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To be WonderBra, to be supportive, to uplift...
that's my goal for the week, the semester, the year, our lives together.
When I started planning our meals for this week I decided to make five days of Josh's favorites. His first week of law school would be filled with intense reading, new classrooms in a new school surrounded by people he's never met. What would be better than coming home each night to his favorite, familiar smells wafting from the kitchen? Here is my plan for the week:

Monday - Shrimp Creole with Salad and Crusty Whole Wheat French Bread
Tuesday - Crab Cakes with Baked Potatoes and Roasted Asparagus
Wednesday - Barbecued Ribs with Black-Eyed Peas and Potato Salad
Thursday - Reuben Sandwiches with chips and various dips
Friday - Lasagna Rolls with Salad and Garlic Bread
Desserts - White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies & Raspberry Cream Cheese Cake

I've decided to blog about Monday's dinner, Shrimp Creole. On my first trip to Frost to meet Josh's family I enjoyed this delicious meal. It reminds me of new love, nervous first meetings, and the butterflies that accompany the first kiss with your future spouse. Magical.

All you need to make your own Shrimp Creole is

1 pound of medium shrimp
1 medium onion chopped, about 1/2 cup
2 stalks of celery chopped, about 1/2 cup
1/2 cup green bell pepper chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
2 tablespoons of butter
14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes (or 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh)
2 tablespoons fresh parsley minced
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (to taste)
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup cold water
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 cups hot cooked rice

First defrost, peel and devein shrimp, set aside.
Cook rice according to package directions.

Saute butter, onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes, parsley, paprika, ground red pepper, and bay leaf.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

Remove bay leaf. Combine cold water and cornstarch, stir together.

Stir cornstarch mixture and shrimp into skillet. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly, cook and stir for 2 minutes more or until shrimp turn deeper pink.

We enjoyed our Shrimp Creole with salad and crusty French Bread with Boursin cheese.
Thanks to my sweet husband for the flowers, he's quite a WonderBra himself.

Ava enjoying her yummy dinner

Note the "Crimson and Cream" colored Fiesta dishes in honor of OU.

Dinner was completed with Josh's favorite cookies, White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut. Simply mix up your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and substitute white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts for the chocolate chips. Yum!