INGREDIENTS: (Makes 10-15 servings)

• 1 pound box thin spaghetti
• 1 and 1/2 sticks butter
• 12 oz can evaporated milk
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 2 large eggs – beaten
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 and 1/2 lbs of shredded Sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

INSTRUCTIONS 

1. Break spaghetti in half (or buy in box already halved) and cook as directed
2. Microwave butter in a measuring cup until melted
3. Drain spaghetti.
4. To spaghetti, add melted butter, 1 lb of shredded sharp cheddar cheese, cream cheese and eggs. Mix together until cheeses are melted
5. Add salt and pepper to taste (usually 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp each)
6. Add evaporated milk and stir
7. Pour into greased pan and add the remaining 1/2 pound of shredded cheddar to the top. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until slightly brown on the top

This is delicious with a little gravy on top too. Enjoy! (Printable recipe version below).

SHOP LISA’S FAVORITES

Craving some Louisiana Cajun comfort food? Here’s our recipe for some delicious Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice!

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SHOP LISA’S FAVORITES

Get out your slow cooker and get ready for some Cajun red beans and rice! After some trial and error with different recipes, this mixture was by far the best! It’s our Louisiana traditional Monday night dish made easy and oh so good.

INGREDIENTS: (Serves 6)

• 1 lb (16oz) package of red kidney beans
• 6 cups water
• Reynolds Slow Cooker Liners (if you want easy clean up!)
• 1 package of Cubed Ham (Chisesi’s is best – if you know, you know! It’s a New Orleans thing though) You can also ask the deli to cut a thick slab of ham and you can cube it at home.
• 1 link of Smoked Pork Sausage or Andouille Sausage
• 1 cup diced onion – (I use this chopper for easy dicing)
• 1/4 cup diced celery (or 1 stalk of celery)
• 1/2 cup green bell pepper
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 small bay leaves or 1 big leaf
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (1/2 teaspoon for spicier)
• 1 tsp salt or to taste

SHOP MY FAVORITES

INSTRUCTIONS 

1. Rinse red beans and add them to the slow cooker. I like to add a Reynolds Slow Cooker Liner because I can throw it away when done and it makes clean up easier.
2. Add and 6 cups of water (you can soak beans overnight in the crockpot if desired)
3. Cut the seasoned ham and smoked pork sausage into bite-size pieces. (I like to fry the ham and sausage for about five minutes for added flavor but if you’re in a rush, just add these right into the slow cooker from the package.)
4. Cut the vegetables- my favorite chopper … Makes my life so much easier!
5. Add chopped onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, bay leaves, cayenne and salt Into the slow cooker
6. Set slow cooker to high for six hours or low for 8 to 10 hours, depending on your schedule. It tastes delicious on any of these settings and the slow cooker will do it’s job even if you are not home. So easy right?
7. Once cooked, mash the beans on the side or bottom of the crockpot while stirring to thicken up the gravy. Cook a pot of rice and enjoy!

SHOP MY FAVORITES

Craving some more Louisiana Cajun cooking? Here’s our recipe for some delicious Crawfish Étouffée!

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With inflation rising steadily, we are all looking for ways to cut costs. An average bottle of laundry detergent can cost .20 cents per load. Here’s a recipe for making your own laundry detergent that costs less than half that amount. At around .06 cents per load, you can save over $100 a year!

• 3 bars of Fels Naptha soap
• One 36 oz. box of Borax detergent
• One 3lb box of Arm & Hammer Laundry Booster Super Washing Soda
• 2 cups of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda
• 1 of the 3 lb tubs of Oxi Clean
• Scent Beads (any scent – optional)

If you don’t like these brands for any reason, here are other options:

• FOCA detergent (instead of Borax and Arm & Hammer)
• Castille or Zote Soap (instead of Fels Naptha)

Directions: Grate or chop in food processor all bars of Fels Naptha soap. Add box of Borax and box of Super Washing Soda, 2 cups of baking soda, 3 lbs of Oxi Clean and optional scent beads into a large container or clean plastic trash bag and mix all ingredients together well. Use 1 tablespoon per small load or 2 tablespoons per large load.

NOTE: I have heard that the Fels Naphta may not disintegrate unless finely chopped in a food processor or melted by using hot water in your washing machine while washing clothes.

Want some Free Printable Laundry Labels to put on your jar of detergent you’re making? Get 12 Free Printable Labels here

Q&A

Is this safe to use in HE washers?

Check your owners manual but yes, it is safe to use in mine and should be safe for most if not all HE washers due to the low suds quality of the detergent. If you want to be safe, fill up washer first and add to water

Does it get your clothes clean?

YES! It gets out grass, mustard, ketchup, mud stains, etc and works really well

What about sensitive skin?

As always, test first if you have sensitive skin and research ingredients but we have a person with eczema in our household and have no issues.

