Shrimp In Beer

This shrimp and pasta recipe has a mild-flavored sauce that keeps the flavor of the shrimp the main attraction. It goes together quickly and is great with bread sticks or garlic toast on the side.


Shrimp In Beer

2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 bay leaf
2-3 cups flat beer|
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
chopped parsley for garnish

Place shrimp in a large skillet and pour in enough beer to just cover them. Heat over medium-high heat until beer simmers and shrimp just turns pink. Remove shrimp from beer and set aside.

Increase heat to high and reduce beer in pan to 1 cup. Meanwhile, in another pan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Stir in flour and cook until thick and bubbly. Whisk in reduced beer until smooth. Add cream and continue cooking over medium-high heat until thickened. Remove from heat.

Stir in cayenne pepper, salt, pepper and reserved shrimp. Pour over pasta of your choice and garnish with chopped parsley.

Makes about 6 servings.

"Land of Enchantment" Posole

Odd how these things happen.

The day I'm preparing a cocina tipica, or typical dish, of the State of New Mexico is the very day that Violet posts some more...um... interesting...facts about our 47th state. Pretty coincidental, since Violet and I both live in the same state, which is NOT New Mexico. I don't know about her, but I've never even been there.

This "Land of Enchantment" Posole is a spicy pork and hominy stew. It's another recipe from the February/March 2007 issue of Taste of Home magazine, and the only change I made this time was to add 1/2 teaspoon of the herb epazote that I mentioned in an earlier post. Spouse Guy and I are finding we like the slight tartness it adds to Mexican (and New Mexican) food.

BTW, I guess the posole will end up being dinner tomorrow night. Some friends invited us out for a steak dinner. How could we refuse that?


Land of Enchantment Posole

1-1/2 pounds pork stew meat, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons oil
3 cups beef broth
2 cans (15 ounces each) hominy, rinsed and drained
2 cans (4 ounces each) chopped green chilies
1 to 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
Tortilla strips, optional

In a soup kettle or Dutch oven, cook the pork, onion and garlic in oil over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the broth, hominy, chilies, jalapeno pepper, salt, cumin, oregano, pepper and cayenne.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 45-60 minutes or until meat is tender. Stir in cilantro. Serve with tortilla strips, if desired.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Cheeseburger Paradise Soup

This soup, another Taste of Home recipe, is delicious...or as granddaughter Sparky would say, "It's awishus!"

I made a half-batch of this today, which still yielded 2 quarts of soup. I made two small additions, which was adding about 3/4 cup of shredded cheddar along with the Velveeta and about a teaspoon of salt. I also garnished the soup with more cheddar, since I didn't have any bacon.

I put the soup in bread bowls just for fun.


Cheeseburger Paradise Soup
(from Taste of Home February/March 2007)

6 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 small carrot, grated
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
2 tablespoons chopped seeded jalapeno pepper
3 cups water
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 pounds ground beef
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter
5 cups milk, divided
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 package (16 ounces) process cheese (Velveeta), cubed
Crumbled cooked bacon

In a soup kettle, combine the first nine ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and mushrooms in butter over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add to soup. Stir in 4 cups milk; heat through.

In a small bowl, combine flour and remaining milk until smooth; gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in cheese until melted. Garnish with bacon.

Makes about 14 servings.


Bread Bowls

2 cups hot water
1/4 cup instant milk powder
1/4 cup extra light olive oil
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon bulk yeast (or one packet of yeast)
6 cups flour

In large heavy-duty mixer (i.e., Bosch, Kitchen Aid) combine water, milk powder, olive oil, sugar, salt and yeast. Mix in flour and knead for 4 to 10 minutes (depending on mixer capabilities). Place dough out into a well-oiled bowl, turning to coat on all surfaces. Cover with a cloth and let rise until doubled. Form dough into 8 balls. Place on parchment lined cookie sheets. Cover and let rise again, until doubled. Bake at 400° for about 20 minutes until golden.

To serve, cut a slice off top of each loaf and scoop out insides, creating a bowl. Fill with soup and serve with bread from center of loaves.

To make by hand (without mixer), combine water, milk powder, olive oil, sugar, salt and yeast. Stir in flour, using a wooden spoon, until dough is too stiff to stir. Use hands to mix in remaining flour until a workable dough forms. Knead by hand for 10 minutes, then proceed as above.

Makes 8 small bread bowl loaves.

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We tried Violet's Roasted Corn and Crab Soup yesterday. I highly recommend it; it was wonderful!

Low-Fat Roasted Corn and Crab Soup

Here's another guest recipe! Violet recently mentioned this soup on her blog The Lemonade Stand. It was a hit at a "Soup-er Bowl" party she and Dave recently took part in. It sounded good to me, too, so when she offered to let me post it here, I wasn't about to refuse.

