By Christy Turnipseed

Chances are cold weather puts you in the mood for comfort food. But you probably don’t have the time to put it all together.  Two kitchen appliances I love (besides my Le Creuset Dutch Oven) is my Crockpot and rice cooker. With a Crockpot you can just walk in the door after a long day at work to dinner almost prepared. Also, a rice cooker is my new favorite. I’m terrible at cooking rice. I mean, bad. Rice cookers are fairly inexpensive and you never ruin a batch of rice! Amazing!

Now you don’t need both to prepare this dish – which I call lazy “gumbo” — but if you make it before work or during a lunch break, you can come home to a great dinner.

It is a “gumbo” with quotation marks because instead of making roux I made an easier vegetable soup based type.

So it’s not a really an authentic style gumbo, but it works when you’re in a hurry or when you’re not feeling your best and still want dinner on the table.

Lazy Chicken and Sausage “Gumbo” in the Crockpot

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs, cubed (or if you are really lazy you can cube some and lay a few whole ones on the bottom of the Crockpot and shred later, which I did)

1/2 lb. fully cooked kielbasa sausage, chopped

3 medium celery stalks with leaves, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

1 medium Spanish onion, chopped

2 cans (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes with juice

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (leave them whole and pull out the steams later)

1 bag frozen succotash (corn and lima beans)

1 32 oz. chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne  (or more to your liking)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 6oz. can tomato paste

1/2 bag whole frozen okra

3 cups hot cooked white rice

Frank’s Red Hot Pepper Sauce, to serve

Fresh Thyme leaves, to serve

Directions

Mix chicken, sausage, celery, carrot, onion, tomatoes, peppers, thyme, succotash, broth and all seasoning in 4- to 5-quart slow cooker.

Cover and cook on high setting 3 hours or low for 6 hours.

Stir in tomato paste and cook on medium setting for 35 minutes.

Add frozen okra, turn heat to low while making rice.

Spoon “gumbo” over rice and serve with hot sauce if preferred and fresh thyme leaves.

Christy Turnipseed is Birmingham born and raised. She’s a vintage jewelry designer for Lil’ Seeds. She’s a foodie, art and music lover and blogs at al.com and lifeofaturnip.com. She’s on twitter@cturnip.

By Christy Turnipseed

Now that the most exciting football games of the season are here, hosting friends and family can be somewhat intimidating. I love being a hostess to any type of gathering — game night, movie night, or dinner party — but sometimes it can be a challenge to know what to make for people who are being social but still glued to that television watching their team play on the field.

Sometimes you just can’t escape the classics, those recipes you simply crave at certain times of the year thanks to memories of family get-togethers or thoughts of party food. Football games are one of those things in the South. Hot dips in the fall are certainly one of those classics for me and this hot creole crab dip is definitely in that category. Canned crab is great on a budget, but if you want to splurge on the lump crab meat, trust me, I’m not stopping you. The crab is the star ingredient melding with the cheeses and they both shine thanks to its simplicity.

Whichever team you root for, your friends and family will enjoy this simple yet elegant dip this season.

Ingredients:

8 oz. crab meat, claw or lump

1 8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup greek yogurt

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

4 tablespoons minced green onion, white and green parts

2 large garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

2 tablespoons Panko bread crumbs

1 tablespoon fresh parsley for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Drain crabmeat if necessary and pick through any shells or cartilage. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine the crab meat, cream cheese, greek yogurt, parmesan, green onion, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, hot sauce,  and Old Bay seasoning. Adjust seasoning to taste (and hot sauce). Top with crumbled goat cheese and Panko bread crumbs and bake for 25-30 minutes until lightly golden on top. Serve hot with hot sauce on the side, crackers or slices of baguette. Makes 10-12 servings.

Christy Turnipseed is Birmingham born and raised. She’s a vintage jewelry designer for Lil’ Seeds. She’s a foodie, art and music lover and blogs at al.com and lifeofaturnip.com. She’s on twitter@cturnip.

By Christy Turnipseed

When the month of August rolls around here in the South, no one wants to even think about turning on their ovens and being in the kitchen. Lately I’ve been making a lot of “no cook” dinners that involve simple, fresh summer ingredients without having to even turn on that oven knob. It’s a great time to use up all that fantastic summer produce found at your local farmers markets and enjoy the bounty of summer before it’s gone.

This recipe is a great side to anything you put on the grill and is the perfect dish to take to a barbecue potluck. It’s also great as a lunch salad to pack into a mason jar to take to work the next day. Simple and fresh, it’s like summer in a bowl.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons fig infused vinegar or white wine vinegar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

5 ears fresh corn, husked

2 cups red grape tomatoes, halved (about 1 pint package)

1 bunch scallions (white and parts of the green), thinly sliced

8 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into small cubes

1 ½ cups fresh basil leaves

Directions

Whisk the vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil in a steady stream, to make a smooth dressing.

Shear off the corn kernels with a sharp knife over a large bowl. Toss in the tomatoes, scallions, and mozzarella. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss to coat. Cover and let sit for 15 minutes or up to 2 hours. Before serving, slice the basil into strips and add to the salad and stir.

Christy Turnipseed is Birmingham born and raised. She’s a vintage jewelry designer for Lil’ Seeds. She’s a foodie, art and music lover and blogs at al.com and lifeofaturnip.com. She’s on twitter@cturnip.

By Christy Turnipseed

Oh the joys of summer! One thing I love about summer is the start of all the great local produce that comes in season and I love visiting the wonderful local farmers markets.  I’m so glad that my city of Birmingham, Ala., has an abundance of local farmers markets so I generally stock up with fresh produce every week and plan my weeknight dinners based on what I bought. How can you not take advantage of such great goodness?

One summer dish that I love to make is panzanella. It’s quick, easy and perfect for al fresco dining on your back patio. It’s great to make for a summertime dinner party for a crowd, a potluck barbecue, or simply a weeknight dinner for two.  It was a cinch to make and brightly-colored, flavored and textured. You can prepare it ahead of time as well. I had all the veggies, croutons and the vinaigrette in separate bowls, so that they were all prepared when you’re ready to serve. If you wanted to add protein, grilled shrimp would be a nice addition to this summer feast.

Summer Panzanella

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 small French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 6 cups)

2 large, ripe tomatoes, diced and seeds removed

1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and cut in 1/2 –inch slices

1 yellow bell pepper, diced and seeds removed

½ red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced

8 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into 1-inch cubes

20 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons capers, drained

For the vinaigrette:

1 teaspoon finely minced garlic

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF degrees. Spread the bread pieces on a baking sheet, sprinkle olive oil on top and toast until deep golden brown, about 15 minutes. Stir once or twice as they’re toasting. Set aside to cool.
2. For the vinaigrette, whisk together the ingredients.
3. In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow pepper, red onion, mozzarella, basil and capers. Add the bread cubes and toss with vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Serve immediately, or allow the salad to sit for about half an hour for the flavors to combine.

Christy Turnipseed is Birmingham born and raised. She’s a vintage jewelry designer for Lil’ Seeds. She’s a foodie, art and music lover and blogs at al.com and lifeofaturnip.com. She’s on twitter@cturnip.     

Do you have an idea for our food column?

Send your pitches to seejanewritemag@gmail.com.