Cajun uh huh...shrimp pasta

WHOA MOMMA

Today I got scrappy while texting to my husband, it was important for me to find out what he wanted to eat. I threatened him. It's in my nature. He thinks its funny. A win/win if you ask me.

"So uh John, what do you want to eat for dinner....and don't give me that I dunno crap (insert various threats here, along with John's laughter)"

John usually says " I dunno gosh" in reply,

But tonight he surprised me with an actual answer and so a new recipe was born. It was (astonishingly) really good. I say astonishing only because I usually don't love to venture outside of recipes, except where substitutions can be made. And since this particular recipe is unwritten, until now, I figured I would just share it with you in case you need a bit of inspiration with all the Thanksgiving Day shenanigans going on. Not that turkey isn't inspiring. In fact there is a wild turkey in a nearby yard that gobbles all the day long, and I can't help but giggle and shake my head. Come to think of it, I didn't hear a single gobble today.....you don't suppose...I mean, do you think the neighbors could have....

moving on.

This looks like a huge list of ingredients. As a mom, I think lists like this are rude. But instead of simply ignoring the lengthy list, read it and note that most things on it are words like flour butter and salt. So chill.

Cajun Shrimp Pasta

1 lb of pasta, whatever floats.....your pickle?

1 green pepper

1 red pepper

12 oz mushrooms, quartered

1/4 cup red onion , chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter

2lbs shrimp

1lb scallops

*reserve liquid

2 cups half and half

1 lemon

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk

Cajun seasoning to taste

1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped willy nilly (don't judge me)

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

4 cloves garlic...smashed

Boil the pasta to your desired measure of done-ness. Drain, and put back in large pot. Then...

I started out cutting the red and green peppers into short strips and sauteed them in a large fry pan along with the butter, oil, onion and mushrooms.

Then I removed the veggies and set them aside.

Add 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter to the pan. Toss in the raw shrimp (you can use cooked to though) and bay scallops and cooked until just done.

I removed them from the pan, but left the liquid in the pan as a base for the sauce.

Next I added the half and half, juice of a small lemon, milk and flour (I added the flour to a quarter cup of the milk to make sure I avoided lumps in the sauce), followed by the rest of the ingredients. I let this mixture boil and reduce to the consistency I thought was right. I usually always let sauces reduce by half.

I like spice and could have tolerated quite a bit of the Cajun seasoning, it is probably wise to start with 1 tbsp of the spice and build up from there. Any less and I am afraid the Cajun flavor may be lost.

I let the sauce simmer for about 5 minutes and added the the shrimp and veggies into the pan. At this point the sauce looses a bit of it's thickness because of the water from the veggies so I let it simmer for another 5-7 minutes. I combined my sauce and the pasta and tossed it to coat the pasta with the sauce. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as we did. Remember this is my recipe's maiden voyage so there may be a few things you will want to change.

The portions for instance are for a group of 8, two being large men who have to work out all the time. But if you love leftovers as much as I do then these quantities will do just fine.

I hope your Thanksgiving weekend is full of sweet memories and great food. The kids and I have found ourselves a flu...so eat a little more for me. Someone's gotta do it.

And despite how it may seem, no John was not hurt in the making of this recipe.

The neighborhood, Morning round these here parts.

This is a view of the hills out here in Tennessee, and the vibrant deciduous trees that surround the neighborhood.
I love cute little flowers. These were just blowing off the bushes and swirling to the ground. I think if I was a little girl I may have tried to pick up as many of these as possible, and threw them in the air again. But only if I was small. I would never do anything like that as an adult. It's frivolous and childish. I am the essence of maturity.

Here I go with my berry issues again.

don't these look like miniature apples? well maybe they don't look miniature, but they are. About the size of a dime. We used them for a counting game.

Didn't autumn just begin? How could it possibly be almost over? I want a refund.

I love fuzzy farm fences. And alliteration.

Tennessee is pretty cool. It's a great place to begin again. But I must say I really want my own address now.

We are still with friends. The house we have been in the process of purchasing wasn't finished being built, now it is completed but we are waiting on the city to do all the final inspections. Can I just say blah? We are really thankful for our friends taking us in. We are also more than extremely ready to have our own space again. All of us are sleeping in the guest room with 3 cats and a dog. Oh yes good times.

I think what I have began to notice and maybe you have too, is that I am not creative under pressure nor am I really prone to writing about anything that could be construed as negative. So I just quite simply disappear. I love my blog because it is a way for me to look back and count my blessings, but as usual, I struggle most after the hardest things have been accomplished. When I have some ground to walk on, I fall onto it and just lay there for awhile. It's actually really funny. No worries you can leave me here, I'll get back up in time. Always do.

