Orleans Style Shrimp

Any version of shrimp whether it's frozen, fresh, cooked or raw can be used in this recipe. Fresh shrimp is great, but for me, having a bag of those little guys - already cooked  or not - in my freezer has enabled me to put together a yummy dinner when time is short. I also like to buy bell peppers when they are on sale and freeze them sliced or diced, in Ziplock freezer bags. And these days bags of already diced onion, peppers, and celery are available. A meal can be ready in the time it takes to set the table and put together a salad while the veggies saute. Here I served this dish over riced cauliflower, but mashed cauliflower, rice or grits would also be nice. 

Orleans Style Shrimp - Serves Four

Ingredients:

2 or 3 strips of bacon (optional)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup of any or a combination of  red, yellow, or green bell pepper, diced

2 garlic cloves, put through a press

1 (15 oz.) can of chopped tomatoes

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (like Frank's)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1 pound peeled shrimp, frozen or fresh, cooked or raw

Directions:

If using, cook the bacon until crispy and set aside.

While bacon is cooking, if using frozen shrimp, put them large bowl of cool water so they can defrost.

Drain the bacon grease from the skillet and add vegetable oil, onion and diced pepper. Saute over medium low heat until tender, about 10 minutes.

Add the garlic and saute another 30 seconds. Pour in the chopped tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, salt, pepper and thyme. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.

Rinse and drain shrimp.  Add the shrimp and continue to cook another 5 minutes. If using raw shrimp, make sure the shrimp turns opaque to ensure it is done.

Serve over rice, grits, mashed or riced cauliflower and crumble bacon (if using) on top.

Old Classic: Louie Salad and Its Scrumptious Dressing

When we visited San Francisco this past September, one of the places several people recommended as a "must see" was the Cliff House. It's been a part of local history since 1858 and is located on Point Lobos Avenue near the Ocean Beach neighborhood. The building has been rebuilt at least five times due to fires and renovations. It was once a destination for movie stars and the rich but is now owned by the National Park Service as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The two restaurants inside are managed by a private contractor and the menus are old school traditional.
I ordered the Louie Salad and was blown away by how delicious the accompanying dressing was - and I usually don't even like thousand island! Of course I had to try to duplicate it and what I came up is not only good on this salad, but also as a different take on shrimp cocktail or even mixed into to chopped seafood as a sandwich filling. 

Ingredients and Directions

Yields four servings:

1 pound medium cooked shrimp or 1 pound cooked lump crab meat
 1 head of lettuce, washed and torn into bite sized pieces
1 cucumber, washed and cut into slices
1 bunch asparagus
2 or 3 tomatoes, cut into slices
4 eggs

Hard boil the eggs. (Here's the way I do it: place the eggs in a pan filled with enough cold water to cover them. Place the pan on the stove and turn the heat to high. Set the timer for 20 minutes. When the timer goes off, take the pan off the heat, drain the water, and run cold water over the eggs until they are cool enough to handle.) Peel and slice in half.

Wash asparagus and cut the woody ends off. Cook by placing the asparagus spears in a skillet with enough water to barely cover them. Turn heat to high and allow to come up to a boil. Then, turn heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes or until spears are tender and easily pierced with a fork.

If using shrimp, rinse and remove the tails.

Place lettuce on four serving plates or one large platter. Arrange the cucumber slices, asparagus spears, tomato slices, and halved hard boiled eggs on each plate or platter. Top with the shrimp or crab meat.

Serve with the dressing below:

Yields about one cup of salad dressing

1 cup mayonnaise
1 garlic clove, put through a press or finely minced
2 tablespoons Heinz chili sauce
1 tablespoon chopped bread & butter pickles
1 teaspoon country style Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Franks hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Whisk all ingredients together in small bowl until well blended. Serve along side salad.

