10.16.2009

Shrimp Etouffee & HELP

Texas weather in the fall is so unpredictable. Last weekend it was wonderful, cold and rainy. We enjoyed it for a few days and then it was hot again. When it’s cold outside I love to make homemade soup, gumbo, and etouffee.

Last weekend I made my mom’s etouffee. My mom, the home economics major, created this recipe from combining several recipes and tweaking it over the years. Many traditional etouffee recipes have a roux base but our does not. Instead we cook the holy trinity in butter as our base. The holy trinity is a combination of celery, onion, and bell pepper. It’s used in many Cajun dishes.

Y'all should try this recipe. It's SO good and one of my favorites.


Shrimp Etouffe

1/2 stick of margarine

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped bell pepper

3/4 cup chopped celery

2 cloves garlic minced

2 cups water

2 chicken boullion cubes

1 can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, drained

1-2 pounds peeled, deveined shrimp

1/2 teaspoon basil

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1 bay leaf

black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 tablespoons green onion tops chopped for garnish

Melt margarine in large saucepan. Saute onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic in butter. Add water and 2 chicken boullion cubes. Stir over medium heat until dissolved. Add drained Rotel tomatoes, shrimp, basil, thyme, oregano, bay leaf, pepper, and parsley. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add cream of mushroom soup. Stir over low heat until dissolved. Add green onions to etouffee just before serving. Serve hot over rice.



Paula Deen said to never throw away the leaves of celery. Chop the leaves and use them; they have a ton of flavor.


I love to make this recipe for company. Sometimes I chop the veggies in the morning or the night before to save time when I'm cooking. I love the prep bowls from Pampered Chef. Each bowl comes with a lid, which makes me happy. Oh the little things...



Yumm... the holy trinity sautéing on the stove. I love this smell.



Yum!


I need HELP! As I was making the etouffee, I realized my spice cabinet is completely disorganized. It's hard to find the spice I need in this mess! In Houston, my kitchen had an old ironing board cabinet. The owner of the building added shelves and I used it for spices. I organized them in alphabetical order. It was perfect and so easy to find what I needed.

I don't know what to do with my current spice cabinet. How do y'all keep your spices organized? Any suggestions?







Spice Cabinet in Houston

14 comments:

  1. My spice cabinet looks exaclty the same as yours-not enough space for way too many spices!

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  2. Mmmm, I'm definitely going to try this recipe. I love love love cajun food =)

    And I just have a lazy susan for my spices and it works great. I think I bought it at IKEA for like $7 or something close to that.

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  3. Yum, that sounds so good right now with the cold weather! I'm with you on the organization of spices, it's so hard! There are 2 things that I've been wanting to try out, but haven't yet. The first is this expandable 3-tier shelf that fits in your cabinet (here's the Bed Bath and Beyond link: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=13983119&RN=205)

    The other thing I've heard of is getting little magnetic containers and filling them with your spices and affix a magnetic strip to the inside of your cabinet door. I think it's an awesome idea, but I do have a fear of the containers falling and/or it being too bulky.

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  4. Delicious!! And I LOVE your spice cabinet! :)

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  5. Mine is a mess too - I need something like what you had in Houston!! Very nice!

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  6. Oh dear, I don't even have a spice cabinet! Could you just come to my house and cook that for me?????

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  7. love love love etouffee! thanks for posting this recipe. Sorry I can't help on the spices... mine are a mess!

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  8. I got a wire rack that screws into the wall and put it in the inside of my pantry...that's were I keep all of my dry spices. I keep extracts and baking powders in another cabinet.
    I was looking through my mom's spices the other day and she has pepper from 1987!!! I totally lectured her and she said it still tastes like pepper so why throw it out. She actually has alot of old spices...the containers are kinda cool..retro!

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  9. I have two little spice racks that hang on the wall above my stove. Maybe I will post a picture sometime!

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  10. Wow! What a great recipe. I can just hear that trinty sizzlin. I'm like Erin and have a lazy susan. I'm not organized with mine but I can see you putting them in an alphabet circle and doing an ABC twirl until you found your spice.

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  11. Yummmm!...thanks for sharing! I have never had etouffee before, but this looks like something right up my alley! I should've been born a southerner, as I LOVE spicey food and good FLAVOR... bland food is SO boring!!!

    And if you figure out a good way to keep those spices organized, pass the secret along!!

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  12. I love etouffee, but I can't say I've ever tried to make it. It does look delicious though!

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  13. My spice cabinet looks exactly the same. I have been meaning to correct this by buying a small wall shelf so that I can line them all up like your old closet in houston.

    Like this: http://www.espicebazar.com/three_tier_wood_rack.aspx

    BUT DIY :)

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  14. this looks yummy! it's 48 degrees in nashville today...i think i may make this!! and my spice cabinet looks like yours:( it drives me a bit crazy!

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