Shrimp Creole
- 1 1/2 lbs. Cooked peeled shrimp, thawed if frozen (tail off)
- 1 medium sized onion, chopped
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 3 cloves of fresh garlic, minced (chopped really small)
- 1 24 30 oz can peeled tomatoes
- 3/4 cup long grain rice
- 2 bay leaves
- Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tsp Sugar
- Olive oil
- Seasoning mix
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 1 Tbsp black pepper
- 1/2 Tbsp red pepper
- 1 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
Put 2 tablespoons of oil into a big pot and put it on the stove over a high heat. Add the chopped onion and bell pepper to the pot. Cook until the onion is soft, stirring frequently. (About 6 minutes.) Add the minced garlic to the pot and cook 1 additional minute. Open the can of tomatoes and add them to the pot with all of the juice. If you have whole peeled tomatoes, break them up into small pieces with your spoon. Add all of your seasonings to the pot. Stir well. Add Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves and sugar. Stir. Cover the pot and lower the heat.
Put 2 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt into a pot and boil it. When the water is boiling, add the rice to the pot, cover it and lower the heat. Cook the rice until all of the water is gone. (About 13 minutes. Keep the fire low. High heat won't speed up the process. It will only burn the rice.) When the rice is done, remove it from the heat. Add the shrimp to the tomatoes. Stir well and cover. You just want to warm the shrimp and let them absorb the flavors from the tomatoes. Put a few drops of oil in a teacup or a small coffee cup and wipe around the cup with a napkin. Fill the cup about 3/4 full with the rice. Pack it in firmly. Turn the cup upside down on the plate you will serve on. Give the cup a little shake and the rice should slide right out in a neat little mound. Make sure it is right in the center of the plate. Spoon the Shrimp Creole around the rice. Repeat on the second plate. Serve with a green salad and a red wine like Merlot or Burgundy.