Seafood Fridays – Shrimp Fried Rice

Fish on Fridays is a new feature I’m starting this week. Throughout the season of Lent — and possibly beyond if it is popular — I will be featuring one of my favorite seafood dishes each Friday.

For the very first week, I have one of my favorites: Shrimp Fried Rice.

Any kind of fried rice is fine by me, but for this one I was inspired by this blog written by one of my favorite bloggers, My Vegetarian Kitchen. In it, she stated that she was going to see how long she could make meals for her family using only the food she already had in her home. With a few exceptions, she is going to try and not to buy anything else until she runs out of food.

Personally, it always seems like I have way too much food lying around for just the two of us. Despite this, I go to the grocery store almost every day to get more things.

So, inspired by Sarpeet’s blog, I decided to try to go at least one day without buying more food. Fortunately, I happened to have a pound of shrimp on hand that somehow failed to make it into the jambalaya casserole the day before.

Anything fried rice is fine by me, but shrimp is one of my favorites. This meal is easy to make, cooks fast, is inexpensive and turned out especially delicious. Plus, because my wife, Sandi, is not a fan of shrimp I got it all to myself! Bonus!

Shrimp Fried Rice

1 lb medium raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed

1 TBS Extra virgin olive oil

1/2 green bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, julienned

1/2 yellow bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, julienned

1/2 white onion, julienned

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 TBS  fresh ginger, peeled and chopped fine

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1 TBS sesame oil

1 tsp Sriracha sauce

1 cup rice, cooked

1. Combine shrimp, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and sesame oil in a small bowl, toss well, cover with plastic and place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to marinate.

2. Put cast iron pan on fire. When hot, add oil. When smoking, add onions and peppers. Cook until onions soft and slightly browned, about 7 minutes, stirring frequently. Add shrimp and all of the marinade and cook another 2 minutes then add the rice and cook for another minute, stirring frequently.

3. Dissolve corn starch in water and pour into pan. Stir until liquid begins to thicken, about two minutes. Stir in Sriracha sauce then remove from heat.

4. To plate, pile in center of pasta bowl and garnish with either a sprig of parsley or chopped parsley for color.

With some fried rice recipes, I will throw an egg in right at the end, but I left it out of this one because there already was enough protein with all the shrimp, but feel free to add one if you like.

What are some of your favorite seafood dishes that we can feature in Seafood Fridays? Let me know and I’ll try to do as many as I can. And thanks for looking at my blog!

Wisconsin Cheddar Broccoli Soup

What makes this Wisconsin Cheddar Broccoli Soup? Is it because the sharp cheddar cheese came from Wisconsin? Is it because it was invented in the Badger State?

Nope. It’s because you make it with beer.

I love cooking with beer almost as much as I love cooking with wine, which is quite a lot. Oddly, I don’t drink a lot of beer, but I just love the chewy, yeasty flavor it always gives to food.

Wisconsin, of course, is Our Nation’s Capitol of beer. Milwaukee is world headquarters of the Miller Brewing Company, one of the biggest breweries in the world, and that city also has a long and proud beer drinking tradition, making it one of my favorite cities. You will find me there almost every August for Milwaukee’s excellent Irish Fest at the city’s beautiful lakefront festival park.

You will never hear me say an unkind thing about Milwaukee, other than perhaps most of its residents are Green Bay Packers fans.

Besides the fact that it is made with beer, this soup is also wonderful in the winter time because it is the very definition of hearty. This is as thick as soup gets before passing over into the casserole category. It is thickened with both a roux and from the melted cheese.

It. Will. Fill. You. Up.

