Sick of being sick

As some of you know, my littles and I have been struck down with the flu and the bacterial junk that followed, so not much blogging (or anything for that matter) lately.  Now that I feel like I'm on the upswing again and headed in the right direction, I figured I better get back at it!

Number 1 I'm so proud to say that a full week of being sick and the stress dealing with two very ill little ones and I did not falter once.  Not once did I go for crackers or toast or grilled cheese.  Not once did I punish my already I'll body with anything that would not feed its need to heal.

That being said, I did stick to easy meals and snacks if anyone's appetite called for anything at all, but I've been missing cooking.  So, tonight, I made something new that will likely be a staple through the winter.  I made a delicious gumbo (minus rice) that was so warm and hearty, I wish I could have every one of you for dinner to share.  Well, that and I made an ENORMOUS pot for the three of us to eat.  Get the big pot out folks, here's the recipe....now remover I don't measure much, so adjust to taste.

Rice less Gumbo

2 lbs of chicken breasts (cut in bite sized pieces

Kielbasa (or other ring sausage) 

Uncooked shrimp - tails removed

Ham - diced

A package of celery

2-3 bell peppers 

2 yellow onions

Lots of garlic

Old bay seasoning

Cajun seasoning

1 big can of fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 can of navy beans (wish I would've used more)

1/2 boxes of chicken stock

1/2 stick of unsalted butter (yup, the real stuff!!)

In a stock pot, melt the butter and sautée the onions.  Add other veggies, stock, meats (except shrimp) and seasoning.  Simmer approx 20-30 minutes until chicken is cooked through.  Add shrimp, simmer approx 3 additional minutes until shrimp is opaque.

Serve!!! Yum!!

A little prep, but pretty easy and I had it ready when the kids came home so they just sat down and scarfed down a bowl full.  You could easily add or subtract veggies or meats to suit your taste or add more Cajun seasoning or some cays me for a little more bite.  You could easily add some Quinoa to the mix as well if you felt so inclined, I didn't.

I'll likely be eating this deliciousness for a while, but I've also got chicken parm muffins on this weeks list as well as pizza quiche and some breakfast stuffed sweet potatoes!  Mmmmmmm until then, I'm going to nestle down in my bed with a cough drop and pin myself to sleep.

Goodnight world!