She's even included cook time and nutritional information.


Low-Fat Roasted Corn and Crab Soup

Start to Finish: 1 hour
Oven: 450°F
Makes: 6 servings

1 16-ounce package frozen whole kernel corn
2 cups chopped onions
1½ cups coarsely chopped red sweet peppers
1 tablespoon cooking oil
4 14-ounce cans chicken broth*
½ teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
¼ teaspoon ground red pepper
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup half-and-half or light cream
4 ounces of cooked crab meat, cut into bite-size pieces (2/3 cup)

Thaw frozen corn and pat dry with paper towels. Line a 15x10x1-inch baking pan with foil; lightly grease the foil. Spread corn in prepared pan. Bake in a 450° oven for 10 minutes; stir. Bake about 10 minutes more until golden brown, stirring once or twice. Remove from oven; set aside.

In a 4-quart Dutch oven cook onions and sweet peppers in hot oil over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes or until nearly tender. Add roasted corn, 3 cans of broth, thyme, and red pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

In a large screw-top jar combine remaining 1 can broth and the flour. Cover and shake well; stir into soup. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1-minute more. Stir in half-and-half; heat through. Add crab meat; serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts: 229 calories, 7 grams total fat (2 grams saturated fat), 26 milligrams cholesterol, 907 milligrams sodium, 30 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber,14 grams protein.


* Violet mentioned she used garlic flavored chicken broth, which enhanced the flavor nicely.

Back To Basics

It's just been one of those weeks when I wanted comfort food that was easy to make. Tonight we had beans with cornbread.

After the first five years of our marriage, Spouse Guy finally told me doesn't really care for beans and cornbread as a main dish. So I fried up some ham to go with it. He had ham for his main dish, but it was more of a side dish for me, since I love beans so much.

Growing up, we had beans about once a week or so. Sometimes my mom put ham in them, but as often as not, she made them without meat. She'd add just a little saved bacon fat to add flavor and help reduce the foam that sometimes forms when you cook beans.

Supposedly, eating beans as often as I did growing up is one reason why they don't bother me too much afterward. The more often you eat beans of any kind, it's said, the more easily your body digests them without producing as much gas. Products like Bean-O help a lot, too. Another "remedy" is the herb "epazote", used sometimes in Mexican dishes. I bought some recently, but hadn't tried it yet, so I divide the pot of beans and added the epazote to one portion about 15 minutes before serving. I'd read the flavor is an acquired taste, so I wanted to see if we liked it before I added it to an entire pot of beans.

I'm not sure if you've ever noticed the difference in flavor between refried beans at your favorite Mexican restaurant and those you buy at the store or make at home, but the difference is apparently the epazote. To me, it has a slight dill flavor. I like the flavor, but I guess it's not for everyone.

My favorite bean is the Great Northern White, which I used in this recipe. You can use just about any bean you like, though, especially navy beans or pinto beans. Your cooking time and the flavor of the soup will vary with the bean you use. It's also recommended that beans be soaked overnight. I never noticed much difference in cooking time or flavor when I soaked them, so I gave up soaking a long time ago.



Great Northern Bean Soup

1 lb. dry Great Northern Beans
2 quarts water
1 tablespoon (approximately) bacon fat or olive oil
2 teaspoons (approximately) salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic, if desired
pepper to taste

Sort through beans, removing any shriveled or discolored beans, small stones or pieces of dirt. Rinse well and put in a Dutch oven.

Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for several hours. The time will depend on the type of bean you are using, how fresh the beans are, etc. Check oven to make sure the beans are covered with at least 1" of water. When beans are tender, taste, then adjust seasonings as desired. Serve with ham, cornbread and fried potatoes.

Makes about 6 servings.

Chicken and Dumplings, Version #1

Sorry for the scarcity of posts here. I've been busy, including being out of town for a couple of days. We had the pleasure of eating one of my mom's home-cooked meals while we were there, and we went out for Chinese buffet one evening. Unfortunately, most of the last week and a half, we've been surviving on convenience meals like hamburger helper (homemade, but still blah) and fish sticks, which I justify because Sparky seems to like them a lot.

For the first time in at least 10 days, I have time today to cook something from scratch. It's cold, snowing a little and Spouse Guy has a bit of a head cold, so I decided some homemade chicken and dumplings would be good.

I make chicken and dumplings three ways. This is the easiest version. I may post the others later, but they are both more time consuming to prepare and I didn't want to make time for them this week.

If you want a more basic dumpling, you can leave out the chicken base, curry powder and chives. Or you can use any dumpling recipe from a basic cookbook, such as Betty Crocker or Good Housekeeping.



