Author: stlmaryland

Slow-Cooker Gumbo Rice Bowl with Turkey and Andouille Sausage

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I love New Orleans. It is spectacular in my opinion — the food, the atmosphere… I fell in love instantly. I was lucky enough to had traveled to NOLA twice for Mardi Gras. And even went when Mardi Gras landed on my Birthday in 1997!! Ok, did I just date myself?

Even though I haven’t been to NOLA in years, I pay homage to Fat Tuesday at my home regardless. Now of course I use to go all out and decorate, make a kings cake for dessert and even hide a plastic baby. But life is much more busier than it use to be and now all I have time for is basically cooking up dinner, LOL.

I wanted to make Gumbo — but I made a twist from the norm and made it a rice bowl instead. It might not look like much but the flavor pops once you take a spoonful!

Slow-Cooker Gumbo Bowl with Turkey and Andouille Sausage | Small Town Living in Nevada

Slow-Cooker Gumbo Rice Bowl with Turkey and Andouille Sausage

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 lb (1 stick) butter
  • 4 oz gluten free flour
  • 1 Small onions, diced
  • 2 celery stalks, diced
  • 2 cups turkey broth
  • 1-1/2 teaspoon Creole seasoning
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • pinch of dried hot red pepper flakes
  • pinch of chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
  • 12 ounce bag of okra
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 12 ounce andouille sausage, sliced
  • 1 lb. turkey tenderloin, diced
  • 3 cups uncooked rice

Directions:

  1. Heat a crockpot up and add all ingredients except flour, butter and rice. Stirring every few hours.
  2. In a small pot melt butter over moderately low heat. Gradually add a third of the flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.. Add another third more flour still stir constantly. Then add remaining third of flour still stirring constantly to cook roux until it is dark in color.
  3. Cook gumbo for 8 hours on low.
  4. Cook rice according to directions. When rice is ready add rice to Gumbo and mix to incorporate. Serve immediately.

Gluten Free Seafood Pasta with a Garlic Cream Sauce

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I wanted to do something different for Valentine’s Day instead of the usual Steak Dinner. So on Saturday I made a Seafood Pasta that consisted of shrimp and swai white fish.

I decorated the table for the family… because Valentine’s Day is a family affair at my house. And I love place mats and love to break out holiday mats for the occasion! And since my birthday is right before Valentine’s Day I already had the stunning flower arrangement that my parents had delivered to me.

Valentine Place setting

Then i started making dinner. My family loves pasta — and white sauces are my favorite! This recipe is mild so you don’t have a huge fishy flavor which makes it perfect for kids and adults alike. Add a salad with dinner makes it foolproof!

Gluten Free Seafood Pasta with Garlic Cream Sauce | Small Town Living in Nevada

Gluten Free Seafood Pasta with a Garlic Cream Sauce

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons garlic, minced
1/4 cup white onion, chopped
2 cups extra dry vermouth
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup butter
1 pound shrimp
2 fillets white fish, cut into 3 strips.
1 pound cooked gluten free pasta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

In a large saute pan, heat 1/4 cup oil and cook garlic and onions until translucent, about 2 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the vermouth and add parsley, basil and thyme and let the liquid reduce by half. Using a fine strainer, strain the reduction into a clean saucepan and add the cream, milk and butter. Over low heat, let the sauce reduce to medium thickness. To the now empty saute pan saute the white fish, cook until opaque and remove to a platter in a warm place. Then use the same pan to saute shrimp just until pink, and remove to the platter. Add cream sauce to saute pan to toss the drained pasta with the cream sauce and seafood. Transfer to a serving dish, and sprinkle with extra cheese and parsley, as garnish. Arrange shrimp and white fish on top.

Adapted from Food Network

I love you sugar cookie

And then later for dessert we enjoyed some Heart Shaped Gluten Free Sugar Cookies topped with Hersey’s Chocolate Syrup. All in all our meal was perfect! Hope you had a wonderful Valentine’s Day just as we did!

