Category : Eating
By the end of the week, the predictability of my breakfast choice was almost laughable. While my husband was daring and adventurous trying all sorts of island fare at the various restaurants, I ate macadamia nut pancakes every chance I could.
To make them yourself at home, the easiest way would be to mix up your favorite pancake batter and throw in a 1/2 to a cup of chopped macadamia nuts. I like this recipe at Baking Bites that uses bananas as well.
Be sure to visit Wanderfood Wednesday over at Wanderlust and Lipstick!
Wait? What? Isn’t this a travel blog? Why are you reviewing a cookbook you might ask?
This cookbook is the product of months of hard work by my good friend Mandy. You might remember Mandy from her guest post a little while ago where she talked about her love of Visitor Centers. She also wrote a guest post for my Pensacola with Kids blog where she shared her experience on the Pensacola Trolley Tours.
Mandy’s cookbook is a fabulous collection of recipes, poems, and stories. The reason I am sharing this cookbook with you today is because when I get home from a trip I love to try to recreate meals that we had while traveling. Sometimes we even take cooking classes on our travels. Our first cooking class was in New Orleans, Louisiana.
We LOVE New Orleans. We honeymooned in New Orleans, we take a trip there every year or so as a couple, and we love to travel there with our kids. I love the food in New Orleans…beignets, crawfish etouffee, and gumbo. Gumbo is one of those things that I have not attempted at home yet. It just seems too difficult. As a matter of fact, we haven’t tried to replicate any NOLA foods at home.
Enter Mandy’s recently released cookbook. She has a gumbo recipe.
And it is easy!! Well, according to her it is. I haven’t tried to make it yet but it is on our meal plan for next week. Mandy shared her recipe for her “Big Easy” Chicken and Sausage Gumbo on her blog, Learn, Laugh, Cook, and has given me permission to share it here.
You can purchase Mandy’s cookbook, Learn, Laugh, Cook, for $15.95. I have made several of the recipes in the cookbook as well as have tasted many more and they are tasty. You can read more by Mandy on her blog where she posts different recipes she has tried, links to ideas and recipes, as well as funny poems! You can also connect with her on Facebook. Make sure you stop by her blog soon because she told me she will be posting a New Orleans style Shrimp and Grits recipe within the next two weeks.
If you try this gumbo recipe, be sure to let Mandy know!
Mandy’s “Big Easy” Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped into small pieces
1 pound (14 oz or two links) of precooked turkey sausage, chopped into small pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup of Instant Roux
3 cups of cool water
3 cups of chicken broth
1 can (10 oz) of tomato soup
1 can (10 oz) of diced tomatoes and green chilies (such as Rotel)
1/2 tbsp crushed bay leaves
1/2 tbsp thyme
1/2 tbsp oregano
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp Cajun seasoning (salt mixture)
(Cook’s Note: For this recipe, you will need a large stove pot and a slow cooker.)
Generously grease a large pot with cooking spray. Throw in your chopped onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic. Sautee on medium high for about seven minutes or until veggies are soft and lightly browned. Add in two cups of cool water and 1 cup of the instant roux mix. Stir swiftly with a wooden spoon or whisk making sure all of the “roux” is dissolved and no longer lumpy. Continue cooking on medium high for about fifteen minutes until the roux thickens, darkens and blends with the veggies. Don’t be afraid if it looks really dark, like this:
It looks like a scary dark color here but it will lighten up in color once you add the tomatoes, broth and other seasonings. Don’t worry! Continue stirring it on occasion throughout that fifteen minutes, adding water if you need to so it doesn’t stick to the pot.
While your roux is cooking and you’re not stirring, chop up your chicken and sausage into small pieces. Then place them into the bottom of a slow cooker. Sprinkle your Cajun seasoning over the chicken and sausage pieces. Once your roux has simmered for its course, add it to the slow cooker, on top of the meat.
Pour in your chicken broth and additional 1 cup of water. Add the tomato soup, diced tomatoes with chilies, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, garlic and onion powders. Mix well. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. (Yesterday I cooked mine on high for two hours and low for two hours and it came out great!)
Check the consistency in case you need to thicken or liquify it more. Taste it to see if has enough seasoning or spices for your family. My husband called this recipe “very flavorful and full of spices without being too spicey.” I call that a perfect blend! 
