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This is not “just” smothered chicken. So if we’re being technical this is a type of smothered chicken but the caramelized onions and brown sugar make this one extra specifal.  The flavors blended amazingly with the melted butter.  Be sure to check out the instagram reel here!

​Ingredients
2-3 lbs of your favorite combo of chicken pieces (I used legs, thighs and wings)
4 yellow onions, diced finely
1 bell pepper, diced finely
2 tbs of garlic
1 stick of butter
2 tbs of brown sugar
2 cups of all-purpose flour 
Garlic Powder, to taste
Onion Powder, to taste
Poultry seasoning, to taste
Adobo with Complete Seasoning, to taste
Badia Complete Seasoning, to taste
Black Pepper, to taste
Smoked Paprika, to taste
Culture Creole Seasoning, to taste
4 cups of chicken broth
1-2 tbs of Kitchen Bouquet
1-2 chopped green onions, to garnish
Directions:

1. Season the chicken with the dry seasonings.
2. Coat the chicken on all sides with flour.
3. In a large, heavy bottomed pot, on medium-high heat, melt the butter.
4. Stir in the brown sugar for about 2-3 minutes.
5. Add the chicken to the pot and brown on both sides.
6. Remove the chicken and set aside.
7. Sauté the chopped onions and bell peppers for about 30 minutes.  This will bring out the natural sweetness of the onions.
8. Add the garlic and sauté another minute or so.
9. Add the chicken back into the pot.
10. Pour the chicken broth into the pot.  

Tip: I like to pour it along the inner sides of the pot instead of directly on top of the chicken. I don’t like to pour it directly on top   

1. Gently stir the broth in until the liquid and sautéed veggies are well mixed.
2. Add about a tablespoon of kitchen bouquet to darken the gravy.
3. Cover and allow the chicken to cook about 2 hours.
4. Check for a safe internal temperature and enjoy.
5. Serve over rice.

This ain’t your basic BLT sandwich.  The Louisiana shrimp BLT is the sandwich you never knew you needed. It was absolutely delicious.  This is an easy dish to make but the major takeaway I received was to make sure you freeze the patties long enough.  I think overnight is best.  A couple of hours would be the minimum.  After 2 hours in the freezer, my patties were still not holding together completely. Please read below about what to do if you don’t have time to freeze your patties overnight. If you have time to freeze overnight then skip the section below and get started.  Also, be sure to check out the Instagram reel here!
What to do if your shrimp patties are not holding together:
Use gloves! It gets messy.  If this happens, you will have to essentially double batter the patties.  I held the patty in my hand when I dipped it in the egg wash, meaning don’t drop it completely into the egg wash.   Keep your hand under the patty and submerge it in the egg wash and then while still holding the bottom, flip it on the other side into the other hand and repeat. Squeeze out as much excess wash as you can. I then put the flour on a shallow dish, sat the patty on the flour in the plate and then sprinkled the flour on top and molded it kind of like you would if making a hamburger patty.  From this point, the shrimp were still a little loose.  I then put egg wash in between the loose portions and mashed the patty, then floured again. Once it was semi-holding together, I gently placed the patty on a plate to be fried. 
Again, to avoid this, freeze the patties as long as you can.  I made it work, but this was preventable lol.
 
Ingredients
1 lb of shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped
Garlic Powder, to taste
Onion Powder, to taste
Badia Complete Seasoning, to taste
Black Pepper, to taste
Old Bay, to taste
Culture Creole Seasoning, to taste
2 cups of flour
Vegetable Oil (for frying)
Hamburger buns (I used the Hawaiian King brand)
Romain Lettuce (Sliced)
Tomato (sliced)
Red onions (sliced)
Mayo
4 Slices of Bacon Cooked
Egg Wash
2 eggs
1 cup of buttermilk
Directions:

1.  Season the chopped shrimp with dry seasonings.
2. Use an egg mold or free style the chopped shrimp into a circular patty.

Note:  I molded my patty on top of piece of plastic wrap and then covered the patty with the wrap when I was finished).

1.  Freeze the patties overnight, if you have time or at least several hours.

Note:  I did not freeze my patties long enough. They were in the freezer about 2 hours but they still were not fully staying together when I took them out.  I ended up improvising to make them stay together (see description above).

1.  In a bowl, beat the egg and whisk in the butter milk to create an egg wash.
2. In a shallow bowl, add the flour and season it with dry seasonings.
3. Add oil to a cast iron skillet and heat to 350 F.  You can also use a deep fryer.
4. Dip the patty into the egg wash and shake off the excess wash.
5. Dredge the patty in the flour so that the patty is completely covered in flour.
6. Fry the patties for 8 minutes. I flipped mine at about 6 or 7 minutes, just to make sure the other side was as golden as I would like.
7. Assemble the sandwich on a hamburger bun with whatever condiments and toppings you desire.  I used mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions and applewood bacon.  Enjoy!

