Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving from The Buttas!


Brushing the Chicken with Olive Oil


Lauren chopping up the sage and rosemary for the chicken!




Time to eat!

Mary's acorn squash!
Cornbread Stuffing

Green bean casserole


Our Thanksgiving Crew! Our special guests included Sally's Mom, Blanche's Mom, Meredith's sister - Lauren, & Mary!



Blanche & Sally with their mamas!


Lauren, Meredith & Lauren!

Happy Turkey Day! Stuff yourselves with stuffing!

This is the recipe for Mama Butta's cornbread stuffing! Although Mama B would claim it got a little too crispy it was a hit and loved by all - Hope you enjoy!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Cornbread Stuffing

1 black iron skillet of cornbread, any recipe (I usually use Jiffy)
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
3 celery ribs, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pound Jimmy Dean sausage (whatever flavor you prefer)
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup melted butter
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon creole seasoning or Lawry's
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pint oysters, drained and chopped (optional)
1 package Pepperidge Farm herb dressing

Make cornbread ahead of time by your favorite recipe in your iron skillet. Saute bell pepper, celery and onions with the sausage. Add all remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Bake in a 450 degree oven, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the crust is brown on top. This will serve 12 amply!

A Butta Thanksgiving

We had a great time celebrating Thanksgiving with our butta friends and family!

Our menu included:

Sour Cream Drop Biscuits

Macaroni and Cheese

The Pioneer Woman's Green Bean Casserole

Acorn Squash Casserole (this dish was amazing!! will have to steal the recipe from our dear friend, Mary Keenan!)

Cornbread Dressing

Baked Chicken We used the same simple, simple recipe that we have made before. We make this chicken often because it is THAT good! And soo easy. Our thanksgiving was a great example of adding fresh herbs, this particular night we used fresh basil and rosemary.

The Pioneer Woman's Pecan Pie

The other recipes and lots of pictures will be posted tomorrow!

Give Thanks!

Tonight the buttas are going to celebrate Thanksgiving! We've invited friends and the buttas have made their favorite dishes: mac and cheese, cornbread dressing, green bean casserole, sour cream drop biscuits, chicken breast (saving the turkey for next week, and more! Stay tuned for pictures of our wonderful Thanksgiving celebration!

We are so thankful for all of our readers (the few that are out there!), our friendship and fellowship we have made through these Tuesday night get-togethers, and most importantly Mama Butta and her taking the time to meet with us and pass along so many great lessons, not always about cooking, that we will treasure!

Hola! - Fajitas Night

The buttas have been experimenting more and more with cooking - all due to the courage Mama B has given us!

Some of our meals may be on the fancier side for a single gal cooking for herself or a few friends. So here is a meal that the buttas made on their own with simple, easy ingredients. Everyone loves a simple go to meal!!

Fajitas! We took pictures when we made this but they are lost on someone's camera. Here is what you need:


pkg. McCormick® Fajita Seasoning Mix
2 tbsp. oil, divided
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts or boneless beef sirloin, cut into ½-inch strips
1 medium onion, cut into thin strips
1 medium bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1/4 cup water
8 flour tortillas (6-inch)
Assorted Toppings: Shredded Cheese, Salsa, Sour Cream, Guacamole or Sliced Tomatoes


HEAT 1 tablespoon of oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add meat; cook and stir 3 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove from skillet. In same skillet, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add onion and bell pepper; cook and stir 3 to 5 minutes. Return meat to skillet.


STIR in water and Seasoning Mix. Cook and stir 3 minutes or until heated through.


SPOON into warm tortillas. Serve with toppings, if desired.

Tipful Tuesday: The Trinity

Mama Butta gives us many tips that are so helpful to beginners in the kitchen. Lots of blogs do themed days - so I figured why not let Mama Butta's helpful tips be a weekly piece of advice to you

so.... introducing TIPFUL TUESDAY!!



