Shrimp Etouffee

This recipe from The Kitchn is AMAZING! Also, I love the Kitchn. I get most of my best recipe ides from there. I've made this twice and it's been restaurant-worthy both times. I've modified this a bit because I'm not going to make my own seafood stock. I'm just not. Instead, I use lobster better than bouillon. I should be a spokesperson for Better than Bouillon. Love that stuff.

This serves 4-5.

Ingredients
1-1.5 lb large raw shrimp
1.5 C lobster stock made with lobster flavor Better than Bouillon
1 tsp dried thyme
½-1 tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground pepper
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp paprika
3 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 C. diced onion
½ C. diced green bell pepper
½ C. chopped celery
1 Tbsp chopped garlic
¼ C. chopped green onions
¼ C. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Basmati rice for serving (cooked with two bay leaves for flavor)

1. Make lobster stock according to Better than Bouillon directions. Set aside.
2. Chop onion, green pepper, celery, and garlic. Set aside.
3. Stir thyme, salt, pepper, and paprika together and mix well. Set aside.
4. Shell shrimp and put in refrigerator to keep cool.
5. Place large heavy skillet over medium-high heat and add the butter. When a pinch of flower blooms on the surface when added to the butter, scatter in the flour and stir quickly and thoroughly, combining butter & flour evenly into a thick smooth roux. Continue cooking, stirring often, as the roux turns from white to golden brown. About 2 minutes.
6. Add the spice mixture, onion, green pepper, celery, and garlic, and stir quickly, mixing the vegetables into the roux. Cook until everything is fragrant and softened, 1-2 minutes.
7. Slowly add the stock, stirring and scraping to mix it in evenly. When the sauce is bubbling and boiling gently, lower the heat and cook, stirring now and then, until the sauce is thickened and smooth, about 15 minutes.
8. Scatter in the shrimp and let them cook undisturbed until the sides are turning visibly orange or pink, about 1-2 minutes. Toss well and continue cooking, stirring often, until the shrimp are pink, firm, and cooked through. Add the green onions and parsley and stir well.
9. Serve over rice.

Restart

I have this idea that I'll start posting here again, but who knows? Yet again this new year I'd like to cook more and eat fewer processed foods. I'd also like to try to work in more vegetarian meals. We'll see how any of that goes. But I'd also like to just post a few more recipes. None of these are mine, of course, but they're often tweaked by me. So here's one of my recent favorites. I swear it takes me twice as long as any recipe says it will. This one says 45 minutes, but it takes me closer to an hour and 45 minutes.

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup (with Dumplings)
(adapted very slightly from The Kitchn)

Ingredients

• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 3 celery stalks, sliced
• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced (I just sliced a few baby carrots because that's what I always have on hand)
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 6 bone-in chicken thighs
• 1 bay leaf
• roast chicken better than bouillon. Enough for 4-5 quarts or so.
• 1 lb good egg noodles
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1-3 tsp salt

For Dumplings

• 1 egg
• 1/4 C. milk
• 1- 1&1/4 C flour
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Chop veggies and mince garlic.
2. Remove skin from chicken thighs and discard.
3. Warm teaspoon or so of olive oil in dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions, celery, carrots and cook until they're just barely soft (3-5 minutes). Clear out a space in the middle and add garlic. Cook until fragrant (30 seconds) and then mix into the vegetables. Clear space in the middle of pan and add another teaspoon or so of oil. Place chicken in pan in single layer. You want them to brown, so don't move them for 3-5 minutes. Then flip and brown the other side for another 3-5 minutes.
4. While the chicken is browning, make 2 quarts chicken stock using better than bouillon. Then add bay leaf, 1/2 tsp of salt, and 1 quart of chicken stock/broth to the pot. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes.
5. While that's simmering, make the dumplings, if desired. Put one cup of flour in a smallish bowl. Beat one egg with some salt and pepper and add it to the middle of the flour. Pour in 1/4 C. milk and combine, adding flour into the milk and eggs from the side. Try not to overwork. Combine until well, errr, combined. It'll hold together as a ball but still be sticky in the middle. Add more flour if necessary. Cut off small chunks (using a spoon) about half the size of a thumb and drop into a separate pot of simmering chicken broth. It helps to wet the spoon with the broth. When they float, they're about done. Remove, add salt and pepper, and repeat with more dumpling mix. Set aside when done.
6. After a half an hour, take the chicken out of the soup and shred it. Discard the bones and return the chicken to the soup. Add more chicken stock, if desired. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Boil noodles in separate pot of chicken stock/broth. When the noodles are done, drain. 
8. To serve, put a handful of dumplings in bottom of a bowl, add noodles, and then add soup.