A Favazza Family Favorite: Shrimp Creole

Before Mitch and I were married, he'd never had shrimp creole. I on the other hand have been eating it at least since my teenage years in the dorm. My mom was always trying to come up with creative, flavorful meals for our dorm menu. We ate everything from Korean, Indonesia, Italian, Mexican, and Creole, a food typically found in Louisiana.

It's very healthy, packed with great flavors, and is a great way to get lots of veggies, seafood, and rice all in one meal.

So even though Mitch had never tried Shrimp Creole before June, 2006, it's now on our dinner menu at least once a month, at his request. Sooo good!

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb fresh or frozen shrimp, peeled, deveined, and washed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 1/2 C water
• 2 Tbsp. cooking oil (I like canola)
• 1 small onion (I always do red as it has more nutrition then a white or yellow)
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 C diced tomatoes, fresh or canned
• 1/2 C tomato sauce
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 red/yellow/orange pepper (pick whatever color you like best of found on sale!), diced
• 1/4 tsp. dried basil
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

• 1 Tbsp Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning (found in the spice aisle of grocery store)
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 long green onion, diced, optional

Directions

1. In a medium size pan on the stove top, add water, salt (to taste), bay leaf, half a a lemon (juiced), and shrimp. 
2. Cook over medium heat. When the water comes to a boil, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Drain and reserve the shrimp liquid.
4. In a large pan/pot (I use my dutch oven on the stove top), saute onion, garlic and pepper over medium high heat, until tender. 
5. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, shrimp broth (make sure this is only about a cup to cup and a half of water), and sugar. 
6. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer for about 15 minutes.
7. Add basil, nutmeg, crushed red pepper, nutmeg, and Tony Chachere's creole seasoning (do this to taste, this is where the spice comes in so if you don't like things real spicy add a little and taste. You can always add more!). Also add salt to taste. Stir and let cook another five minutes.
8. Make a paste with the cornstarch and water. You need very little amount of water for the cornstarch, you want it to be a thick consistency, not runny.
9. Stir the cornstarch into the sauce. Stir and cook until the red creole broth/soup thickens slightly.
10. Add shrimp back into the pot about five minutes before you're ready to serve (so they don't over cook and get rubbery).
11. Serve with rice and diced green onions to top off.
12. Enjoy!