The Creole Trinity - onions, green bell pepper and celery


This is a basic combination used for many creole dishes. It is always a good idea to always have the trinity on hand. The possibility for this triplet is truly endless. Try our red beans and rice or gumbo! The French also have a 3 ingredient staple they call mirepoix - carrots, celery and onions. This is used in many French stews and soups.

Tip when cutting celery - glide your knife down the middle of the stalk lengthwise. Cut those pieces in half stack them and chop! Easy dicing!


Mama B has a great way to easily chop an onion. Maybe we will make a video of that for you!!

Check out the red beans and rice recipe we posted earlier today. Hope you will benefit from tipful Tuesday!!

Red Beans & Rice

Red Beans and Rice with Ham & Andouille Sausage

1 pound dry red kidney beans

Water to cover the beans

1 ham bone (Honey Baked or Heavenly Ham)

2 1/2 cups finely chopped celery

2 cups finely chopped

2 cups finely chopped green bell peppers

2-3 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced

2-3 bay leaves

2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves

1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Hot sauce to taste

1 pound andouille sausage, sliced

Hot steamed rice

Cover the beans with water 2 inches above the beans. Let stand overnight. Drain just before using. ** This step is optional. If you don't soak the beans, they will just take longer to cook and require more water**

Place the beans, ham bone, 10 cups of water, celery, onions, bell peppers, garlic, bay leaves and seasonings in a large Dutch oven; stir well. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until meat is falling off the bone, about an hour, stirring occasionally. Remove bone, chop meat into bite sized pieces removing excess fat as you go, then put the ham back into the beans. Add sliced andouille sausage (brown first if you wish), add more water if required, them simmer until beans are soft and creamy!

Serve over mound of rice!

(This recipe is a meaty one - when we made this dish we doubled the beans and the spices but I think next time I make it on my own I'll make it this way!)

Here are pictures and helpful tips when making this dish!

Everything is added and starting to boil.



This is our sausage that we used - we sliced it into thin coins. Slice it, chunk it do whatever you would like, bite sized pieces are easier to eat!


This step is optional since the sausage is pre-cooked, but it gives it a great smokey flavor when you sear the sausage. If you chose to do this step, after you add the sausage to the pot - take some of the broth and put it into the empty hot sausage pan. Take a rubber spatula and scrape all of the leftover greasy goodness off the pan and add it back into the bean pot. This will kick up the sausage flavor!



Take the ham bone when the meat is tender and beginning to fall off - use tongs because it will be HOT! Since Mama Butta made a batch of beans for us to eat and we cooked our own for later, we let the ham bone cool down while we ate before we picked the meat off. Just leave it for a little while until it stops steaming. Pick off the meat to add back into the pot and feel free to sample!


Finished product! As you can see the beans become very creamy!


Put over rice & enjoy!!

We're back!!!!

It had been a while since the buttas have been able to get together and last night we were reunited over some red beans and rice!

Be looking for the great & simple recipe that will be a must have "to-go" recipe!

Last night - we reunited over great conversation, learning about Louisiana traditions from Mama Butta, talking about the recent election, putting ideas together for a Thanksgiving meal with guests, and ending the night laughing at Modern Family while ate a delicious apple crisp with vanilla icecream!

A little history/culture lesson:

Mama Butta explained that when she was growing up in Louisiana, it was a tradition to have red beans and rice on Mondays. Because Monday was laundry day - it was easy to have your red beans and rice cookin' away while laundry and other chores were being done. Mama B even said that he would have it at school for lunch on Mondays and still remembers it fondly! Check out this link to read more about Louisiana traditions!

We then got to talking about cultural traditions and how each one of us had a comfort food that we thought of when we thought about home; we were so thankful that Mama B shared hers with us!!

In the line of traditions - we decided we would bring our favorite Thanksgiving dish and invite a guest to come join the butta clan in two weeks! Can't wait to sample everyone's favorites!

As soon as I get them - I'll post the recipe and the pictures!

Enjoy your rainy Thursday! :)