Wisconsin Cheddar Broccoli Soup

4 slices bacon, medium dice

1 onion, medium dice

12 oz beer

3 cups skim milk

1 cup chicken stock

2 TBS whole butter

3 TBS unbleached all-purpose flour

8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1/2 TBS dry mustard

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 baked potatoes, rough chop

2 broccoli crowns

Sea salt

Fresh cracked black pepper

Dash Tabasco sauce

Dash Worcestershire sauce

1. Put pot on fire. When hot, add bacon and cook until just starting to crisp, about three minutes. Add onion and cook until translucent, about five minutes. Add beer and cook until nearly all the liquid is evaporated. Then add milk and chicken stock and cover and let come to a boil.

2. In a separate small pot, build a roux by melting butter then whisking flour into the butter. Let cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture turns a light tan. Remove from heat.

3. When milk/chicken stock comes to a boil, whisk in roux and continue cooking until soup begins to thicken, about five minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce to a simmer and stir in grated cheese. When cheese is melted, add the potato and brocolli and cook another 3 minutes. Broccoli will continue to soften at sits in the hot soup.

I served this with a homemade multi-grain bread and it certainly warmed up our late winter’s night.

Do you have any recipes that you associate with a particular place? Share your story in the comments section below. And thanks for looking at my blog!

Wine on Wednesdays – Big House Red

By all rights, I should hate Big House Red, a red table wine from the Big House Wine Company.

It has everything that turns me off about a wine: It has a goofy drawing on the label, it has a silly themed back story about prison breaks, you can even buy it in a box.

Despite this, I can’t deny that it is a very good wine, especially for the price. Big House Red has a smoothness that I appreciate. It’s very fruity, yet it isn’t jammy and it is neither bitter nor sweet. It’s one of the few wines I could enjoy drinking every day and never get tired of it.

And it is certainly affordable. It falls within my self-imposed limit of $7.99/bottle in most stores where I’ve seen it. It probably would be even cheaper if I were to buy the boxed version, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to do it.

There are other Big House wines, including a Big House White which I remember trying a long time ago and liking. They also have a syrah called “The Slammer,” a cabernet sauvignon called “The Usual Suspect”, a pinot grigio called “The Birdman”, and a chardonnay called “Unchained”, although I’ve never seen them sold around where I live.

They also have a zinfandel called “The Cardinal Zin” that I would be interested in trying because I’m a huge fan of California zinfandels.

I always get suspicious when wine companies build elaborate themes around their wines as marketing tools. It makes me wonder if they are not paying more attention to the concept than the wine itself. But in the case of Big House Red, I can’t complain. The wine is just too delicious.

You may recall that Big House Red used to be made by Bonny Doon Vineyards, the winery created by Randall Grahm. I was surprised to learn while researching this that he sold the brand in 2006. Apparently, Bonny Doon decided to focus on more upscale wines and dropped the Big House line. I have been enjoying this wine since long before then and haven’t noticed any change in the quality.

So if you are prejudice against wines with silly themes and cartoony labels like I am, set aside your hesitations and grab a bottle of Big House Red. It’s a just a very smooth and satisfying affordable red table wine.

Just don’t buy it in the box. You have to draw the line somewhere.

Chicken Quesadillas

Here in Chicago, we have a regional Mexican restaurant chain called “Pepe’s Tacos”. It features all the usual things you expect to find in a Mexican restaurant, but it has more of a homespun feel to it.

There is one very close to our house and when we don’t feel like cooking, my wife and I like to go there for a quiet dinner out. It’s extremely inexpensive, but it’s still a sit-down restaurant and just a comfortable experience overall.

The plates that come out of the kitchen always are set up the same way: a little refried beans, a little Spanish rice, some lettuce, a dollop of guacamole and then whatever entree you ordered, such as burritos, enchiladas, tostadas, etc.

That got me to thinking: What if I made one of my Mexican dishes and set it up like a Pepe’s Tacos plate? That would be kind of cool, right?

Well, what I remembered halfway through making these delicious chicken quesadillas was that the cook at Pepe’s Tacos is prepping once for a couple of hundred plates per night, while I was doing the same prep work for only two plates.

Still, although it was kind of a lot of work, the end result was pretty great. The quesadillas were especially wonderful. My wife even said it was one of her favorite things I have ever made. Home run!

