Southern Fried Shrimp

Who doesn't love a crispy fried snack from the sea?

These delicious golden nuggets are so easy to make with just a few simple ingredients.  

All you’ll need is flour (either regular wheat flour or your favorite gluten free mix), cornmeal, Cajun or Creole seasoning, shrimp (raw peeled and deveined, medium or large), eggs, canola oil, and whatever your dipping sauce heart desires (tartar, seafood / cocktail or pepper jelly)

You can even change the seasoning if you’d like. Cajun and Creole seasonings are a spicy mix of cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, and thyme.

They taste slightly different than Old Bay, which has celery salt (salt, celery seed), red pepper, black pepper and paprika, but any of these would work in this recipe.

It only takes about 20 minutes from start to finish if you fry the shrimp right after you bread them. For added crunch and to ensure the breading sticks to the shrimp, I recommend refrigerating the breaded shrimp on a wax paper-lined tray for 30 minutes before frying.

These crispy delights go great with hushpuppies, grits, coleslaw or red beans and rice.

Or pile them on oblong French rolls with zesty rémoulade sauce, crunchy shredded lettuce, pickles, and sliced tomatoes to create classic po' boys.

1/4 C flour

1/4 C cornmeal

1 tsp Cajun seasoning

1 pound raw peeled and deveined medium or large shrimp

2 beaten eggs

canola oil 

In a bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, and Cajun seasoning.

Dip raw shrimp into a bowl of beaten eggs, then coat in the cornmeal mixture.

In a skillet, cook the shrimp in 1/2 inch of canola oil over medium-high heat until golden and brown, 4 minutes total flipping once after 2 minutes.

Work in batches that allow the shrimp plenty of room in your skillet - don’t overcrowd the skillet or the shrimp will steam more than fry. Transfer cooked shrimp to paper towel-line or paper bag-lined plate and repeat with the remaining shrimp.

Serve with tartar sauce and seafood cocktail sauce if desired.  Makes 4 servings.

These little lovelies can be cooked in an air fryer if desired. Preheat air fryer at 400* for about 3 minutes. Lightly spray basket with cooking spray. Add about half the shrimp. You want them in one layer and not crowded. Spray shrimp with cooking spray.

Air fry for about 5 to 7 minutes. Repeat with remaining shrimp.

Bonus Recipe!

Zesty Rémoulade Sauce

3/4 C mayonnaise

1/4 C minced dill pickles

2 T drained prepared horseradish

1 T hot sauce

1 T Dijon mustard

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1 T fresh lemon juice

1 garlic clove, minced

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Zucchini & Corn Tacos

Super easy. Super Quick. Super Delicious.  These tacos are the perfect solution for a simple and fast Meatless Monday dinner (or any day of the week!) These would also be excellent to take to work for a Not Sad Desk Lunch.

All you need to do is::
Add about 1 C diced fresh zucchini to frozen “fiesta corn mix” 
(corn, black beans, onions, peppers – such as Birdseye C&W Ultimate Southwest Blend) 

Heat and stir in a hot skillet with a little oil or butter for about 5 minutes until heated through. Top warmed corn tortillas with the mixture. Top as desired (Jack cheese, tomato, avocado, sour cream, cilantro, etc.)
Ole' & Enjoy!

Simply Delicious Broccoli Cheddar Soup

It's getting a bit chilly outside and that means it's time for soup for dinner (and for lunch and possibly even breakfast!)
I created this simple, satisfying and ultra-cheesy broccoli soup to warm me up.

4 C chicken or vegetable broth
4 C chopped fresh broccoli florets
1 small onion, diced (about 1 cup)
1 tsp olive, canola or other light tasting oil
2 T butter
2 T flour
1 (15 oz.) can evaporated milk
4 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese (*see note below)
1/2 tsp each salt and black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder OR 1 clove garlic, pressed
a few generous pinches of Old Bay or Cajun seasoning

In a large pot, cook diced onion in olive or canola oil over medium heat until soft and translucent. Add the butter and melt over medium high heat. Add the flour and whisk until combined.
Add the chicken broth and stir until combined. Add the broccoli and heat over medium high heat until it comes to a low boil.
Reduce heat to medium and continue simmering for about 10 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender. Stir in the evaporated milk and continue cooking for 3 minutes, returning to a simmer.
At this point, you can mash the broccoli with a potato masher, if desired. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese until melted.
Season soup with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

* I used 2 cups of Tillamook Medium Cheddar AND 2 cups of Tillamook Sharp White Cheddar (Farm Style Cut). Some brands of shredded cheese melt more easily than others. I recommend buying a block of cheddar and shredding it yourself and adding it to the hot soup, off the heat and stir until melted, to avoid curdling the cheese.
The Farm Style Cut Sharp White Cheddar really punched up the flavor of this soup.  If you prefer a less sharp result, use cheddar only.