Want to learn how to make restaurant quality, Shrimp Étouffée like a chef, but the easy way? Well now you can. Just follow these easy steps and you’ll impress all of your friends and family!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups Chopped onion (I use my favorite chopping gadget)
• 1 cup Chopped green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup Chopped celery
• 1/4 cup Sliced green onion (set aside and add last 15 minutes)
• 32 ounces (less for thicker sauce) Seafood stock
• 16 ounces frozen (easiest but thaw before cooking) or fresh, peeled and deveined shrimp tails
• 1 tbsp Minced garlic
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp (for spicier) Cayenne Pepper
• 1/2 cup Salted butter
• 1/2 cup Flour

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Chop vegetables and set aside to have available (I use a vegetable chopper and it saves me so much time)! Keep green onions separate and add the last 15 minutes of simmering.
2. Melt butter in a skillet
3. Add flour to the skillet
4. Continuously stir butter and flour mixture together for 4 minutes or until caramel color or peanut butter color.
5. Add vegetables to the skillet as soon as the roux (flour and butter mixture) has turned caramel/peanut butter color or the roux will burn. The vegetables will cool the roux and stop it from burning.
6. Sauté for 8 minutes or until the vegetables are wilted
7. Add the garlic and stir into the vegetables
8. Pour in the seafood stock and stir until fully incorporated into the vegetable/roux mixture. Add cayenne and salt. 
9. Stir and bring to a slow boil. Reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes
10. Add green onions and thawed shrimp (if frozen, you can add the shrimp in the previous step. Also, if you like your shrimp smaller and less firm, add them in the previous step). Stir, cover and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes
11. Serve over cooked rice. And enjoy!

Craving some more Louisiana Cajun cooking? Here’s our recipe for some delicious slow cooker red beans and rice!

PRINTABLE VERSION:

Looking for something other than chocolate or fruit cake to give for Christmas treats this year? These spicy crackers are VERY addictive and your friends and family will want to know the recipe. Or they may curse you because they can’t stop eating them!

But, hey, that’s one of the great things about this recipe – they are so delicious. The other is that they are very easy to make and this recipe will make a lot. Once prepared, place them in cookie tins lined with parchment paper or white Kraft bags to hand out this Christmas. The crackers will keep for about a week – but they’ll usually be eaten faster than that!

My mom made them for Christmas one year and I loved them so much, I decided to include them in my Welcome Bags for my wedding. So many of our guests called to tell us how much they loved them too! Here’s how you make them:

Ingredients:

• 1 large box of saltine crackers (four sleeves)
• 1 1/2 cups of canola oil
• 2 packs of dry original Ranch dressing mix
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of crushed red pepper
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp Tony’s Chacheres seasoning

Instructions:

• In a large Tupperware container, mix together well the oil, dressing mix, crushed red pepper, pepper and Tony’s.
• Add all crackers to the mixture and put the top on the container
• Slowly flip the bowl around a number of times to fully coat the mixture on all of the crackers. Repeat the flipping about every 10 to 15 minutes for a couple of hours, and let sit overnight
• The next morning, the crackers will have absorbed all of the mixture and the crackers are finished and ready to be packaged for gift giving!

Free Printable “Cajun Christmas Crackers” Stickers PDF or SVG:

The “Cajun Christmas Crackers” stickers can be downloaded below. There are 20 stickers on each page. After download, print onto 8 1/2 x 11” sticker paper and cut. The SVG file is for cutting machines (Cricut, Silhouette, etc) and will cut in the shape seen below:

Want to learn how to make restaurant quality, Louisiana Crawfish Étouffée like a New Orleans chef? Well now you can. Just follow these easy steps and you’ll impress all of your friends and family!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups Chopped onion
• 1 cup Chopped green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup Chopped celery
• 1/4 cup Sliced green onion
• 32 ounces Seafood stock
• 16 ounces Louisiana Peeled Crawfish Tails – these are expensive if you can’t get them local but worth it to use Louisiana crawfish – read the reviews!
• 1 tbsp Minced garlic
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp (for spicier) Cayenne Pepper
• 1/2 cup Salted butter
• 1/2 cup Flour

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Chop vegetables and set aside to have available (I use a vegetable chopper and it saves me so much time)!
2. Melt butter in a skillet
3. Add flour to the skillet
4. Continuously stir butter and flour mixture together for 4 minutes or until caramel color or peanut butter color. Watch the video if needed for color match. 
5. Add vegetables to the skillet as soon as the roux (flour and butter mixture) has turned caramel/peanut butter color or the roux will burn. The vegetables will cool the roux and stop it from burning.
6. Sauté for 8 minutes or until the vegetables are wilted
7. Add the garlic and stir into the vegetables
8. Pour in the seafood stock and stir until fully incorporated into the vegetable/roux mixture. Add cayenne and salt. 
9. Stir and bring to a slow boil. Reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes
10. Add green onions and crawfish tails (with fat). Stir, cover and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes
11. Serve over cooked rice. And enjoy!

Craving some more Louisiana Cajun cooking? Here’s our recipe for some delicious slow cooker red beans and rice!

PRINTABLE VERSION: