Buffalo Shrimp

My wife really doesn't like shrimp, I mean in all forms just about. So to my surprise my wife thought for Father's day she would go out and by my Father's day meal for me. So of course she bought home shrimp, but in the end the joke was on me. You see my wife had no intention of cooking for me I would be doing the Father's day cooking. I guess if you look at it how many people get a couple pounds of shrimp as a gift to prepare there own dinner, Happy Father's day to me.

1/2 cup hot sauce(I use Red Hot)
1 stick of light butter
1 tsp garlic powder
1 egg beaten
1/2 cup cold milk
1 tsp hot sauce
1 Tbsp Worcestershire
1 lbs med shrimp peeled and deveined
1/2 cup of yellow cornmeal
1 cup flour
2 Tbsp Cajun seasoning
1 Tbsp onion powder
Oil for frying

Combine hot sauce, butter and garlic powder in a saucier or small sauce pan over low heat until melted, keep warm. Combine milk, hot sauce and Worcestershire in a shallow bowl until well blended. Add shrimp to mixture and set in the refrigerator until ready to use. Combine corn meal through onion powder in another bowl. Heat oil in cast iron or heavy bottomed skillet over med high heat (you can adjust to heat as needed). Remove shrimp from the refrigerator and dredge in the flour mixture. Once the temperature has reached 375 degrees carefully drop the shrimp in the hot oil. Fry the shrimp in small batches making sure not to overcrowd the skillet, fry for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels while the shrimp is still hot, place in a mixing bowl drizzled with a couple of tablespoons of buffalo sauce and tossed light until covered. Serve with French fries, blue cheese dressing and carrot sticks. And don't forget the napkins. This meal came out to roughly $2.00 a plate, and that’s being generous. Maybe my real gift was staying within my budget.

Cilantro Lime Brown Rice

I guess I could have included the recipe for the Rice in my most recent post. I sometimes use instant rice because of the time issue. In the end you still get a great budget friendly dish.

2 cups of warm cooked brown rice(follow the directions)
1 tsp lime zest
2 tbsp lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cup of cilantro finely chopped

Combine all the ingredients and check the seasoning. Serve warm.

Pork Chile Verde with Cilantro Lime Brown Rice

Wow I have been away for a while, but a last not forgotten I hope. This dish was found totally by accident. While shopping a local grocery I ran across a pork roast that was on sale for an incredible price. My first thought was carnitas, but upon later review Green Chile Verde was what this budget cooking chef needed.
2 lbs of pork butt, cut into cubes
1 tsp salt
1 lb tomatillos, husk removed
6 large cloves of garlic
3 bunches green onions(1 1/2 cups)
2 Serrano chilies
1/2 fresh jalapeno chile stem removed
2 large seeded poblano chile
1 bunch of cilantro chopped(about 1 cup)
2 Tbsp dried oregano
3 1/2 cups of broth or water
1 tsp minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
In a large casserole combine pork with just enough water to cover and season with salt and pepper. Turn up the heat to high and boil, careful to leave the lid slightly off. Allow to cook until almost all the water is evaporated about 30 minutes. Remove the cover and reduce the heat to very low and let the pork fry in it own fat until golden brown. Remove from the heat. Cut the tomatillos in half and place on a foil lined baking sheet along with garlic cloves through the pobalno chiles. Place under the broiler for 5-7 minutes until charred lightly, remove from the oven. Place all the ingredients in the blender and pulse until smooth. Return pork to pot; pour chile mixture over the top of pork. Add the oregano and broth just to cover the mixture. Bring the mixture up to a boil and reduce heat and simmer for 2-3 hours until the pork is tender. To serve four people this budget meal came to $2.37 per plate.