Next time, though, we’ll probably just go down the street to Pepe’s Tacos.

Chicken Quesadillas

4 6″ whole wheat tortillas

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, about 8 oz

8 oz Chihuahua cheese, shredded

2 TBS Extra virgin olive oil, separated

1 ear corn, boiled and kernels removed

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 TBS cumin

1/2 TBS chile powder

Guacamole

Refried beans

Spanish rice

Lettuce, shredded

Salsa

Fat-free sour cream

Baked tortilla chips

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Put cast iron pan on fire. When hot, add oil. When smoking, season both sides of chicken breast with salt and pepper and place in pan, being careful not to splash yourself with hot oil. Cook until one side is golden brown, about 3 minutes, then flip and sear the other side another 2 minutes. Put the entire pan in the oven and cook until chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. This can be done ahead of time.

2. Dice chicken into 1/2-inch peices. In a mixing bowl, combine chicken, black beans, corn, cumin and chile powder.

3. Preheat oven to 200F. Put cast iron pan on fire. When hot, add oil. When smoking, add one tortilla. Arrange 1/4 of the cheese onto the tortilla, then half the chicken/bean/corn mixture, then the 1/4 more of the cheese. Place a second tortilla on top and press down firmly with your hand. Cook until bottom is golden brown, about 3 minutes, then flip and cook until the other side is golden brown. Remove from pan and place on sheet pan. Repeat the entire process so that you have two quesadillas. Place sheet pan with tortillas in oven to keep warm until you are ready for plate up.

4. To plate, place a little shredded lettuce in one corner of the plate, place about a half cup of refried beans at the opposite corner. Place some Spanish rice in between. Cut the quadillas into four peices. Arrange the quesadillas in a shingle pattern down the center of the plate and top it all off with a dollop of guacamole.

For quick Spanish rice, I just combined long grain white rice with 1/2 water, 1/2 spicy V-8 in my rice steamer. It turned out very well.

I usually serve this with salsa, tortilla chips and fat free sour cream on the side.

Have you ever tried to replicate some of your favorite restaurant dishes at home? How did it turn out? Let us know in the comments section below. And thanks for looking at my blog!

Meat Free Mondays – Seven Bean Soup

One of the unexpected side effects of cooking more vegetarian meals is that our cupboard is now filled with half full bags of various beans and grains.

Almost every time I walk down the dried beans aisle in the grocery store I see something new I want to try: “Oh, look! Golden split peas! Cool!”

The result is every time I open my pantry, there’s an avalanche of unused dried beans and grains. So this recipe for seven bean soup is an attempt to try to use up some of these leftovers and clear out a little space.

And I have to say it turned out delicious. Because there was no smoky ham hock or bacon to give it the traditional bean soup flavor, I had to improvise with some of the various spices I have. (The spice cupboard is another place where my enthusiasm for trying new things is resulting in a traffic jam of bottles and jars).

Needless to say, this soup was super inexpensive because I already had everything to make it in house. In fact, I feel like I almost made money on this soup because I was able to clear up a little clutter.

And, other than having to soak a couple of the beans overnight, it was a cinch to assemble and having it simmering on the back burner all day was very pleasant and comforting.

I like a good bean soup in the winter time, especially when it helps me get my pantry more organized!

Seven Bean Soup

1/2 cup dried black beans

1/2 cup dried garbanzo beans

1/4 cup brown lentils

1/4 cup red lentils

1/4 cup green split peas

1/4 cup golden split peas

1/4 cup pearled barley

1 TBS extra virgin olive oil

1 white onion, medium dice

3 stalks celery, both ribs and leaves, medium dice

3 carrots, peeled, medium dice

2 jalapenos, ribs and seeds removed, medium dice

1 can diced tomatoes

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1-1/2 quarts water

1 tsp Adobo seasoning

1 tsp Tony Cachere’s Creole seasoning

1 TBS Italian seasoning

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

1 bay leaf

1. Place black beans and garbanzos in a bowl, cover with water and soak overnight. In the morning, drain and set aside.

2. Put soup pot on the fire. When hot, add EVOO.  When smoking, add onion, celery, carrot and jalapeno and cook until onions translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, black beans and garbanzos and water, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook two hours.

