Shrimp Firecrackers

I know you're gonna love this one!

A wee-bit time consuming, but really worth the effort...the Shrimp Firecracker! Perfect as an appetizer to celebrate a New Year! Or celebrate a Tuesday... Whatever floats your boat, I say!

Now, I say "firecracker" and one might assume "spicy". Not so, young padawan. You could make these spicy if you so desired, or leave them as is. The flavor combination here is excellent as they are, but I could seriously see some heat being added to the party. Maybe make a spicy dipping sauce?

If you wanted to make these for a different occasion, say one where a "firecracker" type theme doesn't really make much sense, you could make the filling into regular egg rolls or beggar's purses just as easily.

Dice up some water chestnuts.

Then green onion.

Then parsley.

Take a pound of these babies...

...and dice them into teeny pieces.

Put the shrimp, ginger paste and garlic in a bowl.

Stir and smoosh everything together. This could easily be done in a food processor, but I don't own one. And I like the filling kinda chunky.

Toss in the water chestnuts, green onion and parsley that you chopped up so nicely.

Make a slurry with soy sauce and cornstarch.

Add the slurry to the shrimp mixture.

Stir everything together and the filling is all done!

Boil some salted water.

Toss in the chives and blanch for about 45 seconds or so.

Remove from water and separate into strands on a paper towel.

Cut a package of egg roll wrappers in half.

Layout a few pieces at a time to work with.

Add filling to the center of each wrapper.

Use you fingers to wet the outer edges of each rectangle with your egg wash.

Now they are ready to roll. Try to roll as tightly as you can, leaving 1/2 inch or so on each side of the wrapper empty.

Twist and pinch the ends closed.

Tie each end with a chive.

All wrapped up and ready for frying!

Fry in batches and let drain on paper towel lined plate.

Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce.

Shrimp Firecrackers

Makes about 20-25

1 pound cooked, shelled, and deveined shrimp

2 tablespoons ginger paste

2 minced garlic cloves

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon cornstarch

3 scallions, finely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

8 water chestnuts, rinsed and finely chopped

Egg roll wrappers

1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water

Vegetable oil for frying

Fresh chives, blanched, at least 4 inches long

Finely chop shrimp and add to a large bowl with the ginger and garlic; stir and smash/smoosh together. Stir in scallions, parsley and water chestnuts. Combine soy sauce and cornstarch in small bowl until cornstarch is dissolved. Pour this mixture into the shrimp mixture and stir to combine.

Cut egg roll wrappers in half. Brush one rectangle lightly with egg. Spoon about 2-3 teaspoons of shrimp mixture into center and roll up. Gently twist the ends and pinch shut. Tie each pinched end with a chive. Place firecracker on a parchment- or Silpat-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Repeat with remaining filling and dough.

Heat oil to about 350 in a frying pan. Add firecrackers in batches and fry 3-5 minutes, turning once. When browned, remove to a paper towel lined plate to absorb any extra oil. Serve hot.

Shimp Chowder Quesadillas

Remember that recipe contest that I mentioned I entered?

I created a total of five recipes and forced Papa Bear, Drama Queen, Little Lawyer, and our fantastic friends Steven, Kristina and Vinka to taste test them and rate them so I could decide which one out of the five was the one I should submit.  I submitted Butternut Soup Muffins (so please go vote for me - the deadline is 11:59 pm tonight!)

This recipe was rated number two out of five. It was a very close race between these quesadillas and the muffins! These were a huge hit...and I will be making these puppies again very soon!

Get yourself some nice plump shrimp.

Chop the shrimp up a little. Put them all in a ziploc.

Open up a can of WP's Tortilla soup.

Pour soup into ziploc with those tasty shrimp and marinate iin the ice box.

Chop up an onion...

A red and green pepper (or any color you happen to have!)...

Toss the onion and peppers in a hot pan with some olive oil.

Saute until they start to brown.

Remove veggies to a plate.

To the same hot pan, add the shrimp and soup and cook until shrimp are just done.

Remove just the shrimp to the veggie plate.

Reduce the soup down to half.

Pour soup over plated shrimp and veggies.

Stir all that beautiful goodness together.

In a clean skillet, heat a flour tortilla.

Top tortilla with shrimp and veggies.

Then add lots of cheese...don't be shy!

Add another tortilla, flip, and cook until oozy and melty! Slice and devour!

Shrimp Chowder Quesadillas

4 flour tortillas
1 pound uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 can Wolfgang Puck Tortilla Soup
1 whole large onion
1 whole red bell pepper
1 whole green bell pepper
4 cups cheese, grated (Monterey Jack or Mexi-Blend)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt (to taste)
Salsa
Sour cream

Pour soup over shrimp. Set aside; marinate for 1 hour or more.

