Thursday, January 20, 2011

Comfort Food for a Blah Day!


Recently I came across an old recipe I used to fix as a new bride (more years ago than I care to remember).  It was easy enough for an inexperienced cook just starting out, anxious to please and impress a new hubby.  I decided it was time to fix this again, but as it was one of my lazy cook days I went scrounging in the pantry for something to create an easy version.  I am sharing the original recipe and my “happy accident” recipe.
Curried Shrimp - original version

2 cups of medium white sauce
1 pkg of frozen small or med shrimp – 16 oz bag (small or med is a matter of personal preference)
Curry powder
Cooked rice

Medium white sauce:

This is not hard to fix but it does take a little time and attention.  Start your rice cooking while you cook the white sauce. (I prefer the original rice instead of the quick version.  It has a much better texture and flavor)

1.    In a heavy 1 quart sauce pan, melt 4 Tablespoons of butter or margarine.
2.    Add 4 Tablespoons of all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp of pepper
1/4 tsp of paprika
       Stir together over low heat until smooth
3.    Gradually stir in 2 cup of milk or half-and-half stirring constantly until thickened and smooth.
4.    Add curry powder.  I start with ½ tsp. and add ¼ tsp at a time until I get the flavor I want
5.    Rinse 1 pkg. of frozen shrimp under cold water for about 5 min.  Add to the sauce and cook until the shrimp is hot through.

Serve over rice.  Delicious!   


Happy Accident Curried Shrimp!

As I mentioned, I was having one of my lazy cook days so I thought I would substitute a couple of cans of cream of celery soup for the white sauce.  I was sure I had some in the pantry….wrong!  Somehow I had bought broccoli cheese soup instead.  Well nothing ventured!

2 cans of condensed broccoli cheese soup
1 cup of milk
Pepper to taste (leave out the salt, there is enough in the soup)
Curry powder
1 pkg. of frozen shrimp – 16 oz bag

Start your rice first (I like Uncle Ben’s.  It takes 20 min to cook and 5 min to let stand)

Heat soup, milk and pepper in medium sauce pan.
Add curry powder to taste.  I used ¾ teaspoon.
Rinse the frozen shrimp under cold water for about 5 min.  Add to sauce and serve over rice.

This was soooo good!  Everyone went back for seconds.

I usually try to keep a variety of cream soups in the pantry.  They are so versatile so you can experiment to your hearts content.

NOTE: Checking the area in your favorite store where they keep the frozen shrimp can cut way down on the costs. I manage to find the bags of frozen shrimp on sale for about half price (or buy one/get one free) about every other month. You can bet when I find them on sale, I stock up!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Betty! Thanks for following along on my blog.. I LOVE new guests and friends.

I too keep cream of soups in my pantry for those days when I just don't know what I want to cook... you can always add them to chicken or hamburger and whip something up in time for Hubby's arrival home in the evening.

Di

Anonymous said...

P.S. I see that you are quite new to this blogging fun. Let me know if you need any help. :-)

Di
The Blue Ridge Gal

ain't for city gals said...

Hi Betty, Love your style of writing!..very cute. You might take Snappy Di up on her offer to help with little extra pretty things for your blog...she did my header for me and always helps me out when I can't figure something out...if you post your follower gadget I will follow...