Low Country Boil and an Emeals review

This was posted over a year ago. I have written a new review since then. Click here to see the more recent review and a delicious shrimp recipe.

My house smells so good. Yesterday was my baking day and I made pumpkin bread, french bread, granola bars, and low country boil (for supper). My house has the wonderful aroma of pumpkin bread and a hint of french bread. I smelled it when I woke up and every time I walk in the door or into the kitchen. I love the smell of bread, I think it might be the best smell ever.

I have to admit I am still not sure where exactly I am heading with this post. I am planning to post about all of them and they are all so good I just can't decide which one to post first. The granola bar post is already scheduled. Those I was making for a guest post and they will be featured on Mamal Diane this coming Saturday. You should definitely pop over there Saturday and check it out! By the way be sure to stop by again here that day and check out Mamal Diane's totally awesome Bacon Meatballs, I know you will want to try that recipe! Ok, so anyways, which recipe to share today? I think I will start with the Low Country Boil.

I found the recipe on the eMeals blog. By the way if you haven't heard of eMeals you need to. If you are too busy to look through ads and schedule your meals and make up a grocery list then eMeals is for you. Or if you would just like to be provided a bunch of new recipes and the grocery list that goes along with them for a low cost then emeals is for you. I first heard about emeals about a year ago when I was going to a Dave Ramsey class (btw if you haven't heard of Dave Ramsey you need to, maybe I will post about that sometime) and have tried it out a couple times since then. The way it works is that they provide a new menu every week based on sales and seasonal produce. Along with the menu you get a shopping list. So basically all you need to do for meal planning every week is print it out. It makes the whole process very easy. They have a variety of meal plans available ranging from no special diet to vegetarian to natural and organic to gluten free. They also offer options on which store ad the menu is made from ranging from any store to Walmart to Whole Foods to Kroger to Aldi. They also have a choice between a family (3-6 people) option and a 1-2 person option. I have tried several of the menus and all the ones I have tried are excellent. I have found that it works best for me if I think of it just as a new recipe supplier. I don't follow the plans precisely for several reasons. For one thing we do not need a new meal every day. Because there are only 2 of us we only need about 3-5 different meals every week, the other days we eat leftovers, eat take out, or eat Totinos. Another reason is that I enjoy hunting through blogs and finding new recipes and I want to try those out too. Another reason is that I my husband and I spend insanely low amounts on our groceries and I was actually spending more on groceries when trying to follow these plans precisely. Most plans average between $40 and $70 per week on grocery costs (that is the 1-2 person plan averages, I don't know what the family plans average). I normally spend $40-$60 per week on groceries and that includes breakfasts and snacks and such. But like I said it is an excellent resource for new recipes. And if you would like to lower your spending on groceries or have someone else plan your menu for you and provide you with a ready made shopping list broken down into sections of the store (I think that might be the second best thing to singing animals coming to clean your house) then definitely go sign up for eMeals!

Anyways on to the recipe. Like I said it is adapted from this recipe. Sorry, I didn't think to get pictures along the way so all I have is the final product. Actually I will admit that I didn't take any pictures, I got out the leftovers and put them on a plate so I could take a picture because I forgot to take pictures. I am still a new blogger and not entirely used to photo documenting every recipe in case I decide to blog about it.

Low Country Boil

Ingredients:
3 lbs of potatoes choped into large chunks (about 2ish inch chunks)
No onions (the original recipe calls for onions, but if you read my previous post you know about my dislike for onions, so of course I didn't put any in. If you like onions you may want to include 1-2 vidalia onions, cut in quarters)
2 - 16 oz packages of turkey smoked sausage (found in same place as regular smoked sausage, near the hotdogs)
2 packets shrimp/crab boil seasoning (look near the fish, that's where I found it)
4-6 ears fresh corn on the cob, shucked, can cut in half if ears are big
2 - 14 oz packages of shrimp (uncooked, deveined, peeled, etc)
Any topping you want, I had butter and salt, they suggest cocktail sauce, sour cream and pepper

If you have an extra deep stock pot use that. If you are like me and only have regular sized pots you can use 2 pots, or cut the recipe in half, or cook half and then cook the other half. I happen to own two stockpots so I cooked with two pots and put half of each ingredient in each pot (which is the reason for some of the adaptations to the recipe, for instance it is difficult to divide 1 seasoning packet between 2 pots so I used two packets).
Anyways fill your pot or pots halfway with water and bring to a boil. Put in potatoes (and onions if you are using them). Boil for 15 minutes. Add sausage, seasoning packets, and corn. Boil for 10 minutes. Add shrimp and boil for 3-5 minutes. Make sure you don't boil it for any longer, apearantly shrimp is not good if over cooked. Drain the water. Throw away seasoning packet. Serve with toppings and enjoy!

Verdict:
It turned out very good! My husband texted me after eating the leftover for lunch and said "Man that supper was good last night". What a rave :) I think that he liked it last night but since his stomach is a bit touchy he was waiting to see how well it sat. Anyways Mr. Random gave it two thumbs up and so do I. This is a great meal to share with other people because it makes a ton of food!



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