Shrimp Fra Diavolo

So I'm trying to be more healthy these days by eating more veggies and cooking healthier stuff and ya'll are just going to have to learn to live with it. :)

I was standing in the checkout line of my Wal-Mart (HEY! I live in a small town; it's pretty much all I've got.) when I picked up a Cooking Light Magazine and started flipping through it. I ended up buying it because they had some good lookin' recipes in there. And this week's post is one of those good-lookin' recipes.

I try not to cook stuff with pasta too often because of the carbs, but whatever...this looked good, damnit!

As previously stated, I live in a small town, BUT we still have a fresh seafood place! So I went down there and picked up a pound of fresh, raw shrimp. Now I've been to some pretty good seafood markets and see people buy shrimp with the heads on...um yeah no. I will peel and devein shrimp all day long (and sometimes i feel like i have) but I will NOT remove heads. EW! GROSS! So get fresh HEADS-OFF shrimp unless you're weird and want to cut their little heads off.

Peeling the shrimp is the easy part, Deveining them can be kind of gross, but remember that little line of brown you're cutting out isn't really poop - its more like sand and dirt, but sometimes you run into some other nasty stuff. Just buck up! Be an adult and get over it. That's why the good Lord made soap and short term memories.

If you don't know HOW to peel and devein shrimp, here's a handy little video from epicurious.

When finished, they should look like this:

It's a good time to put on your pot of water to boil for the pasta because by the time its boiling, you'll be ready to cook the pasta.

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is heated up, roll it around the pan, covering the entire bottom.

Put the shrimp and 1 1/2 tsps of garlic in the pan and saute until the shrimp are done. They will start to curl up and will be the traditional "shrimpy" pink when they are done.



Now, remove them from the pan and place in a container to keep them warm until the sauce is done. I put them in the plastic dish with a lid and wrapped it in a towel.

Keep your pan hot while setting the shrimp aside because you're going to be adding another tbsp of olive oil and 3/4 of a cup of onions. (I recommend having the onions diced and measured out before starting the actual cooking process. There's no real "down" time in the recipe.) Saute the onions until they become soft and almost translucent.

Add to the pan, the last tbsp of garlic, the crushed red pepper, basil and oregano and STIR CONSTANTLY. It will burn quickly, if you don't. Cook for about a minute.



Next, add tomato paste and lemon juice, cooking for an additional minute or so. The whole mixture will start to brown a bit. (Feel free to add an extra tbsp of oil here, if you need to. I did. It seemed too "dry".)

Finally, add in crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and salt. Cook the whole sauce down until it starts to thicken, stirring frequently. This took about 5 -7 minutes and is a GREAT time to go ahead and put the linguine in the water that should be boiling by now.

The sauce should be the consistency of a thin paste, now. So go ahead and put the shrimp back in the pan.

Give the whole thing several good stirs to mix it all up and continue to cook it for about another 2 or 3 minutes. Just long enough to bring everything to the same temperature and mix the flavors well.

By now the pasta should be done, so drain it and put some on a plate or in a bowl because it's time to add the sauce and shrimp!!

VIOLA!


The only change or footnote I would add to this recipe the next time around is adding more shrimp. I love shrimp and I think it could have used a 1/2 pound+ more. I guess it depends on what size shrimp you're using though.

Anyhoo! Here are the nutritional facts on this little guy. As to what they consider a "serving size" I haven't a clue. ENJOY!!


Calories: 477
Fat: 10.7g (sat 1.4g,mono 5.3g,poly 1.7g)
Protein: 33g
Carbohydrate: 59.4g
Fiber: 5.4g
Cholesterol: 172mg
Iron: 5.4mg
Sodium: 552mg
Calcium: 121mg

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Shrimp Fra Diavolo

Ingredients:
1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 oz. uncooked linguine
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 ½ tbsp minced garlic, divided
¾ cup diced onion
1 tsp crushed red pepper
½ tsp dried basil
½ tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp fresh, lemon juice
1 ¾ cup canned, crushed tomatoes
¼ tsp salt
1 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes, drained

Instructions:
Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

Add 1 ½ teaspoons of garlic and the shrimp; sauté for 3 minutes or until shrimp are done.

Remove from pan; keep warm.

Add remaining 1 tbsp oil and onion to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until softened.

Stir in remaining 1 tbsp garlic, pepper, basil, and oregano; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Stir in tomato paste and lemon juice; cook 1 minute or until slightly darkened.

Stir in crushed tomatoes, salt, and diced tomatoes; cook 5 minutes or until thickened.

While the sauce cooks down, cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain; keep warm.

Return shrimp to pan; cook for 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Serve over pasta.

Rice with Chorizo and Shrimp

I'm a little snoozy this morning - so pardon my shortness on the post. i just don't have a long drawn-out post in me right now. But the pics are good!

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large sauté pan; add the onions and peppers, cook for about 5 minutes.


Stir in the crushed garlic, mix well.

Add the diced tomatoes, mix well and cook for another 5 minutes.


Add the rice and stir for about 2 minutes.


Add the chorizo slices and the seafood stock, stir well and bring to a boil.


Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes.


Add the shrimp, cover the pan, and let cook until the shrimp are done, about 8 minutes.


Stir the shrimp into the rice and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Serve warm.



