Eat Mo' Bettah BBQ Shrimp

Back when I was in grad school in the frozen tundra of Wisconsin, the was-band & I occasionally patronized a fabulous hole-in-the-wall Cajun food take-out place.  We loved the BBQ shrimp there, but we could never remember the name of the place.  We simply called it "Eat Mo' Bettah," in honor of the Cajun Chef guy on TV.  (Y'all remember him?)

The jambalaya there was tasty, too.  And one of the most amazing things I have ever eaten in my life was their Cream of Garlic soup.  We could never figure out when The Soup Dreams Are Made Of would be on the menu, so it was a happy day indeed when we happened to hit it lucky and wander in on Cream of Garlic day.


The Teeter recently had 2 lb. bags of frozen shrimp on sale, which immediately brought to mind happy memories of BBQ Shrimp.  Luckily, I have a recipe that's a dead ringer for the BBQ Shrimp of yore.  I discovered it, in of all places, Desperation Dinners by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross.  

This perky little cookbook promises "Home-cooked meals for frantic families in 20 minutes flat" and it mostly delivers on that promise, with mostly good results.  Some recipes are fabulous, others, we prefer not to repeat.  But most of the recipes are really pretty good.  Of course, being the tinkerer that i am with recipes, I often reverse-engineer the recipes to make them a bit slower to prepare but better-tasting.


Happily, the BBQ Shrimp from Desperation Dinners only requires minimal tinkering for fabulous results.  It's super-simple, & super-easy-- 3 quick steps!


I have a note on the recipe that says it's not too spicy for DS (added when DS was in kindergarten, i think), so this recipe is even kid-friendly.


DS and I enjoyed our delectable BBQ Shrimp over some Mahatma Saffron Rice, prepared in the microwave.  

I was pleasantly surprised at how well the rice turned out!  On the side we had some HT Garlic Bread (to sop up all that good sauce!) and a medley of leftover frozen veggies.  I can highly recommend both the HT Garlic Bread  (from the freezer section) and the Mahatma Rice mix.  And both were purchased FREE with coupons (Suh-WEET!!).


As I've mentioned, the BBQ Shrimp is super-easy to prepare.  I did a quick-thaw of my frozen shrimp in a sink-full of lukewarm water and had it thawed, peeled, and ready to roll by the time the rice had finished cooking in the microwave.

I put a lb. of shrimp in a ziptop bag and used a glass pie plate to keep it submerged in lukewarm water to thaw.

One of my more fastidious colleagues at the Teeter disdained to purchase the shrimp because it wasn't pre-peeled, but I am here to tell you, when they say "EZ-Peel," they aren't kidding.  The shells are pre-slit down the belly of the shrimp and it takes just a second or two to get them off.  Plus, the tail part comes intact out of the shell very easily-- which is wonderful, since DS has a "thing" about having ANY shell left on his shrimp. (He hates that little decorative bit of shell restaurants often leave on the tail.)

My thawed, peeled shrimp


There is one ingredient that can't be replaced in this recipe, however--- it's the Chili Sauce.

It is the secret to the whole dish.  This isn't some fancy Thai Chili sauce, it's very ordinary stuff kind of like ketchup. In fact, if you've never tried it, you have probably seen it next to the ketchup in the store and just never noticed it.  It's great for making quick cocktail sauce for shrimp--  just add a little horseradish, and presto, there you are.  I always have a bottle of Heinz Chili Sauce in my fridge.


Here is my slightly adapted recipe for

Eat Mo' Bettah BBQ Shrimp

by DomesticMuse

(I gar-on-tee you gonna love it!)

1 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 T unsalted butter (or margarine, if you want to make this dairy-free)
1 T freshly minced garlic (from 5-7 cloves)
1 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. bottled chili sauce (preferably Heinz)
1 t. Cajun seafood seasoning blend (I use Paul Prudhomme's Seafood Magic)
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. dried thyme leaves
Tabasco or your favorite hot sauce to taste
1 lb. raw lg. shrimp, peeled


1. Spray a large, heavy skillet with non-stick spray.  Heat over medium heat and add the EVOO and the butter.  Once the butter has melted, add the garlic and cook 30 seconds--  don't let the garlic brown.


