We’re spending some time by the ocean and here’s what we had for dinner the other night. Just a perfect dish for anytime , but the dish was really good for a little vacation time! It’s so easy and packed with lots of flavor. I like it with a little more heat so I added more chipotle peppers. Don’t wait for vacation to try these shrimp and grits now is the perfect time. Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Filed under Main dish
I’ve made gumbo several times in my lifetime, but not the real Cajun type with a roux. There is just something intimidating just in the word roux. Not very many people know how to pronounce it and then not very many know what the meaning is. The term is in my high school textbook that I use with my class. It is hilarious to hear students pronounce it. Recently after Katrina we have many students from New Orleans. You should see the looks they give the Southerners from Georgia. Don’t you know anything? A roux? Well, I fall into that category. I have never made a real roux. Yeah, one for macaroni and cheese sauce or for a rich brown gravy, but for a gumbo? NO! My mother never once made gumbo that I can remember. She could make a mean red-eyed gravy and macaroni and cheese to die for, but no New Orleans style roux. I love gumbo and when I recently found a meat market that sells the best Andouille sausage I had to try my hand at it. I must say that a roux is quite easy.
Filed under Main dish
Soup and chowder are a favorite of mine for several reasons. A bowl of soup on a cold day just feels good. A thick creamy chowder is so satisfying. Best of all they are better the next day. This one is no exception. It’s easy and great for a weeknight. Those of you that have never cooked with fennel should try it. And another thing leeks are so good. I never knew they were so good. Where have I been? Deb an English teacher at my school gave me the lowdown on leeks. I’m sold now. Just trust me on this, try the leeks and the fennel. You can thank me later. Then add to the pot potatoes, shrimp and corn. What else would you need? Just a little fresh parsley and the juice of a lemon to make the flavors pop.
I love this dish! Oh My! It has a lot of flavor. It is very quick to make! What else do you want? Someone to make it for you? This recipe is a cinch . You will be in and out of the kitchen in no time. The compliments will come flying your way and you will be wondering what happened. It is just so easy to make this dish and it is amazing that it just has flavors that you would not imagine. I was totally shocked.
Filed under Main dish
I am really enjoying my summer. It started with a beautiful wedding in Louisville, Kentucky and last week a couple of days at the lake with my good friends. When I came home from the lake GI Joe said, ” Well what did ya’ll do?” And I said, “Talked and ate a lot of good food.” Men just don’t get it when women get together that we love to talk. My husband will get together with some of his buddies and when he comes home I will ask about one of their wives. And it is always the same. “We don’t talk about stuff like that!” They just don’t discuss personal or emotional things like women do. Why is that? Anyway I am loving my summer. Getting a little “me” time before I have to start giving a lot of it to my students again.
This recipe came from Men’s Health. Don’t you read Men’s Health every month? Yea right. You know it is a good magazine. Gi Joe and The Athlete read it religiously. It is a good magazine. I will have to say that I have sat down and read my share of issues. This is a recipe that The Athlete found last April. I have prepared it at least a half-dozen times. It is good for you and easy to make.
This week I had a huge bag of beautiful spinach in my box from CSA and wanted to make good use of it. I also had pesto left over from this recipe that I wanted to use.
I changed the original recipe today and sautéed the spinach then added all the other ingredients. I like the original recipe better. The reason? The hot pasta just does wilt the spinach and it gives more texture to the dish. So here it is for you to enjoy. Look at what you are getting: 22 grams of protein, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 19 grams of fat, and 5 grams of fiber .
There are essential ingredients that should be on hand so that you can throw a great meal together without even thinking. If everyone would do this we could put the fast food industry out on its last leg. Think about it. I grew up in a small town where we did not have endless possibilities for dinner. My mother shopped once a week and we never ate out.
As parents we have got to do the right thing for our children. Do you realize that the high school students that I am teaching this year have a lower life expectancy than I did growing up? Down the road we all are going to pay for what we are doing to our children. In the classroom I see all aspects of poor eating habits plus no exercise. It is scary! Let me share with you a great article that I used in my classroom a couple of weeks ago. Share the link with all of your friends and let’s do something about the epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States. Sarah shares her tips here that we as parents can do to make our children healthier. My students found all of Sarah’s links quite interesting. I was quite surprised at their interest. Please for our children’s health take the time to read this great information and share it with parents. Let’s do our part to keep America’s children healthier.
Back to the shrimp. Here is a recipe for a great meal and I am sure that most of the ingredients will be on hand. This means that it will be on the table in the time that it take to cook the pasta. Think about it the next time you are tempted to eat take out.
The Teacher Cooks 