I'm doing something I almost never do by posting a recipe the night I made it.We just finished eating about 10 minutes ago and here I am, writing. While this is not the Shrimp with Green Bean with Garlic I planned to make tonight, I'm ok with that. Actually, I'm more than ok with that because this impromptu Shrimp Chowder blew me away! So much so that I needed to tell you about it right away, giving you a chance to make it before the weather gets too warm (I personally can't eat soup in warm weather).

Upon getting home from work, JR declared he wanted soup because he hadn't been able to warm up all day. We went from having 80 degree temperatures a few weeks ago down to 20 degree lows this week. I wish Mother Nature would make up her mind and stop teasing us! But had that been the case, I may not have been able to share this with you so I'll accept it for what it is.

I did a quick Google search for Shrimp Chowder and came up with this recipe from Epicurious. It was a good starting point from which I adapted to boost the flavors and use up what I had on hand. This was creamy, chunky, mild yet flavorful and definitely satisfying!

Here is what you'll need:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 Tbsp sofrito (I used Goya frozen)
• 1 ginormous potato, diced (~2 medium-large potatoes)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• salt and pepper
• 4 cups seafood stock
• 1 tsp seasoned salt
• 1 lb raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 1 cup corn
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup half and half
• 1 cup 2% milk

In a large hot Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add olive oil, onions and sofrito. Saute until the onions become translucent. Add potato, salt and pepper and continue cooking, stirring as needed, until potatoes begin to brown. Add garlic, stir and cook for about 1 minute until garlic becomes fragrant.

Add seafood stock and simmer over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot from time to time to loosen the brown bits, until potatoes are cooked. Meanwhile season shrimp with seasoned salt.

When potatoes are cooked, add remaining ingredients to the Dutch oven. Bring chowder up to barely a simmer for about 5-8 minutes until shrimp are pink and cooked through. Be careful to not bring this to bubble or boil. Serves 6.

Source: Adapted from Epicurious

One thing that I've learned in the past year, is that the wider the base of my pan the better my rice comes out. I now reach for my double fryer pan vs. a pot when I make this as I think I get a better final product.

This makes an easy weeknight meal, served with a simple salad and of course a side of avocado as well!

Here is what you'll need:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2/3 cup sofrito (I used Goya frozen sofrito)
• 1/4 cup olives with pimentos (I prefer Goya Alcaparrado)
• 1/2-3/4 cup frozen green peas
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 2 packages Sazon: Con Culantro Y Achiote 
• 1 tsp Adobo
• 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 cups hot water
• 2 cups white medium grain rice (I prefer Goya)

In a large double fryer pan over medium high, heat olive oil.  Add sofrito, olives, peas, chicken bouillon, Sazon and Adobo. Mix well to combine and cook for 3-5 minutes. 

Add shrimp and stir to coat shrimp with seasonings.
Add hot water and rice, and bring to a boil. Stir, reduce heat to medium-low and cover.

Let cook over medium-low, covered, without opening or stirring (really, no peaking!), for 22-25 minutes.  Uncover, stir once and serve.  Serves 4.

Source: Originally seen on The Novice Chef

If I ask JR what he wants for dinner, at least 50% of the time he will respond, "bacon cheeseburgers".  While I'll occasionally eat a cheeseburger, it's rarely something I want for dinner.  Make it a turkey burger and I'm on board, but then JR isn't interested.  It's complicated.  I need to expand our burger horizon and that's exactly what I did with these Shrimp Burgers I saw on Pink Parsley.

These were delicious, but messy!  I adapted the recipe slightly, mainly leaving out most of the cayenne and hot sauce since JR cannot tolerate heat.  See I have issues here, no turkey burgers, no heat...and the list goes on.  Even with less heat (really no heat since it's only used to boil the shrimp then rinsed off) these were packed with flavor!  JR agreed that a burger doesn't have to be made of beef to taste great!

I had some trouble keeping these from falling apart, but since there was tartar sauce to cover them up you probably couldn't tell.  I thought maybe it was because I didn't finely grind the breadcrumbs.  It was hot and I was being lazy, so I just broke the bread up into small pieces.  However, Josie mentioned she had the same problem and she thought it was due to the chopped vs. ground shrimp.  

While the burgers were great, let's talk about this tartar sauce.  YUM!  I've never experimented with tartar sauce beyond mixing relish and mayonnaise, and I never realized what I was missing!  This tartar sauce will no doubt be my go-to from now on.  So even if shrimp is not your thing, make this tartar sauce to accompany fish sticks!

The changes I made are listed here:

For the Burgers:

• 2 quarts water
• 1 Tbsp peppercorns
• 1 Tbsp celery seeds
• 1 Tbsp mustard seeds
  
• 6 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup sea salt
• 1 Tbsp ground cayenne pepper
• 1 pound shrimp, shells on 
• 2 scallions, chopped
• corn kernels, cut from 1 fresh cob of corn
• 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
• zest of 1 lemon
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 Tbsp mayonnaise with olive oil
• 1 Tbsp Greek yogurt
• 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 Tbsp canola oil

In a large pot, add water, peppercorns, celery seed, mustard seed, bay, 1/2 cup sea salt and cayenne t.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Add shrimp and boil for 2 minutes until they turn pink.  Remove from heat and run under cold water to cool.  Peel, devein and chop (or grind) the shrimp, then place in a large mixing bowl.

To the mixing bowl with shrimp, add scallions, corn, ginger, lemon zest and juice, mayonnaise, yogurt, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper.  Stir to combine all ingredients together well.  Add egg and gently fold into mixture.

Form mixture into 4 even size patties.  Wrap each tightly in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to chill and mold together (I would recommend longer, maybe an hour).

In a large frying pan, heated oil over medium-high to high heat.  Once oil is hot, but not smoking, gently place shrimp burgers into pan.  Cook for 3-4 minutes until browned.  Flip and cook other side 3 minutes until browned.  Remove from pan and place on a plate lined with paper towel to absorb any extra oil.

For the Tartar Sauce:

• 1/2 cup drained pickle relish
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise with olive oil
• 1/4 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Mix all tartar sauce ingredients together in a small mixing bowl.

Serve burgers on rolls of your choice topped with tartar sauce, lettuce, tomato or other toppings of your choice.  Serves 4.

It just so happened we had a late work night the day I planned to make this pasta salad I had seen in Cooking Light's June 2011 magazine for dinner.  Needless to say, I was starving by the time I left work and that usually means I'd order take-out to pick up on my way home.  While take-out was tempting, I knew this recipe was planned for dinner and I thought I could make it quicker than I could gnaw my arm off.

• 8 ounces uncooked medium shell pasta (I use whole grain)
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1 lb small-medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used the small, sweet, pink Maine shrimp)
• 1 cup thinly sliced radishes
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise with olive oil
• 1/4 cup low fat buttermilk
• 3 Tbsp minced fresh chives
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground red pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 small)
• 2 cups large-diced small white potatoes
• 2 cups chopped fennel (1 large bulb)
• 2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, with juices
• 2 cups seafood stock or clam juice
• 1 Tbsp chopped garlic (3 cloves)
• 1 tsp saffron threads
• 1 lb mixed seafood (shrimp, calamari, scallops)
• 1 1/2 lbs mussels, cleaned