2.  Add the chicken broth and raise the heat to high.  Add the chili sauce, cajun seasoning, Worcestershire, thyme, and hot sauce (if using).  Boil for 2-3 minutes, or until slightly thickened and the flavors have blended.

3. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring gently, until the shrimp are pink and just cooked-through, about 2-3 minutes.

 Remove from the heat and serve the shrimp and sauce over a bed of rice.



The Mahatma Saffron rice was terrific with the shrimp and sauce.


MICROWAVE RICE
Here are the directions for cooking it in the microwave.  I think you can follow the same directions with plain rice, just use 1 c. of rice and 2 c. of boiling water.


1.  Combine the rice mix, 1 T butter or margarine, and 1 2/3 c. boiling water in a 1 1/2 qt. microwave-safe bowl.
2. Cover and cook on high for 3 minutes.
3. Reduce the microwave power to 50% power and cook, covered, for 17 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and serve.


Makes 2 1/2 c. cooked rice.  (DS and I managed to eat all but about 1 T of the rice--  Zelda was thrilled to eat what was left.)


Here is DS's plate, 


BEFORE



and 

AFTER


C'mon, Y'all--  try some BBQ Shrimp and eat mo' bettah!


Bon appetit!

The Big, Fat Truth

Tonight, DS wanted to watch, of all things, Morgan Spurlock's 2003 documentary film, Supersize Me.
If you haven't seen it, it's an expose of the health risks associated with the consumption of American fast food with a very personal twist. Spurlock embarks on a 30-day challenge to consume nothing but food from McDonald's.  His quest was inspired by a lawsuit filed a group of teenagers claiming that McDonald's was basically responsible for making them fat.  Spurlock states:

"After six months of deliberation, Judge Robert Sweet dismissed the lawsuit against McDonald's. The big reason? The two girls failed to show that eating McDonald's food was what caused their injuries. Interesting, in only thirty days of eating nothing but McDonald's I gained twenty-four and a half pounds, my liver turned to fat and my cholesterol shot up sixty-five points. My body fat percentage went from eleven to eighteen percent, still below the national average of twenty-two percent for men and thirty percent for women. I nearly doubled my risk of coronary heart disease, making myself twice as likely to have heart failure."


For someone like me, this stuff really stirs up a lot of angst.  You see, I have a confession to make.  I'm fat. 


No, I don't mean that my body is currently carrying around a lot of excess poundage.   In fact, I'm back in most of my "skinny" clothes (including my size 4 jeans, woo-hoo!!).   No, I'm talking about who I am, how I see myself and think of myself.  And that would be as a fat person.


I was born into a family of fat people that goes back on both sides for generations.  I was a scrawny kid who became a chubby teenager and a fat adult.  I had one skinny year in high school, but for the most part, I went through my high school experience feeling miserable about myself and my body.   In college,  I was so busy and active I didn't have much time to think about my weight and by the time I graduated from college, I was a size 5 and had come to think of myself as "normal."  This lasted for a few years, until I got married, had a nervous breakdown (literally), was put on an old-school tricyclic antidepressant, and promptly gained 50 lbs.


Fat again.  Which is pretty much where I stayed for the next 18 years.  My identity as a fat person just became an unassailable truth in my life.  I will always be a fat person, no matter how much I weigh or what size clothes I wear.   My divorce 5 years ago was such a horrific experience that I literally could not eat a thing for months.  I then became something I had never experienced in my adult life:  TOO thin.  I was skin and bones.  Definitely not healthy.


