Shrimp Po' Boy

If you have followed my blog for awhile, you know I like to serve a sandwich for dinner once a week.  This week's sandwich was a tasty Shrimp Poor Boy or Po' Boy as they are often called.  I always go "light" on the hot spices while cooking and give my family and friends the option to add more punch to the food on their plate if they so desire.  With that said, the amount of chili powder I used was just right for my taste.  It allowed the flavor of the butter, shrimp, red cabbage, etc. to come through and not be overpowered by HOT.  You'll decide how hot you want to make your shrimp.

Several hours before dinner, mix  2 Tablespoons of dill pickle relish with 2 Tablespoons of mayonnaise and 2 Tablespoons of plain yogurt.  Add the mixture to 2 cups of raw shredded red cabbage. Salt and pepper to taste.  Set this in the refrigerator to cool.

Several minutes before dinner (really that's how little effort this sandwich takes) clean 1 pound of raw shrimp and saute them for approximately 3 minutes in 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 teaspoon of chili powder and 1/2 teaspoon of paprika and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.

Slice some red tomatoes and red onions and assemble the sandwich on a sliced sweet French Crusty Baguette.  You can toast the baguette if you like.  I know a lot of folks like to use Hoggie Rolls but I find they have way too much bread and calories (340) verses about 100 calories in a good serving size of the baguette.  I hope you enjoy this easy recipe it makes four sandwiches.

Sweet and Sour Beef with Asparagus

Looking for something different to do with a pound of lean beef stew meat?  Check this out.
Here's what you will need:
1 to 2 pounds premium lean beef stew meat
1 (16oz) package frozen Oriental stir-fry vegetables, thawed
1 (10oz) can beefy mushroom soup
1 (10oz) can beef broth (I used 1 lb of beef and 1/2 a can of broth)
2/3 cup sweet and sour sauce

In a skillet brown the stew meat sprinkled with Johnny's Seasoning salt.  In a bowl, combine soup, broth, and the sweet and sour sauce.  Place the meat and vegetables in a sprayed crock pot, add the soup mixture and stir it well.  Cook on LOW for 5 hours.  During the last 30 minutes of cook time, steam fresh asparagus and make 1/2 of an 8 oz. box of Maifun Brown Rice Noodles according to the box cooking directions.  Drain and rinse the noodles and drain the asparagus and add both items to the crock pot.  Stir one last time to coat everything in the yummy sauce.  Enjoy!

This made four servings with 1 pound of stew meat.

Broccoli Chicken Casserole

Broccoli Chicken Casserole
3 cups cooked chicken
3 cups steamed broccoli
2 cups thick sliced celery
1 cup thick sliced mushrooms
1 cup diced white onion
2 Tablespoons butter
1 cup of milk
1 can of Cream of Chicken Soup
12 Ritz crackers crushed

Time got away from me yesterday and before I knew it, the family was asking "What's for dinner?"  I looked at what I had on hand, and whipped up this great tasting casserole.  I melted the butter in a saute pan and added the onion, mushrooms and celery.  I steamed the broccoli and diced the left over chicken.  I mixed the soup and milk, put all of the ingredients except the crackers into a baking dish.  I crushed the crackers and sprinkled them on top with a little Parmesan cheese and baked the dish for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.  I noticed the crackers were getting brown so I took the dish out of the oven and pushed the crackers down so they wouldn't crisp up any more and placed the dish back in the oven for another 15 minutes to be sure it was heated all the way through.  It was GREAT!  I'll make this again.

Peachy Pork Chops

Several friends have commented how often there is fruit on our dinner plates.  It's true, we love fruit!  Last night I tried a new recipe and it was a huge hit.  My daughter actually ate the leftovers for breakfast, that's how good it was!  If you like peaches, you'll love this.





6 - 8 (or less) pork chops
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 (28 oz) can peach halves with juice
 (I used a 15 oz can of sections since I only had three chops)

I lined a 9 x 9 square baking pan with parchment paper.  I seasoned the pork chops before I placed them in the pan.  I mixed the sauce and poured it over the chops.  I then placed the peach slices on top of the chops and poured more sauce over that.  I baked it in a 350 degree convection oven for 75 minutes, uncovered.  I basted several times during baking.

Note: the original recipe called for 6 to 8 (3/4 inch) thick bone-in chops, I used three big pork center cut chops with no bones. There was extra sauce, but I can't wait to use it in other dishes.

Note: you could also make this recipe in the crock pot by covering and cooking it on LOW for 4 to 5 hours.