CEimB: Jambalaya with Shrimp and “Ham”

This weeks Ellie Krieger  recipe was chosen by Anonymous in New York, and can be found on page 236 of Ellie’s book “The Food You Crave“. 

The recipe allowed me to easily hide the vegetarian protein that I substituted for the ham.  It was only revealed to Ted after he first, confirmed that he liked it and second, had consumed half his meal.  The disclosure of the meatless pepperoni addition was followed by the comments… “I thought I saw something “funny” in there”.  The only ingredient, other than the ham,  I was tempted to leave out was the rice, but for Ted’s sake, it was included.  That rice ended up giving me a little grief.

Ted was needed in order to devein the shrimp. This procedure is really disgusting to me. It’s worse than beating chicken.  At least you have the wax paper separating you and the chicken. After that little chore was done, we were off and cooking.

I chose the vegetarian “pepperoni” (about 4.2 oz) over ham (6 oz) to give it more flavor…hence the “something funny in there“.    I also used Cajun seasoning (1/2 tsp) instead of cayenne pepper (1/4 tsp).   Vegetable broth was used instead of chicken broth (2 1/2 cups).  As for the recipe instructions, the timing for the rice was off by about 10 minutes and almost caused chaos when it came to this dish.  After the said 20 minutes, as written in the book, I lifted off the hot cover and dumped in my shrimp that had been sitting in lemon juice for 20 minutes.  As I stirred in the shrimp, the rice looked a little “thin” to me.  It was no where near cooked. Ahh! I had to meticulously scoop those shrimp out in order to let the rice cook for at least (I estimated) another 10 minutes. 

It was smooth sailing after the rice mishap. The dish was really good. Ted didn’t use the hot sauce, I did but it really didn’t need it.  It had the right amount of heat and it was full of flavor.  We really enjoyed this recipe.  

Good choice Anon. in New York.  Spicy deveined shrimp works for me every time.

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Under Repair

The trip to the “Geek Squad” took SO looonnggg yesterday.  The computer is still under the care of those techno-medics, undergoing “diagnostic testing”.  It will most likely turn out to be a software incompatibility issue but since I have absolutely no patience whatsoever in regards to computer problems, it’s safer for the computer, in terms of survival, to be in their hands.  Experience has shown me that banging, punching, dropping, and kicking never seem to work.   

Blogging this week will only be once a day, or until I get the little guy back from “Dr. Geek and Staff”.  Here is a recap of last night.   But first… lets talk morning…

Shane was a bum last night. He was very restless when we went to bed.  At 2:30AM he woke both of us up.  Ted gave him water (Shane won’t go downstairs by himself to get it…figure that one out!) and let him outside for a minute.  Back upstairs, Shane grabbed a rawhide chew and began gnawing away. Annoying!   Ted took it away.  At 3AM, Shane sat looking at me, nudging me with his cold nose and whining. That means he has to go out since I’m the “potty” lady and will answer the call. There we are, 3AM walking down the street. I was surprised that a car actually flew past us. Job done – back to bed.  The workout was a little later and therefore cut short: 35 minutes leg workout. 4 1/2 mile run upto and around the golf course.  Can you believe there were two people already in the cart and off the first hole at 5:45 AM?!!! Die-hards!

 Here is Monday night’s vegetable dish which I’ve probably posted before or at least something similar. We did the CEimB recipe for this week so you will have to wait until Thursday for the rest of Monday nights menu. Here is a hint…is was a real good Jambalaya!

Basic Broccoli Bake:

• 1 cup Vegetable Broth / or chicken broth
• 3 head of broccoli, chop of florets and par-boil for 5 minutes in the Broth.
• 10 grape tomatoes, sliced in half
• 2 spring onions, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Spray a baking dish with non stick spray. Drain the broccoli and put into the baking dish. Top with the tomatoes and onions. Salt and pepper to taste.  Sprinkle on the cheese and bake for 30 minutes.

 Have a great Tuesday and … why not let me know your favorite way to prepare broccoli… is it a sweet broccoli salad? My sister makes one of the best!

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