We wanted to do our own crawfish boil a few weeks ago, but after reading all that has to be done just to get those little guys ready to throw in the cauldron we opted for a shrimp boil instead. Ours was quite a bit more involved, but for the criteria of a quick meal, this shrimp boil recipe does just fine. Most of the time on this one is boiling time. There's not a lot of prep work or hands on cooking time involved!
Part of the fun of a shrimp boil is the way you eat it. Traditionally you spread newspaper on the table and after the water has been drained dump the contents smack dab onto the table. No plates, no forks. Just hands and lots of napkins.
Now, I don't think of my boys as food snobs. But when they heard they'd be eating off newsprint, they were repulsed. "Why can't we just use plates and stuff like normal?" they asked.
"Because this is the way you DO a shrimp boil!"
They were not convinced, and by the looks on their faces were planning to mutiny. Their luck must have been running high that day. It so happened that we didn't have any newspaper around, so we covered the table with freezer paper instead. They were much happier with that, and it gave an extra layer of protection for the table. Win-win!
This shrimp boil is an experience no family should miss out on and qualifies for a FUN quick meal for Monday.
**************************************
I've had a lot of fun digging up recipes for us to try during this little series. It's gotten me through three months of very busy Mondays, and I hope it's given you some good dinner ideas to pull out in time of need. We may visit this series again in the future, but until then you can find all our Quick Meal Monday recipes right here in their own new category (also in the sidebar categories).