I admit I have a love-hate relationship with food.  For the most part, I have learned to co-exist with it.  I do have my struggles and know I am maintaining a fine balance.  There are days when I eat too much or eat things I know I shouldn't.  I don't worry about it much.  There's always tomorrow.  Then there are times I am just so stressed out and busy I'll get to the end of the day and realize I haven't eaten at all.  I have to snap myself out of it, because it gives me such a feeling of power to know that the food does not control me.  No, too far the other way!!  Balance-- remember??  


And now?  As for my weight...  well, it comes and it goes.  I try to eat well, be active, and focus on maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  Eventually what goes on comes off.


Over the years I've learned a few things.  For example, there are worse things than being fat.  A LOT worse.  Like being cruel and judgmental.  I love clothes and enjoy looking my best, but in the end, as my gramma used to say, "Handsome is as handsome does."  If we don't treat others with the dignity, respect, and compassion we all deserve, then it doesn't matter what we look like, we're ugly.


I've learned to have patience with people who have told me, at various times in my life, "Oh, but you'd be so pretty if only you would lose weight!"  Yeah, that was almost not a crappy thing to say.  Well, guess what?  Self-esteem comes in ALL sizes.  My boss used to get after me about my weight.  I'd tell him, "I come from a long line of distinguished fat people.  I embrace my genetic destiny." (And wish I could add, "Why can't you?")


Watching SuperSize Me made me think about a lot of things I haven't thought about in a long time.  Because for the last 5 years, basically, when people see me and interact with me, they see me as a THIN person.  They don't know I am really a fat person in a thin body.  While I still have plenty of memories, I don't actively experience a lot of the things I did when others perceived me as "fat."


And you know what?  All that stuff came flooding back, and I GOT MAD.  FURIOUS, in fact.


I think the one thing that set me off was an off-hand remark from some member of the Food Police.  The person said, "In the next 20 years, obesity will become the leading PREVENTABLE cause of death in the U.S."


And here is THING NUMBER ONE I am sick to death of:  BLAMING THE VICTIM.  (I realize that's  probably not what the person meant, but it is what most people think.)


Duh!!  Now why didn't I and all the other fat people in America think of this sooner?  If we would just get up off our big fat a$$es and lose weight, we wouldn't die from obesity-related complications!


Because I think that if you look around the WORLD at populations who now eat a Westernized high-fat, high-protein diet, you will see that in places where cancer, diabetes, and obesity were formerly unheard of, the incidence of all of these is rising alarmingly.  Mexico.  Japan. China.  And in this country, the Tohono O'odham nation. Does this mean that after centuries of being thin, all the sudden all these people just have no "will-power" or "self-respect?"


The Tohono O'odham have the distinction of being the fattest people in America.  Why?  Because instead of following the traditional food-ways and life-ways they had observed for many generations, they have been forced to adopt radical lifestyle changes as well as adopting the typical American diet--  a change their biochemistry and genetics have not been able to adapt to.  White flour is literally killing them.


To me, this shows 2 key things:  1)Obesity IS a disease, and 2)the causes of obesity are complex and not well understood.


Seriously, people:  Who would CHOOSE to be fat?  To endure ridicule and scorn on a regular basis?  To face the embarrassment of not being able to fit into a chair at a theater or on an airplane?  Knowing that being obese will almost certainly end up killing us-- who would CHOOSE that?  No one would.  Believe me--  you haven't experienced hostility until you've been a fat person assigned to the middle seat in your row on a crowded airplane.


Would you blame someone for getting the flu? "Oh, you silly person.  If only you hadn't touched that elevator button someone with flu just sneezed on or if only you hadn't stood next to that person....  etc."  No, of course you wouldn't.  Then why is it ok to blame someone for being fat? Or for getting diabetes because they are overweight?  IT'S NOT OK.


Am I saying that as a fat person I have no responsibility whatsoever for my health?  Not at all.  Of course I should try to make good choices and to be active.  But it's not that simple!!  The same diet works fine for some people (most of Western Europe, for example) but causes others to become dangerously obese (Pacific Islanders, the Tohono O'odham).  And what helps one person to lose weight doesn't work for someone else.