With love and blessings, prayer and sweetness, I am thinking of you all.

Thanks for checking on me Dot, Dandy, and Ingrid =D

Veterans Day, revisited

I have heard a multitude of heart felt sentiments on Veteran's Day through the years. Each time I think of the stories I hear from my husband and his friends, it doesn't feel like we are talking about the same thing. They explain each mission, laughing about their "close calls," like it's an old high school story. I'm thankful to still hear words from his mouth. He made it home alive.

The cause is noble and the bravery it takes to walk where people aim to kill has to be terrifying. But when I really sit down and mull things over I am hard pressed to put in words what it means to be a wife of a Veteran. I believe in some ways it has aged us. What we take for granted and what we decide appreciate is more suited to reality. Knowing what you have is very different from giving it away, and even more so for soldiers, because it is taken. Years go by that cannot be returned, forever lost to a foreign land where people just like me are meant to live in destruction and chaos. I thank God for everyday I do not have to personally live in fear of an enemy attack, and that He brought my husband home in better repair than when he left. Veteran's Day is just one day, and after it is over, Veterans are still Veterans. They all have paid the price in time, it is only a matter of how much.

When I think of all he's been through, without deserving what he is suffering when he deploys, the most amazing thing is his integrity is still intact.

My husband, he is a Veteran, and an outstanding soldier. Regardless of the day.

so, even though my post is late, no thanks to a faulty Internet connection,

To every soldier and every family who represent the fallen, it is with sincere gratitude and an equally broken heart, that I thank you for your continued sacrifice both on the front lines, and the home front.

Veteran's Day

I had some important thoughts to share about this special day. My computer erased them...I will start again tomorrow. Until then, thank you to all the Veterans who have served and sacrificed.

Blessings!

Mustache mmmkay

Oh T.J.

You always make me laugh. When there are no words, I always have laughter with you around. Silly guy.

Tennessee countryside extended version 2.0 (just jokin)

So here is the pictorial version of my walk down the winding country roads of Tennessee...

It has become apparent that I have absolute addiction to berries, I want to capture them all in their various tones regardless of how inedible they are...

There are countless creeks that lead to the Tennessee River. It reminds me of a scene from Robin Hood, I always wanted to have curls like Maid Marian, and to be a ninja like her...if you saw the version with Kevin Costner you know what I'm talkin about.

Here are the leaves that remind me of fire from my previous post...

And a really cool rock that has been worn away by some water source...that I could not find...very interesting...indeed.
After I took this picture....

I fell in a ditch

H stands for hopeless

N stands for ninny

The best part was looking around to make sure no one saw me...and realizing that no one walks out here because there are no sidewalks...and then thinking about how quickly I bounced back up to a standing position.

I think the extra caloric intake on my road trip out here nearly saved me from certain doom...it made my bottom quite bouncy...
Voila I was back in the saddle again, taking pictures of what??? Berries, I know your surprised.

Then because Claire is raised by a ninny ( I stole this term from Pioneer Woman, I know some of you are familiar with her terminology) she threw herself in front of a truck and I had to save her.

Oooo, but then this grass I loved it so, I couldn't decide if it looked better in landscape,

Or portrait. I think it spoke to the calligrapher in me.

Berries? Huh, who woulda thunk?

The bright blue sky is magical out here.

Even the broken down old barns were something to behold, I always think of the hands that built them.

I found this tree with bark like puzzle pieces in a church yard. Does anyone know what kind it is?
Hmmm...berries...
I love farm fences. They are an invitation to a home full of tradition...and hay bales...I really like hay bales...I want one.

Some more fiery trees...

And here is my sweet boy at the end of our long walk. I told John "aw, I want to hold the baby" who happens to be 4...

He told me I could trade him the boy for the plate of cherry cheesecake I had in my hand,

I decided I didn't want him to drool on my mom of the year badge and ate my desert in peace.

I just wanted to finally post some pics of what I am seeing around these here parts. Keep in mind that I have zoom issues and there is a lot more land where that came from.

I wish I was witty. Ain't gon' happen tonight.

Tennessee Countryside

Today I took a walk with the kids to see the sights. Rolling hills and hay bales were a few prominent features that had me thinking I should walk up to peoples houses and ask if I could possibly play in their yards...I wanted so badly to climb on those round bales of hay...

Tomorrow I will give you the full scoop on our jaunt complete with embarrassing details that will lead you to wonder how someone with a lack of grace, such as myself, ever became a hiphop instructor...

and more importantly how did I become a nut gatherer, huller, curer?

The only answer I can provide is if you can't cure crazy, then just cure nuts. Amen.