Chicken and Turkey Sausage Gumbo

After a successful meal with the slow cooker last night (of which Eric happily ate leftovers for lunch today) I decided to press my luck and use it two days in a row. What a disaster. I started off with poor time management (again). I didn't start the slow cooker until 12pm and needed it to be on low for eight hours. This recipe also called for adding additional items 45 minutes before the end of cook and turning it on high, which meant we needed to be home by 7:15pm. We didn't get home until 8:15pm. Which I thought was okay, at first. I quickly did the last step and added the flour to thicken everything and reset the time. After the time was up I realized I had no idea whether or not I set it on high (it already turned itself to warm mode) - I this the answer is no because it never got thick. I also noticed the sausage (I used chicken instead of turkey) and some of the thigh pieces turned slightly brown. I have no idea what happened there but it really wasn't appealing. I think this meal could've been successful had I chosen a day where I was home at the time of the end of cooking, but in all honesty is didn't have a lot of flavor in comparison to last night. The best part of the meal = the french loaf. Sigh.

Pre-cook

Post-cook

Things I learned from this recipe:

Okra is not a favorite in this house.

I don't like slow cooker recipes where I need to do something additional after pressing start.

Would I make this recipe again?:

Probably not.

The recipe

Smoky Turkey Chili

I was fooled by the slow cooker a month ago when I used it for the first time. The ease, the smells, the promise of a one pot meal...it took me awhile to get over the disappoint of that meal. I decided to give it another go with turkey chili. I planned on the chili a few days ago, but didn't acknowledge until about 2:30pm that using the slower cooker meant it needed hours to cook. Oops. Thanks goodness for the high setting. It was ready in four hours and we were eating by 7:15pm.

I haven't eaten a lot of chili in my life and Eric isn't the biggest fan, mostly because of the beans and a little because it's too sweet for him. After the first bite I heard a "Yum!" I have to agree, this dish is quite delicious. We discussed the sweet factor and wondered if a healthy ketchup with little to no sugar might bring down the sweetness. For me, I thought it was tolerable and did not distract from enjoying the meal. I served it was a french loaf (of course) for dipping. 

Cooked!

Pre-cook

Things I learned from this recipe:

Such a thing as hickory liquid smoke exists. Fascinating.

Would I make this recipe again:

Absolutely

The recipe

Miracle Carrot Muffins

I have a soft spot for carrot cake. I love most renditions of carrot cake but tend to stray away from those that have stringy carrots and a lot of raisins. Even though this muffin recipe contains both of those, I had high hopes it was going to be okay based on the recipe directions. The "trick" really is heating up the carrots and raisins in hot water. It made the carrots edible and the raisins moist and a great addition. The final part of the recipe calls for cream cheese with orange zest and I opted not to add it and went for butter to keep it more as a muffin than an imitation carrot cake. The perfect treat for breakfast!

Pre-bake

Post-bake

Cooling

Things I learned from this recipe:

A great muffin recipe exists! This one is far superior than either of the other two I previously made.

Would I make this recipe again?:

Definitely

The recipe

Endive Salad with Bacon, Gorgonzola and Avocado

I do believe this is my new favorite salad. I found this recipe (along with last night's) stashed in my binder. I was drawn to them because the Sunset theme was "February Favorites" and the two page spread had gorgeous photos. If I haven't already mentioned it - I am a HUGE salad lover. I really don't discriminate. I love them all, and I enjoy going past the traditional base of romaine, spinach or iceberg. I used turkey bacon instead of pork and it got quite crispy at six minutes. So much so that Eric (not the lover of turkey bacon) questioned how I got the same bacon so crispy. He is also not too fond of gorgonzola and tolerated it. I love gorgonzola and all of the flavors were perfect. 

Things I learned from this recipe:

Endive is delicious with avocado.

Would I make this recipe again:

A big all caps YES!

The recipe

(Meyer) Lemon Crab Salad

I did not have any Meyer lemons hence the parenthesis but I don't think it mattered much. I should start by saying I'm a bit of a crab purest. We grew up eating crab with crab and a little more crab so I don't need any sauces and was a little hesitant adding all the ingredients together, but it turned out delicious. Watercress is interesting and I'm not sure I've knowingly ever had it. The combo was perfect. Side note: crab is quite dangerous. We got into it a little bit as I was getting the meat out. 

Delicious crab

Up-close on the salad

Crab can be dangerous

Things I learned from this recipe:

Crab can be dangerous!

Would I make this recipe again?:

Definitely. I think it could make a good lunch or a nice starter for a group of four.

The recipe