Yats Chili Cheese Etouffee

For this month's copy cat meal I made Yats Chili Cheese Etouffee, which I love to eat and say :) I am including the recipe below. The next time I make it, I will change a few things: I think i will saute the chopped veggies in a different pan and then add them to the roux, or maybe just cook it longer? They didn't soften up how I wanted. Also, I didn't put any onions in, to appease Mr. Gourmet Diva. :-) I thought it was pretty tasty and hope others do to!

1 stick butter
½ c. flour
1 c. chopped green onions
1 c. diced celery
1 c. diced bell peppers
1 c. diced onions
2 t. minced garlic
1 c. Rotel Original diced tomatoes
½ t. dried thyme
1 T. tomato paste
1 t. dried basil
¼ t. black pepper
¼ t. white pepper
¼ t. cayenne pepper
3 c. chicken stock
3 c. shredded aged cheddar
8 oz. half and half or heavy cream
1 t. chili powder
pinch ground coriander
pinch ground cumin
pinch ground cloves
dash Leas and Perrins Worcestershire sauce
Dash Tabasco sauce
1 lb cooked crawfish, shrimp and/or chicken
Cooked white rice

Make a roux by heating the butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat then blending in the flour, sonsistently stirring and scraping the bottom of the skillet. Cook until the roux is golden color

Add the green onions, celery, bell peppers, onions, garlic and tomatoes and cook until the onions have browned

Add the thyme, tomato paste, basil and peppers (black, white, and cayenne)

Add the stock, bring to a boil and simmer until the mixture becomes thick

Add the cheese, half and half, chili powder, coriander, cumin, cloves, Lea and Perrins and Tabasco and stir until the cheese and half and half are blended in well

Gently stir in the crawfish, shrimp and/or chicken and serve with white rice. Garnish with chopped green onions and drizzle with some dry sherry.

Serves 6-8

PF Chang's Mongolian Beef


PF Chang's takes me straight back to my early 20's. It was always a popular place for girl's nights and first dates. Besides the lettuce wraps, I almost always ordered the Mongolian Beef. It's great served over rice or rice noodles!

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon ginger, minced
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
vegetable oil, for frying (about 1 cup)
1 lb flank steak
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 large green onions, sliced on the diagonal into one-inch lengths

Preparation:
1. Make the sauce by heating 2 tsp of vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over med/low heat.
2. Don't get the oil too hot.
3. Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches.
4. Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then raise the heat to about medium and boil the sauce for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
5. Remove it from the heat.
6. Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4" thick bite-size slices (Tilt the blade of your knife at about a forty five degree angle to the top of the steak so that you get wider cuts).
7. Dip the steak pieces into the cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef.
8. Let the beef sit for about 10 minutes so that the cornstarch sticks.
9. As the beef sits, heat up one cup of oil in a wok (you may also use a skillet for this step as long as the beef will be mostly covered with oil).
10. Heat the oil over medium heat until it's nice and hot, but not smoking.
11. Add the beef to the oil and sauté for just two minutes, or until the beef just begins to darken on the edges.
12. You don't need a thorough cooking here since the beef is going to go back on the heat later.
13. Stir the meat around a little so that it cooks evenly.
14. After a couple minutes, use a large slotted spoon to take the meat out and onto paper towels, then pour the oil out of the wok or skillet.
15. Put the pan back over the heat, dump the meat back into it and simmer for one minute.
16. Add the sauce, cook for one minute while stirring, then add all the green onions.
17. Cook for one more minute, then remove the beef and onions with tongs or a slotted spoon to a serving plate.
18. Leave the excess sauce behind in the pan.

Panera Mac 'n Cheese (from Dessert Diva)

Greetings, Diva fans! I've been on a bit of a bloggy break for quite some time, but I'm back and ready to give you an awesome recipe! Our theme for this month is "Restaurant Copycats." I went back and forth several times on which recipe to go with, but ultimately, I chose a recipe from one of my favorite food bloggers and one of the very few chain restaurants we frequent in my family. Panera's Mac 'n Cheese is delish! Hope you give this recipe a try and love it!

Here's the link to the recipe over at Annie's Eats!