My first love...BAKING!!!

Along with stove top cooking, my first love is baking. It started as a little girl helping my mother make breakfast biscuits, assisting my maternal grandmother (Big Mom) make a mean cornbread for cush-cush, and my aunt Ella with holiday cakes. There is something about being in the kitchen that fills my heart with so much joy. Not only does it produce scrumptious edibles, everything is prepared with 100% love. This is just a pictorial on the most recent cake I baked. It was a two layered butter cake with chocolate buttercream icing. Unfortunately, I did not take a snapshot of all the ingredients, step-by-step process or the finished product but everyone enjoyed it!!!

What's for Dinner?

Dinner was:
- Mixed Veggies,
- Smothered Potatoes
- Homemade Meatballs

Crawfish Etoufee

Although both of my parents were born and raised in Louisiana, my mother's Creole roots impacted my tastebuds and life for the better. One of my favorite Creole dishes to eat and cook would be crawfish etoufee.

If you're not familiar with etoufee, it is basically a seafood dish served in a roux, including:
- onion (red/white)
- bell pepper
- jalepeno pepper
- green onion
- salt
- black pepper
- cayenne pepper
- garlic


What I did?
In a tablespoon of butter, I sauteed onion, garlic, bell pepper, and jalepeno pepper in a small sauce pan. In a larger sauce pan, I bring my roux and crawfish to a slow simmer. I added components of the small sauce pan to the larger sauce pan. Add the salt, black and cayenne pepper to the mixture.

Let this cook for about 15-20 mins on a low-to medium low fire.
Garnish with fresh parsely and chopped green onions.
Serve over white rice.

Stuffed Baked Chicken...

It's a little known fact that I LOVE chicken. Well, maybe, not really. However, as I pondered on the first dish to post, I decided to make something simple, yet tasty. 

Stuffed Baked Chicken (w/spinach, mushrooms and pepper jack cheese)