Gumbo

I made this for Mardi Gras.  My family loved it.  It is spicy; but, spiciness can be moderated on preference and how much Cayenne pepper you add.  I started with a base from this recipe from a really fun recipe blog that has Disney themed recipes.  I figured if it was close the the Blue Bayou recipe at Disneyland my kids would enjoy it and it is worth a try.  I did alter some things in the recipe and so I will change the recipe below so I can remember for future dinner making fun.  On the Disney blog she found precooked andouille sausage at Target.  I found mine uncooked at the meat counter at my local Harmons.  I browned it in my cast iron and then sliced it and finished cooking it in my oven while I cooked the chicken breast in the pot I made the Gumbo in.  After adding the sausage and chicken to the pot I used the pan I cooked the sausage in to cooked my raw shrimp in that pot seasoned with olive oil, salt, and pepper and let it soak in the flavors from the sausage.  Make sure not to overcook.  I hope these tips help.  Enjoy!

*serves 8

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup diced onions
2 quarts low sodium chicken broth
  1 1/2 tablespoons salt or to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (you can increase this amount if you prefer it spicier)

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tsp Tony Chacheres Original Creole Seasoning
1 cup sliced carrots

1 cup diced canned tomatoes
12 ounces frozen cut okra (can also substitute with fresh okra)

1 cooked chicken breast, diced seasoned with Tony Chacheres Original Creole Seasoning 

 2-3 cups pre-cooked Andouille sausage, sliced (if you have to cook this like I did season with Tony Chacheres Original Creole Seasoning)

1 lb cooked Shrimp, large, cut into large pieces 

2 cups cooked brown rice (cook according to package directions)

Directions:

Heat olive oil. Add flour and stir constantly to create a roux. When the roux is a caramel-color, add in celery and onions and cook for 5-7 minutes. Pour in chicken broth. Mix in the salt, pepper, garlic, Creole seasoning, and cayenne. Let simmer 5 minutes. Now add in the tomatoes, carrots, okra, cooked chicken and sausage. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook 45 minutes.  Add shrimp and cook for 15 minutes longer.


While the gumbo is simmering, prepare 2 cups of cooked rice according to package directions. Set aside.

When the gumbo is done, spoon prepared rice in the bottom of your serving bowls. Now ladle the hot gumbo on top.

Shrimp Burritos

This recipe comes from allrecipes.com So because I'm lazy the ingredients and directions are copy and pasted, I've added my own thoughts in Italic. Oh this does serves 6.

* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1/2 cup chopped onion
* 3/4 cup long-grain white rice UNCOOKED
* 3/4 teaspoon cumin
* 3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
* 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
* 1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes
*
* 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
* 3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
*
* 12 ounces frozen cooked shrimp without tails, thawed
* 2 teaspoons minced garlic
*
* 1/2 cup plain yogurt OPTIONAL
* 1/2 cup mayonnaise OPTIONAL
* 2 teaspoons pureed chipotle peppers in adobo sauce OPTIONAL
*
* 6 (10 inch) flour tortillas, warmed
* 3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
* 1/3 cup salsa


1. Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in rice, and season with cumin and 3/4 teaspoon of garlic salt. Cook and stir until the rice is lightly toasted, about 5 minutes. Pour in the chicken broth and the diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then cover and cook over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until all of the liquid has been absorbed.

2. In a small saucepan, stir together the refried beans, 3/4 teaspoon of garlic salt, and black pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until heated through. I thought this made for a lot of dirty pans so I added this step in with the rice.

3. Place shrimp in a bowl, and stir in garlic until shrimp is coated. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, and coat with cooking spray. Saute shrimp until heated through and lightly browned. We added 1 precooked and precubed chicken breast with the shrimp when we coated the shrimp in garlic. I'm not a fan of shrimp and my children are hit and miss with it. Once our shrimp/chicken was warmed we added that too with the rice. Honestly all this did was make the pictures kind of "what-in-the-world-is-that"ish. But as you can see it wasn't nasty looking.

4. In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt, mayonnaise, and chipotle peppers until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use. We skipped this. I wasn't in the mood for spicy. But thinking about it now I think the yogurt and the mayo would of really cooled the chipotle peppers down. I kind of wish we had done this.

5. Place about 1/4 cup of cheese onto each warm tortilla. Then place about 1/2 cup of shrimp on the cheese. Top with 1/4 cup of beans, and 1/4 cup of rice. Spread on about a tablespoon of the chipotle sauce, and salsa to taste. Roll up, and serve. Umm, yeah the the way I put together a burrito is very important. Whatever. Besides we saved on dishes and mixed everything together. Oh, my DH (Designated Husband) did think sour cream was a fabulous addition.

Overall my impressions were VERY positive (fabulous, yummy, winner all come to mind). My picky 4 and 2 year olds cleaned their plates. We will definitively be making this again.

Shrimp Pasta

Comes from a random cookbook that I own.

1 3/4 C chicken broth
2 cloves garlic minced
3 T fresh chopped parsley (about 1 T dried)
2 T cornstarch (flour works too same amount)
2 T Lemon juice
1/8 t ground red pepper
1 pound medium shrimp, shelled
4 C hot cooked pasta (about 8ozs uncooked)

In a medium sauce pan mix broth gralic, parsley, cornstarch, lemon juice, and pepper. Over medium-high heat, heat to a boil. Cook until mixture begins to thicken stirring constantly.

Continue stirring constantly while you add shrimp. Cook about 5 minutes more or until shrimp turns pink. Toss with pasta.

Serves 4 with a total cook time of 10 minutes.


I thought it needed a little butter probably 2T not only to give it a creamy texture but to also bring out the flavor of the shrimp. My husband LOVED it as did my 2 year old, though my 4 year old snubbed his nose and told me it was yucky.