Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Fat Tuesday Shrimp Creole Over Dirty Rice




Louisiana Dirty Rice

1/4 Cup Onion, chopped
1/4 Cup Celery, chopped, leaves, too
1/2 lb. Fresh Andouille or Pork Sausage

In large skillet, brown sausage with the onion and celery until the
sausage is just cooked and crumbled and the vegetables have softened.
If sausage produces excess fat, drain.
If using Jungle Jim's fresh sausage, no need to drain.

To the browned sausage mixture, add:

1 Cup White Long Grain Rice, uncooked
2 Cups Water
1 1/2 Tsp. Ground Cumin

Stir ingredients together and bring to a boil.
Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is
tender.

While your Dirty Rice is simmering . . .



Fat Tuesday Shrimp Creole

2 Tab. Canola Oil or Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Onion, chopped
1/2 Cup Green Bell Pepper, chopped
1/4 Cup Celery, chopped

Heat oil over medium high heat and sauté vegetables until tender, about
4-5 minutes.

Add:

2 Cloves Garlic, minced

Cook one minute more.

Sprinkle vegetables with:

1 Tsp. Creole Seasoning*
1/4 Tsp. Cayenne Pepper or to taste

Stir mixture thoroughly.


Add:

1 - 14.5 oz. Can of diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 Cup White wine, water, tomato juice, or tomato sauce
1 Bay Leaf

Bring mixture to a boil.
Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes.


Add:

1 lb. Fresh, raw Shrimp, cleaned, shelled, and deveined

Simmer, covered, 4-5 minutes or until shrimp is opaque.

Remove Bay leaf and discard.

Check seasoning and add salt and pepper and additional spice to taste.
(Some Louisiana cooks swear by adding a pinch of sugar and a dash of hot
sauce at the end of the dish!)

Sliced Green Onion and Chopped Fresh Parsley

Spoon Dirty Rice into a low bowl or plate and top with Shrimp Creole.
Sprinkle chopped green onion and parsley over top and serve.
Don't forget a bottle of hot sauce for the table!

Makes 4 scrumptious dinner servings.



Source: Recipes from WCPO.com, the Web site of WCPO-TV in Cincinnati, Ohio

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Chocolate Cherry Upside-Down Cake




Ingredients:

1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling

1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Stir together cornstarch, 1 tablespoon water and
almond extract, if desired, until cornstarch is dissolved. Gently stir in pie filling; spread mixture evenly on bottom of ungreased 9-inch square baking pan.

2. Stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in large
bowl. Add 1 cup water, oil, vinegar and vanilla; beat with spoon until batter is smooth and well blended. Pour batter evenly over cherries.

3. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes
out clean. Cool 10 minutes; invert onto serving plate.

Serve warm with
whipped cream . . . wait . . .
vanilla ice cream sounds better :-)






UPDATE:

The concept is awesome, however, the cake in this recipe was dry

 and there were not enough cherries to make a significant topping.

When I make this again, I will use a cake mix and

 double the cherry mixture.


From my personal recipe collection, origin not known


Saturday, January 30, 2010

Shrimp and Pasta





The combination of shrimp and pasta
is among my favorites. You won't be
surprised to know I have many variations.

This is one that is quick, easy and delicious.

Serve with lots of parmesean cheese
and italian bread!





Ingredients:

2 lbs. raw shrimp, cleaned
2 Tbs. butter

2 Tbs. olive oil

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 tsp. Old Bay season
1 lb. angel hair pasta




Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions. In a large skillet melt butter into olive oil and lightly saute the garlic. Add shrimp and sprinkle with pepper flakes and Old Bay. Saute just until shrimp begin to turn pink.

Add your cooked pasta to the pan and
finish cooking the shrimp.

Do not overcook!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Mexican Shrimp Dip




Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese
2 T milk
dash of salt and pepper

1/2 c Heinz chili sauce
1 c fresh or frozen tiny shrimp-drain, rinse, pat dry
4 chopped green onions
3/4 c red bell peppers

4 oz sliced black olives-drain and pat dry
4 oz mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese-grated
Party crackers or party bread slices




Directions:

Mix cream cheese, milk, salt, and pepper in small bowl smooth.

Spread on a serving plate.


Top with remaining ingredients in the order listed in even layers.


Cover and chill 1-4 hours.

Serve with crackers or bread slices.



From my personal recipe collection ~ origin not known





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