Chicken with Dropped Dumplings

3 cups cooked chicken, light or dark meat, cubed or shredded
6 cups chicken broth, homemade or purchased
1 - 2 tablespoons chicken base or bouillon to enhance flavor of broth
1/3 cup cornstarch
2/3 cup cold water

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Dumplings:

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1-2 teaspoons chicken base
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried chives or parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 stick COLD butter, cut into pieces
1 egg
1/2-1 cup milk

Combine chicken, chicken broth and chicken base in a Dutch oven (the wider the pan, the more dumplings you can drop into it).

Bring to a boil; combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Pour into chicken soup, whisking constantly; cook 2-3 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover until ready for dumplings.

In a food processor*, combine flour, baking powder, chicken base, salt, chives and curry powder. With processor running, add butter, a piece at a time, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Turn processor off.

Add egg and process briefly. Again, with processor running, add milk gradually until a soft, sticky dough forms.

Drop dough by spoonfuls (or use a small ice cream scoop) onto simmering chicken stew. Cover the pan and simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove lid and if dumplings look fairly dry on top, continue to cook for 10 minutes uncovered. If they appear to still be wet (especially those around the outside), cover and cook an additional 5 minutes, then remove lid and cook uncovered for 10 more minutes.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Busy Night Chili

This week has gotten out of hand with errands and appointments taking me away from the house, so last night I decided to go off my planned menu and fix one of our favorites. This is one of the most basic chili recipes I know. It can be on the table in less than half an hour because it doesn't require hours of simmering. (But it does seem to taste even better as leftovers the next day after the flavors have to blend.)

We like this chili with sour cream and corn chips, but it's also good with crackers.


Blogarita's Basic Chili

1 pound ground beef
1 envelope chili seasoning mix
1 can condensed tomato soup
2 cans chili-style beans (do not drain)

Brown ground beef in Dutch oven. Pour cooked meat into a colander and rinse with water to remove excess fat. Wipe pan clean with paper towel.

Return meat to pan. Add remaining ingredients to pan and stir to combine. If chili seems too thick, add half a soup can of water.

Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until chili is hot. Serve with toppings of your choice.

Serves 4.

Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

My friend Granny at Granny Geek posted this recipe last Friday, and I think it's great. I tried to make it according to her recipe, but out of necessity and lack of desire to go to the store, I had to substitute dried basil leaves (about 2 teaspoons) for the fresh chopped basil, and plain home-canned tomatoes for the canned stewed tomatoes. I threw in a little chopped red bell pepper I had in the freezer to regain a little of the "stewed tomato" taste.

This stew is sweet, but not too sweet, and the cinnamon and nutmeg aren't overpowering (I'm sometimes leery of using cinnamon in savory dishes). And Granny's right, it's smells great as it cooks. I think it has a slight orange aroma.

We'll be eating the stew tonight with cornbread muffins and mixed green salad.

We love leftovers, but if for some reason you don't, you might cut this recipe in half. It makes a huge batch that would probably feed about 8-10 people.

Mexitalian Chili, Anyone?

Originally posted on Sunday, November 7, 2006, at Wasting Away In Blogaritaville.

As if election day isn't enough to give you indigestion, here's the chili recipe I tried over the weekend. Dave asked for the recipe. So did Bon, although she had stipulations about chili aftershock.

I love trying all kinds of chili recipes, and I thought this was one of the better ones. It's not all that spicy, and it has an interesting hint of Italian flavors. I also cut the amount of beans in the original recipe by half, so it's not that gassy, either. Like most chili recipes, it will freeze well if you have leftovers. I made mine in a pot on top of the stove, but it's meant to be a slow-cooker recipe. A slow cooker is a good idea for anyone who has a history of burning chili. I won't mention any names this time, but you know who you are.


Slow-Cooker Chili
(as tweaked by Blogarita from a recipe originally appearing in Taste of Home Oct/Nov 2006)

1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (16 oz. each) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans (14-15 oz. each) stewed tomatoes (or regular canned tomatoes), cut up, with liquid
1 can (15 oz.) pizza sauce or pasta sauce
1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies
4 teaspoons chili powder
4 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Brown the ground beef in Dutch oven, pour into a colander/strainer and rinse with water to remove excess fat. Return beef to pan or 5-qt. slow cooker.

Add all remaining ingredients. Simmer over low heat on stove for 2 hours or in slow cooker on low for 6 hours.

Makes 8-10 servings.


Back during my school days, whenever the cooks served chili, they always served sandwiches made from peanut butter with a little honey mixed into it. Spouse Guy thought that was a strange side dish for chili until he tried it Sunday. He's a believer now!