3. Add brown and red lentils, green and golden split peas, barley, tomatoes, Adobo, Tony’s, Italian seasoning, bay leaf, salt and black pepper. Stir together, replace cover and simmer another hour. Turn off heat and let stand about 30 minutes so most of the liquid gets absorbed.

I served this with a multi-grain bread that I made, which cleared up even more space in my pantry!

By the way, I’m aware that the lentils and split peas aren’t technically beans but legumes and that the barley is a grain. But it’s easier to call this Seven Bean Soup than it is to call it Two Beans, Four Legumes and a Grain Soup.

Have you ever made a recipe simply because you wanted to clear out some space in your kitchen? Share your story in the comments section below. And thanks for looking at my blog!

Jambalaya Casserole

Tuesday is Mardi Gras and the parade season is in full swing in New Orleans.

I’m a huge fan of New Orleans cuisine and culture, but sadly I don’t get there often enough. I am, however, a regular listener to WWOZ-FM, the city’s public radio station devoted to New Orleans music and culture. So I’ve been listening as the carnival parade routes are annouced each day.

While I can’t make it to New Orleans for Mardi Gras this year, I am getting the ball rolling with this Jambalaya casserole. Jambalaya is a Louisiana dish that can contain a wide variety of ingredients, depending on who is making it, but it usually has chicken, sausage and sometimes shrimp and is served with rice.

I’ve modified my standard jambalaya into a casserole because it has been very busy around here (one of the reasons I can’t make it to the Crescent City this weekend) and casseroles are versatile enough so that they can be made ahead of time then just heated up whenever it’s time to eat.

Mardi Gras is a celebration of the fun things in life prior to the start of the Roman Catholic season of Lent, which begins Ash Wednesday and runs until Easter Sunday. Mardi Gras, which is French for “Fat Tuesday” is traditionally the day people let loose, drink a little bit, eat rich food and enjoy all the other good things that are not allowed during the Lenten season.

Being the good Catholic that I am (University of Notre Dame ’86, go Irish!), I follow the Lenten protocols, such as no meat on Fridays and fasting during Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

But New Orleans fan that I am, I also celebrate the Mardi Gras and  hold a deep respect for the traditions of second line parades, floats, beads and everything else that make up this amazing cultural tradition.

So laissez les bon temps rouler, let the good times roll and enjoy your Mardi Gras weekend wherever you are!

Jambalaya Casserole

2 TBS EVOO, separated

1 boneless skinless chicken breast, about 8 oz

1/2 lb of Italian sausage

Sea salt

1/2 tsp granulated garlic

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 white onion, medium dice

1/2 yellow bell pepper, medium dice

1/2 red bell pepper, medium dice

1/2 green bell pepper, medium dice

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 package dry egg noodles

1 cup fat free cottage cheese

1/2 cup fat free sour cream

4 oz can tomato sauce

1 TSP Tony Cachere’s Creole Seasoning

1 tsp Tabasco sauce

Fresh cracked black pepper to taste

1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Put cast iron pan on fire. When hot, add 1 TBS EVOO. When smoking, make a cut down the center of each sausage, remove from casing and place in pan, being careful not to splash yourself with hot oil. Use spatula to break into 1″ pieces and brown all sides, about three minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove from pan and set aside.

2. Return cast iron pan to fire. When smoking, season both sides of chicken breast with salt, pepper, granulated garlic and onion powder and carefully place in the pan. Cook until bottom side is browned, then flip and cook another two minutes. Place the whole pan in the oven and cook until chicken is fully cooked, about 15 to 20 minutes depending on the thickness of the breast. Remove from oven. Cool then chop into bite sized pieces

3. Clean cast iron pan and return to fire. When hot, add remaining EVOO. When smoking, add onioins and peppers and cook until onions translucent, about five minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute then remove from heat.