Fat Tuesday

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I have a nice crockpot of Gluten Free Gumbo brewing. Might even make some hurricane’s for when my husband gets home. I so can’t wait for dinner tonight. Nevertheless, I will be posting the recipe tomorrow if not sometime tonight.

Then tomorrow the ritual of fasting begins for Lent.

But for now “Laissez les bons temps rouler,” (Let the good times roll) until then….

Happy Mardi Gras | Small Town Living in Nevada

Waffles with Dippy Eggs (as my kids call them)

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The kids love waffles (Obviously) but I always want them to have some protein with their waffles as well. So I put the two together. I used frozen gluten free waffles for this recipe of course. Add some bacon as a side and you have a really tasty breakfast.

Waffle Dippy Eggs | Small Town Living in Nevada

Waffles with Dippy Eggs

Ingredients:

  • 6 gluten free Frozen Waffles (I used Krusteaz brand)
  • 6 eggs
  • Butter
  • Syrup

Directions:

Toast waffles in a toaster. Then cut a hole in the middle with a biscuit cutter.

Heat a large frying pan; melt butter. Once the pan is nice and hot place the waffles on the pan and crack eggs into the waffle’s middles.

Cook eggs to your desired liking.

Homemade Valentine’s Day Cards

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I love making the kids Valentine’s Cards. Thinking about it, I don’t recall ever actually buying pre-made valentine cards over the years for my kids.

Even though my daughter is in 2nd grade, all my kids were in day care at one time or another before they were ever in school. And well they would exchange cards at their day care center just like kids do at schools. So we have been making our cards for years!

Nevertheless, for the last three valentine’s I have been taking pictures of the kids so I can make 3-D Valentine’s Day Cards. My youngest had to wait until this year to finally get his… and I have to say all three really came out cute!

AdenValentine2015 ArikValentine2015

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Gluten Free BLT with a fried egg

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Today is my birthday and it felt like a BLT with Fried egg kind of day.

The kids are all at school… and I am home alone enjoying the peace and quiet. Gonna make a BLT with a Fried egg for breakfast…. yep, it is so far a good morning!

Gluten Free BLT with fried Egg | Small Town Living in Nevada

My parents are in town visiting so when my father comes into town he always brings me the fruits of his garden regardless if I have a garden going or not. But this trip he brought me vine ripened tomatoes out of his garden. A nice little addition to my sandwich!

Since my husband is allergic to sodium nitrates and msg I don’t fry up bacon practically ever. However, I do always keep a box on hand for when I get a craving. And of course today was the day and ohhhhhh, was it worth it!

Gluten Free BLT with a fried egg

Ingredients:

  • 6 thick slices of bacon
  • 2 slices of gluten free bread, toasted – I used Udi’s
  • 1-2 tablespoons mayonnaise – I used Best Foods
  • 3 tomato slices – garden fresh!
  • 2 leaves of green leaf lettuce
  • 1 large egg — I used fresh out of the chicken coop!
  1. In a skillet, cook the bacon over moderate heat, turning, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
  2. Spread the mayonnaise on both slices of toast, then top with the bacon, tomato and lettuce.
  3. In the same skillet that the bacon was fried, add the egg and fry over moderate heat, turning once, until crisp around the edge, about 3 minutes; the yolk should still be runny. Slide the egg onto the lettuce; close the sandwich and eat right away.

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Please email stlnevada@gmail.com for questions and inquiries.

About Small Town Living in Nevada

My kids, husband and I have a lot of food allergies but it doesn’t stop us from eating well or from having fun! In June 2014 I launched Small Town Living in Nevada originally via Facebook to share my Gluten Free Recipes and my zany family adventures. Since my blog is so very specific with mainly Gluten Free recipes, I have been delighted with the response as my blog now has been visited by over 1000 people since June 2014. In addition to sharing my crafts, activities, and recipes here on my blog, I am an avid user of Pinterest (1,000+ pins and 67 followers), in addition to building a great community on Facebook (433 fans).

