Ron's Favorite Shrimp

Ron spends a lot of time eating.  And watching TV.  He spends very little time actually going to work.  His job consists mostly of laying around eating, watching TV and waiting for the phone to ring.  It's a great job if you can get it.

Because of this he tires of the average snack food.

He loves this shrimp recipe.  So much so that he will often ask for it several times a month.  Sometimes even several times a week.

It's super easy.  Especially if you have an immersion blender.  I couldn't live without mine.  Really.  Worth the $ to invest in one if you make dressings, sauces, etc.  Much easier clean up than a blender.

Anyway, here we go.

Go to the store and get 2 pounds of shrimp.  I like at least a medium size that you can eat in one bite, but not so small that they get lost in the sauce.  Tail off is preferable, because then you don't have to worry about the tails.  (Costco sells a bag of 2 pounds, tail off, precooked and cleaned shrimp.  It's a staple in my freezer.)  If you are starting with raw shrimp, you're gonna have to clean and cook them, and that's a lesson for another blog post.

I leave the shrimp to thaw in a colander while I do the rest.

Zest your limes.  Microplane graters are awesome for this task.  You only want the green, not the white underneath.  Sorry, no pictures.  I forgot.  Once you've zested your limes, juice them.  You need a total of 4 ounces of lime juice, which means you'll probably need to add more - either fresh or bottled is fine.  I'm a huge fan of key lime juice if you can find it.  Set your lime juice aside.

Chop the cilantro, tossing most of the stem.  I don't do a fine chop on this, as the immersion blender will puree it anyway.  Just small enough to get it in the blending cup.

I am a huge fan of those flexible cutting mats (mine are from IKEA.)  You can chop stuff up and use the mat to dump it in whatever you're mixing or cooking with.

Stuff that cilantro into the immersion blender cup or your blender jar.

Throw in the garlic cloves (if using fresh) or measure out the minced/crushed jarred stuff.

Measure out the oil and add it to the mix.  As well as the lime juice.

Stick that immersion blender in there and puree until the cilantro looks like little green specks.

Now you're gonna add in your spices so you can taste and make sure you like it.  Hot sauce, salt & pepper are all added to your liking.  Ron likes it really hot, so I use about 2 tablespoons of Sriracha.  You can certainly add less.  Be careful with the salt too.

By now your shrimp should be somewhat thawed.  I throw the shrimp in a large plastic storage container to make it easy.  Pour the sauce over the top, place the lid on tightly and shake shake shake.

This is the easiest way to mix it up.  If the shrimp were still a bit frozen, I leave the container on the counter for about 30 minutes to finish thawing.  Stick em in the fridge and occasionally toss them around again for good measure.  You want to make sure that all the little buggers have been totally coated with the marinade.

I like to let them sit overnight and really soak up the marinade, but Ron usually snags them right after they're mixed.  It's up to you.

We prefer these cold.  I suppose you could probably grill them or heat them or put them over pasta.  Mine are never around long enough to know.

Yeah, they'd never get served this way either.  But it's sure pretty.

Printable version:Cilantro Lime Shrimp

Lazy Sunday

Ever have one of those days that you just can't seem to get moving?  Um, yeah, I have lots of them.

Still, I try to get up every morning and get dressed and get moving so the bed doesn't look so inviting.

 (okay, not my bedroom, but it's really cute!)

This morning we walked the dogs at the park for the first time in months.  It's been far too hot.  Still have to get up early to do it, by 9 it's far too warm to be walking in a fur coat.  The dogs loved it.  They came home and went straight into the pool to cool off.  They love swimming.  They ran around and swam for another hour, ate breakfast and crashed.  They've been laying around all day since.

I got to work on school work that's due this week.  Photoshop is fun.   Writing papers for web development, not so much.

Now I'm nestled on the couch under a blankie (yeah, even in September, with the a/c on I get chilled!) blog-surfing while my husband channel surfs.

It's a good day.

On the eve of 9/11

Tempe 9/11 Memorial Healing Field, Tempe Town Lake

We will never forget.

Friday Funny

My dear friend Sue sent me this funny today.  I think it needs to be shared with the world.

For all of you who are  married, were married, wish you were married or wish you were not married,  this is something to smile about the next time you see a bottle of wine.

Sally  was driving home from one of her business trips, in Northern Arizona, when she  saw an elderly Navajo woman walking on the side of the road.

As  the trip was a long and quiet one, she stopped the car and asked the Navajo  woman if she would like a ride.

With a silent nod of  thanks, the woman got into the car.

Resuming the journey,  Sally tried - in vain - to make a bit of small talk with the Navajo woman. The old woman just sat silently, looking intently at everything she saw, studying  every little detail, until she noticed a brown bag on the seat next to  Sally.

"What in bag?" asked the  old woman.

Sally looked down at the  brown bag and said: "It's a bottle of wine. I got it for my husband."

The Navajo woman was  silent for another moment or two.

Then, speaking with the  quiet wisdom of an elder, she said:
"Good trade . .  ."




Go forth and have a wonderful weekend.

Movies and my hub

We had a discussion at dinner the other night about the movies we've actually gone to the theater to see in the 20+ years that we've been married.  Turns out that in the 20+ years, neither of us can remember my ever choosing a movie that we've paid to see.  NEVER.  Perhaps we've watched some on TV (not likely) or rented (even less likely) but we can't think of a single one that we've paid to see that has been my choice. 

There are certain movies that must be seen on the big screen.  Those with special effects are at the top of the list.  Big movie screen special effects simply don't translate to the small screen at home.  Nor does the sound (unless you're privileged enough to have a home theater.)

I wanted to see Cowboys & Aliens.  I thought it would appeal to both of us cause Ron loves westerns and I love sci-fi.  Plus the special effects were done by Industrial Light and Magic.  Everything they do is pretty darn awesome.  Ron rolled his eyes at me when I suggested it, which then prompted the discussion listed above.

We went to see Cowboys & Aliens today.  I did not go to see this movie thinking it was going to be an awesome script or concept.  Really, the name alone implies silly.  Impressive cast though.  Anyway, without giving anything away, yes, it needs to be seen on the big screen.  Incredible sound and visual effects.  Fairly decent story for a really odd premise.  Good acting.  It was definitely entertaining.  And will never translate to the small screen.  It's absolutely a big screen movie.

Hub?  Well, he survived it.  Shook his head a lot and found the whole thing ridiculous, but he was entertained nonetheless.  On one of the hottest days of the summer, we were happily cold in a movie theater.  And now I can't hold over him that I never get to pick the movies, though now I'll have to be reminded that I pick less than stellar ones.