Seafood | Mommie Cooks!

Shrimp-tastic Quesadillas

May 21, 2012 By Julie 10 Comments

I must admit, since creating the chicken wraps from the Sargento recipe site a couple weeks back, I’ve found myself surfing back there on occasion, looking for more quick and tasty dinner time ideas. Last night the return trip arose from a desire to use up some leftover cooked shrimp from a low country boil eaten the night before. I popped over to take a gander and right on the front page, staring straight at me as if to say, “eat me you sassy, hungry home cook you”, was a simple and straightforward recipe for chipotle shrimp quesadillas.

Bingo.

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Chicken, Sausage & Seafood Loaded Jambalaya

January 17, 2012 By Julie 25 Comments

My husband has been ~~begging~~ asking me to cook up a pot of jambalaya for some time now. Every time I inquire what he’s hungry for, that one Cajun inspired word escapes his lips and lands in my lap with a thud. Now don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I don’t enjoy jambalaya, much to the contrary. The problem I have is that well constructed Jambalaya takes time. Time to stew and time for all those wonderful French Southern flavors to meld together. As you can well imagine, this is something I don’t normally have when it comes to a typical weeknight dinner. And so my husband continues to ask and I continue to say next time. Until this past weekend that is.

Every so often the creole stars align and a night arrives where dinner takes center stage on the daily roster. This past Sunday was just such a day. With the Packers set to play a big football game (no I don’t want to talk about how it all went down – grrr) and a Monday school holiday for the boys, I determined that the day had finally arrived for a hot and hearty pot of protein laden jambalaya.

Let me tell ya, it was certainly worth the wait. I got a little carried away in the seafood department and pretty much added one of every crustacean available including shrimp, scallops and crab. The recipe only calls for shrimp, but if you feel the need as I did to add more, by all means do so.

Begin with a handful of spices; nine to be exact. Drop them into a bowl and let a few chicken legs have their way with them.

Sear the covered legs in a well oiled dutch oven until crispy and golden brown on the outside and then add in a pile of sausage to the mix.

In a separate saucepan heat up another swirl of oil and cook the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic.

Add it to the pot along with a smattering of fresh herbs, a large can of tomatoes and a few other flavor inducing accoutrements.

Drop the lid on, turn the heat on medium low and wait for the magic to happen. Abra Cadabra, ooh la la.

For the final act, drop a little (or a lot) of seafood onto the top of the jambalaya. Push it down gently to submerge it in the tomato liquid. Pop the top back on and let it sit for about 5 to 10 minutes or until cooked through.

Serve over steamed rice and enjoy a little slice of creole inspired heaven along with one hunger satisfied husband.

Chicken, Sausage & Seafood Loaded Jambalaya

Yield: Serves approx. 8 one cup servings)

Total Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp Cajun Seasoning
1 Tbsp Paprika
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Old Bay
1/2 tsp Celery Salt
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1 Pound Chicken Legs
3 Tbsp Canola Oil
1 Pd Sausage (Andouille or Smoked works best)
1 Onion, Chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper, Chopped
3 Stalks Celery, Chopped
4 Cloves Garlic, Minced
2 Bay Leaves
1 Bunch Fresh Oregano
1 Bunch Fresh Thyme
1 28 Oz. Can Tomatoes (whole or diced will work)
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 Pound Shrimp (peeled and deveined)
Hot Sauce to Taste
Salt to Taste

Directions:

Mix together the first 9 spices in a bowl.

Coat the chicken completely reserving 1 tablespoon of the spice for later.

Add 2 tablespoons of the oil into a large dutch oven and heat on medium high heat.

Toss in the chicken and sear it for about 2-3 minutes on each side.

Slice up the sausage and add it in to the pan with the chicken. Let sear for a minute or two. Turn the heat down to medium low.

In a separate sauce pan, heat up the remaining tablespoon of oil on medium heat and add in the onion, green pepper, celery and garlic.

Cook for about 4-5 minutes.

Add mixture to dutch oven along with the bay leaves, oregano, thyme, tomatoes, Worcesterhire and the reserved tablespoon of spice.

Swirl a spoon around a few times to roughly mix the ingredients and then cover and let sit on medium low heat for about an hour.

After an hour, add the shrimp into the mixture, cover and let sit for about 5 to 10 minutes until cooked through.

Adjust seasonings as necessary. Serve over steamed rice.

Pistachio Crusted Salmon with Ginger Lemon Cream Sauce

August 5, 2011 By Julie 24 Comments

Let me just say, this wasn’t the dish I had originally planned on putting up today. I had planned to put up the bacon blue cheese quiche that my MC facebook buds have been patiently waiting for. But then this pistachio crusted salmon came along. It wasn’t a researched recipe idea. Just a night where I needed to cook some dinner. I knew I wanted something involving salmon, and I happened to have a bag of pistachios taking up rent in my pantry. The idea started simple and grew from there. I’d make a pistachio crusted salmon. Done. But what’s a crusted fish without a sauce right? I slid out my beloved Flavor Bible and got to work. Lets see…. ginger pairs with lemon pairs with basil pairs with salmon. And there it was, my perfect sauce. Unique yet flavorful, creamy and simply perfect.

