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Just a few of my recipe finds.

My collection of recipes is getting out of control.

It's a genetic trait.  My grandmother had a collection of recipes so large, she would have to cook something new every single day in order to try them all.  She clipped them from the newspaper and tore them out of magazines.  She had recipes stashed all over her kitchen, and her recipe box (or should I say "boxes") were so full of three by five index cards that they wouldn't close. 

Now that I am a cook, I understand her recipe collecting habit.  My stack of recipes is creating quite a mess in my kitchen.  But I can't help it--recipes are everywhere!  I find them in magazines and on blogs.  I print them off of the Internet after watching one of my favorite shows on the Food Network.  There are free recipes on little spinning wire racks at Whole Foods, and I always find one I like when I go into Williams-Sonoma or look at one of their catalogues.  The Golfer even brought home a recipe from work the other day for oatmeal raisin cookies.  It was definitely a recipe worth trying right away--I've got some in the baking in the oven even as I write this.

There have been several of these recipes that have become family favorites.  The one below is from Martha Stewart's Living magazine, March 2004.  I made this on Christmas Day instead of the "traditional" fair.  It's red and green colors made for a quite festive dinner.

New Orleans-Style Shrimp and Rice

Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter
1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
2 green bell peppers, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 large onion, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch-thick pieces
6 whole plum tomatoes (from one 28-ounce can), crushed
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) low-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley  (I use 1 teaspoon dried.) 
1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco (I use a little extra.  We like it spicy!) 
1 pound large shrimp (21 to 30), peeled and deveined  (I even buy the frozen kind and defrost before cooking.) 
2 cups cooked white rice, for serving

Directions:
Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add flour and stir 3 to 4 minutes until light brown.  Add bell peppers, onion, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 7 minutes.  Add tomatoes, broth, parsley, spices, salt, and Tabasco.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer until vegetables are soft and mixture is slightly thickened, about 30 minutes.  Stir in the shrimp and cook until the shrimp turn pink and are cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Serve over rice.

So to add to my family's list of resolutions this year, I am going to get busy trying some of these new recipes.  It will be hit and miss, some will be great and others won't, but finding one that becomes a family favorite makes all the cooking worth it!