Super Simple Creole Shrimp

I love this dish it is simple, flavorful and looks like you spent tons of time making it when you didn't.

First things first. Cook off a batch of white rice before you go to work, and put 3 cups of rice aside in the fridge to cool...go to work.

Over medium heat melt one tablespoon of butter and two tablespoons of olive oil.

Add one pound of peeled, deveined shrimp and two teaspoons creole/cajun seasoning. I remove the tails but you can leave them on if you think it looks better.

Just as the shrimp starts to turn pink add in four chopped plum tomatoes and 2 bunches of chopped scallions. Blend until well incorporated.

Then add in the three cups of cooked white rice that you made before going to work. The rice has to be cooked well ahead in order to work for this recipe.

Incorporate well and heat through.

This is what I like to call fast food. Enjoy.

Looks like we are heading into some scary stuff with our baby. Impending surgery to fix a birth defect that causes him to leak urine from time to time. All very frightening. Please keep our puppy in your prayers.

Wonton Soup with Dumplings

Well it is official Summer is over and Fall has begun. Fall in the pacific northwest usually means copious amounts of rain and yesterdays first day of Fall was no exception. Rain is falling once again in the Rose City. To celebrate the autumnal equinox, Mabon, or as I like to call it Soup Season I break out my pot and get cooking. I love soup it is the perfect food. You can take all your must haves meat, veggie, and starch and put it in a large pot with some liquid simmer and abracadabra!...soup. As a child I always though wonton soup with dumplings was something really magical, so whenever we ate out if it was on the menu I had to have it. This soup is really simple, satisfying and your kids will love it.

Into the bowl of your food processor add 1/2 lb ground pork, 2 o.z. peeled shrimp, 1 tsp brown sugar, 1 Tlb. mirin, 1 Tlb. light soy (yes it has to be light), 1 green onion roughly chopped, 1 tsp peeled and chopped fresh ginger.

Pulse until you have it all combined really well. Put meat in fridge for a few hours so the flavors can marry.

Put a oversized teaspoonful of meat on a wonton wrapper.

Seal edges with water. Fold first into a triangle.

Then fold like a little envelope making sure all the edges are sealed and the two tabs are pinched firmly together.

Aren't those adorable.

Here is a tricky part in the recipe...open a box of chicken stock. No I am not promoting Swanson...it was on sale.

Drop your little dumplings into the boiling broth, turn down to a hard simmer and cook them til they are done.

While all that cooking is going on dice up some more green onions.

Sprinkle some green onions on top of each bowl and you're done...that is it. See wasn't that easy.

Trust me it was harder typing up this post than it was to make that wonton soup. I accidentally erased the first draft half way through...see what happens when I do these things at 4:30 a.m. Have a great rest of the week folks.