Shrimp Etouffee

Here is another recipe from the "Favorite Time-Saving Recipes" book that JR brought home. It is one that the family particularly likes and hardly takes any time at all.

Shrimp Etouffee

1 1/2 cups frozen chopped onion
1 cup frozen chopped green papper
1 tsp bottled minced garlic or 1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking rice
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
2 8-ounce packages frozen cooked shrimp

In a large skillet cook frozen onion, green pepper, garlic, and celery seed in butter over medium-high heat about 5 minutes or till the vegetables are tender but not brown, stirring occasionally.

While vegetables are cooking, cook rice according to package directions. For sauce, combine cornstarch, red pepper, black pepper, 1/4 cup water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Stir the cornstarch mixture and tomato sauce into the cooked vegetables. Then stir in the frozen shrimp. Bring to boiling, then reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 3 minutes or just till the shrimp are heated through.

To serve, spoon sauce and shrimp over the hot cooked rice. Makes 4 servings.

Now that I got the actual recipe out of the way let me tell you how I do it. First the veggies.

I keep a scary number of these little "lifesavers in a bag" in my freezer. They make quick cooking a dream. Every 6 weeks or so they go on sale and I go chopped frozen vegetables crazy. It's a sickness, I know. So, next time they go on sale I say Snap them up! You'll be a happier and healthier person for it. And I'm not just saying that in order to make you as chopped frozen vegetable crazy as I am.

When I cook this recipe I grab whatever bag is handiest in the freezer, adjust the quantities and away I go.

The only thing that I spend any time on is chopping my own garlic. I love garlic. I buy big bags of it at Costco. Besides a few baked goods and deserts I use garlic in everything (sometimes even these items aren't exempt).

The celery seed I sometimes substitute plain ole chopped celery and if I pick the right frozen veggie bag it is already in there. SCORE!

The cornstarch. This is an item that I don't use much. In fact, I don't have any in the house right now. I tend to make a rue by tossing flour into the pan that I've cooked the veggies in. Works right nice.

The quick-cooking rice is another thing that I don't keep in the house. Though I do keep a bag or two of regular long grain, brown, and short grain rice in the house. They all take about 25 minutes to cook and I figure this gives me time to do the rest of the cooking or sipping a glass of wine or thinking up new ways to use wine in cooking or sipping more wine.

The shrimp is another staple in our freezer but to tell you the truth (and I will always tell you the truth. Probably, more truth than you wanted to know) I have been know to substitute this with Tofu. Does that make it Tofu Etouffee? Whatever!

Give this recipe a try. It is really very good and meets my firm rule of putting something on the dinner table quickly and of course cheaply.

Love,
M