thyme/oregano to taste

Salt to taste

1 glass of white wine (for chef when sautéing onions)

Thin tortilla chips

Grated cheese

The first time I made this, I started by soaking the beans in water for the better part of a day (maybe 6 hours). I then emptied the water, added new water, just covering the beans, and set for high heat in a crock pot. Let this cook for about an hour.

After pouring a glass of wine at sunset I warm the oil on medium heat in a sauce pan and add the sliced onions. Let them sizzle slightly for a few minutes and then add diced zucchini and mashed-sliced garlic. Let this cook for a few minutes, stirring from time to time, then add the sausage (sliced).

Once the sausage has browned on a few sides (no need to thoroughly cook), add all of these ingredients from the pan into the crock-pot. Add spice packet and garden herbs.

Set crock-pot to low setting and let it simmer for a couple of hours. I liked to eat this poured over a bowl of tortilla chips and with grated parmesan cheese on top.