Founded via Facebook on June 17, 2014.

Moved blog to WordPress: September 2014.


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So much that has gone on since Friday

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I have been planning a birthday party for my two sons. Their birthdays are 5 days apart so every year since the youngest has been one, the boys have been having a combo-birthday together. This year they were celebrating 6 years old and 4 years old  birthdays together. I know eventually they will want separate birthdays but for now I like combining the two together.

Unfortunately, we had a storm hit us on Friday – the night before the party. This storm was worse than the one that hit us in December. Weird thing is — our area has never experienced such destruction like this ever from windstorms or rain prior to the December Windstorm.

This time — our Trampoline that takes several adults to lift to move was flung by the 90 mph winds like it was a feather. Our neighbors tree was uprooted and toppled over nearly missing our fence. Our tent trailer’s roof popped open and my father and I were out in the gust for nearly 30 minutes trying to get the roof down and latched. And then another 15+ minutes trying to gather up the chickens and put them in the coop and praying the coop wouldn’t blow over. Then while I was gathering the chickens my father yells, “The Shed!!” I turn around and our shed that the ATV was in blew over and teetered upside down and almost over the fence into our other neighbors yard. And of course, now I have been suffering with massive sinus congestion and a stuffed up nose since being in the wind. And I was just starting to feel better after being sick for 6 weeks with bronchitis.

IMG_0210 IMG_0212

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Gluten Free Grilled/Barbecued Fish Tacos

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My kids love tacos and they love fish — so the combination of a Fish Taco is always a Dinner success at my house.

Unfortunately, it took me many years to even try a fish taco. And this is coming from a California girl who grew up only 45 minutes from the beaches of Santa Cruz as well as the bay side city of San Francisco. Nevertheless, once I tried a fish taco, I was HOOKED! Haha, pun intended!

These tacos are relatively on the healthy side and boast a lot of flavor. They are easy on your wallet, and extremely fast and simple to pull together. Instead of deep-frying the fish for these fish tacos, we coat the fish with a flavor-packed rub and grill them for just 3-5 minutes per side.

I used affordable swai white fish, and rubbed it with a generous amount of Kinder’s Mild BBQ Rub. The fish was then thrown on the barbecue for several minutes until it was cooked to perfection. The Swai was then topped with a perfect mixture of tomatoes, onions, cilantro, cabbage and a dash of Sour Cream and Sriracha sauce all inside a nice warm, crunchy tortilla.

BBQ Grilled Fish Tacos | Small Town Living in Nevada

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Stabilized Whipped Cream Frosting

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Starting at the end of January til the 2nd week of Feb, my family celebrates three birthdays one after another! Both my son’s and then followed by my birthday. My daughter’s b-day is in November and my husband’s birthday is in December. So from November through February I call it birthday season!! Thank goodness birthday season is coming to an end and life as we know it will be back to normal… cause you know what — all those birthdays revolve around Christmas — so it is just one thing after another. Time for a long rejuvenating nap, please!

I have never made stabilized whipped cream frosting before and decided to finally give it a try. Especially since my husband over the course of 17 years has always been a fan of whipped cream frosting and well me a total buttercream frosting kinda gal. However, if I am making the cake it is gonna be buttercream so I have never made a whipped cream frosting until today. And I have to say it was fairly simple to make!

Stabilized Whipped Cream Ingredients

The technique I’m using uses unflavored gelatin. Which is a very simple stabilizer for the cream and, unlike some other methods, doesn’t change the taste or color of your whipped cream at all.

The whipped cream really firms up nicely and you can actually pipe it and it won’t sag or weep. I was able to use my trusty Wilton decorating piping tips and the frosting stood up beautifully!

Stabilized Whipped Cream Frosting

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