Chattanooga Shrimp & Deviled Egg Bake

One of our neighbors hosted a brunch and made this delicious dish.   To me it seemed strange to combine shrimp and deviled eggs but it is truly outstanding!  I haven't made this myself yet but plan to do so in the near future.  When I do, I will post a photo.  I just had to get it on my blog before I lose her recipe!

3 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 cups milk

¾ teaspoon salt

3 to 4 tablespoons dry sherry

½ cup grated, sharp cheddar cheese

8 hard-boiled eggs, peeled

Salt to taste

½ teaspoon dry mustard

¼ cup mayonnaise

1 ½ teaspoons heavy cream

½ teaspoon lemon juice

Dash pepper

Dash Tabasco

2 pounds shrimp, cooked, peeled & deveined

2 cups soft bread crumbs, buttered

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare a cream sauce by melting butter, adding flour and ¾ teaspoon salt & cooking until bubbly.  Add milk gradually, stirring until sauce is slightly thickened.  Add sherry.  Blend cheddar cheese into cream sauce, stirring until smooth.

Slice hard-boiled eggs in half; remove yolks.  Mash yolks with salt, dry mustard, mayonnaise, cream, lemon juice, pepper and Tabasco.  Stuff eggs with deviled yolk mixture.

Place prepared shrimp in bottom of greased casserole dish.  Pour cheese sauce over shrimp.  Place deviled eggs over the sauce and top with buttered bread crumbs.  Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through and top is golden.  Yield 8 servings.

This terrific brunch dish can be prepared ahead.  Serve with fresh fruit salad and white wine.

Notes: for a crowd 4 pounds shrimp with 20 eggs in 3 casseroles

Quick & Easy Chicken Taco Soup

Since I was tied to my desk reorganizing travel plans for my ill-fated group that was cancelled, time was of essence.  Hence, quick & easy recipes that don't even require a trip to the grocery store were in order!  This one comes from my well stocked pantry.  Spiciness is quite adjustable so make it your way and enjoy!  I served it with sweet potato muffins!  Sorry but no photo... I will post one the next time I make it, which will be sooner rather than later!

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked & shredded
     or 3 cans chunk chicken breasts, drained and shredded

3 cans chicken broth

1 container (about 24 oz) deli fresh salsa (I used mild)

1 can diced tomatoes with green chilis

1 can chopped green chilis

1 can corn kernels, drained

1 can seasoned black beans

1 can pinto beans with onion

1 package taco seasoning mix (I used mild)

Fresh ground pepper to taste

Mix all together in large stock pot & heat to almost boiling.  Reduce heat and simmer for at least thirty minutes.

Top with Fritos corn chips, shredded cheese, and/or sour cream!

Slow Cooker BBQ Boneless Beef Ribs

When you're really busy, there's nothing quite like letting your trusty slow cooker do the work for you!  I purchased some beautiful boneless beef chuck ribs and tried a new recipe.  It goes into the "keeper file" for sure.   Sorry for the lack of a photograph but my travel job kept me too busy to even think about photographs!

3 pounds boneless beef chuck ribs

1 large onion, sliced

1 ½ cups beef broth

¾ cup red wine vinegar

¼ cup Splenda brown sugar (or ½ cup brown sugar)

¼ cup chili sauce

2 Tablespoons ketchup

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Fresh ground pepper to taste

Spray slow cooker with cooking spray.  Place onions in slow cooker and then place ribs over the onions. Whisk together remaining ingredients and pour over ribs and onions.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  Delicious served over mashed potatoes or rice.

Back to Cooking Following a Chaotic Month!

Have you wondered where I was and what I was doing and why I was not posting recipes?  The month of August was quite chaotic to say the least!  We traveled to visit family in Florida and South Carolina, we had friends visit us, we spent a relaxing week in Hilton Head and then we arrived back home to utter chaos!  I had a group booked on Celebrity Millennium for September and I was the group escort/guide.  Lo and behold the ship had mechanical issues and was "grounded" in Ketchikan, Alaska!  Celebrity Cruises cancelled a couple of the next cruises on Millennium and I just knew that the ship would be repaired by the time our sail date of September 13 rolled around.  Not to be!  Our cruise was cancelled with less than 3 weeks to spare.  So I got to work making limoncello from lemons.  Everything is sorted out now and we have an exciting trip planned. 

Of course we had to eat while all this was going on so I have been cooking and experimenting a bit with some easy recipes.  I'll post a few of them.