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Savory Southwestern Salmon Pie

June 28, 2011 By Julie 14 Comments

Let’s give a hearty welcome to savory southwestern salmon pie. This meal was conceived out of a necessity to clear the pantry and fridge before vacation and quickly forged itself into the permanent dinner rotation.

Usually, when I attempt to create meals using only what I have on hand, the aftermath is either a rip-roaring “I meant to do that” success or it’s a “what the heck did you get us into with this dinner” failure. I have to say, with the way things were flying into pans and bowls; a little bit of this and whole bunch of that, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it hit a rather delicious mark with me. I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for Southwest flavors to begin with. Drop it all into a pie crust and just like that I’m licking my chops and proclaiming blogworthyness.

Make the note that the ancho chile kicks up the spice level a bit. Two of my three were ok with the heat, but the third one took issue. You could probably leave the chile out if needed and it would still work beautifully, however, I have to say that I love the added flavor it gives to the dish.

Let’s get on with it shall we?

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Asian Salmon Burgers with Tangy Ginger Lime Sauce

April 26, 2011 By Julie 36 Comments

We’re back! Disney was scorching hot, utterly enchanting, completely over-crowded, and positively thrilling all rolled up into one fabulously magical package. Next time we’ll pick a ~~much~~ slightly less popular week to experience the house of the mouse; even if it means pulling the kids out of school for a couple days (shhh… don’t tell Nick’s teacher I said that). That being said, watching the younger set experience the wonder of it all was well worth the trouble. Especially the little ones. When my one year old niece, Taylor, met Snow White for the first time, you would have thought she’d died and gone to heaven. She ran full on into her arms and just sank into pure joy. It was enough to make the entire over-heated, impatient line of Disney goers let out a collective “awwww.” I guarantee you’ve never witnessed sheer bliss like this.

All in all it was a fun week. I have to say, though, that I am happy to be back home and back to the blog. I really missed you guys! To kick off the week I’m popping up a killer Asian Salmon burger that’s easy on the palate and doesn’t take much effort in the kitchen. The dipping sauce is the real gem in this one. Pour a little over the top of the burger and then serve a little more on the side for extra dipping. It’s as close to “one year old meets childhood idol” bliss as you can get.

To cook up a batch of burgers, you’ll first grab a pound of salmon and cut it into manageable chunks. Throw it into your food processor and pulse until you are left with no big pieces.

Next up you’ll add some Asian inspiration and mix it in by hand (or spoon if you don’t like to get your hands dirty).

Form it into four large patties and get ready to cook these beauties up. Heat a little sesame oil over an open flame and when it’s good and hot, cook up your patties until they’re a beautiful golden brown on both sides. Yum yum.

While your patties are cooking, grab up a few sauce ingredients; some mayo, sour cream, lime juice, soy sauce, ginger, and green onions. Mix it all together.

You ready for this? Toast up a bun, pop one of those beautiful salmon burgers on top, spoon a little sauce over the seafood ensemble and bite into pure bliss. Snow White would be oh so proud.

Asian Salmon Burgers with Tangy Ginger Lime Sauce

Total Time: 30 min

Ingredients:

For the Salmon Burgers:

1 Pound Salmon
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Clove Garlic
1 tsp Powdered Ginger
1 tsp Oyster Sauce
1 Green Onion, Chopped
1 Tbsp Fresh Basil, Chopped (about 5 leaves worth)
11/2 Tbsp Sesame Oil

For the Ginger Lime Sauce:

1/4 Cup Mayonnaise
2 Tbsp Sour Cream
1/2 tsp Powdered Ginger
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Green Onion, Chopped
1/4 Lime, Juiced

Directions:

Cut the salmon into large hunks and pulse it in a food processor until no large pieces remain.

Add to the salmon the soy sauce, garlic, ginger, oyster sauce, green onion, and basil.

Combine ingredients well and form 4 large patties from mixture.

Heat up the sesame oil in a large frying pan on medium high heat and add in the patties. Cook for about 10 minutes flipping once half way through.

To make the sauce, add together all the above listed ingredients and stir to combine.

Pour a spoonful of sauce over the top of the finished salmon burger and serve inside a toasted bun.

Cajun Lobster Pasta

January 26, 2011 By Julie 38 Comments

Valentines day is fast approaching and while many people prefer to go out for dinner to celebrate the occasion I, simply put, am not one of those people. Don’t get me wrong, I love dining out at restaurants; just not on Valentines Day. It’s crowded, it’s expensive, and the menus are usually fixed prixe and limited in honor of the special day. I don’t blame restaurants; it crazy out there on the day of love! You gotta do what you need to do to survive the night.

That’s why, after a few years of braving the crowds and the mediocre food, Scott and I made the decision to stay home on Valentines Day and do it the way we wanted to do it. For the past 10 years, we’ve made it a tradition to have a carpet picnic; just the two of us. We create a wonderful meal, set up a small table by the fireplace, and allow ourselves to eat slowly and truly enjoy one another’s company. It sounds so simple, but trust me, when you have a boatload of small kids running you in circles all day, the option for a nice meal enjoyed slowly and deliberately doesn’t happen all that often.

There are so many wonderful dishes that can be made to celebrate the day. This is one that Scott and I truly enjoy. The lobster gives it that bit of indulgence that you crave for a special meal, but it’s still easy to put together and serves up quickly so that you can spend more time at the dinner table and less time behind the stove.
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