Jambalaya-like Creole Shrimp

November 14, 2009 by

This jambalaya-like stew is delicious and hearty – perfect for chilly nights like tonight. I followed the recipe exactly the first time or two, but usually I’m throwing in whatever I have on hand. I always serve it over rice though. So, as it was called in the original recipe:

Easy Creole Shrimp:
1/2 cup each chopped onion and green pepper
1 T olive oil
1 can condensed tomato soup
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup salsa
1 T lemon juice
1/2 T fresh parsley
1 t chili powder
3/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t pepper
1/2 lb shrimp

Start preparing rice by recipe. Meanwhile, chop vegetables. Saute onion and pepper in oil for 6-7 minutes, until crisp-tender. Stir in other ingredients, except shrimp, and boil. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook 6-8 minutes. Add shrimp, cook uncovered for 3-4 minutes.

I sometimes add celery if I have it, which is what the original recipe called for. Or red onions. Tonight I added a couple hot peppers too, and it was great. Plus, I made a healthy decision to substitute brown rice for white, even though I’m not a fan.

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Scallops & Tomatoes

September 11, 2009 by
This similar scallop recipe from Epicurious was my inspiration for simplified scallops and tomatoes.
scallops and cherry tomatoes recipe

Photo by Maren Caruso for epicurious

Fresh Domestic Scallops + Tomatoes Recipe:
1/2 cup scallops – rinse, pat dry, sprinkle with salt and pepper
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes – washed and halved
1/4 cup red onions – chopped
olive oil
lemon juice
garlic salt, ground pepper, cayenne pepper

To thaw frozen scallops, give them a bath of cold water, changing often. Warm a couple teaspoons of olive oil in skillet at medium-high heat. Add scallops. Saute until they begin to brown, then remove to plate and cover. Add a little more oil and onions to skillet. Cook one minute, add tomatoes. Cook several minutes and add scallops back into skillet with about a teaspoon lemon juice.

Would be great served over angel hair pasta.

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Peach Caprese

September 10, 2009 by

With my bountiful tomato harvest, I need to expand my palate beyond the basic Caprese.

Feeling a little fruity, I came up with this Peace Caprese (or “Capreachy”) Salad:
1/2 peach, peeled and cubed
6-8 cherry tomatoes, halved
3-4 mini balls of fresh mozzarella, halved
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
garlic salt and fresh ground pepper

Toss ingredients together.

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Homemade Chinese Egg Rolls & Crab Rangoons

April 19, 2009 by


Egg rolls seem daunting – like they’d be much harder to make than they are. But they’re actually really easy, with room for creativity, and delicious in their crispy deep-fried fabulousness.

I have my mom to thank for teaching me how to make egg rolls, as I do most of the excellent recipes I end up with. Here’s how we do it:

Egg Roll Recipe
1/2 lb. sausage
1 small head green cabbage, chopped
chopped onion

Brown the sausage in a skillet and add onion. Then add the cabbage. It will seem like a lot but it cooks down. Let this cool while you prepare egg roll wrappers and a small dish of water. Place a wrapper in front of you like a diamond, with the mixture in a line straight across it. Fold up the bottom first, and then fold  both sides in, around the mix. Dip your finger in the water and wet the top corner of the diamond, then roll it up the rest of the way and seal with the wet edge. Heat oil in skillet on med-high and fry until golden brown.

That will make more than enough for two people, and it won’t use the whole package of wrappers. So, in a very experimental mood, I tried to make crab rangoons with the rest. They turned out pretty good — just enormous. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing because I could eat a whole stick of cream cheese. And a whole crab. So both ingredients in a deep fried package = ecstasy.

Crab Rangoon Recipe
4 oz cream cheese (half a package)
4 oz flaked crab meat (half a package, I found mine under the seafood deli counter)
a couple shakes each of Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce
1 clove garlic, chopped
chopped onion
ground pepper
Place a big spoonful of mixture in middle of egg roll wrapper. Pinch two opposite sides together (wetting with water to seal) and then the other two sides. Fry.

Both recipes are almost as good as takeout. Now fried rice…that’s something I haven’t mastered quite yet, and still opt for takeout.

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Taco Pockets

March 29, 2009 by


This is a super easy recipe I stole – er, adapted – from my sister’s mother-in-law. The first time I visited her house, she made this family favorite Taco Ring. I reduced the recipe and renamed it Taco Pocket. At this size, it’s plenty for one or two people, especially with a side of Mexican rice.

1. Brown 1/3 lb ground beef. Season with salt and taco seasoning. Add chopped onions if you want.
2. Meanwhile, separate half of the triangles (4) from a tube of (8) crescent rolls. Place triangles into a star, of sorts, with the “bases” of the triangles pressed together in the center of your baking stone, pointing outward like a compass. Make sure you press the dough together in the center to seal seams.
3. Mound the browned ground beef in the center of the dough. Fold each point over to make a ‘pocket.’ (You do not need to seal all the side seams. I leave them open and just lay the dough loosely on top.)
4. Bake at 375 for 11-13 minutes, or until dough is golden brown.
5. Remove, cool, and cut in half. Serve with any desired taco toppings: cheese, lettuce, tomato, olives, sour cream, etc.

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