Serve hot over cooked rice in bowls. Freeze any leftovers in heavy plastic containers for up to four months. For best results, reheat on stove in a large pot, adding water if needed.
(Cook’s Note: A gumbo is a great mix of whatever you want to throw in it. You start with that “roux” and then start placing different things in it. I didn’t have any seafood in my freezer so I went with chicken and sausage. Try mixing it up and blending different flavors in your gumbo. Let me know how it turns out! )
Be sure to visit Wanderfood Wednesday over at Wanderlust and Lipstick!
**Disclosure: Mandy is one of my good friends. As she was writing the book, I cheered her on whenever I could. I tasted many recipes throughout the writing of the book. I am purchasing several copies with my own money to give as Christmas gifts.**
I love peel and eat shrimp. Love it. If peel and eat shrimp are on the menu, that is what I will order every time.
My husband, however, is not a fan. The first time I took him home to meet my mom, peel and eat shrimp were on the menu. He grew up in a household that ate little to no seafood at all and he was horrified. Let’s just say that he probably drove through McDonald’s on the way home.
One of the things I was most looking forward to was the shrimp trucks up and down the North Shore. I definitely ate my fill of shrimp cooked up in little yellow, blue, and graffiti painted shrimp trucks. One of our favorites was the Shrimp Shack.
When we left for Hawaii, a friend left me a note on my Facebook wall that said “Go to the North Shore and look for a yellow truck that sells shrimp. Get it. Go next door and buy a beer from the convenience store and have the best lunch of your life!!” So we did. We drove to the North Shore, found the yellow shrimp truck, bought a drink and enjoyed one delicious lunch!
They have little tables lined up against the convenience store where you can sit and enjoy your lunch.
Or you can cross the street (watch out for traffic and use the crosswalk!) and look at this while you eat:
See other tasty treats at Wanderfood Wednesday!
My husband and I had a love affair with food while we were in Hawaii last week…desserts, plate lunches, Kalua pork, pineapple, shrimp trucks, coconut, and more. One of our favorite desserts was this Banana Lumpia at Sam Choy’s. My husband loves salty snacks over sweet snacks. He will always choose a bag of chips over a Butterfinger (I have no idea why!). I was so surprised when he fell in love with this dessert…bananas wrapped and fried served piping hot with a little bit of ice cream and hot chocolate.
See other tasty treats at Wanderfood Wednesday!
On our last night at the conference in Asheville we joined another family travel blogger, Mara at Mother of All Trips, for a chocolate dinner. Yes, a chocolate dinner at the French Broad Chocolate Lounge.
Little S and I walked past the chocolate lounge several times. It is kind of hidden on a side street surrounded by construction right now but be assured that it is open and it was worth the walk we took in the rain.
We stood for several minutes looking at the rows and rows of truffles. Although Big S would choose a bag of chips over a chocolate bar, Little S gets her sweet tooth from me. She wanted one of everything!
I stared at the menu for about fifteen minutes before finally deciding on the unadulterated carrot cake. Little S had the quintessential chocolate cake and we had hot chocolate to drink. It seemed fitting on the yucky rainy day we were having!
You would think that the best part of this visit was the chocolate, the cake and the wine but it wasn’t. For me, the best part was the family-friendly environment. I was a little worried about bringing Little S, who is trying to milk out her last month of the Terrible Three’s (which are WAY worse than the Terrible Two’s), to a place called the French Broad Chocolate Lounge. I had heard people talk about it all weekend-the wine paired with cakes, liquid truffles, and relaxation. I was pleasantly surprised that nobody blinked an eye when we walked in! There is a box of toys for children to play with and that kept Little S occupied most of the time that we were there. I think the quiet, relaxing atmosphere worked its magic on her as well…as soon as we got back to the hotel we spent about 30m in the pool and then we snuggled up in bed and watched a little TV before falling asleep.
Stop by Wanderfood Wednesday to see what everyone else is eating!
It doesn’t get much fresher than guacamole made tableside at Cantina Laredo in Orlando, Florida. The avocado is sliced open and smashed, the spices are added, and it is put on your table. It is some of the best restaurant guacamole I have had since I lived in California.
Look at that amazing shade of green!
Do you have an amazing guacamole recipe? My guacamole is never this tasty. I would love a copy of your recipe if you don’t mind sharing!
Stop by Wanderfood Wednesday to see what everyone else is eating!