Chop vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Heat skillet over high heat and add olive oil. Cook vegetables over high heat until they start to get brown/black. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Return skillet to high heat, then dump in the shrimp with the soup. Cook, stirring only occasionally, until shrimp is opaque. Remove shrimp and chop (if large) into bite-sized pieces. Cook soup down until little liquid remains. Remove from skillet.

In a separate (clean) skillet, heat butter. Place a tortilla in the skillet, then layer on ingredients: cheese, vegetables, and shrimp. Top with a little more cheese and a second tortilla. Cook on both sides, adding butter before flipping to the other side so the tortilla won't dry out. Remove from skillet and slice into wedges.

Serve with rice, beans, salsa, sour cream, guacamole—whatever you’d like!

Easy Breezy Summer Salad - Shrimp, Orange and Avocado Salad

Summer is almost over.  For those of you already back in school, summer is over.  As much as I love winter and fall dishes, I still love a hearty (read: not hungry within two hours after eating it) summer salad.

You can always play with a salad and add or drop whatever you like. It won't get mad at you, I promise.  Personally, I really used to dislike salads. Regular (lettuce, tomato, onion and dressing) salads. Boring and pretty tasteless, I think. They don't fill me up at all, and you will find me raiding the cabinets before too long.

Now? I like 'em. But I like 'em my way...with tons of "stuff" in them. Like this one!! After eating a plate of this, I was indeed full and satisfied.  No nighttime kitchen raids for me...

Shrimp, Orange and Avocado Salad
serves 6



2 heads of romaine lettuce, shredded
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
6 small easy-peel oranges, peeled and segments pulled apart
1 cup red or green grapes, halved
1 pound shrimp, cooked, peeled, deveined with tails removed
2 avocados, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
1 tsp lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, mustard, salt and red pepper flakes. Set aside.

Sprinkle lemon juice over avocado chunks so they don't turn brown. Set aside. (Cutting the avocado open and slicing/dicing is usually one of the very last steps I do.)

Divide romaine among six serving plates. Scatter red onion, avocado, grapes, orange segments and shrimp. Drizzle with dressing mixture.

Sneakified Fried Rice

I love Chinese takeout.  I just can't afford it very often.  Usually, I am the only one who could eat it four or five nights a week, so....needless to say - we don't get it very often.  I love stir fry, fried rice, potstickers...all of it! It's easy, quick, inexpensive and probably way better for you than most dishes you can come up with on the fly. Well, in our house, anyway....

And, yes...I did just make 'sneaky' into an adjective in the post title. Believe me when I tell you that it will fill a huge void in your vocabulary that you never even knew was there. Trust me.

I can sneak a stir fry or something into the menu every once in awhile and nobody complains too much. Drama Queen and I could eat Chinese, stir fry or sushi every day...but alas, we are the only ones who would. When I can sneak it in, believe me, I will.

This is a quick-and-dirty Fried Rice that I have done a million and five times. It's idiot proof, not to mention the versatility it has! You can add just about anything and I promise it will be fantastic!

Here's what I had on hand:  Shrimp, leftover veggies (like broccoli, carrots, snow peas) leftover basmati rice, soy sauce and sesame oil, green onion, minced garlic, and parsley.  I also pulled two eggs out of the fridge.

 Heat some oil in a frying pan.  When it's hot, dump the rice in and cook until it just starts to brown and get nice and golden.  Make a well in the center of the pan.

Pour the eggs in the center and scramble.

Mix the eggs into the rice.

Stir in the green onions, garlic and parsley.

Add the soy sauce and sesame oil.

Add in any veggies you have on hand, or use a bag of frozen stir fry veggies...whatever you like!

Add in any meat or seafood you like - leftover pork, chicken, steak, mussels, crab, shrimp...I had some shrimp that I diced and threw in. Stir it all together and let it get all toasty and hot.

I pan fried some egg rolls from the deli, which will do in a pinch if you don't have the time or ingredients to make them yourself.  I have never cared for 'baked' egg rolls at all.  You can bake them in the oven, but they don't have the texture or flavor of a real egg roll. I find them slightly gummy and chewy when they are cooked in the oven. You don't have to deep fry them, either; just pan fry them in an inch or two of oil and you get the same taste and texture.

And there you have it. A quick pseudo-takeout that can (and usually will) use up those leftovers in the fridge that you would have probably thrown away this weekend...

The versatility of a dish like this just astounds me.  You could do just about anything here; steak and peppers (Philly Fried Rice!), taco meat, tomatoes and chilis (Mexi-fried anyone?), crumbled bacon slices and more egg (Breakfast Fried Rice), chorizo and queso fresco - I mean, really! I could go on and on and on here...

Let me know what you'd do with it!! I would love to try your ideas...