Very Easy (and Yummy) Shrimp Tacos

It doesn't get much easier ( or tastier) than this!  I have found that "cheating" by using frozen precooked shrimp allows me to whip up a meal in about 15 minutes.  The shrimp tacos here are so quick to make but they are so yummy.  They came about one dinner time when the only protein I had in the house was a bag of frozen shrimp. I was lucky enough to have an avocado and a lime as well as a tomato.  I had just gotten back from California after visiting Jenn and I was dreaming of the shrimp ceviche we had eaten out of a paper cup in one of the many fish taco joints near her apartment. The shrimp mixture in these tacos tastes a lot like that; the lime makes the precooked shrimp tastes fresh. With the addition of a corn tortilla, avocado, and tomato - it's a winner!

Ingredients for Eight Shrimp Tacos

1 pound precooked large frozen shrimp

2 to 3 tomatoes

3 green onions

2 limes (enough  for 3 tablespoons juice and garnish)

1 avocado

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 clove garlic
2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
16 (six inch) corn tortillas

Directions

Put the shrimp in a bowl of cold water to thaw while you are preparing the rest of the ingredients. Peel the avocado, discard the seed, and dice it into chunks. Chop the tomatoes. Slice only the stems of the green onions.  Then drain the shrimp and pat it dry with paper towels. Place the shrimp, avocado, tomatoes, and green onions into a mixing bowl.

Peel the garlic clove and put it through a garlic press. Juice one of the limes so there is three tablespoons of juice.  In a small bowl, whisk together the pressed garlic, olive oil, lime juice, and crushed red pepper flakes.  Pour the mixture over the ingredients in the mixing bowl.

Gently toss. Warm the corn tortillas up by wrapping them in paper towels and microwaving them for 30 seconds. Or, wrap them in foil and heat them in a 350 oven for 5 to 10 minutes. 

Assemble by using two corn tortillas per serving. Put 1/4 cup of the shredded lettuce on each double tortilla and divide the shrimp mixture up evenly among them. Serve with lime slices.

Little Holiday Bites

Our family friend Dianne is great at entertaining.  After years of having a houseful full of boys, she has recently had the opportunities to host events for ladies.  I picked up this cute little idea from her that I think men would like as well.  She serves appetizers in small glassware such as vodka shot glasses and mini martini stemware.  I extended this concept to serving a couple of minature meatballs in some small juice glasses that I have. Great places to find interesting glass pieces are Goodwill or Walmart.  I initially got a dozen of the vodka shot glasses at a garage sale but just found some more at Target's dollar bin. 

Ranch dressing would work well with any vegetables you stick in to the shot glass.  However, I found that 1 cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons country Dijon mustard, and 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder all whisked together tastes great if you choose to use thin, young, tender asparagus as one of the veggies.

 

I added a bit of jazz to the shrimp cocktail by putting a white lemon dill sauce next to the traditional red.  Mix 1 cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon dried dill together.  Pour or spoon about a tablespoon of the red sauce to one side of the glass, then spoon in the white.

Since the meat balls are resting on a "bed" of sauce, I figured it needed to be nice and thick to support them.  I combined 1 (15 oz). can of tomato sauce 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 1 tablespoon red wine (optional), 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a microwave safe bowl.  I microwave the sauce for 5 minutes and spooned it in the bottom of the small juice glass. I made the meat balls a little smaller than I usually do so I could fit two in the small juice glass. Then I sprinkled the top with a bit of chopped flat leaf parsley, but I think fresh basil would work even better.  There are three different types of meatballs in this post:  "Meatballs and Moving" (2011) or, they can be found  in the freezer section of the grocery.  When I made these, I assembled them ahead of time, and then just before serving I microwaved several of them for 20 seconds.  However, even at room temperature, they are yummy!



Some Family Favorites with Cauliflower "Mashed Potatoes"

Several years ago, we traded in potatoes for cauliflower and have never looked back! Below are some of the girls' very favorite recipes. The BarbequeTurkeyburger "Cupcakes"  are also yummy just made on the grill as burgers minus the mashed cauliflower "icing."  Likewise, the Big Easy Shrimp tastes great with rice instead of the cauliflower "grits".  And of course, you could use real mashed potatoes instead of cauliflower for the cheeseburger pie.

