If you’ve never tried my seafood gumbo because you didn’t feel like making a seafood stock or peeling and deveining tons of shrimp, you’re in luck! Here is the express version of my seafood gumbo that will take you half the time.

You will start with a roux (sorry, I’m not cutting that part out lol) but instead of using a homemade seafood stock, I boiled water with chicken bouillon cubes added. 

- Since I didn’t make stock, there was no need to peel shrimp. I used peeled and deveined shrimp. 


-I used precut seasonings (2 containers of Guidry’s) , 1 rotisserie chicken and 2 bags of precut okra. Normally I use fresh seasonings and I bake chicken wings to add to the gumbo. 

Basically, you will follow my original recipe (fave-christmas-foods-pt-1louisiana-seafood-gumbo-recipe.html) but replace the seafood stock, chicken wings and fresh seasonings with the ingredients below. This is a much smaller batch than I typically make therefore the roux is also condensed.  It took me about 15-20 mins to make the roux vs. 45 mins. I used this 15 inch roaster to make the gumbo (https://www.goodwoodhardware.com/15-mcware-oval-roaster/).

Roux: 2 cups of flour
1 and 1/4  cup of corn oil

Homemade Stock Replacement:
4 bouillon cubes and water in 5 quart pot. Bring to a boil and add ladle by ladle once roux is completed and seasonings are added.
So what’s the verdict on the express version of my gumbo? It still tasted BOMB. I noticed the missing seafood stock but my family didn’t.

How do you speed up your gumbo recipe? Let me know if you use this recipe!! Tag me on instagram (@bmycurlfriend)

My daughter has basically decided that spaghetti isn’t worth having unless meatballs are involved lol.  Spaghetti and meat sauce is unacceptable and we all know that 4 year olds run the world.  Because of this, I have found myself making meatballs during the week when I’d rather put it all in the pot and go! 
Here’s a quick spaghetti and meatballs recipe that I like to use on weeknights.  The meatballs taste amazing and the store bought spaghetti is doctored up to make it taste like it was made from scratch.  Enjoy!

1lb of lean ground beef
1 lb of ground pork
2 eggs
1 cup of Panko Bread Crumbs
Garlic Powder (to taste)
Onion Powder (to taste)
Tony Chachere’s (to taste)
2 tbs Basil 
2 tbs Oregano 
Sea Salt (to taste)
Black Pepper (to taste)
2 tbs Parsley 
1 cup combinedof onions, celery, bell pepper (trinity)
Tbs of minced garlic
2 tbs of balsamic vinegar
2 tbs of red cooking wine
2 jars of  24 oz Rao Spaghetti Sauce
2 8 oz cans of diced tomatoes
3 tbs of olive oil
1 lb Thin Spaghetti


Meatball Prep
​Makes 25-30 meatballs
Pre-heat oven to 350 C

1. In a large bowl, Combine both meats, all seasonings except the chopped trinity, eggs, Panko Bread Crumbs and mix well.
2. On a lined pan, form meatballs to a size of your liking.
3. Bake for approximately 40 mins.  
4. Drain excess grease using a paper towel and set aside.

-Cook spaghetti according to package instructions.
-Prep the Spaghetti Sauce while the meatballs are baking.
Spaghetti Sauce

1. Add olive oil to large pot at medium heat and add Italian seasonings, chopped trinity and sauté about 5 mins. 
2. Add minced garlic and sauce another minute or until fragrant.
3. Add diced tomatoes and bring to a steady simmer.
4. Add spaghetti sauce and red cooking wine.
5. Add balsamic vinegar.
6. Allow sauce to simmer about 45 mins or so.  Diced tomatoes should be cooked down.  The longer the better.
7. Add sugar to taste, if sauce is too bitter.
8. Stir in meatballs.
9. Simmer an additional 15 mins.

Serve sauce over warm spaghetti.  Garnish with parmesan cheese.

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