Crock Pot Recipe For Spicy Shrimp Chowder

Cooking is truly an experiment; what foods work with what spices, how much, the variables go on and on. For many, cooking without a recipe or even altering a recipe is a scary thing. They follow recipes exactly, worried that the cooking police might come find them if they don't.

And so, I offer you my Spicy Shrimp Chowder recipe. You will notice the ingredients are in two categories - what you can alter and what you can't. (Please notice which list is longer and that even the necessary ingredients have options.) What I have offered you is a choice, a sort of "experiment with a guide". I have it listed the way I make it (although I often think my husband sneaks in more red pepper when I'm not looking) but please feel free to add or subtract, increase or decrease amounts, or whatever else you want to please your palate. For some altering hints, I've added a list below the recipe instructions. Enjoy!

Necessary ingredients

2- 14.5 ounce cans of diced tomatoes, undrained

2 cups eight vegetable or tomato juice

1 cup white wine or water

½ cup rice

Other ingredients

2 cups celery, chopped

1 green or red bell pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp ground red pepper

1 pound pre-cooked, tail off shrimp

Spray 5-6 quart crock pot with cooking spray. Mix all ingredients except shrimp and rice in slow cooker, cover and cook on low 7-8 hours or high 3-4 hours. Stir in fish and rice. Cover and cook on high an additional 45 minutes.

Hints for alteration

- For soupier chowder, add an additional 1 cup juice and/or ½ cup wine.

- Make with any firm fish such as tuna steak, halibut, or haddock cut into 1 inch cubes.

- Increase or decrease celery, bell peppers, and onion according to your tastes.

- For a spicier chowder, increase garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and/or ground red pepper. You could also add some hot sauce if desired.

The point is to get confident and creative. Create recipes for you - ones that you will enjoy. Find this and other recipes at http://www.natalies-recipes.com.

How to Make the Best Marinated Grilled Shrimp

If you want to make the best Marinated Grilled Shrimp, here are some easy tips to follow.

Many people ask the question, "How do I marinade shrimp?"

It's quite simple really. You need to first find a recipe for a Grilled Shrimp Marinade. There are so many recipes available. You just need to find the best marinated grilled shrimp recipes to suit your taste.

Although many recipes are specified for marinated grilled shrimp, you can use any Shrimp Marinade recipe and grill it, pan-fry it, or bake it. Just because the recipes call for grilling the shrimp you don't always have to follow that. You can use en electric indoor grill like the George Forman or bake the marinated shrimp in the oven. Pan-frying the marinated shrimp is another option. Especially on rainy days!

Easy Steps For the Best Marinated Grilled Shrimp

1. Purchase Raw fresh or Frozen Shrimp. For grilling purposes, I recommend Large or Extra-Large Shrimp. It is best not to buy pre-cooked shrimp because you are going to be cooking it again on the grill. Raw shrimp takes only minutes to cook. For the best results, and too avoid chewy shrimp, always start with Raw Shrimp.

2. Clean and Devein Shrimp - this is assuming you bought shrimp in the shell. (If you bought shelled-deveined shrimp, skip this step.) Under cold running water, remove outer shell and legs. Leave tail in tact. Make a small slice along the center back of the shrimp and with the tip of your knife, gently remove the black vein. Rinse shrimp and set into clean bowl. Repeat until all shrimp are done.

3. Drain any excess water from bowl of cleaned shrimp. Pat dry with paper towels to soak up any excess water remaining on shrimp.

4. Cover and refrigerate shrimp until ready to marinade

5. Choose your favorite Marinated Grilled Shrimp Recipe

6. Prepare Shrimp Marinade ingredients according to recipe

7. Remove shrimp from fridge, uncover, pour marinade over shrimp and stir shrimp to coat completely. Recover tightly and return to fridge.

8. Marinade approx. 1 hour or follow recipe instructions for best results.

9. When marinade time is almost complete, pre-heat grill to a medium - high heat.

10. Skewer shrimp or place in grilling basket, grill according to recipes instructions and enjoy the Best Marinated Grilled Shrimp ever!

Here are a few simple Marinades for Grilled Shrimp:

1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. dry white wine
1 tbsp. minced dry onion
1/2 tsp. dried basil (1 tsp. if fresh)
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
1/4 tsp. pepper

Place 1 pound raw shelled shrimp in re-closable plastic bag or container with tight lid, add marinade. Close, refrigerate 2-4 hours. Drain marinade. Thread shrimp onto pre-soaked skewers. Grill over hot coals 6-10 minutes. Brush often with reserved marinade.

1 c. dry white wine
1 c. olive oil
1/2 tsp. chopped basil
1 tbsp. coarse black pepper
1/2 tsp. cajun spice (optional)
1 lb lg. raw shrimp, peeled, deveined (leave on tails)
Thin lemon slices

Mix marinade in shallow bowl, add shrimp, cover, refrigerate for at least 3 hours, turning occasionally. Set grill on high heat. Skewer shrimp and lemon slices on bamboo skewers, alternating each. Grill until shrimp just become opaque. Baste occasionally with leftover marinade. Grill approx.
3 minutes per side.

If you want really fast and easy shrimp marinade, purchase a bottle of pre-made seafood marinade. My favorites are Lawry's Tequila Lime or Caribbean Jerk. You can find them at your local grocery store. Marinade the raw shrimp for approx. 1 hour before grilling.

Shrimp Scampi Recipe

When you are too busy to cook fancy dinners but you have the craving for one, you have found the right recipe for that. Shrimp are always easy to make and delicious to enjoy, that is why they have become very popular when cooking. This recipe does not need more than a few pounds of shrimp and good pasta to make it right, fast and delightful.

You will need:

Linguini pasta (1 pound)

Butter (1/4 cup)

Garlic (5 cloves, minced)

Shrimp (1 pound, deveined and peeled)

Bread Crumbs (1 cup)

White wine (1/2 cup)

Lemon (1, juiced)

Olive oil (1/4 cup)

How to do it:

This recipe it's very fast, all you have to do it's preheat the oven and have it ready to a 350ºF or 175ºC; while this is warming up you have to do the pasta, that's very simple just take a large pot with water and put it over medium heat, add the pasta and keep boiling until it reaches the right point, drain it well and keep it ready for the next step. Now melt the butter, do this in a large skillet, add most of the garlic but save some for latter. Make sure everything is well mixed; one very important advice is to do not let the garlic turn brown. Add the shrimp and coat everything, do no let the shrimp cook; remove everything from the fire to avoid cooking. Before you finish take the breadcrumbs and sprinkle them over the shrimp; take all of this to a casserole dish. This is the point were you'll add lemon juice and wine, cover everything and bake it for 10 minutes; now you will see the shrimp turning pink. The final step is to heat the remaining garlic with olive oil and toss the pasta to this mixture. To serve put the shrimp over the pasta and make it fashionable with little lemon slices on the side.