Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Cajun Shrimp Rolls

Appetizers

Cajun Shrimp Rolls

Cajun Shrimp Rolls

When I was in New Orleans several months ago, I ordered a Crawfish Roll on a whim from one of the food vendors. I didn’t really know what to expect, and was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be a yummy eggroll filled with a crawfish/seafood stuffing. It was so good and I knew I wanted to come up with a version to serve as an appetizer at home.

I’m 99% sure the eggroll was stuffed with grits (although I’d never had them before!), so this is my first attempt making them. I knew I didn’t want too must moisture in the filling, so I kept them on the drier side after cooking them, and then mixed in some Cajun spices, red peppers, green onions, and shrimp. I had a little leftover goat cheese so I mixed it with a bit of lime juice and served it on top!

Cajun Shrimp Rolls
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 green onions, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry yellow grits
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cooked shrimp, chopped
8 spring roll wrappers, thawed
2 ounces goat cheese
Juice of one lime

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium pan and sauté green onions and red peppers for 5 to 7 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and sauté 1 additional minute. Remove from heat.

Combine grits and chicken stock in a small pot and bring mixture to a boil. Simmer for 5-10 minutes or until grits are tender. Stir in paprika, cayenne pepper, oregano, thyme, and salt. Mix in vegetable mixture and shrimp.

Evenly fill spring roll wrappers according to the package directions. Briefly, top each wrapper with an equal amount of shrimp mixture across the center, from point to point. Roll up bottom point, tuck in sides and roll up. Using moistened fingers, wet the last point and roll up to seal. Place rolls, sealed side down, on a large cookie sheet and bake at 350˚F for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Meanwhile mix goat cheese and lime juice in a small bowl. Serve rolls with goat cheese mixture. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition: 143 calories, 3.6g fat, 0.8g fiber, 8.0g protein per serving
Cost: $1.07 per serving

Mediterranean Cucumber Appetizers

I was craving a nice light summer snack the other night while I was reading and really wanted to munch on some of these cucumber hummus appetizers. Unfortunately, there was no hummus in the fridge or chickpeas in the cupboard and I was about to make some boring old...

Eggplant and Goat Cheese Crostinis

It’s about time for a recipe post around here, huh?  Don’t worry, I actually spent all last weekend in the kitchen getting ready for our Ultimate Recipe Showdown screening party on Sunday, so I’ve got two appetizer recipes ready to share!  It was the first...

Sweet Potato and Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms Topped with Hazelnuts

I love stuffed mushrooms and serve them almost every time we have friends over, but I’ve been wanting to lighten them up for awhile now since the usual cream cheese-filled versions are very heavy. When I was making my Truly Outrageous Baked Sweet Potatoes, I was...

Mini Bean Black Cups Stuffed with Guacamole

There’s nothing better than sitting outside drinking margaritas and munching on guacamole and chips in the summer! We always order guac when we see it on a restaurant menu and I love to make it at home too since it comes together so quickly. Avocados are part of my...

Football Chicken Cakes

An additional foodie goal of mine this year is to enter more contests. I really enjoy the whole recipe development process and there are some incredible prizes! The Tyson Fantasy League Party Master Contest recently caught my eye on Contest Cook.  I’m an aspiring...

Chicken Fajita Nachos

Apolinaras headed to the grocery store the other weekend and accidently brought home tortilla chips from Trader Joe’s instead of the tortillas on my list....oops. It was pretty obvious the only solution to this problem was to make chicken fajita nachos instead of...

Cheesy Mushroom and Leek Crostinis

We started our last day of our anniversary trip to Portland by indulging in a few sticky buns and croissants at the Standard Baking Company. Of course, we also filled up a bag with a few loaves of bread to bring home. The sourdough was excellent! Then we headed off to...

Sushi Spring Rolls

You may have noticed I’ve posting less often than usual. I normally try to get about two recipes up per week, but between the exhaustion and nausea of the past several months, I just haven’t spent any time in the kitchen...yep, I’m pregnant!! Apolinaras and I are just...