Expirimenting and Throwing Things Together

 02/10/17 254.4 lbs

Justin Wilson  is the quentessential Cajun cook, especially of his era. Typically, he would lay out his recipee, give you the ingredients, then he would fudge his recipees, often with the wine being the biggest culprit of bad measurements.

My husband's Grandpa? His recipees were a bit more like my own: "If you're gonna cook, start with a bottle of wine. Drink that bottle of wine, then throw everything in the pot and cook it."

Being of a more sober cooking mind, you would expect that I would have better recall of what the heck I put into my meals. Until recently? Naw. Not until I started to use Lose it!

I randomly pick up food at the grocery store, and only rarely pick up stuff with an actual meal in mind. The yogurt, I picked up to try another recipee with, but only needed a cup of. The Pork Spareribs? Bought a day earlier than reguar shopping while killing time at a Rouses Epicurian Market. The Cheese is a staple good of our house.  But it was the  Collard Greens that gave me the idea to do this 2-for-1 recipee. They are a part of the common food of my people.

So, this was cooking for two,  which resulted in two seperate meals and a lunch for my spouse.

2.5 lbs of Spareribs,  trimmed, and cut in to pinky-knuckle or so sized chunks. Split into two piles. Cook the fat down.
14 washed and deveined Collard Greens (be sure to leave the front intact.
2 cups of plain Greek yogurt
1/2-2/3 cup of Colby & Monterey Jack Cheese, shreaded.
1 cup of brown rice and broth

So, I put 1 healthy tablespoon  (not heaping, but still more than a Tablespoon) of yogurt, about 8 pieces of meat and a pinch of cheese, probably about a teaspoon or two.

The fold of the leaf was to fold in the edges parallel to the leaf vein,  first, then roll from stem to top of leaf, second, and to place seam side down in the pan you used to cook the fat in. (I gave it to my spouse to split with the dogs--whatever he was willing to give up, that is. Oh, yeah!) You will need to keep this from sticking.

So, mistakes made:

1. I forgot to season it. Bland food with lots of fats is still decent, but this could have been better. Not very Cajun of me. Even the spouse noticed it was bland.

2. I cooked it on too high a setting for the collard greens, cooking it at a lower temperature  (between medium and low) would have been better for the entirety of the dish. It also works better if the meat was pre-cooked.

3.This would have worked better if the stuffing was premixed, so that you can cut back on the cheese and yogurt.

4. Steaming the Collard Greens a tad bit beforehand would have made them easier to roll without breaking. Being thorough in removing the veins would make it easier to bite into. (They have veins like celery--stringy, we don't normally eat this part.)


The second dish is easy: you throw what remains together and you cook it down, WITH SEASONING, and eat it the next day (today, in fact).

What, no roux?!?!? No  Holy Trinity?  Cut up my  Coonasse  Card, and declare me a full  Couillon!

Both dishes, as they are, were approximately 650 calories, with each wrap being about 175 (ate 5), and 2 bowls for the second one. Out of the wraps, there was a light lunch for the spouse to bring to work.  Overall, it wasn't bad, but a heck of a lot of changes to make for next time.