White Shredded Chicken and Monterey Jack Cheese Enchiladas

This is the best White Shredded Chicken and Monterey Jack Cheese Enchiladas Recipe that I've ever run across. It is so delicious that I have to keep it a secret from my neighbors when I make a batch 'cause often times I wound up with none for myself. It's fairly easy to make and people will be begging for more... guaranteed!

Ingredients

10 soft taco shells
2   cups cooked shredded chicken
2   cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
3   Tbsp. butter
3   Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2   cups chicken broth
1   cup sour cream
1   (4 oz) can diced green chilies

Instructions

1.  preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2.  grease a 9 x 13 inch pan or baking dish
3.  mix 1 cup of cheese and chicken
4.  roll up in tortillas and place in pan
5.  in a sauce pan melt butter and stir-in all-purpose flour and cook for 1 minute
6.  add broth and whisk until smooth
7.  stir-in sour cream and chilis (don't boil because the sour cream will curdle)
8.  pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese
9.  bake 22 minutes and then under high-broil for 3 minutes to brown the cheese

Bon Appetite!

KT  

Cajun Chicken Fricassee

Ingredients

• 1 two to three pound fryer, cut into pieces
• 5 Tbs of oil-based roux, or
• 3 Tbs powdered roux
• water
• 3 large onions, chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste.

Instructions

1. add enough water to roux to make a thick gravy
2. add onions, chicken and seasonings
3. simmer until chicken is tender
4. add green onions. Serve over cooked rice

Bon appetite!
KT

Boudain (boudin) Balls

This recipe is a slight departure from my original boudain recipe. I omitted the pork kidneys, pork heart and pork liver (because I couldn't purchase those particular items locally). So, without greatly compromising the original, I used the following ingredients:

•  4 lbs. pork steak, with fat
  
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 3 medium onions, chopped
• 4 cups cooked long grain rice
• 2 bunches green onions, chopped
• 1 cup parsley, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
  
• Salt and black pepper to taste

In a 5 quart pot add enough water to cover the first 3 ingredients and boil until tender. With a spoon skim and discard the foam which will surface. Drain the liquid and grind everything together, but reserve a couple cups or so of the broth to moisten the boudain dressing later. I use a small meat hand grinder with a 3/8th inch plate.

Next, add the cooked long grain rice, salt, pepper, green onions and parsley and just enough broth to make a moist dressing. Mix together thoroughly in a large bowl and refrigerate over night. Remove from the refrigerator and roll the boudain into ping pong size balls. You can freeze them until you are ready to serve.

The reason I don't make my boudain balls larger than ping pong size is because anything larger has a tendency to stay frozen in the center during frying. Fry the boudain balls at 375 degrees until a golden-brown color is reached (around 5 or 6 minutes).

It is a good idea to thaw the balls out about half-way before frying so they don't lose their solid texture. This makes the process of coating them in the batter and dredging them in flour much easier. I prefer to double batter them by dipping and dredging twice to get a good coating before frying.

There are a variety of batters which you can use. Mine is very simple: beat together 1 egg and about a 1/4 cup of milk. I usually add a little more seasoning to the all-purpose flour, also,  to suit my particular taste - like sea salt, dried basil and thyme.

Of course you can always take your boudain balls straight out of the freezer and steam them or cook them up in the microwave. It doesn't take long.

This simple recipe does not call for sausage stuffers or animal casings.

Give it try sometime and let me know how it comes out. If you have any questions post them in the comment section below and I will be happy to answer them.

Note: In the past I've tried substituting pork liver with beef liver, but it seems to conflict ... so, you are probably better off eliminating the liver ingredient altogether. You should still come out with a good tasting boudain.

Enjoy!

Bubba Becomes a Catholic (Cajun Humor)

Years ago there was an Ozark Mountains Arkansas hillbilly, named Bubba Lewis, who moved to the small remote village of Butte LaRose, Louisiana, where the general population there is predominantly Catholic. He moved there during the Catholic Holy Days of Lent. Parishioners are not allowed to eat meat on Friday during this time.

Every Friday evening after work, Bubba, who was a Baptist, would barbeque a venison steak on his outdoor grill. This didn't set too well with his neighbor Boudreaux, who was tempted from the wonderful aroma of Bubba's barbeque.  After a couple weeks of this, it caused such a problem with Boudreaux and his neighbors that they decided to talk to the priest about Bubba's blatant disregard for their religious tradition.

The Priest came to visit Bubba and suggested that he become a Catholic. After several classes and much study, Bubba attended Mass.....and as the priest sprinkled holy water over him, he said, "You were born a Baptist, and raised a Baptist, but now you are a Catholic."

Bubba's neighbors were greatly relieved, until Friday night arrived, and the wonderful aroma of grilled venison again filled the neighborhood. The Priest was called immediately by the neighbors and as he rushed into Bubba's yard clutching a rosary preparing to scold him, he stopped and watched in amazement.

There stood Bubba, clutching a small bottle of holy water which he carefully sprinkled over the grilling meat and chanted: "You wuz born a deer, you wuz raised a deer, but now you is a catfish.

(KT)

Easy Stove Top Gumbo Roux (video)

Here is a simple roux made with 1 cup of canola oil and 1 cup of all-purpose flour. I put together this video before the name change (from a blog to a website domain). The new name is RealCajunCooking.com. From the time that I produced the video I did some research on Canola oil and after learning all about it, I refuse to ever use it again. Instead, I use peanut oil or butter.

I attained the chocolate-color in less than 20 minutes. The trick is to keep stirring and watch your heat.