A Yummy Recipe and a Giveaway

First of all, regarding the giveaway... I have 3 bottles of China Glaze Tronica polish to give away, and I'd like to get to 500 followers before I do so. Please pass this along! I will probably be picking 3 winners and letting each decide what color they want or something. Not sure yet! (and if I manage to find more colors, I'll add them in ;-) )

I posted a picture of this dish on Facebook and Twitter and a few of you were interested in the recipe, so here goes!

























(Wendy's) Creole Shrimp

Notes:
- This is not fully my recipe! I took the base recipe from Skinny Taste and modified it.
- If you don't like shrimp or are a vegetarian, chicken or tofu can easily be substituted in, just be sure to season with the blackening, salt and pepper. Also, pre-cook this just like the shrimp as you won't have the meat in long enough to cook fully.
- These amounts are for 4-5 people with leftovers.
- The amount of rice you make is up to you. I made 1 1/2 cups and there wasn't any leftover, but there was leftover shrimp and sauce.
- Pre chop all of the onion, garlic, etc. before you start cooking, otherwise things burn!
- The amounts sound like a lot (the onion, garlic) but the way you cook them doesn't overpower the tomato and spicy flavor
- This recipe is HOT. If you don't want any mouth burn, cut the heat amounts in HALF (I'm serious, this was spicy and I have a high tolerance)

Ingredients:
- 2-3 tsp. of olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 small red bell pepper, chopped (or you can use green, up to you)
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (or 3-4 tsp. of pre-minced)
- 14 ounces of diced tomatoes, unseasoned
- 12 ounces of tomato sauce
- 2-3 tsp. of cayenne pepper
- 2-3 tsp. of cajun seasoning/"blackening" (you'll want extra to dust the shrimp too)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp. of flour
- 4 tbsp. of water
- 2 lbs. of medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, pre-cooked (remove the tails!)
- 4 tsp. worcheshire sauce
- 6 tsp. hot sauce
OPTIONAL: chopped green onion, chopped fresh parsley to garnish

Directions:
Heat olive oil on medium and get it warmed while finishing up chopping your bell pepper, garlic and onion. Add onion and garlic to the pan first, keeping the mixture moving to prevent the garlic from burning. Once the pan quiets down, add the bell pepper and stir again. Get a good carmelization on the onion (they will begin to brown slightly). Add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes, along with the cayenne and cajun seasoning. Toss in the bay leaves. Give the pot a good stir and be sure to keep an eye on where the bay leaves are for easy removal later. Reduce heat to just above low, cover and let simmer (20-30 minutes).

Your shrimp should be "de-tailed" (if you had a lovely helper like I did). Place into a bowl with no extra liquid, and coat the shrimp in blackening, let sit while the sauce is simmering.

In a small separate bowl, mix the flour and water together to create a rue. Add this mixture to the sauce and stir quickly, keeping the sauce moving for 2-3 minutes. Add your shrimp or meat of choice. Let the sauce warm the meat for 5 minutes. Add the worcheshire and hot sauces, salt and pepper (I use lots of black pepper, so I didn't have it in the ingredients section). Add additional cayenne or other spice as needed, to your own tastes.

Voila! You're done. I served the shrimp in a separate bowl and had slightly sticky white rice in another bowl so that people could serve themselves. I also did a mixture of asparagus, corn and carrots that went great with it for a veggie!