Swamp Stew

I've been seeing a lot of versions of Swamp Soup on my social media feed lately.  I've reviewed the recipes and decided I would add more ingredients and change others to make of a version we'd enjoy.  This Swamp STEW is much thicker than a soup and you can definitely play around with the amounts if you like some of the ingredients more than others.

The recipes I saw had a can of turnip greens.  I have a friend who has a beautiful mustard green patch just ready for the  picking.  Since I prefer mustard greens over turnip greens, I used those instead.  You choose which greens you'd like in your stew.  Fresh or frozen or canned will all work nicely.  The original recipe called for Rotels.  I substituted a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes., 

 

But to truly showcase that Swamp theme, I added a pound of frozen (and thawed) Louisiana Crawfish Tails.  The crawfish, along with sliced okra, are my "secret ingredients."

Served with hot cornbread, this was a feast!

1 lb. Conecuh, sliced lengthwise, then sliced into 1/2" pieces

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 T. chopped garlic

3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced

3 ribs celery, sliced

1 orange or yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 T. Creole or Cajun seasoning 

1 (14.5 oz.) can of black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed

1 (8 oz.) can of whole kernel or white shoepeg corn, drained

1 (14.5 oz.) can of cannellini or navy beans, drained and rinsed

1 (14.5 oz.) can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes, with juice

2 cups diced potatoes

4 cups water

3 chicken bouillon cubes

2 - 3 cups sliced fresh or frozen okra

3 - 4 cups (packed) fresh mustard greens or 1 can of your favorite greens

1 lb. Louisiana crawfish tails

Heat a large Dutch oven or soup pot (I used a 7 quart) over low heat.  Add sliced sausage and let the fat begin to render out and the sausage start to brown, about 8 - 10 minutes.  Stir  frequently.

Next, add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, and bell pepper.  Let the vegetables cook with the sausage for another 5 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.  Add in the Cajun seasoning and let cook for another minute or so.

Now stir in the next seven ingredients and get everything combined.

Increase the heat to medium high and bring to a simmer.  Lower the heat and let everything cook for 20 minutes or so. Stir now and then.

Add the okra and greens.  Continue simmering for 20-25 minutes.  

Add in the crawfish tails and give everything a gentle stir to combine.  

After about 10 minutes, your Swamp Stew will be ready to taste and adjust the seasonings if needed.  If you'd like the stew to be thicker, continue simmering for a bit longer.  If you'd like more broth, add a little more water.  You can add some of your favorite hot sauce at this point or offer it separately for those who might want more or less.

You can add chopped parsley if you'd like just before serving.

 

Around Lolly's Sideboard: Autumn Mamas and Their Babies

 

Fall is here and when I found these adorable salad plates at Hobby Lobby, I knew exactly how I was going to style this sideboard.

As always, Fiestaware's myriad of colors always comes through to be a perfect match.  For this setting, I chose Sage plates to pair with these animal mamas and their babies.

I absolutely love the autumn colors and sweet images of these plates.

Paprika colored bowls and the Fall themed glasses complete the theme's look.

This artistic leaf with a man's face was purchased in Gatlinburg years ago and it's one of my favorite Fall items to display each year.

These two handmade leaf motif pitchers were purchased at Alewine Pottery in Gatlinburg as well.

I gave this metal "leaf" pumpkin to my mother for her birthday years ago.  She always enjoyed displaying it during the Fall.  After her passing, I brought it home with me and I love it on the sideboard.

Happy Fall everyone!

Bear Creek Vegetable Beef Soup: Part II

 

If you're unfamiliar with Bear Creek Soups, the next time you're shopping for groceries, check them out.  They have a wide variety of flavors.

I made the vegetable beef version last year (and blogged about that experiment) and decided that I'd make it again and add tons of veggies to this batch.  I also made it in the slow cooker and had enough to share with another family AND put some in our freezer.  This is an excellent base to start your pot of soup and make it your own.

1 package Bear Creek Vegetable Beef Soup Mix

8 oz. water

2 beef bouillon cubes

2 T. olive oil

2 pounds beef stew meat

2 T. minced garlic

3 carrots, sliced

2 (14.5 oz.) cans diced tomatoes

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 can corn, drained

1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups fresh green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 cups fresh or frozen sliced okra (NOT breaded)

3 ribs celery, sliced

2 large white potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces

salt and pepper to taste

Add the soup mix, water, and bouillon cubes to a large slow cooker and set to high.

In a large skillet, over medium high heat, add the olive oil.  Brown the stew meat in batches so that it has room to cook and brown and not steam.  The browned bits are where the flavor is.  Add the garlic to the last batch.  Cook, stirring frequently and as the beef has browned, add it to the cooker.

Add all the remaining ingredients, stir well to combine, cover and set to cook on HIGH for 3 - 4 hours or LOW for 5 - 6 hours.

