Creole Cuisine

No doubt that where ever you are located, the outside temperatures are just as hot (maybe even hotter) than they are here in the Carolinas. It's been miserable here for days on end and quite frankly, so have I. The heat just seems to zap all my energy and social motivation, so I find myself declining most invitations to go out with friends and sticking primarily to the confines of my air-conditioned house.

One would think that I need to stay home more often, what with the mile-long list of things that need to be done around my house. But most of those things take time and money ~ one of which I have alot of and the other, I don't. I've gotten a few chores knocked off my list, including painting my laundry room a lovely shade of "Wild Wisteria" and I've even started stocking the freezer with meals for those impending cold and dreary days that are (fortunately?) right around the corner. The 100 degree temps should be enough to make me shy away from stoking the fires in the kitchen but dealing with all the food in my freezer and pantry has been a priority lately.

I am a bulk food and buy one/get one free shopaholic. My grocery bills probably come close to equalling those for a family of four.  At the moment, my freezer inventory contains no less than 6 pork tenderloins, 10 lbs of shrimp, 5 lbs of bacon, and at least 5 bags of Tater Tots (what can I say??  The tots were a good deal!).  I haven't found the chicken just yet to know what size Army platoon I can serve with that.  Once I get a stock pile of "raw" ingredients, I set about cooking up mostly entrees and some sides to be pulled out for lunches and dinners later on.  I eat home-cooked meals almost every meal on every day of the week, but I only do any major cooking once or twice a month.   I think if more people subscribed to the OAMC (once a month cooking) theory, there would be less focus on fast food and fewer unhealthy eating habits.  There are several great websites dedicated to OAMC and I highly recommend that you check them out.  In the end, I truly believe it's not only a time-saver but saves you money as well. 

This Shrimp Creole is a perfect recipe for making ahead and freezing.  Just pull together the rice (you can even go so far as to make the rice ahead and package it separately for the freezer) and a green salad and Viola! you have a delicious dinner in a matter of minutes without much effort.  Enjoy this tasty dish while I contemplate 101 uses for Tater Tots.

Shrimp Creole

Servings: 4    
Categories: Seafood

3 slices cooked bacon
1/2 cup  chopped onion
1 clove  garlic -- minced
1/4 cup  chopped green pepper
1/4 teaspoon  gumbo file powder
1-1/2 tablespoons  flour
28 ounces  diced tomato -- in puree
1/4 cup  chopped celery
2 teaspoons  Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon  Tabasco sauce
1 teaspoon  salt
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons  chopped parsley
2 pounds  shrimp -- cleaned and deveined

Cook bacon in large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat until bacon is crisp. Remove and drain. Pour off excess fat, reserving 3 tablespoons drippings.
Add onion, garlic, green pepper and gumbo file to bacon drippings and cook, stirring constantly, until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and blend in flour; return to heat and cook over low heat 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and puree.

Add remaining ingredients except shrimp, and cook over moderate heat 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add shrimp and crumbled bacon; cook 5 to 10 minutes longer, until shrimp are tender. Serve over hot cooked rice.

Makes 4 servings.