See you in 40 days or so!
In the meantime, check out the Catholic Carnival! And buy Mystic Monk Coffee! And enjoy my 3 "Quick Lenten Meals" suggestions from last year!
Showing posts sorted by date for query quick lenten meals. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query quick lenten meals. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Quick Lenten Meals #3: Fusion Shrimp Wraps
Disclaimer: Unlike my previous recipes, this recipe depends on the availability of certain packaged foods in your area. But as it is likely that suitable substitutions can be found, I will post this anyway, so that it doesn't look like I'm slacking! ;)
Ingredients
Frozen, fully cooked shrimp (number of shrimp depends on number of portions desired)
1 Tbsp butter
garlic granules (optional)
1 jar of Archer Farms Peach-Pineapple Salsa (from Target)
1 box Marrakesh Express Mango Salsa CousCous (if you can't find it locally, here is a website that carries it)
1 can black beans
flour tortillas
Habanero tabasco (optional)
1. Prepare couscous according to package directions. Black beans can be drained, rinsed, and put into the couscous water to cook together, which produces a good flavor but grey couscous, or warmed separately and mixed after cooking. (I prefer the first option!)
2. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add garlic granules if desired. Sauté shrimp in butter until warm. Do not overcook or your shrimp will be tough to chew. Some of the water from the frozen shrimp should cook out at this stage.
3. Add desired amount of Peach-Pineapple salsa. Add habanero tabasco, which contains mango puree, to taste. Continue to cook until salsa is warmed and shrimp flavor permeates. Remove from heat.
4. Warm tortillas in a frying pan. Assemble couscous, beans, and salsa-shrimp mixture. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Frozen, fully cooked shrimp (number of shrimp depends on number of portions desired)
1 Tbsp butter
garlic granules (optional)
1 jar of Archer Farms Peach-Pineapple Salsa (from Target)
1 box Marrakesh Express Mango Salsa CousCous (if you can't find it locally, here is a website that carries it)
1 can black beans
flour tortillas
Habanero tabasco (optional)
1. Prepare couscous according to package directions. Black beans can be drained, rinsed, and put into the couscous water to cook together, which produces a good flavor but grey couscous, or warmed separately and mixed after cooking. (I prefer the first option!)
2. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add garlic granules if desired. Sauté shrimp in butter until warm. Do not overcook or your shrimp will be tough to chew. Some of the water from the frozen shrimp should cook out at this stage.
3. Add desired amount of Peach-Pineapple salsa. Add habanero tabasco, which contains mango puree, to taste. Continue to cook until salsa is warmed and shrimp flavor permeates. Remove from heat.
4. Warm tortillas in a frying pan. Assemble couscous, beans, and salsa-shrimp mixture. Enjoy!
Friday, March 2, 2007
Quick Lenten Meals #2: Shrimp or Crawfish Jambalaya
In this recipe, I will be using crawfish, which I found frozen from Louisiana (not China) at a good price (cheaper than the Chinese crawfish!). Shrimp will work just as well. With larger shrimp, you may want to cut them in half or thirds to insure an even distribution of shrimp throughout the dish. This is a main course, not a side dish!
1-2 Tbsp, butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
16 oz. frozen crawfish, or an equivalent amount of shrimp
1 can diced or crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 c. rice
3 cups of liquid (water with the tomato juice added)
1/2 tsp salt (less if your seafood has added sodium)
pepper and cayenne to taste
1. Melt the butter in a pot. Sauté the onion and bell pepper until onions are transparent and the bell peppers are soft. Add pepper and cayenne, and a portion of the salt.
2. If your seafood is frozen and precooked, add and cook until barely thawed. If your shrimp are raw, cook until they have turned orange (or pink, depending on the variety) and opaque.
3. Add the rice and sauté until the grains begin to look translucent.
4. Before the grains of rice begin to brown, drain the tomato juice to use later and add the tomatoes. Add the 3 cups of liquid (drained tomato juice and water) and bring to a strong simmer. Add remaining salt.
5. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 15 minutes, or according to the cooking directions for rice. Some climates may need to add more water, I believe. Avoid the temptation to stir, but do make sure you don't smell burning. If your rice sticks and burns, your fire is likely too high and your water cooked away before the rice was cooked, so be cautious!
Enjoy! Makes a whole lotta jambalaya! Enough to feed a family!
1-2 Tbsp, butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
16 oz. frozen crawfish, or an equivalent amount of shrimp
1 can diced or crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 c. rice
3 cups of liquid (water with the tomato juice added)
1/2 tsp salt (less if your seafood has added sodium)
pepper and cayenne to taste
1. Melt the butter in a pot. Sauté the onion and bell pepper until onions are transparent and the bell peppers are soft. Add pepper and cayenne, and a portion of the salt.
2. If your seafood is frozen and precooked, add and cook until barely thawed. If your shrimp are raw, cook until they have turned orange (or pink, depending on the variety) and opaque.