It's no secret that we love red beans and rice in Louisiana, but have you ever had butter beans? I don't cook them often, but I love them!  I basically cook them the same way I do red beans.  I just used smoked turkey necks instead of pork neckbones.  Check out my Instagram reel here!

1 lb of frozen or fresh speckled butter beans
1 tbs of bacon up or cooking oil of choice
1-2 yellow onions, diced finely
3 stalks of celery, diced finely
1 bell pepper, diced finely
1 tbs of minced garlic
5-6 smoked turkey necks
Chicken Broth (Keep on hand to keep liquid levels adequate)
Slap Ya Mama (to taste)
1 tbs Smoked Paprika 
Badia Complete Seasoning (to taste)
Black Pepper (to taste)
Garlic Powder (to taste)
Onion Powder (to taste)
1 Tbs Thyme 
2 Tbs Oregano
2 Tbs of Parsley
2-3 bay leaves

1. In a 6-quart pot, on medium-high heat, add the Bacon Up or oil to the pot.
2. Sauté diced onions, celery and bell peppers for about 5 minutes.
3. Add garlic and sauté another 1-2 minutes.
4. Add about 3 cups of chicken broth along with the turkey necks to the pot and bring to a boil.
5. Add the butter beans to the pot and reduce the heat to medium.
6. Season with dry seasonings. Liquid should remain about an inch above the beans.  As the liquid starts to recede, add chicken broth to return liquid levels to the proper level.
7. Reduce the heat to a simmer and allow the beans to cook for at least 2 hours or until the beans have softened. 
8. Taste the gravy and add more dry seasonings, if necessary.

Pro tip: If you want to thicken your gravy.  Mix about a tablespoon of corn starch with water and add to beans. Continue to cook on low.
9. Remove the bay leaves from the pot and discard.
10. Serve over warm rice.

I had this dish at a local restaurant and decided to recreate it.  I nailed it! I'm normally a seafood pasta girlie but the chicken and sausage was amazing together! Also, I was today years old when I discovered that Manda's has an "After the Boil" crab boil seasoned sausage!! Check out the Instagram reel here!

This is the perfect, one-pot dish that is full of flavor! This is the pasta spin on jambalaya.  Check out the instagram reel here!

Ok, so we've already done the fancy cabbage with shrimp and sausage (click here for that recipe) but what about traditional smothered cabbage?
In my opinion, traditionally cooked cabbage is still the G.O.A.T.  Use whatever meat you like.  I used bacon but you can even do smoked turkey necks or another pork variety.  I like to sauté the bacon, add finely diced yellow onion, a little Better than Bouillon chicken base and dry seasonings to make the perfect flavor.  Add in the cabbage and water, let it cook down and that's it! This is beyond easy to make.  If your cabbage has green and white leaves, separate them and cook the green ones a little while, then add the white. Check out the instagram reel here!

Ingredients
12 oz package of thick cut bacon, diced (You can use half of the pack or the entire pack)
2 yellow onions, diced finely
1 head of cabbage (washed and sliced)
Better than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base
Garlic Powder, to taste
Onion Powder, to taste
Slap Ya Mama Creole Seasoning, to taste
Badia Complete Seasoning, to taste
Smoked Paprika, to taste
Culture Creole Seasoning, to taste
Black Pepper, to taste
Directions
1. Add diced bacon into a 5-quart pot and cook on medium high heat.
2. Stir the bacon and cook until it starts to brown and produce bacon grease.
3. Stir in the diced onions and sauté for about 3-4 minutes.
4. Stir in a tbs of Better than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base.
5. Add the sliced cabbage and mix well with the onion, bacon and Bouillon Base.
Note: It will seem like the pot is too full. Once you complete step 6, just pack it in and cover the pot.
The cabbage will cook down and fit just fine. You can use a bigger pot, if that makes you feel more
comfortable, there just will be a lot of unused space once the cabbage is cooked.
6. Once the bacon and onions are mixed well with the cabbage, add about 1 cup of water.
Note: The pot does not have to be filled with water nor does the cabbage have to be covered
with water. The cabbage will produce more liquid as it cooks down.
7. Season the cabbage with dry seasonings to taste.
8. Cover and simmer on low-medium until cabbage reaches desired tenderness.

​Enjoy!

These are the juiciest fried pork chops EVER.  They are double battered with an egg wash in between.  This made the outside extra crispy.  I don’t fry pork chops often but when I do, I use a cast iron skillet.  Be sure to check out the IG reel here!

