Spicy Cajun Shrimp and Sausage
Sometimes, we need a little spice in our lives and our cravings satisfied. I’m referring to a food craving. When you crave something–with food or life–it is so hard to think of anything else for a while. Recently, I had a little taste of my roommate’s leftovers from The Boiling Crab. I’ve never actually been there but the small sample was enough to make me dream about it all night and day! Lured in by the large shrimp and spicy flavors, I was determined to get my fix.
Since I didn’t actually have enough time to go to the restaurant, I quickly ran to the grocery store and bought some Cajun seasoning to see what I could come up with. I raided my fridge and cupboards to see what else I could include to created a “mock-Cajun or Boiling Crab” dish. First, I put some rice in the rice cooker to cook while I made the rest of the meal. Then I took some shrimp out of the freezer and put them in a bowl of ice cold water so they could defrost. Once they defrosted, I left the shell and tail on and cooked them in boiling water–usually people add Old Bay seasoning or crab boil to the water, but I didn’t have that on hand so I just used plain water. For this particular dish, I like to eat the shrimp with the shell on but many like to peel it off once it’s cooked. Then for the sauce, I melted butter and added about 3 cloves of finely chopped garlic. While the melted butter and garlic stewed together, I added a couple shakes of the Cajun seasoning I bought (only a couple because if you add too much it gets really salty!) and tons of cayenne pepper because I like it spicy. Then I mixed in my shrimp, pieces of leftover chicken sausage I had the day before for breakfast and made sure everything was nice and incorporated while it simmered for a while longer. And that’s it! I served it over rice with a side of steamed broccoli, and it definitely satisfied my Cajun shrimp/The Boiling Crab craving. I am determined to go to The Boiling Crab and actually try it out, but until I do, this is the perfect recipe to get my fix of that Cajun spice!
Try it out if you like spice and seafood. I would write down the recipe for you but I pretty much eyeballed everything and did plenty of taste tests throughout the process. If you like it spicy, add more cayenne, if it’s too buttery, add some garlic…and really, just experiment. Oh, and another benefit is that this dish took me only about 30 minutes to make. We should all add some spice and aromatic flavors into our lives–so let’s start with Cajun spice! Try it out, and let me know what you think!
Here are the simple main ingredients to make the dish pictured above (you don’t need to add any salt):
Butter
Garlic
Black Pepper
Cayanne pepper
Cajun Seasoning (slowly add it)
Shrimp (shell on) and sausage
Rice and steamed broccoli (as a side dish)
Life Tastes Like Food 