Clam Chowder.

Looked over this and that and tried to merge them. I love clam chowder and, in cooler weather, remember eating a lot of the canned variety when I was younger. Mostly I had a half bottle of clam juice leftover from this and wanted to use it; I also had a bag of Yukon Golds because I was sick of eating Russets.

Needed more clam juice (only had half a bottle) and more clams (only used two cans). I used flour and milk instead of heavy creme, but I think next time, I'll try the creme method. The flour didn't cook through so it ended up more like gravy than chowder. I wonder if going full-on fish and clam chowder is too much.

Etouffee.

I always thought etouffee was a more involved process, but apparently, it's pretty quick and easy. Holy trinity sauteed in butter, turn into roux, add shrimp or chicken stock, spices, add in fried sausage, fold in shrimp. Awesome.

I used the spice mix from here. Every place more or less has the same basic ingredients and process. Paula Deen uses oil instead butter for her roux (lolwut).

Fish Tacos.

I've been making an effort to eat fish at least once a week. Usually that means a can of tuna somewhere, but sometimes I remember to defrost a filet from the freezer. Most of the time, I just fry the fish in some way, but that gets old pretty quickly. Also, I don't think I like haddock even though I'm certain I've had it in a fish fry and I've never disliked a fish fry. Cod is superior, though not as much as catfish for fish fries.

Crab Fried Rice.

I've had a hankering for crab for quite awhile now. I think I've just wanted some good california rolls even though I won't ever order them at a restaurant (they're ok for eating at home). I bought some sushi vinegar today, so I had sneaked a little bit of sushi rice and crab while I was cooking this up. The crab, despite being imitation, didn't hold its flavor very well. It was store-brand so maybe that explains it. Even the rice was weird today. It came out a bit on the dry side, maybe because I was trying to hold back some of the soy sauce after last time. Overall, meh. The crab could've gone to better use.

Yes, I know I need to clean.

Shrimp Fried Rice.

Ingredients

Chopped onion, frozen mixed veggies, shrimp, pan-scrambled eggs

Eggs first, then onion, then shrimp, then vegetables. MIX.

I used some spicy soy to cook the shrimp first to give it a stronger flavor but it didn't carry over as much as I thought it would. I actually ended up adding too much soy sauce after the rice went it because it's much more refined than I used to so it has a light color. I kept adding a little more to get the browned color in the rice that I usually get with Kikkoman or Yamasa so it ended up a bit salty for my taste but most other people like that.

Shrimp Quesadilla.

I've come to realize how essential the green pepper is. Really. It goes with pretty much anything, particularly anything involving a skillet (because I don't like them too crunchy). Likewise, lime and butter are essential to shrimp (one or the other or both, depending on context).

So, basic quesadilla. Refried beans, cheese. I used shrimp, fajita-style peppers, and diced onions. Towards the end, I threw in some jalapenos to give some zing to the whole mess and then added lime a minute or two later to take off the bitterness. Also, sour cream and salsa verde blended is not bad.