There’s this great dish that’s huge on taste, but small on ingredients. It’s made with shrimp. Get it? Small, shrimp, small? Bueller? Bueller? Anyone? Never mind.

As I was saying, we’ve found a great shrimp dish that’s easy to make, as tasty as you could want and actually looks good. It’s rather reminiscent of New [...]]]> by Richard

There’s this great dish that’s huge on taste, but small on ingredients. It’s made with shrimp. Get it? Small, shrimp, small? Bueller? Bueller? Anyone? Never mind.

As I was saying, we’ve found a great shrimp dish that’s easy to make, as tasty as you could want and actually looks good. It’s rather reminiscent of New Orleans gumbo, which, I guess, is why it’s called Big Easy Shrimp. Not only that, but it’s got bacon in it. And everything is improved by adding bacon. Well, except for ice cream. But that really depends on the type of ice cream you’re using.

Anyway.

Here’s what you need.

I just recently found a much better way to do this. Instead of fresh shrimp, I buy and use one 12-oz bag of Chicken of the Sea frozen shrimp. Honestly, these little dudes are delicious. And it’s much easier to dump a bag o’ thawed shrimp into the pan than have to peel, de feet and devein a whole bunch of shrimps.

Here’s what you do.

Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Place on a paper towel to drain. Crumble when cool. Remove and discard all but 1 tbsp drippings from the skillet.

In the hot drippings over medium heat, cook the onion, bell pepper and celery for 5 minutes, or until tender. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes (with juice), bay leaf , black pepper, Worcestershire sauce and hot-pepper sauce. Heat to boiling. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the shrimp and bacon and cook for 10 minutes or until shrimp are opaque.

Remove and discard bay leaf before serving

Serve with yellow rice.

And that’s it, really. Adjust the amount of hot sauce to your own preference. You can also jazz it up by adding different colored bell peppers or other ingredients. Give it a shot. Especially if you don’t think you’ve got what it takes to cut it in the kitchen, make this dish and you’ll know you’re wrong about that. You’ll also give your wife something nice to say about it. Once she’s done chewing, of course. No one likes to hear someone talk with their mouth full.

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I just discovered a grocery store called Trader Joe’s. I know I’m really late to the party, but when I get in a grocery store rut, I tend to stay in the rut for a long time. Hence calling it a rut instead of a quick digression. Like that. Anyway.

My wife, known to me [...]]]> by Richard

I just discovered a grocery store called Trader Joe’s. I know I’m really late to the party, but when I get in a grocery store rut, I tend to stay in the rut for a long time. Hence calling it a rut instead of a quick digression. Like that. Anyway.

My wife, known to me as She Who Must Be Adored, has been on me to go to Trader Joe’s for a while. Apparently, food snobs hippies people with discerning tastes have been raving about the place for a while. I finally went the other day.

Well, it’s no Skaggs Alpha-Beta (inside joke for old people who used to live in Dallas [hi, high-school friends]), but it is, um, interesting. Yeah, that’s a good way to describe it.

Mostly, I think the store is trying to get stuff grown by small vendors, no large farming concerns or big companies. They offer meat without all the good stuff like growth hormones or genetic alterations. You know, stuff that makes life worth living.

I’d been handed a cookbook of things I could make by shopping exclusively at Trader Joe’s. I’d picked out a meaty salad and thought I’d get moving on it. The place is sort of small and very short on canned goods, unless they’re organic or some other froopy stuff like that. Still it does have a good selection of cheap wine, some interesting beers and foods that I haven’t seen anywhere else.

Also? Every hippie in the Charlotte area was out shopping at Trader Joe’s. I haven’t seen that many pony tails on men since, well, since in a long time. (Hi, sis!) It took a while to get through the store, but turns out it was worth it.

I made a quick, easy salad with some nice chicken and black beans in it. Good stuff. So, if you’re into (sort of) healthy food, you might want to check out Trader Joe’s. You probably won’t regret it. (I know, I have the most forceful recommendations don’t I?)

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I know you’re all clamoring for more pearls of wisdom (or just plain pearls) to be dropped on you concerning pre-school, so I’m here to provide. Dat’s right, dudes, I am here for you. Well, not for you, specifically, but, you know, in general. And, yes, I really do talk like this blog reads. [...]]]> by Richard

I know you’re all clamoring for more pearls of wisdom (or just plain pearls) to be dropped on you concerning pre-school, so I’m here to provide. Dat’s right, dudes, I am here for you. Well, not for you, specifically, but, you know, in general. And, yes, I really do talk like this blog reads. It’s quite wonderful, if you’re me. Not so much for those living around me.

Ahem. Anyway.

Part one can be found here, while part two can be found here. And now for something completely the same. (Ah, nothing more fresh than a Monty Python joke. Smell that fresh joke smell.)

11. Sure, most pre-schools like to focus on acclimating your little dudes and dudettes to other kids, learnin’ them up a bit and all that good stuff, but it’s not much good if the little dude gets bonked on the head so often he starts to think he’s Dan Morgan. Check to make sure the pre-school is safe. Are there any recalled toys still in use? Is the school’s emergency plan any good? How easy would it be for a stranger to get on school grounds and then get off them with a little dude? Are the teachers, assistants and administrators given background checks? All good things to ask. Don’t worry about it sounding mean, it a school won’t give you that information, that’s a good sign it’s time to move on.

12. Okay, the teacher’s such a nice woman and the assistant is a dream, but do either of them have any sort of learnin’ in early childhood education. Now, I’m not trying to suggest that you should only contract with a pre-school that employs only folks with doctorates in education (for one thing, that school doesn’t exist), but the teachers and assistants should have some sort of training. Also make sure the folks who will be working with your little dudette really look like they enjoy being there and interacting with the little dudes in class.

13. Find out about the school’s food policy. With the rise in recognition of things like peanut allergy, most schools are becoming more and more strict in what kinds of foods they allow in the classroom. Will this policy interfere with what the little dude will actually eat? Is there a policy concerning the use of home-cooked goodies in class? Remember, the way to a dude’s heart is through his stomach. That’s no less true of the little dudes in your life.

14. More than likely, your little dudette’s favorite place will be the playground. Take some time to wander through and check on the equipment. Is it safe? Is it older than death and twice as skeletal? Get a good idea of how long and how many times your little dude will be out on the playground during the day. Also find out what sort of back-up there is for recess when it’s raining outside and the playground isn’t available.

15. Pre-schools really shouldn’t function as warehouses for little dudes, but they can’t do their jobs without some help from you. You need to stay up to date on what’s happening in the classroom and in the school. Find out how the school expects to communicate with parents and whether or not this actually works for you. Ask the teacher whether or not she sends home progress reports, if so, how often, and if there are any parent-teacher conferences. You need to know what your little dude is up to. Even if only to stomp something out.

16. Hey, it’s time for a little lagniappe (Cajun for a little something extra). Here’s a bonus point. Well, all right, not really a bonus point. It’s just that I had six suggestions this time and I wanted to make myself look good. Is that wrong? Never mind. Probably too much information. So, this famous extra suggestion is this: Make sure the pre-school just fits. Do you feel good when you’re walking around the school? Did your little dudette enjoy meeting the teacher (and make sure this does happen) and assistant? A good emotional fit is essential if the little dude is going to have the kind of pre-school experience you want.

That’s it, dude. Get to work. There’s application forms to fill out and visits to set up. What are you doing still reading? Go! Now!

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