Sunday, March 6, 2011

Cajun Shrimp Scampi over Dirty Rice


In case you missed my post on Facebook last night, I was trying to pick a name for this insanely delish recipe I made.  It was between Cajun Shrimp Scampi over Dirty Rice AND Shrimp Brochette Dirty Rice Bowl.  And (obviously) the winning name was Cajun Shrimp Scampi over Dirty Rice!
My hubby took me to Pappadauex for our first date.  For fun, we decided we would order for each other....just to see what would happen.  The man who I loved before first-sight ordered Shrimp Gumbo for me, and I ordered him Shrimp Brochette.  This was after he made me try Alligator.  If you don't know, Shrimp Brochette is simply a large shrimp that has been butterflied and stuffed with some Monterey Jack Cheese and a slice of Jalapeno, wrapped in bacon and grilled with some Creole Seasoning.   I decided I would try to re-create his meal for him for Mardi Gras, and as a twist, I deconstructed it.  The results were FABULOUS! 

Cajun Shrimp Scampi over Dirty Rice
special thanks to This Mommy Cooks for some Dirty Rice inspiration

For Dirty Rice:
  • 4 cups cooked rice
  • 1 1/4  pounds ground turkey
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 green pepper, diced
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 4 tsp very finely minced garlic
  • 1 1/2 tsp Kitchen Bouquet or other browning sauce
  • 1 TBSP Creole Seasoning, I used Tony Chachere’s... more to taste
  • 1/4 cup fresh chopped flat leaf parsley
For Cajun Shrimp Scampi:
  • 1 pound medium or large shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 4 slices bacon, diced into bite sized pieces
  • 2-3 jalapenos, seeded and sliced into half-moon pieces
  • 2 TBSP butter
  • 1-2 tsp Creole Seasoning, Again, I used Tony Chachere's...more to taste
  • pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
  • Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

In large skillet over medium heat with a TBSP of canola oil, brown meat and veggies, breaking up ground turkey to small pieces.  Once cooked thoroughly, add in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.   Add Creole seasoning and browning sauce, stir. Add in cooked rice and parsley and stir to warm through, keep warm while you prepare the shrimp.
In a medium skillet over medium heat, add bacon and cook until bacon starts to render fat.  Add butter and allow to melt.  Add in Jalapenos, Creole Seasoning, and optional cayenne pepper.  Add in shrimp and cook just until shrimp turns opaque and bacon is cooked through.
To serve, place Dirty Rice on a plate and sprinkle with 1-2 TBSP of shredded Monterey Jack Cheese.  Add Shrimp mixture on top.  Allow the heat of the dish to melt the cheese.  ENJOY!

This recipe has been linked up at:
Mommy's Kitchen
Simply Sweet Home
Tidy Mom
Crazy Domestic
Nikkis Nifty Knacks

9 comments:

  1. Shrimp is really the only seafood I like.. I've never heard if the Brochette version! It sounds heavenly!! This dish looks dee-lish!! : )
    .

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yummy! If I had bacon in the fridge, I think I would make that instead of jambalya for our Mardi Gras celebration! Thanks for the shout out! =)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hooray my name that I wanted WON!!! And goodness are YOU a winner Siggy for creating such a DEElicious dish/meal! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sig - you make me want to eat seafood...lol.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Super fabulous! I bet the flavor is just divine. Hope you are having a nice sunday.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Saw your comment on Cookin' Lean with Paula about body buggs (sp??) and thought I'd give you another idea. I saw this interesting gadget on a weight watcher blog I check out...

    http://www.leadingtheweigh.com/2011/03/fitbit-review.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WeightWatchersBlog+%28Weight+Watchers+Blog%29

    ReplyDelete
  7. Looks beautiful and tastey!! Great idea:) I love anything that has bacon and jalapeno in it!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I made this for dinner tonight. This was a choice favorite. The Dirty Rice could stand alone-it is AMAZING. Totally going on the rotation in the future--THANK YOU!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Really, really good! Everyone loved it!

    ReplyDelete