4. Cook egg noodles according to package directions, usually about 7 minutes. You want to undercook the noodles just a little. Strain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process then return to the pot. Add chicken, sausage, cottage cheese, sour cream, Tony’s, vegetable mixture, hot sauce and pepper. Stir and transfer to casserole dish. Sprinkle with shredded cheese then grated parm and cover. Casserole can be cooked right away or stored in refrigerator or freezer until ready to use.

5. Cook covered casserole 35 minutes at 350F then remove cover and cook another 10 minutes to crisp the top. If cooking from frozen, cooking time will be closer to an hour.

During the Lenten season, which starts this Wednesday, I’m planning on starting a new feature called Seafood Fridays. Each week I will be featuring a seafood recipe that is both delicious and Lenten compliant.

Happy Mardi Gras, everybody!

Lasagne Quattro Formaggi

This recipe started out as a good idea, but it didn’t work in practice.

See, I had this idea for a dish called lasagna roll-ups, which was pretty much just like it sounds. But when it came time to assemble it, it just didn’t work.

So this dish was Plan B.

Like Garfield, lasagna is one of my favorite foods. I tend to make lasagna a lot, but I try to keep it fresh by putting different ingredients in it each time. “Quattro formaggi” is simply Italian for four cheeses. In this case, cottage cheese, cheddar, mozzarella and parmesan.

I wouldn’t say lasagna is a quick meal to make because there are a lot of different components. But it is quick to assemble because you can make everything ahead of time at your leisure and just throw it together at the last minute. It’s also convenient because once you assemble it, it can sit in your refrigerator or freezer until you are ready to eat.

It is quite inexpensive as well. Most pasta dishes usually are. The only ingredient that is not completely rock-bottom cheap would be the fat free cottage cheese, and even that was only about $3 for the 1 lb container.

Lasagne Quattro Formaggi

1/2 box dried lasagna noodles

2 TBS extra virgin olive oil, separated

1 lb ground turkey

1/2 white onion, medium dice

1/2 green pepper, medium dice

2 cloves garlic, crushed

8 oz can tomato sauce

2 TBS Italian seasoning

2 tsp sugar

8 oz fat free cottage cheese (or ricotta)

1 egg

1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and drained

Sea salt

Fresh cracked black pepper

1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1. Boil noodles according to package instructions, usually about 10 minutes. Strain and cool under cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.

2. Put cast iron pan on fire. When hot add EVOO. When the pan is smoking, add the turkey and cook until browned. Remove from heat and set aside

3. Put sauce pan on fire. When hot, add EVOO. When smoking add onion and green pepper. Cook until onion translucent, about five minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute, then add tomato sauce, browned ground turkey, Italian seasoning and sugar. Stir together, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook about five minutes.

4. Combine fat free cottage cheese and egg in mixing bowl. Squeeze excess liquid from spinach then add to bowl, season with salt and pepper and mix well.

5. To assemble, spoon a little tomato sauce on the bottom of a casserole dish, then lay strips of lasagna noodles until the entire bottom is covered. Add a layer of the cottage cheese/spinach mixture, then another layer of the sauce. Repeat: lasagna noodles-cottage cheese/spinach-sauce. Repeat again. Top with another layer of noodles, a little more sauce than sprinkle the top with the shredded cheddar and mozzarella. Finally, sprinkle the parmesan over the top and cover with foil. The lasagna can be stored in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat or cooked right away.

6. Preheat oven to 375F. Cook lasagna for 35 minutes covered, then remove cover and cook another 10 minutes so the top gets browned up. Remove from oven and let stand a few minutes before cutting into it.

Have you ever had a great idea for a dish that just didn’t work out? Share your story in the comments section below. And thanks for looking at my blog!