Cheddar Corn Chowder

 

Ina says that soup is perfect for Sunday lunch. Just make a big salad too and you're done. Maybe fruit and cheese for dessert. And everyone's ready to deal with the dragons of the coming week. 

And I did love this recipe. My husband loved this recipe. My son loved this recipe. But when Ina says that if feeds 9-10, it must be nine to ten REALLY BIG folks. We ate this twice for dinner. I gave some to my mother-in-law. I ate it three times for lunch. I still froze a big container. 

Trust me. HALF. THIS. RECIPE.

And since Ina encouraged me to make all of her recipes my own, I added shrimp too. Because shrimp, like soup, makes everything better...

Instant Pot Shrimp Sauce Piquante

Have you ever made an Instant Pot recipe out of desperation? We did tonight. We have been working through our stash of community cookbooks and decided to try this recipe for supper - but read the "simmer for an hour" at 6:30 p.m. That was not going to happen. Completely winged this recipe but it came out wonderful!

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tbsp olive oil

8 oz mushrooms

1 c. chopped onion

1 c. chopped celery

1/2 c. chopped bell pepper

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

3 oz. tomato paste

1 tsp garlic powder

1 cup white wine

2 tbsp cornstarch

1/3 cup hot water

Saute the mushrooms, onions, celery, and bell pepper in oil. Add tomato paste, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper once the veggies are soft. Once mixed together, add wine. Cook on high pressure/manual for 10 minutes. While the Instant Pot is cooking, saute the shrimp in 1 tbsb of butter and 1 tsp garlic powder. Combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl and whisk vigorously. Quick release after the pressure cooker is through and then add the cornstarch/water mixture to thicken the sauce. Let simmer for about two minutes. Add sauteed shrimp and simmer for two more minutes. Serve over rice or cauliflower rice.

The original recipe is from the Firehouse Kitch'N, a cookbook of the Jackson Mississippi Firefighters from the 1990s.

Low Carb Shrimp-stuffed Bell Peppers

I have been buying too many old(er) cookbooks at estate sales lately. It's interesting to me how little directions some of the recipes give, but then I realized that I was experimenting much more with the recipes - and that was most likely the point.

This month's experiments have come from Bayou Cuisine, published by St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Indianola, MS. in 1970. The original recipe that mine was inspired by came from Dr. J. Malcolm Leveque of Lake Charles, LA.

Here's the original inspiration:

Shrimp-Stuffed Bell Peppers
6 medium bell peppers
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. bread cubes
1 lb chopped or ground shrimp
1 small can tomato paste
1 bay leaf
Salt, pepper, red pepper

Fry onions, celery, shrimp, and garlic in butter until wilted. Add bread cubes blending together, adding a little water. Season well - stir lightly and cook until dressing is ready to put in peppers. Keep 1 tbsp dressing aside to use in sauce. Clean and remove seeds from peppers, stuff with dressing. Bake 30 minutes in a 350-degree oven. While the peppers are baking, make highly seasoned sauce with can of tomato sauce, bay leaf, onions, and remaining tbsp of dressing. Let simmer a few minutes - remove peppers from oven, drain water, and add sauce. Bake 10 minutes longer. Serves 6.

Here's my new recipe:

Low-Carb Shrimp Stuffed Bell Peppers

Low-Carb Shrimp-Stuffed Bell Peppers
3 medium red bell peppers
1/3 cup purple onion, diced
1/2 cup Baby Bella mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
1 pkg. cauliflower pearls
3/4 lb shrimp, peeled and diced
1 can crushed tomatoes
Salt, pepper, smoked paprika
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 cup French's crispy fried onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter in fry pan or cast iron skillet. Add onion, garlic, and mushrooms. Drain as much water from cauliflower pearls as possible, then add to pan. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes and then season to taste with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika.

Cut only the tops from the peppers, then clean and remove seeds. Put peppers in a microwave-safe glass baking dish with an inch of water in the bottom. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 5 minutes. Once finished, take off the wrap and drain all water.  Put peppers to the side.

Add shrimp to fry pan and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Season to taste again. Add just enough of the crushed tomatoes to meld the mixture together (1/4 to 1/3 cup). Put the remaining crushed tomatoes at the bottom of the glass baking dish, then add bell peppers back. Stuff peppers with cauliflower mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

This year's shrimp season

More than 250 boats launched June 11 to open the shrimp season in Mississippi's coastal waters. A cold, wet spring had delayed the season's start, which opened June 1 last year.

Read more about this year's Mississippi shrimp season from Keri Collins Lewis in the Sun Herald here.

Find places to buy Mississippi gulf shrimp here.

Slow-Cooker Sweet and Spicy Chicken

This is what Martha's looked like. Not mine.(I did cook it on low. Maybe it's better on high. My skin did not stay on at all. It all cooked down.)

The recipe was still yummy. It just DID NOT LOOK ANYTHING LIKE THAT!

And I made this Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore recently - and my family thought it was the same recipe. It tastes that similar. Only this second recipe looks much healthier (on face value). No oil. No skin. (No extra time in flash frying it.)

When I tried Martha's recipe, the chicken was all gone but there was lots of tomato sauce left, so I combined her recipe with my traditional Shrimp and Grits and voila...



I don't know what it's called, but I liked it. (My husband just tolerated it, however, and my son didn't want to eat it with the tomato sauce. MEN!)

Maybe Sweet and Spicy Shrimp and Grits?! ;)