New Orleans-Style Shrimp and Rice

As much as I like shrimp, it seems that I only can think of a few things to do with it, recipe-wise. I don't know why, but I tend to make the same handful of shrimp dishes over and over again, thus creating a kind of shrimpy boredom. Don't get me wrong, the dinners that I've tried and posted are good and are worth repeating. I just need a lot of variety in my diet. This week, I wasn't looking forward to having--yet again--one of the same ol', same ol' shrimp dinners. I knew that I had a bag of raw shrimp out in my freezer, and because of budget constraints, I knew that it needed to be used up for a meal. Sigh. What's a girl to do? The answer for me was to search the Martha Stewart website. I found this twist on a classic Cajun favorite, and I found a few other recipes to make this week. Not only did I solve my shrimp dilemma, but with one click of the mouse most of my dinner planning for the week was finished. I heart Martha!

New Orleans-Style Shrimp and Rice
From: marthastewart.com; Martha Stewart Living, March Spring 2004

Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
2 green bell peppers, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 large onion, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch-thick pieces
6 canned whole plum tomatoes (from one 28-ounce can), crushed
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) low-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish
1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco, or to taste (I used Louisiana Hot Sauce)
1 pound large shrimp (21 to 30), peeled and deveined
2 cups cooked white rice, for serving (I used brown rice)

Directions:
Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add flour, and stir until light brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add bell peppers, onion, and celery; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 7 minutes. Add tomatoes, broth, parsley, spices, salt, and hot sauce.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer until vegetables are soft and mixture is slightly thickened, about 30 minutes. Stir in shrimp, and cook until pink and cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes.

Sprinkle shrimp with parsley, and serve over rice.

The Result:
This was such a delicious meal. Don't let the copious amounts of butter deter you...it's worth it. I stuck with the recipe as written, only deviating by substituting brown rice. Now I have one more great shrimp recipe up my sleeve, thanks to Martha.