P.S. Let's just be honest here - using real mashed potatoes really make these old favorite family recipes the most delicious!

BBQ Turkey Burger “Cupcakes”

1 ½ ground turkey     

½ cup bread crumbs

1 egg beaten

½ cup plus 3 tablespoons bottled barbeque sauce

 (or South Beach Diet recipe for BBQ below)

6 green onions, sliced

¼ teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon salt (divided)

1/2 teaspoon pepper (divided)    

¼ teaspoon garlic

1 head cauliflower, cut into flowerets

2 tablespoons margarine or butter

Mix the meat, bread crumbs, barbeque sauce, green onions, egg, thyme, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and garlic powder.  Divide the mixture between 12 muffin cups in a muffin tin that has been oiled or is nonstick.  Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.  While the “muffins” are baking, cook the cauliflower in enough water to cover it until the flowerets are very tender.  Drain the water and with a hand mixer or immersion blender, mash it up along with the margarine, the other ½ teaspoon of salt, and the other ¼ teaspoon pepper.  When the “muffins” are baked, take them out of the muffin cups and “frost” each one with the mashed cauliflower.   Drizzle the tops with the remaining 3 tablespoons of barbeque sauce.

South Beach BBQ Sauce – From South Beach Diet Book
1 (8-ounce) can Tomato sauce
2 tablespoons White vinegar
2 teaspoons Chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/8 teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon Garlic powder
Combine all ingredients together. Refrigerate in a plastic container.

Big Easy Shrimp with Cauliflower “Grits” from The South Beach Diet Cookbook

2 strips of cooked turkey bacon, crumbled  

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion chopped

½ green pepper, diced

1 celery stalk, cut length wise and sliced

1 garlic clove, put through a press    

1 (15 oz.) can chopped tomatoes

1 bay leaf

                                                                       

 1 teaspoon salt (divided)

 1/2 teaspoon pepper (divided)

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon hot-pepper sauce

1 head of cauliflower, cut into flowerets

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp

Over medium heat, cook the onion, green pepper, and celery in the olive oil until tender.  Add the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.  Add the tomatoes, bay leaf, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and hot pepper sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and ¼ teaspoon of the pepper. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. While the sauce is simmering, cook the cauliflower in enough water to cover it until the flowerets are very tender.  Drain the water and with a hand mixer or immersion blender, mash it up along with the margarine, the other ½ teaspoon of salt, and the other ¼ teaspoon pepper. Set aside. Add the shrimp to the sauce and cook until it completely turns pink. (Or, if using already cooked shrimp, cook just enough to warm the shrimp.)  Add the bacon crumbles. Serve the shrimp and sauce on top of or beside the cauliflower “grits”.

Cheeseburger  Pie – adapted from a Pillsbury recipe

1 ½ pounds extra-lean ground beef or ground turkey

½ cup bread crumbs

¼ cup finely chopped onion

¼ cup ketchup                                                    

2 teaspoons yellow mustard

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon salt (divided)

1/2 teaspoon pepper (divided)

1 head of cauliflower, cut up into flowerets

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (divided)

1 small tomato, seeded and diced

2 green onions, sliced

Mix the meat, bread crumbs, onions, ketchup, mustard, egg, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and ¼ teaspoon of the pepper together and press into a pie pan.  Put in a 375 degree oven for 15 minutes. While the meat in baking, cook the cauliflower in enough water to cover it until the flowerets are very tender.  Drain the water and with a hand mixer or immersion blender, mash it up along with the margarine, the other ½ teaspoon of salt, the other ¼ teaspoon pepper, and ½ a cup of the cheese. Remove the meat from the oven and carefully pour off any grease.  Spread the mashed cauliflower over the top of the crust.  Put the rest of the shredded cheese on top.  Return to the oven and cook 10 minutes more.  Before serving, sprinkle the top with the diced tomato and sliced green onion.  Cut into slices to serve.