Caramel Apple Squares

A memory came up this morning that made me think of Fall desserts.

So now I am craving this ooey, gooey, sweet piece of Heaven.  The Gluten Free cookie mix is on my list for my next shopping trip. Or, perhaps I have a box if it in my Jenga-esque pantry : )

This is simple to prepare, delicious and satisfying and can be made with traditional or gluten free cookie mix. 

 

Caramel Apple Squares

1 Hodgson Mills GF cookies mix
1 stick butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 C oats
3 small to medium granny Smith apples
1 jar Mrs. Richardson's butterscotch caramel sauce

Line a 9" baking pan with foil or parchment paper. Grease well.
Mix all ingredients except apples and caramel.

Press half dough into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel and chop apples; mix with the caramel sauce.

Spread over partially baked crust.

Put the remaining crust dough on top, breaking into pieces and covering apples well. Bake 30 minutes. Let cool completely on a cooling rack. Cut into squares.

Delicious topped with vanilla or vanilla-cinnamon ice cream, or whipped cream.

Let's Talk About Mental Health – Day Four

When it comes to actually being mentally well, there's no shortage of self-care strategies out there, but not everyone has the time and money to spend on a wellness retreat or horse therapy or crystals that may or may not chill you out.

Continuing the series of ideas that can help keep your mind, body and soul feeling good. (or at least less stressed)

Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas.

(This is from a self.com article)

Day Four: Take Five (Minutes to Meditate)

Meditation seems like a thing that only yoga teachers do, but it doesn't need to be a whole thing to be effective. Don't worry about accomplishing anything or reaching some sort of enlightenment when you do it; just the fact that you're taking a few minutes to calm down and focus on your breathing is huge. If you don't know where to start, just sit quietly and focus on breathing in and out, slowly, for two minutes. Then work up to five minutes the next time you do it.

You’ll be doing yourself a favor by just doing nothing but breathe for a little while and

it feels good to be mindful and present in the moment.

Let's Talk About Mental Health – Day Three

When it comes to actually being mentally well, there's no shortage of self-care strategies out there, but not everyone has the time and money to spend on a wellness retreat or horse therapy or crystals that may or may not chill you out.
Today I'll continue a series of ideas that you can do to help keep your mind, body and soul feeling good. (or at least less stressed)
Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas.
(This is from a self.com article)
Day Three: Borrow Things from Vacation
Think about things you only enjoy on vacation. Then inject a little of that into your daily life.

We tend to have a more chill outlook on everything when we're on vacation. You replace the gym with swimming and walking, dinner consists of potlucks with new friends or dining at a quaint little bistro, and your email (hopefully) has an out-of-office reply. What if we took just a little bit of that mentality and made it the rule - rather than the exception? Maybe that means skipping the gym to go for a simple run in the park, turning your phone on Do Not Disturb between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. or simply reading outside for a little while.  Obviously it won't make you feel like you're on vacation, but it might help you reclaim your time.

Let's Talk About Mental Health – Day Two

When it comes to actually being mentally well, there's no shortage of self-care strategies out there, but not everyone has the time and money to spend on a wellness retreat or horse therapy or crystals that may or may not chill you out.
Today I'll continue a series of ideas that you can do to help keep your mind, body and soul feeling good. (or at least less stressed)
Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas.
(This is from a self.com article)
Day Two: Turn the TV Off
Do something else besides watching TV before bed.

If you've lost track of more nights than you can count while binge-watching a series, only to feel tired and groggy and kind of behind on life the next day, try a little experiment where you don't watch TV before bed for a week. Use that time to read, color, call your mom, journal, take a bath, whatever. For a lot of people, zoning out with a good series can be a therapeutic coping mechanism, which is great, but it's helpful to find other tools for calming down at the end of the day. And maybe you'll find one that won't occasionally keep you up until 2 a.m.