Southern Seafood and Rice

Today I want to welcome a new guest author to yelleBELLYboo.  Jeff is one of my very best friends and former roommates from college, and is now living much too far away in Minneapolis.  While I attribute my basic cooking skills to my mom, some of my more fine-tuned skills I perfected with my college roommates, including Jeff.  When we lived together, he always had to make a little more dinner than he planned to eat, because he knew I was bound to smell his cooking and sit on the other side of our counter until he put a little bit on my plate. I am so excited to have him sharing his talent on yelleBELLYboo with this amazing Southern Seafood and Rice recipe!

Inspired by my dear friend Dani, I tried a new recipe from my 1 and only cookbook. It's called "Simple Meals" and it has so far lived up to its promise...


I was flipping through the pages today when I saw this recipe. I already had most of the items needed, so I thought why not? Not only was it easy prep, but it was a one pot, one dish meal. Easy to serve, easy to clean, very tasty.

You start by thawing your shrimp or scallops. I'm sure fresh seafood would make this dish even more delicious, but there is no butcher shop in downtown Minneapolis, so I did what I could. After chopping up my green onions and garlic, I dumped everything into a big pot and started bringing it to a boil. Then you add the tomatoes and rice. It's really that simple. You add all the ingredients into the pot and let it cook.

Meanwhile, since I wanted a bit more protein in this meal, I started pan-cooking 1 chicken breast. I seasoned it with Tony Chachere's spicy creole seasoning to complement the rest of the dish. It went very well!

I don't really have too many "in-process" photos since everything goes into the pot at one time. But, the results photos (I think) do this dish justice. Paired with some nice cornbread, this was a delicious Sunday meal.

Southern Seafood and Rice (with chicken)

Adapted from Simple Meals
Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients:

3/4 pound fresh or frozen shrimp or scallops

2 1/3 cups chicken broth

4 green onions, sliced (1/2 cup)

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

1/2 teaspoon bottled minced garlic or 1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 14.5 ounce can stewed tomatoes or cajun-style stewed tomatoes

1 cup long grain rice

1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tablespoon Tony Chachere's creole seasoning

Fresh Parsley
Frank's Red hot sauce
(the original recipe also called for frozen okra, which I omitted)

Instructions

1. Thaw shrimp or scallops, if frozen. Rinse, pat dry, set aside.

2. In a 3-quart saucepan combine the broth, green onions, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, garlic and ground red pepper. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, stir in stewed tomatoes, and rice. Return to a boil; reduce heat.

3. Cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until rice is just tender, stirring once or twice.
4. Meanwhile, season chicken with creole seasoning and sear in a separate pan until cooked through.

5. Stir in shrimp or scallops and chicken. Cover and simmer for 3-5 more minutes more or until shrimp turn pink or scallops turn opaque and rice is tender.

6. Transfer to serving dish and sprinkle with parsley and a few dashes of hot sauce to taste.