Ingredients
3-4 Center Cut pork chop
Garlic Powder, to taste
Onion Powder, to taste
Slap Ya Mama Seasoning, to taste
Seasoned Salt, to taste
Smoked Paprika, to taste
Black Pepper, to taste
Badia Complete Seasoning, to taste
Badia Adobo with Complete Seasoning, to taste
1 ½ Cup of All Purpose Flour
Egg Wash
2 eggs
Tbs of half/half
¾ cup of evaporated Milk
Vegetable Oil for frying
Directions:

1.  Rinse the pork chops and pat dry with a paper towel.
2. Season the pork chops in a bowl with all of the dry seasonings. Set them aside.
3. In a shallow dish, mix the flour with dry seasonings.
4. In another bowl, mix the eggs, milk and half and half together.
5. In large cast iron skillet, add enough oil to reach about the 1-inch level of the skillet.
6. Heat the oil on medium high heat.
7. Coat the porkchops with the flour mixture, shake off the excess flour.
8. Dip the flour coated porkchop in the egg wash. 
9. Shake off the excess egg wash and coat again with flour.
10. Drop a little flour in the hot oil, if it sizzles and floats to the top, the oil is ready.
11. Using tongs, gently place the porkchop in the oil.
12. Fry the porkchop for 3 minutes on one side.
13. Use the tongs to flip the porkchop and fry another 2-3 minutes.
14. Check the porkchop for safe internal temperature and enjoy.

Meatloaf is one of the best comfort meals.  I like to serve this with mashed potatoes and cover it with brown gravy.  Add a veggie like green beans or corn for a complete meal.  My favorite tip is to add milk into the meat mixture to ensure that the meat loaf is moist and tender. Check out this simple recipe below.

​Ingredients
2 lbs of ground chuck
1 yellow onion, diced finely
2 tbs of minced garlic
1/3 cup of milk
1 cup of Italian Breadcrumbs
1 tbs of Worcestershire sauce
2 eggs
Onion Powder, to taste
Garlic Powder, to taste
Badia Complete Seasoning, to taste
Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning, to taste
Smoked Paprika, to taste
Black Pepper, to taste
Parsley, to garnish
Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 9”x 5” loaf pan with parchment paper
2.  In a large bowl, mix the meat, eggs, onions, milk, breadcrumbs, dried seasonings, onions, garlic and Worcestershire Sauce.

Note: Be very careful to not overmix.  This can make the meatloaf dense and tough.

1.  Add the mixed meat to the loaf pan and gently shape it evenly. Garnish with parsley.
2. Bake the meatloaf for 50 minutes to an hour or to a safe internal temperature. I recommend putting a pan on the rack underneath the loaf pan because the meatloaf will produce juices as it cooks.
3. Allow meatloaf to stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

It's no secret that we love fried catfish in Louisiana but we don't have to limit ourselves to fried fish. Blackened fish is quick and easy to make.
First, I lightly seasoned the filets and doused the fish in lemon juice.  I covered them with plastic wrap and placed them in the refrigerator overnight. Don't worry, if you don't have that much time, do this for about 30 minutes to an hour.  I then coated the filets with melted butter, seasoned them and pan fried the filets on both sides in a seasoned cast iron skillet.  The result was perfectly, blackened catfish.  Make sure you watch the instagram reel here if you want to see exactly how I did it!

Ingredients
2 lbs of catfish filets
1 lemon (cut in halves)
Tony Chachere’s Cajun Seasoning
Zatarrain’s Blackened Seasoning
Garlic Powder, to taste
Onion Powder, to taste
Slap Ya Mama Seasoning, to taste
Black Pepper, to taste
2 tbs butter (melted)
Canola Oil (2 tbs, adding in 2 tbs intervals as needed)
Parsely, to garnish
Directions

1.  Lay the catfish on a cutting board and pat dry with a paper towel.  Lightly season them with the Tony Chachere’s Seasoning.  Squeeze the lemon halve to release lemon juice all over the fish and rub it into each filet.
2. Flip the fish over to the other side and repeat step 1 using the other lemon halve.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour.
4. In a small bowl, melt the butter in the microwave.
5. Remove the fish from the refrigerator and use a small brush to spread the melted butter all over the fish on both sides.
6. Add the canola oil to a cast iron skillet and heat over medium high heat for about 4 minutes.  Your skillet should start to smoke.
7. Use tongs or a spatula to add one catfish filet to the skillet.  Allow it to cook for 4-5 minutes and then flip it on the other side and repeat. Remove the cooked filet and set it aside on a clean plate.
8. Add more canola oil to the skillet, in 2 tbs intervals, as it becomes consumed by the fish.
9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 until all of the fish is blackened.  Garnish the fish with parsley.