Shrimp Étouffée for Mardis Gras!

 It all started with the King Cake...

(Yes.  This is the last piece.)

On a whim, I bought a King Cake from Tea Squares in Bowling Green.  I haven't had a good King Cake in years and the ones they sell at Kroger are sorely lacking.  My ability to make anything requiring yeast is also sorely lacking.  It was a no-brainer to order this delicious treat and bring it home for dinner.

And with King Cake for dinner, what else would you serve but Crawfish Étouffée?!

I've never made this at home.  Ever.  I've never even thought about making it at home.  Yet, after perusing a hundred different recipes (Immediately ruling out any that used canned cream of whatever soup - how can they use that and call a recipe 'authentic'?) I realized that making this it home would actually be easy.

If it weren't for the ice storm.  Thankfully, I had shrimp on hand in the freezer (we take our shrimp seriously around here) and chicken stock to sub for the seafood stock.  I also had to leave out the green onions, but I left them in the recipe because I would much have preferred to include them.

I forgot to get a picture of the finished dinner, but isn't this picture of the vegetables pretty?  The original recipe called for green peppers, but I really hate green pepper.  The red, yellow, and orange add such beautiful color, not to mention taste much better.  I had an orange pepper in the fridge, but next time I would be tempted to use yellow for more color.
 

Shrimp Étouffée

• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 cup chopped orange bell pepper
• 1/2 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 pound cooked shrimp, peeled and de-veined

      Cajun Seasoning Mix

• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (more if you like it spicy)

1. In a small bowl, thoroughly combine the seasoning mix. Set aside.
2. In a large heavy skillet or dutch oven, make a roux by heating the oil over medium high heat.
3. Add the flour, whisking until smooth. Continue whisking until a peanut butter roux is achieved, about 3-5 minutes.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add onions, celery and bell pepper; cook 2 minutes.
5. Add green onions, garlic and seasoning mix; cook an additional 5 minutes.
6. In a separate saucepan, bring the stock to a boil.
7. Gradually add boiling stock to roux mixture, whisking with each addition until dissolved. Return to a boil, stirring often.
8. Reduce heat to low; cook 30 minutes, stirring frequently.
9. During the last few minutes of cooking time, place the butter and shrimp in a microwave-safe dish. Cover loosely and microwave on high for 2 minutes, or until the butter has melted. Stir to combine.
10. Gently fold shrimp mixture into stock mixture.

Serve over hot rice with French bread and hot sauce.
Serves 4.


While this is my own recipe, follow the links to my inspiration:
Crawfish Étouffée
Simple Cajun Seasoning Recipe


This is the best new recipe I've tried in ages.  And so simple!  Even my non-shrimp-eating picky eater loved it, although she just ate the sauce over rice without the shrimp.

And the King Cake was the Best. Ever.   Nothing like fresh from the bakery. :)


~ Enjoy!




Merissa at Little House on the Prairie Living hosts an Old Fashioned Recipe Exchange every Tuesday.  If you have a recipe to share you can link your blog post or you can post in the comments.  CLICK HERE to go to this week's exchange!

 

Go ahead, you know you want to look!

Operation Clean Out the Freezer - Day #11

Awesome quick lunch for the grown-ups!

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked salad shrimp (or larger shrimp, chopped)
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons cocktail sauce
• salt to taste
• 2 avocados, halved lengthwise and pitted
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Bibb lettuce leaves
• 1 teaspoon paprika

Directions
In a bowl, mix the chives, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, and cocktail sauce. Stir in shrimp and season with salt to taste (I don't usually add any salt). Mound the shrimp mixture into avocado halves, and sprinkle with lemon juice. Place avocado halves on Bibb (or Boston) lettuce leaves that have been dusted with paprika.

I didn't have any lettuce leaves on hand yesterday, so I sprinkled the filled avocados with paprika. WAY better this way!

I have one kid who doesn't like shrimp and one kid who doesn't like avocado. So, I cooked two servings of spaghetti and the shrimp hater had hers with butter and avocado (?!) and the other tossed hers with shrimp heated with Ghee.

This is a nice snack, side dish, or light lunch.

Enjoy!

Greek-Style Garlic Shrimp over Rice

I modified this from the Greek-Style Garlic Shrimp and Orzo in Rachael Ray's 365: No Repeats -- A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners; It is #149 on page 133. I didn't have orzo or enough cherry tomatoes to make the recipe as written, so I improvised with GREAT success.


1 lb shrimp, deveined and peeled, tails removed.
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 small onion, chopped finely
1 tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)
6 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with juice
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1 Tbs dried oregano or 2 Tbs fresh, chopped
8 oz feta cheese, crumbled
Cooked rice

Add the 1/4 cup EVOO, onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes to your skillet.  Turn on the heat to medium high and cook until the onions are translucent. 
And the shrimp to the skillet and cook for a minute or so - make sure you stir and coat the shrimp with the mixture.
Add the can of diced tomatoes, olives, and oregano to the skillet.  Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.  Cook until the shrimp are firm and pink, then turn off the heat.

Serve over cooked rice (I started with about 2 cups of dry rice) and sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese.

This was INCREDIBLE!  And so easy.  I think it's good enough to make without the shrimp.  I think I would let it cook longer, though, to give the juices some time to reduce.

Quesadillas de Camarones

Ingredients
• Flour Tortillas
• 12 whole Large Shrimp, Peeled And Deveined
• 8 ounces, fluid Mexican Red Sauce
• 1 whole Large Onion
• 1 whole Red Bell Pepper
• 1 whole Green Bell Pepper
• 2 cups Cheese, Grated (Monterey Jack Is Best - I USED QUESO)
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• Salt To Taste

Preparation Instructions

1. Pour red sauce over shrimp. Set aside.
2. Chop vegetables into large pieces. Heat skillet over high heat and add olive oil. Cook vegetables over high heat until they start to get brown/black. Remove from skillet and set aside.
3. Return skillet to high heat, dump in the shrimp with the sauce. Cook, stirring only occasionally, until shrimp is opaque. Add in a little water if the sauce gets dry. Remove from skillet and chop into bite-size pieces.
4. In a separate skillet, heat butter. Place a tortilla in the skillet, then layer on ingredients: cheese, vegetables, and shrimp. Top with a little more cheese and a second tortilla. Cook on both sides, adding butter before flipping to the other side so the tortilla isn’t overly dry.
5. Remove from skillet and slice into wedges. Serve with rice, beans, salsa, sour cream, guacamole—whatever you’d like!

I will give credit for this scrumptious recipe as soon as I can remember where I found it online! :p