When you think about Thanksgiving you probably immediately think of turkey, and with good reason.  According to the National Turkey Federation 88% of us will choose turkey for our holiday meal.  And a few variations in seasonings not withstanding, most of us will cook it in about the same way – baked in the oven until golden brown.  It is all very traditional and all very much the same house to house, table to table, year to year.

That is why I get much more excited about making the stuffing (or dressing if you are from the south) for the Thanksgiving table. With stuffing the variations are endless.  It is a much better place for a cook to express herself and add distinction to the meal.

Stuffing can be made with white bread, corn bread, potatoes or rice. Then you can add an endless variety of things mixed in like sausage, dried fruit, nuts, fresh herbs, eggs, mushrooms, vegetables, seafood and more.

As the name “stuffing” implies, traditionally the mixture was stuffed inside the cavity of an animal, like a turkey, then cooked.  However since stuffing a bird greatly increases the cooking time (and can pose food safety issues if not done correctly) most people prepare the stuffing separately from the meat these days.

I personally love a good seafood stuffing to compliment my turkey on thanksgiving.  It is a great wow dish for the meal.  Now if you are a die hard traditionalist you might be thinking oyster stuffing, but really that is old school and a little dated.  I prefer to modernize on that idea and use shrimp.

Since I am always looking for a way to create a delicious dish in the least amount of time I have used SeaPak Shrimp Scampi as a short cut way to make a delicious Garlic Herb Shrimp Stuffing.  Of course you can make it your own by mixing it up with the type of bread that you use as a base or adding other ingredients like mushrooms or dried fruit.  Stuffing is a great place to express your individuality as a cook.  So what will you do to dress up the stuffing this year?

Garlic Herb Shrimp Stuffing

Cook time: 18 minutes    Servings: 9 – ½ cup servings

• 1 (12 oz) carton SeaPak® Shrimp Scampi, frozen
• Non stick cooking spray
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 medium carrot, shredded
• ¾ cup hot water
• 1 (6 oz) carton stuffing mix (like Stove Top – Savory Herbs)

Directions:

1. SPRAY non-stick cooking spray (3-4 seconds) into large non-stick skillet.  PREHEAT skillet on medium high for 1-2 minutes.
2. ADD diced onion and celery.  Sauté for 3 minutes.
3. ADD shredded carrots. Stir to incorporate and continue sautéing for 1 minute.
4. ADD frozen shrimp scampi.  Stir to incorporate breaking up any shrimp that are frozen together.  Sauté for 6-7 minutes or until shrimp are fully cooked.
5. ADD ¾ cup hot water.  Bring mixture up to a simmer.
6. REMOVE from heat.  ADD stuffing mix.  Stir to incorporate.  Cover with a tight fitting lid and set aside for 5 minutes.
7. Fluff with a fork and serve.

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I love it when success is delicious!!  I told you about my seafood meals while I was on vacation in Orlando. One meal I particularly enjoyed was the Omnivore Salad with rosemary shrimp at “T-Rex”, a restaurant in downtown Disney.  I liked it so much I was motivated to recreate that salad once I got home!

 Below is my knock-off version of the “T-Rex” salad.  The recipe makes two large salads and can be made in less than twenty minutes from start to finish! It is a little different from the salad I had at “T-Rex” because I made this version with warm shrimp instead of cold.  And my version makes two delicious salads for much less than the cost of ordering one salad out at the restaurant. Serve the salad with some crusty French bread and use the extra garlic butter from cooking the shrimp as a dipping sauce.  Balsamic vinaigrette is a perfect compliment to this salad, but you almost don’t need it because the salad is so flavorful on its own.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

The Anytime Omnivore Salad

Cooking time: 20 minutes   Servings: 2 large salads

•  1 (12 oz) carton SeaPak® Shrimp Scampi
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, chopped)
• ½ cup pecan halves
• 3 tablespoons real maple syrup
• Dash garlic salt
• Dash nutmeg
• 1 head of lettuce, chopped
• 6 large strawberries, hulled
• 2 tablespoons dried cranberries
• 2 oz goat cheese, crumbled
• Crusty French bread (optional)

1.  PREHEAT oven 450º.
2. PLACE frozen shrimp in single layer in a glass baking dish.  Sprinkle chopped rosemary over top.  BAKE for 15-18 minutes or until shrimp are fully cooked.
3. PLACE pecan halved in a small baking dish.  POUR maple syrup over top.  Stir so that nuts are fully coated.  ADD a dash of garlic salt and nutmeg.  BAKE for 10 minutes.
4. While shrimp and pecans are baking assemble salads.  PLACE lettuce in bowls.  ADD strawberries cranberries and goat cheese.
5. When shrimp is fully cooked use a slotted spoon to ADD warm shrimp and pecans to top of salads.  Top with dressing of choice (balsamic vinaigrette recommended).
6. PLACE remaining garlic butter in small dish as a dip for French bread.
7. Serve immediately and ENJOY.

My son, Logan, and I just returned from our first trip together to Disney in Orlando – a milestone in many households! Since we were staying in a hotel, we had no choice but to eat all our meals out.  For someone like me who loves to cook, it was a tough challenge!

Since I had no other choice but to find alternatives to my favorite SeaPak home recipes, I decided to try a little vacation nutrition experiment: I wanted to see if I could manage to eat seafood at least once a day while dining on standard park fare. I was surprised to find so many seafood options at a theme park!

The first night we went to dinner at in Downtown Disney. I dined on the Omnivore Salad with rosemary infused shrimp – an excellent start to my vacation seafood challenge!

The next day we had dinner at a self-serve buffet restaurant in Hollywood Studios. I am happy to report that in addition to the multitude of other protein choices, the buffet served two seafood items – a nice herb encrusted salmon and boiled shrimp. Success again on day two!

Day three was lunch on the go at a fast-food type place in the Magic Kingdom. My meal was fried shrimp – a tasty indulgence, but again seafood success.

My final day was spent wandering the International Food and Wine Festival at Epcot. With about 20 food booths representing a multitude of different countries, I was delighted to find diverse food choices with several seafood choices in the mix. I settled on trying the Barramundi offered at the Australian kiosk. (If you aren’t familiar with Barramundi, it is a mild flaky white fish with a slight sweet buttery flavor.)

So my nutritional experiment was a success! Even on vacation it is possible to keep eating delicious seafood without a lot of effort – the big difference of course is the money I spent!! When I cooking at home and using SeaPak products, I am able to get restaurant quality without the restaurant prices. I enjoyed my vacation, but I’m happy to be home with my very own kitchen where I can cook for myself! Stay tuned for some knock off recipes from my Disney dinners later this week.