3. Add the rice and sauté until the grains begin to look translucent.
4. Before the grains of rice begin to brown, drain the tomato juice to use later and add the tomatoes. Add the 3 cups of liquid (drained tomato juice and water) and bring to a strong simmer. Add remaining salt.
5. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 15 minutes, or according to the cooking directions for rice. Some climates may need to add more water, I believe. Avoid the temptation to stir, but do make sure you don't smell burning. If your rice sticks and burns, your fire is likely too high and your water cooked away before the rice was cooked, so be cautious!
Enjoy! Makes a whole lotta jambalaya! Enough to feed a family!
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Beyond Fish Sticks: Quick Lenten Meals #1
I thought I might share some favorite meatless recipes as I think of them. I only ask that no one decide to, you know, enter any Food Network Challenges or anything, because I might have to ask for a share of the prize money! ;) But seriously, this is my recipe for "Quick Crab Creole," as I like to call it, and while there is a lot of "to taste" involved here, this gives you a basic idea of how I make the dish.
Quick Crab Creole
1 onion, finely chopped
1-2 Tbsp butter
2 pouches real lump crab meat
1/2-1 can tomato paste
1/2-1 c milk or cream (the fattier the better, but skim will do in a pinch)
salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste
2-3 c cooked rice (Texmati is mighty nice)
1. Melt the butter over low heat. Sauté the onion in the butter until onion is more or less transparent. Add a few dashes of cayenne and black pepper. NOTE: Salt does help the onions to "wilt" somewhat, but as there is salt in the crab pouches, you might just want to do the salting at the end. Also, be aware that the "heat level" of the cayenne increases as it cooks--don't overdo it!
2. Add the crab from pouches, including the crabby liquid, which imparts a good amount of flavor. You might add a bit of water to the pouch & swish around to get the crab bits that are stuck to the sides of the pouch. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated off, then add a bit more water, probably about 1/2 cup.
3. Add the tomato paste to the crab and onion. Remember that tomato paste is a thickener. If you want to stretch the crab in this dish (which can be kind of pricey) add the whole can. If you want a more intense, concentrated crab flavor and smaller portions, add 1/2 a can (the flavor is good either way). Work the tomato paste into the liquid, integrating the solids and breaking up clumps of crab. The final texture should include crab "strings," not lumps.
4. Add the milk--again, if you use less tomato paste for more concentrated crab (that is, more that you can feel in your mouth), you will use less milk. The dish should be a nice creamy-orange color. Theoretically, it could probably be thinned into something like a bisque, but I suspect you would need more crab to make that work. This should probably be about the consistency of your favorite pasta sauce or a little thinner, to go over rice.
5. Once you have added the milk, cover and continue to let the sauce simmer so that the flavors blend. It is basically ready at this point, but it's good to wait another minute or two.
6. Serve over rice & enjoy!!
I would estimate that you can get about 6 generous servings, but "portion control" is an unknown phrase to me. This would be about 6 bowls' worth as poured over a generous 1/2 cup of rice or so.
Let me know if you try it!
Quick Crab Creole
1 onion, finely chopped
1-2 Tbsp butter
2 pouches real lump crab meat
1/2-1 can tomato paste
1/2-1 c milk or cream (the fattier the better, but skim will do in a pinch)
salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste
2-3 c cooked rice (Texmati is mighty nice)
1. Melt the butter over low heat. Sauté the onion in the butter until onion is more or less transparent. Add a few dashes of cayenne and black pepper. NOTE: Salt does help the onions to "wilt" somewhat, but as there is salt in the crab pouches, you might just want to do the salting at the end. Also, be aware that the "heat level" of the cayenne increases as it cooks--don't overdo it!
2. Add the crab from pouches, including the crabby liquid, which imparts a good amount of flavor. You might add a bit of water to the pouch & swish around to get the crab bits that are stuck to the sides of the pouch. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated off, then add a bit more water, probably about 1/2 cup.
3. Add the tomato paste to the crab and onion. Remember that tomato paste is a thickener. If you want to stretch the crab in this dish (which can be kind of pricey) add the whole can. If you want a more intense, concentrated crab flavor and smaller portions, add 1/2 a can (the flavor is good either way). Work the tomato paste into the liquid, integrating the solids and breaking up clumps of crab. The final texture should include crab "strings," not lumps.
4. Add the milk--again, if you use less tomato paste for more concentrated crab (that is, more that you can feel in your mouth), you will use less milk. The dish should be a nice creamy-orange color. Theoretically, it could probably be thinned into something like a bisque, but I suspect you would need more crab to make that work. This should probably be about the consistency of your favorite pasta sauce or a little thinner, to go over rice.
5. Once you have added the milk, cover and continue to let the sauce simmer so that the flavors blend. It is basically ready at this point, but it's good to wait another minute or two.
6. Serve over rice & enjoy!!
I would estimate that you can get about 6 generous servings, but "portion control" is an unknown phrase to me. This would be about 6 bowls' worth as poured over a generous 1/2 cup of rice or so.
Let me know if you try it!
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