Everyone has the right to be treated with dignity.  I hate to say this, but medical people are some of the WORST offenders ever.  They think nothing of making you stand on the scale and then gleefully (yes, I swear, gleefully) repeat the result LOUDLY so everyone in the whole office can hear how much you weigh.  If you ask why they need to get your weight, when you were just here last week, can they just answer your question?  No.  They speak slowly and loudly, as if you have the approximate IQ of a fruit bat AND are deaf too.


Now, I ask you, do you think you would ever hear THIS in a dr.'s waiting room?  "But Mr. Smith, we ask ALL our patients with ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION to step on the scale at every visit, to make sure their ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION is not causing other health problems.  Surely you can understand why that is necessary?"


If you are a woman, I'm sure you hate your yearly GYN exam as much as I do.  Yes, that, and the mammogram, are about as much fun as having your fingernails torn out with red-hot tongs.  So you can imagine how very much I appreciated the attitude I received from one very smug female doc (several years ago) who took one look at me and said, "Well, you know your weight is really going to make it hard for me to do your exam."  I was speechless.   Wish I'd had the presence of mind to say "Well, then I guess I'm lucky you're such a good doctor, not counting your little bedside manner problem."


Which brings me to my last point.  In our society, it's ok to be prejudiced against fat people.  They're just lazy.  They have no self-control.  It's their own fault.  So what if the airplane seats are too small for them?  If they wanted to, they could lose weight and fit into them.


Here's my Christmas Wish:  Let's celebrate everything we love about food this year, be grateful for our blessings, and appreciate the fact that people are basically good.  And let's make it our goal to counter prejudice with love and compassion.  Because we really are ALL ONE.

Diner-Style Chili & Beer Biscuits

On a chilly evening, what could be more welcome than a nice, hot bowl of chili?

In one of my recent posts, I mentioned that my mom, my sister & I lived with my grandparents the year I was three. I recall my mom making chili throughout my childhood, even in the heat of the Philippines! When we lived in Port Orchard, Mom would occasionally make dinner so Gramma could have a break, and chili was often on the menu on those days. We always had Premium Saltines with our chili.

Unfortunately, I've never been able to duplicate my mom's recipe for chili, which was pretty straightforward, no-frills, American diner-style chili, that was more soupy than stewy. Of course, it's been so many years since she cooked she doesn't remember how to make it.

In May of 1988, I had the rare opportunity to visit Port Orchard. I was living in Wisconsin at the time, and we drove from there to Gramma's house. Sadly, we lost both my dad and Grampa in February of 1987. By then, Gramma was in her eighties. and my Aunt Helen and her three daughters, Nina, Anna, and Amanda, now lived in the little green house with Gramma and took care of her. I was thrilled when Aunt Helen made, guess what! My mom's chili! for dinner one evening, complete with saltine crackers on the side. For whatever reason, I didn't manage to get the recipe.

Recently, I tried Coleen's Turkey and Black Bean Chili and discovered that the flavor is very similar to Mom's chili. Coleen's chili is thicker, but it's just so delicious! If you want a really yummy, easy to fix, no-fuss chili that is not too spicy for kids, Coleen's chili definitely fills the bill.

I especially LOVE Coleen's unique way of serving the chili, which reminds me of the Frito Pie so beloved in the Ozarks. We used to take DS to the Springfield, MO Zoo just to pig out on cardboard dishes of Frito pie.... Anyway, Coleen likes to eat her chili ladled over a bed of fresh greens and Fritos corn chips, topped with sliced grape tomatoes, chopped avocado, sour cream, and shredded cheese. This is HEAVEN-- even without the cheese and sour cream. It's a fun study in contrasts, a cool & hot, tangy & velvety, crunchy & chewy chili salad!