If you haven’t already, visit this post to enter the giveaway. We are giving away an adorable handmade autograph book perfect for your next theme park trip!
Tomatillos was our favorite discovery in San Antonio, Texas while we were there. My husband traveled to San Antonio a few years ago and his coworkers took him to this restaurant that he raved about. Luckily, he remembered the name and we found out that it was just a few minutes away from where we were staying. We loved our meal so much the first night that we went back the next night for dinner! Look at this spread!
The best part of the meal was the kid’s menu. There are lots of choices for the kids but my kids only eat rice and beans at this type of restaurant. For $2, you can get this huge plate of rice and beans and all you can eat tortillas.
Stop by Wanderfood Wednesday to see what everyone else is eating!
Ingredients:
Shrimp (Lots of people like to devein and deshell them but we prefer to get our hands dirty when we eat this meal!)
Mussels
Red potatoes
Corn on the Cob cut in half
Sausage cut up in big chunks
Water
Old Bay Seasoning or something similar
Crab boil seasoning or something similar
What you need:
Find the biggest pot in your house. Look at it and then go to the store and buy a pot twice as big.
The morning newspaper
A big picnic table
Friends and Family
What to do:
Cook potatoes and sausage in water with some seasonings. Add the rest (except the shrimp and mussels) to pot and let cook until finished. When everything is almost finished add the shrimp and mussels.
Spread newspapers all over a picnic table. Dump contents of entire pot (or what will fit) onto the table.
Dig in!
There some recipes that you can follow with real amounts and actual times if you have never cooked a low country boil before:
Lowcountry Boil – Coastal Living
Low Country Boil - Myrecipes
Stop by Wanderfood Wednesday to indulge in some amazing food photos, descriptions, and recipes!
Last week my husband took his annual trip to Brazil for a Brazilian Juijitsu camp. His black belt instructor resides in Brazil and one of the perks of studying under this instructor is the chance to train in Brazil. While they were there, they had the opportunity to indulge in many of the local dishes served. Some of Daddy J’s favorite things were requeijao (a cheese), guarana (in carbonated form), and Skol (his beer of choice).
But one of the favorite parts of the culinary side of the trip? Visiting the instructor’s mom’s home for home cooked meals several times during the week. They were able to immerse themselves in the language and food for the week and loved every minute of it.
The dish in the middle is a mashed potato and chicken type casserole that he said was amazing. I think the men are trying to get the recipe! Rice and beans were served with every meal. The bottle in the back was called pimienta, an incredibly hot hot sauce. Apparently the bottle was full when the week started out. (Please forgive me if I named or spelled anything wrong!)
This is where I write that I am jealous that he spent a week in Brazil!
Stop by Wanderfood Wednesday to indulge in some amazing food photos, descriptions, and recipes!
I have two favorite food tips when traveling as a family. The first is to pack a lunch and when that is not possible, order pizza for a treat!! You can eat it in your hotel room if you want. You don’t need anything but a napkin to eat it (unless you have to have a fork!). You can feed a family of four for 10-18 dollars, which I can’t even do at McDonald’s anymore.
After a long day of sightseeing and running around, we were exhausted. Our kids were showing every sign that they were done and were not having any more Forced Family Fun. We decided to get a pizza but the pizza place that was recommended to us was closed so we had to come up with a backup plan. I came across a link to Alamo Pizza. The website said that it was recently awarded San Antonio’s Best San Antonio Style Pizza. How could we not try it?
We were surprised when we pulled up to this little building because the website made me think it was a chain type restaurant. Had I explored the locations link, I would have seen that there were only two locations!
As soon as the door opened, we heard knew we had picked the right place. It was teeming with locals speaking several different languages but acting as one community. We walked up to order our pizza as the customers smiled at our children. That is when my son chose to punch his little sister, thus ensuing a meltdown. My husband took the kids out to the car while I ordered the pizza to go. While I waited in the restaurant, my husband waited in the car with the kids. I was asked several times if we needed anything during the 20m we waited for our pizza.
The pizza came out and I was given several little packets of red peppers and paremsan already pre-packaged. That made my heart sing!
We made the quick trip back to the hotel while the car filled with the smell of pizza. When we got back to the hotel, we knew that it was totally worth the trip:
This was one of the best tasting pizzas I have ever had. Ever.
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