In my opinion, this soup is best served with homemade cornbread.  So here's my recipe!

Buttermilk Cornbread

Pork Cubed Steak Parmesan

 

Oh boy!  A tasty twist on a long time classic dish.  Instead of using chicken for the Chicken Parmesan dish, I substituted cubed pork.  Cubed pork isn't pork that's cut into cubes.  Rather, it's like cubed steak or "bucket steak." The meat is tenderized by mechanical pounding or cubing which results in small indentations on the surface. By doing so, this breaks down tough muscle fibers making the meat more tender. 

When I realized a local grocery store had the cubed pork on sale, I stocked up and purchased enough to put in the freezer for several meals.

But with about two pounds, I decided to try my hand at making a Cubed Pork Parmesan.  I will say that it turned our deliciously!

You'll need:

1 1/2 - 2 lb. cubed pork

1 cup Italian styled breadcrumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1 t. salt

1/2 t. black pepper

1 egg, lightly beaten

3 - 4 T. olive oil

24 - 28 oz. jar of your favorite pasta sauce or homemade is perfectly fine

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

3 - 4 T. grated Parmesan cheese

chopped fresh parsley for garnish

cook and drained spaghetti noodles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with olive oil spray.  Set aside.

Unwrap the cubed pork and cut into smaller pieces if desired.  

In a shallow plate, combine breadcrumbs, parmesan, salt, and pepper.

In a second shallow plate, break egg and lightly beat with a fork.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat .

Work with one piece of pork at a time.  Dip the pork into the beaten egg, coating both sides.  Let excess drip off and then place pork into the prepared breadcrumb mixture, coating both sides completely.

Gently place the breaded pork into the olive oil and let cook 2 - 3 minutes on each side until lightly browned.  

As you can see, my pork was on the larger side and I could only brown two pieces at a time. As the pork was ready, I placed it on a plate while I breaded and browned the remaining pork.

Pour half the sauce into the prepared baking dish and place the browned pork on top of the sauce.

Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the pork and use the back of a spoon to spread it evenly over the top.

Top with the shredded mozzarella and the 3 - 4 T. of grated parmesan.

Cover tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes and then remove foil and return to oven for an additional 10 minutes.  If the cheese needs to brown a little more, place under the broiler for a few minutes.

Doesn't that look delicious?

While the pork parmesan is baking, cook the spaghetti noodles as directed on the package.  Drain well.

Top with chopped parsley for garnish.  I served my pork cubed steak parmesan with a leafy green salad with olive oil and vinegar dressing.

The pork was yummy!

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

Although Fall has officially arrived, we're still enjoying very warm afternoons here in North Alabama.

Sweet Harold loves chicken in every form.  He requested that I grill some and a quick dive into the deep freeze resulted in four boneless, skinless chicken thighs.  I left them thaw in the freezer overnight and then it was time to decide what flavor profile I wanted to utilize.

I had purchased a bag of Asian Chopped Salad at the grocery earlier in the week, so it was an easy leap to an Asian flavor for the chicken.

If you're unfamiliar with this product, it includes red and green cabbage, green leaf lettuce, carrots, and green onions.  As an added bonus, it has a pouch of Asian Sesame vinaigrette along with a package of wonton strips and sliced almonds for added texture and flavor!

The "recipe" below used four chicken thighs.  You can, of course, grill chicken breasts or tenders or even leg quarters if you prefer.  I'll just list the seasonings I used and you can adjust the amounts for whatever servings of chicken you prepare.

4 boneless/skinless chicken thighs

granulated garlic

ground ginger 

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

Kinder's Teriyaki Sauce and Glaze

Place chicken on a rimmed baking sheet and liberally season with the garlic, ginger, salt, and pepper on both sides.

Preheat your grill on high until temperature reaches 450 degrees F.  Place chicken on the grill and let cook for 4 - 5 minutes.  Lower heat slightly and rotate the chicken a quarter turn without flipping.  Allow chicken to cook another 4 - 5 minutes and then turn the chicken over to continue cooking.

You can now lower the heat to medium high and let chicken continue cooking to the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F.

Now is the time to begin to add your sauce/glaze.  I used Kinder's Teriyaki Sauce and Glaze.

Brush on liberally and close the lid to help the sauce thicken on the chicken.  After 5 minutes or so, flip the chicken and sauce the opposite side.

When the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. the chicken is fully cooked and you can remove from the grill.

The sauce was packed with flavor and didn't burn on the chicken like some sauces do.  

The salad was extremely enjoyable and added a nice contrast of textures and flavors.  I'll purchase this one again!

Oktoberfest 2025

 

Last Friday night, we hosted our #Oktoberfest gathering.  Aldi's was my one stop shop for all the goodies for this meal.  

Everything from nibbles, to pretzels, to brats and kraut, to wine and beer, and then yummy desserts, Aldi's had it covered.

Enjoy the pictures!