Below is my slight spin on Coleen's chili, which really goes back to basics. It is very quick to prep because all you have to do is chop an onion and some garlic and open a few cans. It does need a a couple of hours to simmer and mellow, but you can of course do other things while you're waiting. Instead of saltines, you may enjoy trying the beer biscuits below, which I find are absolutely perfect with chili (not that you need them if you serve the chili with Fritos, LOL!) A big plus is that this chili is actually a really good use for ground turkey (which in general I'm not crazy about)!

Diner-Style Chili Elsie

by DomesticMuse

2 lb. ground beef or ground turkey

1 T canola oil (more, as needed)

1 onion, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 T chili powder

2 t ground cumin

5 c. water

1 12 oz. can tomato paste

1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes with jalapenos

1 T sugar

1 t. salt

2 15 oz. cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 4 oz. can green chiles, chopped

1. Spray a heavy soup pot with non-stick spray. Add the oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the meat and brown well. Stir until most of the liquid thrown off by the meat has evaporated. If there is excess grease, drain it before proceeding.

2. Reduce the heat to medium and add the diced onion. Saute, stirring, until tender, about 5-6 minutes. Add the minced garlic and saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

3. Add the chili powder and cumin and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes, until the spices have a chance to really soak into the meat and onion mixture.

4. Add the remaining ingredients and increase the heat to medium-high. Bring the chili to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer.

5. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours, or until chili is nice and thick. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

DS's plate:

When I met my friend Julia in grad school, I knew I had found a kindred spirit. Julia grew up in Peru, the birthplace of potatoes. She had me in stitches telling me about her first visit to Burger King in the U.S., where she requested a side of mayonnaise with her order. "What for?" the counter dweeb asked. "Why, for my fries, of course!!" Julia replied with offended hauteur, which quickly turned to mortification as she realized that ketchup is the preferred condiment for fries here.

I must confess to a penchant for mayo on my fries, too... but my absolute favorite thing to dip my fries into? Green Goddess dressing, no contest. I love the stuff. Since I am eating my chili sans cheese and sour cream, I was inspired to try a little GG on it. Oh, yeah-- total heaven in my bowl!! I LOVE IT!!

Here's my plate:

Yum-o!!

Here is a closer look at all the scrumptious goodies!

Bubba's Beer Biscuits are the easiest thing in the world to whip up, and are terrific with chili.

This is a completely unadulterated Paula Deen recipe. All I have done is cut it in half so it makes 6-8 biscuits instead of 12-16.

BTW, did any of y'all catch Kristen Wiig's Paula impersonation on SNL last week? I was cracking up as she was going on about all the "boo-ter" and "awl" in the food. Well, for sure don't leave out the boo-ter in the recipe below, or you will end up with brickettes instead of biscuits. NOT a good thing!

Bubba's Beer Biscuits by Paula Deen

2 c. Bisquick or other baking mix

1/4 c. sugar

1 T melted butter

6 fl. oz. beer (any kind will do)

Preheat the oven to 400F. Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray. In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients together. Spoon it into the tins. Bake for 15-20 min.

These are not especially pretty, but are so easy and so good.

Buen provecho!

Coupon Index for 11/21

This week there is only 1 coupon insert, SmartSource.

Here is the Coupon Index for the week of 11/21.

(Still having a few technical problems with the tables... thanks for your patience while we work on fixing them.)

