a new nothing with a speckled handle

this recipe comes straight from pinterest.  i've tried to find the exact source and i think it was originally pinned from a pinner named mandy baughn - so she's gonna get the credit.  thanks, mandy - whoever you are!  she has it pinned as being a soup, but i think it is as versatile as you can possibly imagine.  i have made this recipe twice now and the second time i made a few slight adjustments and i absolutely loved it.  i think the improved recipe is so good that you can use it for whatever you can think up.  for instance, i've added milk to it at the end and eaten it as soup.  i have used it just as is and poured the creamy mixture over rice.  i've used the leftovers wrapped up in a tortilla with cheese and avocado.  i even had some large fritos and used them to dip right into the yummy mixture.  make it however you want, it's creamy and slightly spicy and entirely delicious. 1 can S&W mexican stewed tomatoes 1 can corn ...

in honor of mardi gras this year i made red beans and rice from scratch.  i am grateful to say that 6 years of my life took place in new orleans, la.  well, actually it was 5 years and 1 month + 11 months while we were displaced because of hurricane katrina, but we won't talk about that.  and during those 11 months in utah my heart was still in new orleans.  in case you're not familiar with new orleans, their claim to fame is FOOD.  and no ordinary food will do, no no no.  it must be GREAT FOOD.  and believe me, we had GREAT FOOD while we lived there.  and lots of it.   one of our favorite dishes was red beans and rice.  now that we don't live in new orleans, it's not as convenient to just run to the store and buy a can of already prepared Blue Runner beans.  so, i decided to come up with a recipe all on my own that used the slow cooker (it was sunday dinner and now with 1 o'clock church i'm using my slow cooke...

my inspiration for this dish comes from a small restaurant in new orleans called mat and naddie's.  after living in new orleans for 6 years, my husband and i had our favorite places to go for dinner.  as you can imagine, the cuisine in that city is top notch, so the decision was always a tough one.  if i got to choose, though, i would pick mat and naddie's hands down as one of THE best restaurants in new orleans.  when my mom came to stay with us, my husband was nice enough to watch the kiddos while we went to lunch at mat and naddie's.  my mom chose the short ribs, while i chose...oddly enough i can't remember because her short ribs were the life of the lunch.  (it was probably the ahi tuna steak.  i often got that there.  i do remember my crawfish cheesecake that i got.  to.die.for)  my mom and i have talked about those for years, well, ok, it's only been a year.  but, i swear those short ribs come up in A LOT of o...

you CANNOT go wrong making a pot roast if you follow this recipe.  i promise!  and your husband will thank me.  2 ½ lb. chuck roast underblade 2 onions 10 + carrots beef broth Italian seasoning or rosemary, dried or sprigs Thyme Kosher salt Black pepper 1 can diced tomatoes Olive oil Start at 6:30am, meat in by 7:15am Turn crockpot on to low. 1. Cut onions in half from end to end. 2. Peel and wash carrots. Cut into 2” pieces on the diagonal. 3. Heat sauté pan with enough olive oil to coat pan. 4. Saute onions on both sides in pan until browned. Remove to a plate. 5. Saute carrots the same way until brown. 6. GENEROUSLY coat outside of meat on all sides with kosher salt. (A LOT) Repeat with Italian seasoning (or rosemary) and thyme. Sprinkle a little black pepper on too. 7. Place meat in hot pan and sear on all sides until BROWN (about 5 min per side at med-high heat). Remove to crock pot. 8. Starting with a little beef broth mix (3-4 tsps. bouillon in 2 cup...