Waste Not Want Not Series:
potatoes, corn, carrots, garlic and mushrooms
“Waste not want not” is a hats off tribute to my Irish Grandmother Theda Faye who was the Queen of Thrifty. In our childhood home, my Dad was not a fan of eating leftovers which certainly went against the grain of Theda’s Faye’s entire philosophy.
I recall hearing my Mother state that my Dad “refused to eat leftovers”. This would always horrify my Grandmother and would elicit comments about how she would handle my Dad. Granny had her work cut out for her.
I am pretty sure that my Mom never took Granny’s suggestions. Granny was a strong woman and not shy about sharing her opinion. Although, I am speculating entirely based on the premise that my parents are still married after all of these years.
As an adult, I realized that “leftovers” were only food ingredients that required repackaging in the kitchen and presented in a different recipe. This is easy to do whether you use the ingredients the next day or throw in a storage bag, and freeze for later. Always label your freezer ingredients for easy identification and date. I have learned this the hard way playing the freezer game of “what is that?”
The crawfish and shrimp boil over the weekend yielded an excess of shrimp, corn, potatoes, carrots, garlic and mushrooms. I peeled the leftover shrimp and threw in my freezer. This would be used later for Shrimp Dip. This shrimp recipe is my favorite childhood food memory and is hauntingly delicious. Warning: It is addictive.
The remaining ingredients from the shrimp boil would make a great addition to my shrimp chowder. I also wanted a one pot dish for dinner so that I could move to the “couch for a spell”. One pot was all the energy that I could muster. The fun-filled weekend had “worn me out”. Using the leftovers was great and a soup was what I needed, then my couch.
Of course, the recipe made from fresh ingredients in lieu of shrimp boil leftovers will be great too. If using fresh vegetables, add the seafood stock to separate pot and boil until tender. Then prepare white roux and combine ingredients. Adjust the seasonings, since the boil process adds seasoning to vegetables.
Shout Out to Alexa for U2 for a bit of Bono.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 10 People | 30 Minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 45-50 Minutes |
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A hearty shrimp chowder designed to utilize the leftover corn, potatoes, carrots, garlic and mushrooms from a shrimp boil. Cooking with fresh vegetables is as option as well.
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- 1/2 Cup Butter
- 1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Cup Onion Chopped
- 1 Cup Bell Pepper Chopped
- 4 Toes garlic mashed from boil
- 1/2 Cup Tomatoes Chopped
- 2 Cups Corn Removed from cob
- 2 Cups New Potatoes Chopped- small
- 1/2 Cup Mushrooms Sliced
- 1 1/2 Cups Conecuh Sausage Sliced and cooked
- 5 Cups Shrimp or seafood stock
- 1 Teasoon Herbes de Provence
- 1/2 Teaspoon Celery Seed
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne
- 2 Tablespoon Ground Shrimp Powder optional
- 2 Cups Raw Shrimp peeled
- 1/2 Cup Half & Half
- In stockpot on medium heat, add butter and flour. Stir well and constantly. White roux will darken slightly to a darker shade of beige or coffee with heavy cream color. As it thickens it will start to bubble as it marries together. Once the roux has reduced and is thicker it is ready.
- Add in onions, bell pepper, garlic, tomatoes, corn, potatoes and mushrooms and stir well.
- Add in seafood stock and stir well. Start adding spices as it cooks and marries together. This needs to cook for about 20-30 minutes. As it heats to boiling, the liquids will thicken and reduce. Stir as consistently as needed. Note: Depending on your taste preference, if you like your soups thick or thin, you may reduce or add more broth.
- Taste the soup and adjust the salt, pepper and cayenne for your family. Add in the shrimp and cook for three minutes. Stir in half & half. Serve immediately.