11/21/2010

Circular	Item	EXP
SmartSource	Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookie Dough $1/3	2/12
SmartSource	Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crusts, 50 cents/2	2/12
SmartSource	Pillsbury sweet rolls or Grands sweet rolls, 40 cents/2	2/12
SmartSource	Betty Crocker Cookie Mix, 17.5 oz or larger, 40 cents	1/15
SmartSource	Betty Crocker Boxed Potatoes, any except Potato Buds & Betty Crocker Pouch, 50 cents on 2	1/15
SmartSource	Progresso broth, 40 cents	1/15
SmartSource	Toblerone 3.52 oz or larger or Terry’s 6.6 oz or larger, $1/2	12/31
SmartSource	Starbucks Ice Cream, 1 pint, $1	1/15
SmartSource	Starbucks Coffee, 11 oz., 12 oz. or 20 oz. bag, $1	2/28
SmartSource	Starbucks Frappuccino or Double Shot, 4 pk., $1	1/31
SmartSource	Starbucks VIA Ready Brew, 3 or 8 pk, $1	1/31
SmartSource	Kraft Natural Shredded Cheese with a Touch of Philadelphia, $1	12/31
SmartSource	Kraft Natural Shredded Cheese with a Touch of Philadelphia, $2	1/31
SmartSource	Pillsbury Refrigerated Grands biscuits, any size/variety, 40 cents/3	2/12
SmartSource	Pillsbury Frozen Grands biscuits, $1/2	2/12
SmartSource	Pillsbury crescent rolls, 40 cents/2	2/12
SmartSource	Pillsbury crescent rolls, 55 cents/3	2/12
SmartSource	Progresso soups, $1/4	1/15
SmartSource	Wonderful pistachios, 6 oz. or larger, $1	3/31
SmartSource	Classico Alfredo sauces, $1/2	1/15
SmartSource	Eat, Pray Love Blu-Ray or DVD: Save $4 wyb 2 Classico pasta sauce products	none
SmartSource	Cortisone-10 Hydratensive lotion, $1	1/31
SmartSource	Cortisone-10 product, $1	1/31
SmartSource	Duraflame Gold 7 lb. Firelogs, 4-Log case, $2	12/31
SmartSource	Nancy’s Frozen Appetizer, $1	2/28
SmartSource	Motrin PM, $2 (excludes trial size)	12/31
SmartSource	Sinus Buster or Allergy Buster Nasal spray, $3	2/26
SmartSource	Hershey's Kisses, Reese's or Hershey’s miniatures, 8 oz. or larger, $1/2	12/4
SmartSource	Schick Quattro Titanium razor, trimmer, or refill, $1	1/2
SmartSource	Schick Quattro for Women or Intuition Plus Razor or refill, $1	1/2
SmartSource	Schick disposable razor, $1	1/2
SmartSource	Smithfield Bacon, 55 cents	12/31
SmartSource	Skintimate shave gel or cream (excludes 2.75 oz. travel size), 55 cents	1/2
SmartSource	Edge Shave gel (excludes 2.75 oz. travel size), 55 cents	1/2
SmartSource	Rubbermaid TakeAlongs, $1/2	12/31
SmartSource	Philips Sonicare FlexCare+ or FlexCare rechargeable Toothbrush, $15	1/31
SmartSource	Philips SonicCare rechargeable toothbrush (excludes Xtreme models) $10	1/31
SmartSource	Philips SonicCare brush heads or Xtreme toothbrush, $5	1/31
SmartSource	Philips SonicCare rechargeable toothbrush (excludes Xtreme models), $10 MIR	1/31
SmartSource	Scotch-Brite Cook Top or Stainless Steel Cleaner Starter Kit, $1	1/15
SmartSource	Duck brand packaging tape, $1	1/31
SmartSource	Prevacid 24HR product, $4	12/18
SmartSource	Philips Norelco SensoTouch or SensoTouch 3D Razor, $10	1/31
SmartSource	Philips Norelco Speed-XL (8200 series) or Nivea for Men razor, $5	1/31
SmartSource	Philips Norelco replacement head, $5	1/31
SmartSource	i-flex, 120 ct., $5	1/31
SmartSource	i-cool for menopause, $2	1/31
SmartSource	Spot Shot instant carpet stain & odor eliminator product, $1	2/28
SmartSource	Harmony Farms Chicken and Brown Rice Adult dry food for dogs, 17.5 lb bag, $3	2/28
SmartSource	Harmony Farms dry food for cats or variety pack for dogs or cats, $2	2/28