Meal Makeover: Jambalaya

Frozen meals are great when you're in a pinch and need something fast and delicious. But one or two additional steps can take that one bag meal from this:

To THIS:

Bumblebee has these new frozen seafood meals and we got to try one for FREE! The meal itself looked good enough, but I couldn't help trying to kick it up a notch. So I decided to use their Spicy Shrimp Romesco to make jambalaya. The result? A festival of awesome.

2 cups diced peppers
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
3 cloves garlic, sliced
5 sausages, sliced
1 tbsp vegetable oil*

1 tbsp paprika

1/2 tbsp onion powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp worchestershire sauce

1/3 cup chicken broth

1 package Bumblebee Spicy Shrimp Romesco 

1 can small red beans, 14 ounces, rinsed and drained

2 cups cooked rice

Salt

Hot sauce

Heat a large pan over high heat. Add peppers and onions. Caramelize until golden.

Add oil, garlic and sausages and cook until garlic is golden brown. Reduce heat to medium and add chicken broth to deglaze the pan.

Add paprika, onion powder, pepper, worchestershire sauce, beans and Spicy Shrimp package contents. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Stir in rice. Salt and hot sauce to taste. It's time to eat!

*Don't use olive oil or any other oil with a low smoking point.

Shrimp and Asparagus Fettucine

Time to tackle shellfish my friends. Shrimp and pasta always play nice together.

So let's talk ingredients. As with other seafood, shrimp is high in calcium, iodine and protein but low in food energy. A shrimp-based meal is also a significant source of cholesterol. Shrimp consumption, however, is considered healthy for the circulatory system because the lack of significant levels of saturated fat in shrimp means that the high cholesterol content in shrimp actually improves the ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol and lowers triglycerides.

Your choice of olive oil is especially important. When you are making an olive oil based pasta dish, there is nothing worse than a bland, oily taste. So choose an olive oil with a rich green color for the most robust flavor.

Now on to the yummy stuff! The key to a great dish is uniformity. Make sure your veggies are all cut to similar size to make for easy bites.

Shrimp & Asparagus Fettucine

Ingredients

1 pound shrimp, cleaned and deveined
1/2 pound asparagus, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, pressed
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan
Salt & pepper to taste

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Be sure to salt the water before it begins to boil. This will add a subtle flavor to your pasta and make for a better texture.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsps of olive oil on medium heat. Saute onion and asparagus until onion becomes translucent. Add 2 more tbsp olive oil, garlic and shrimp. Cook until shrimp becomes pink throughout. Lower heat and add remaining olive oil. Add pasta and, using tongs or two wooden forks, combine all ingredients in the pan and let cook another 3-4 minutes stirring occassionally. Salt and pepper to taste during this time.

Remove from heat and toss with fresh parsley. Top with grated parmesan and serve with a light, flaky bread and some good wine. Mmmm!