One thing that drives me absolutely crazy is when moms complain that they’re busy. You see them in line at school pickup and say, “Hey, how are things going?” and those moms respond with an eyeroll, “Ohhhhh, we’re so busy! Little Benito is president of his kindergarten class and Nnataleigh won the talent portion of her toddler beauty pageant last week.” Really? That’s the best you can come up with? Having kids, and their activities, has made you busy? No kidding.
That said, this has been a busy year. The Mini Chef dances. A lot. Overall, this has been a drawback only in that our time to cook has been impacted. Many nights, class falls right when I’d normally cook dinner. Meals have consisted of foods that can either be prepared in advance and kept warm for an hour (or two) or meals that can be prepared very quickly when we return home. Weekends (when we WERE having our Young Chef Sundays) have been full of competitions, practices, or performances. Don’t get me wrong – we love it, and we love knowing that her activity will (most likely) keep her out of trouble as she ages…but there are only so many nights you can have Boboli with your choice of toppings before you are absolutely sick.
So when I received a package on my doorstep last week containing a new sauce to try, I was ecstatic. It was like an early Christmas gift (or more appropriately, a marvelous Mardi Gras gift). The sauce is called Carolina Creole and it’s a classic Southern dinner sauce. I LOVE Southern foods (except grits – can’t stand them unless they are in cake form, but that’s a post for a different day), and I couldn’t wait to try this one.
Knowing I would be anxious to get dinner cooked, I prepped the shrimp before dance this afternoon. I was dreading the idea of peeling the shrimp; however it only took ten minutes (yes, I timed it. I was curious). I also put rice in the rice cooker so it would be ready when we got home, and cooked some bacon to put on top.
The jar’s instructions recommended a pound of shrimp, making this recipe perfect for Fish Fridays during Lent (if you skip the tasty salted pig parts); I would definitely say we could have used more – a pound and a half, maybe two pounds even, which would have turned this into leftovers for all of us. The Luquire family, makers of Carolina Creole, also say it can also be made with sausage, chicken, or added vegetables. I can’t wait to try it with sausage!
When we got home, we tossed the sauce into a sauté pan, added the shrimp, and cooked for about four minutes. I sautéed some green beans to go with and plated the beans, rice and sauce quickly, then added pre-cooked bacon crumbles to the top. I was curious to see what Mini Chef was going to think of the dinner. While she loves to cook, she hates to eat anything new. The sauce had a definite kick, but the flavor was light and fresh, not like that dense, fried food we ate in New Orleans. She commented that the sauce was spicy, but ate it all quickly; it was the green beans that sat, neglected, on her plate.
In short, this is definitely a meal we’ll enjoy again. The spice, the fresh flavor, and the fact that none of us walked away from the table feeling weighted down from a heavy meal made this an absolute success. Carolina Creole costs $9.99 per jar which, until I can bribe a local store into carrying these locally, will have to be ordered through the Carolina Creole website. It’s completely worth it for the convenience of a delicious, home-cooked, quick meal for this “busy mom.”
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