Cajun Dressing

Instructions

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   Combine eggplant, water and 1 teaspoon salt in sauce pan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Drain. Cook celery, onions and green peppers in butter until tender. Stir in eggplant, rice, bead crumbs, parsley and Tony's. Turn into a buttered 2-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with a little paprika. Bake in pre-heated oven at 375ºF for 25 to 35 minutes. And from Sandy who lives at the beginning of da ol' mon Caj's dead-end road we have... Chicken Gumbo or Chicken & Seafood Gumbo The choice is yours! But here's what you'll need: 2 fryers or hens 2 boxes frozen cut okra or 4 cups fresh sliced okra, chopped 2 large bell peppers, chopped 2 large onions, chopped 6 stalks celery, chopped 1 tablespoon parsley 1 tablespoon thyme 1 teaspoon marjoram 3 cloves garlic, minced 3/4 cup vegetable oil 3/4 cup flour 1--15.25 or 16 ounce can stewed tomatoes 1--10 ounce can Ro-Tel tomatoes 5 bay leaves

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   Salt and Pepper to taste Boil and debone chicken; retain broth. Put vegetable oil and lour in skillet; mix and cook on low temperature until dark brown. Stir constantly, you're making a roux. Add chopped vegetables; cook until tender. Add mixture to large soup kettle. Add tomatoes, strained broth from chicken, and a little water. Simmer 1 to 2 hours. Add chicken meat and herbs/spices. Cook approximately 10 minutes. YOU MAY add seafood at this time; like shrimp, oysters, crab, etc. Serve over rice in a soup bowl. Note: If file' is available you may want to add it over gumbo after gumbo has been put over rice in bowl.

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   Cajun Seasoning...Seasoned Pepper Cajun Seasoning Here's a mix of spices that add zest--translated: taste great--to fish, chops, steak, ribs, chicken, beef jerky, even hamburger. And for you veggie proponents, you should give your favorite beans, greens, peas and steamed cabbage a shot, make that a shake or two. Works wonders on the taste buds; unless you over do it, get carried away, forget what you have in your hand. shake...Shake. . .SHAKE! Before you start mixing, playing like you're in the high school chemistry lab, you need to make a decision: Are you going to use teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, pints, quarts, gallons as your measuring stick, your measuring device? Regardless of which one you choose, just make sure you use the same one from start to finish. Also, when you've created this excellent seasoning mix, make sure you store it in an airtight container. Empty plastic spice containers work great. Oh, one last thing: mix ingredients thoroughly; give the container you're using a couple of good shakes. Now, open your spice cupboard, get ready to pull out the spices you'll need, and start measuring: 2 1/2 paprika 2 salt 2 garlic powder, granules or minced 1 black pepper 1 onion powder or granules 1 cayenne red pepper 1 1/4 dried leaf oregano 1 1/4 dried leaf thyme 1/2 crushed red pepper, optional Good, you're done, ready to enjoy some added zest to your menu. But, before you go runnin' off, please understand one fact: Recipes aren't set in concrete, in stone, you make the changes you deem warranted by your own experience. Cooking for many, including da ol' mon Caj, is a feeling-kind-of-thing. Go by the recipe the first time (maybe), then make adjustments to suit your taste. Caj's Seasoned Pepper In nearly every bread machine recipe book there's one for pepper bread, which is really good, tasty, great for ham sandwiches. But there's a hitch--relax, you knew there would be--the recipe calls for unsalted, no salt, seasoned pepper. Now maybe for those of you in close proximity to major well stocked supermarkets it's no big deal, but you can rest assured it is when you have to go to the big city, miles and miles away, to search their shelves. And then... When you start reading the labels you find that salt is one of the ingredients. Hmmm..... If you found that to be the case at the general store, and you found it

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   a real needle-in-the-haystack search for unsalted, no salt, seasoned pepper at the "big" store, what's the answer? Read on... Here's the answer to that rhetorical question: concoct your own seasoned pepper mix; play scientist, a little of this a little of that. And presto, you have no salt, seasoned pepper ready to go when called on. Now that's not all bad, the price is "right" too.