This was a good dish - and i still have a bunch in the fridge that i need to eat on this weekend. I don't know how much cooking i'll do this weekend since i have ...*cough* world of warcraft raids *cough* lined up both tonight and saturday night. SO DORKY! lol

Coconut Shrimp with Apricot- Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

My dad wanted me to make that coconut shrimp i made right before i started this blog, so i did. And this is a remarkably simple recipe to make, but no one has to know that. All they'll know is they're eating awesome coconut shrimp that you SLAVED over. lol

First, you want to get your battering station ready:

a bowl with 1 cup flour
a bowl with 1 egg (lightly beaten)
a bowl with 1 cup panko bread crumbs and 1 cup shredded coconut



Then just dredge the shrimp in the flour, dip the shrimp into the egg and into the panko and coconut mixture. I did this while heating up the peanut oil i used to fry them.


I need to make a comment about the shrimp here though. The first time i made this recipe i used fresh shrimp with the tails on from the grocery store; they were specifically bought for the making of this recipe. This time though - i didn't have the resources - and already had a bag of frozen Costco shrimp in the freezer... i know, i know... get off my back. lol

Anyway - i found that you really want the bigger, prettier shrimp for this recipe. You need more actual shrimp surface area in order to get more shrimp taste and less coating. Don't get me wrong, they were still very good - just not as good as the first time around.

Now onto the dipping sauce:

2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
1 tablespoon apricot preserves

Mix them up well and serve with them skrimps like so!

I served them with a romaine lettuce salad with carrots, cheese, egg and some slivered almonds. It was a good meal and very easy to make! YUM SHRIMP!

Shrimp Etouffee and Blackberry Cobbler

I was tired of the same old thing so i went scouring the internet for a shrimp etouffee recipes and found one on nolacuisine.com and figured where better to get a recipe for cajun food? And it was awesome! Also I halved the recipe b/c i figured one pound of shrimp was plenty for one person with leftovers. i'm not halving the one i'm posting b/c fractions and math are beyond me.

Onto the cooking!

First i made the shrimp stock:

The shrimp stock is the following:
The Shells and tails from 2 lb. of Shrimp
1/2 Cup chopped Onion
1/4 Cup chopped Celery
2 Garlic Cloves
2 Bay Leaves
3 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
1 tsp. Black Peppercorns

Add all ingredients to a 2 qt. saucepan. Cover this with cold water, it should be about 6-8 Cups Cups. You’ll only need 1 1/2 Cups for the etouffee. Bring almost to a boil, reduce the heat to a low simmer, cover and simmer for 45 minutes.

While your shrimp stock is simmering, put shrimp in a bowl and sprinkle with a tablespoon of Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning and toss so all the shrimp gets covered.

Next i got out my grandmother's cast iron skillet and melted the butter.

After the butter melted, i added the onions, bell pepper, and celery, sauted until translucent. This picture below is before i added the red pepper :)



Next stir in the flour to make a blond roux, stirring constantly, about 3 or 4 minutes. Stir in a tablespoon of Tony Chachere's. Add a small amount of the shrimp stock, stir well to form a paste, add the remaining stock gradually, whisking constantly. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.

Add the tomatoes, garlic, Thyme, Worcestershire, and hot sauce, a little salt, black pepper, and Cayenne. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Finally add the shrimp, green onions, and parsley, simmer for 10 minutes more or until the shrimp are cooked through.

That's it! I served it over white rice that i cooked in the normal rice cooking way, but threw in a couple bay leaves while it was boiling to give it a little more flavor.



While the etouffee was cooking, i started to put together the blackberry cobbler. Firstly, i need to preface this with a little back story. I picked the blackberries myself on saturday and then VACUUM-PACKED them until i could use them.

This recipe is actually Paula Deen's Peach Cobbler but i figured fruit is fruit and decided to try it with blackberries.

I didn't take any pictures of my actually putting the cobbler together, but this is what the finished product looks like!

Here are the recipes!

Shrimp Etouffee
compliments of NOLA Cuisine

2 Tbsp Creole Seasoning (Tony Chachere's is THE BEST!)
4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1/2 Cup Onion, Finely Chopped
1/4 Cup Celery, Finely Chopped
1/4 Cup Bell Pepper, Finely Chopped
1/4 Cup Flour
3/4 Cup fresh Tomatoes, diced
1 1/2 Cups Shrimp Stock
2 Tbsp Minced Garlic
I bundle of Fresh Thyme
2 tspWorcestershire Sauce
1 tsp Hot Sauce (I like Louisiana Hot Sauce or Texas Pete)
1/2 Cup Green Onions, thinly sliced
3 Tbsp minced Italian Parsley
2 lb Good Quality Shrimp, Peeled and Deveined, Save shells for the stock
3 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste

Season the shrimp with 1 Tbsp of the Creole Seasoning.

Melt the butter in a large cast iron skillet, add the onions, bell pepper, and celery, saute until translucent. Whisk in the flour to make a blonde roux, stirring constantly, about 4 minutes.

Stir in the remaining Creole Seasoning. Add a small amount of the shrimp stock, stir well to form a paste, add the remaining stock gradually, whisking constantly. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. You may need a little more stock, but the end result should be the consistency of a gravy, not too thick, not too thin.

Add the tomatoes, garlic, Thyme, Worcestershire, and hot sauce & black pepper. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Add the shrimp, green onions, and parsley, simmer for 10 minutes more or until the shrimp are cooked through.

Blackberry Cobbler
compliments of Paula Deen

4 cups fresh blackberries
2 cups sugar, divided
1/2 cup water
8 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/2 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Put the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt.

Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.