Just starting out....

Let me just start off by saying that I have never done the blogging thing before and was interested in giving this a shot. I am not sure how it is going to turn out but I am going to give it my best effort. Okay....my fiance' has been deployed for the last month and a half and I have recently discovered through this experience a new love for cooking. The Food Network is normally on my TV from the time I wake up in the morning until the time I go to bed. It has been a very stress relieving experience to find a new hobby such as this. My parents joke when I get a new recipe and such, "How much is this going to cost me?" haha. It has been a very rewarding experience as well. When my fiance' gets back he and I have decided to take on a new task. We have purchased Rachel Ray's 365 no repeats recipe book and we are going to do this challenge together as a couple. I think this is going to be a very fun thing and an activity that will help us as a couple grow together. I am so excited about this new journey that we will begin when he returns... I will actually get to cook with my Rachel Ray pans...I have had them for about 7 months or so and have cooked with them twice haha. They reside at his home so that should explain a lot. Before he left I absolutely hated cooking but I had a change of heart somewhere along the way. Tonight I made something that I know will get a lot of not so fun faces but it was a Seafood Pot Pie. It was a recipe I saw on "Paula's Party" the other day and just felt the need to recreate this what looked to be delicious dish. Let me tell you, IT TURNED OUT TO BE WONDERFUL! I have never had something so good that I made in a long time haha.

Seafood Pot Pie

Ingredients

- 1/4 cup butter (4 tablespoons)

- 1 cup chopped onion (preferably white)

- 1 cup minced celery

- 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

- 1 1/2 teaspoons Creole seasoning

- 2 tablespoons dry sherry

- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

- 2 cups half-and-half

- 1 pound medium fresh shrimp,peeled and deveined (Pre-COOKED!!!)

- 1 pound fresh bay scallop

- 1 (8-oz) container lump crabmeat,picked free of shell (imitation crabmeat works well too!)

- 3 tablespoons butter, melted

- Recipe for Drop Buttermilk Biscuits for topping follows

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 4 (2-cup) oven safe bowls. Place bowls on a jelly roll pan.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, celery, mushrooms and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in the Creole seasoning, sherry and cheese. Stir in half-and-half, and cook 5 minutes, or until thickened. Remove from heat and add shrimp, scallops and crab. Spoon into prepared dish.

Spoon the Drop Buttermilk Biscuits evenly over each casserole. Bake for 20 minutes or until biscuits are golden.

Drop Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe:

- 2 cups baking mix (Bisquick biscuit mix will work)

- 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

- 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar

- 1 cup whole Buttermilk

In a medium bowl, combine baking mix, cornmeal, garlic powder and cheese. Stir in buttermilk just until dry ingredients are moistened.

This recipe is wonderful. Take my word for it. I will post new recipes as I try them out! I hope you enjoy this hobby as much as I do!