Move Over Martha, Emeril and Rachel!

Not often, but every six weeks or so, I channel my deeply hidden culinary talents. This weekend I felt like cooking.

Yes, me?! I actually wanted to create some delectable dishes.

Perhaps it is all the buzz surrounding that Julie and Julia movie that inspired me (although I have no desire to try French cooking). Perhaps it is the extreme heat and humidity outside that prevented me from wanting to do anything else. Perhaps it is my guilt over not cooking much over the past month. Perhaps it was my very good friend Jen Peters who sent me a message saying she was making dirty rice with shrimp and andouille sausage. (She lives in Wisconsin so I can't let her be the only one making dishes inspired by my Cajun roots, even though she and her husband are A-MAZING cooks!)

Whatever the real reason, on Saturday morning I peered into our deep freezer. Hmmm, we still have two pounds of boiled crawfish tails leftover from that boil we did about six weeks ago. That must be used soon. Also, I see some ground turkey meat. That could be whipped into something fabulous.

That settles it! Time to make another crawfish etoufee' and perhaps my "lazy, light" lasagna. For the crawfish etoufee', I visited Cajun Delights to try a recipe that Marguerite had posted recently.

Now the important question - was I going to be lazy and use an instant roux for the etoufee OR make it from scratch? After some internal debating, I decided to endure the constant stirring and make it from butter and flour like the recipe calls for. I looked up a few tips on how to turn the roux into that copper brown penny coloring a little quicker.


My roux started off looking like this:



After continual stirring and slowly turning up the heat once the flour was dissolved into the butter, my roux then became this - exactly the color I wanted:



I chopped up and added the "Cajun trinity" - onions, bellpeppers and celery:



I added my crawfish (minus the tiny claw I found, heehee):



I brought it to a boil:



Don't forget to add your favorite seasoning!



I simmered it for a few hours (I know the recipe says one hour but I did it longer because I'm a rule breaker like that):



Mmmm, mmmm! Serve over rice with a green salad and some bread. Don't forget to add your favorite wine. Or a cold beer. Whatever feeds your fancy.



Thanks Marguerite! Your recipe was better than Emeril's that I tried last time.


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But I couldn't stop there! I had to make another great meal too. So I did the lazy girl's healthier lasagna:


Lazy, Light Lasagna

1 pound ground turkey meat
1 (26 oz) jar or can of spaghetti sauce - I used Hunt's brand Garlic and Herb
1 (24 oz) carton fat-free cottage cheese
1/3 cup of fat-free shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese
Save some Parmesan cheese for topping.
8 oz of lasagna noodles (I break them in half for easier use and handling)
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 clove garlic, minced
Chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook meat in large skillet over medium-high heat until browned. Drain any grease or fat. Bring back to skillet. Add spaghetti sauce, Italian seasoning and garlic. Bring to a boil. Simmer five minutes.

In separate bowl, mix cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese and shredded cheese. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions.

Spray a 13 x 9 baking dish with cooking spray or butter. Place 1/3 of your spaghetti meat mixture at bottom of pan, covering the bottom. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Add lasagna noodles on top of meat-cheese mixture. (I use a set of tongs to handle the lasagna noodles and place it just right). Repeat the layers again and again until your pan is full or you think you have enough (I only put two or three layers). Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes. Garnish with parsley. Let cool for ten minutes.

Serve with your favorite red Italian wine, Chianti is my favorite.

Here are a few photos of how I put the lazy, light lasagna together:







Don't forget the cheese!














This is my healthier alternative to normal lasagna. (I figured that with the crawfish etoufee butter and flour I used, I should go easy on my second dish) :-)


The meals turned out great. Now I can sit back and refuse to cook for another month. Hahaha!