Ruby Tuesday - Blue Plate Special

Ruby Tuesday arrives again, and today my subject is cooking easy.

I was interested in taking shortcuts yet creating a supper of taste and color. So I found the prepared/frozen ingredients that could facilitate the style and substance I was seeking...

So the following was used: Frozen cooked shrimp, frozen bell pepper strips (green, red and yellow), diced garlic in a jar; canned diced tomatoes, Canned chicken broth, dried oregano, and dry spaghetti. I did chop a (real) onion, though :>)

The actual cooking was a mix of defrosting, sautéing and simmering. The prep time was maybe twenty minutes.

There is a real satisfaction to chopping fresh bell peppers and deveining fresh shrimp instead. But sometimes current events conspire against the preferable course. But after an afternoon of compiling our 2009 tax liability using well known electronic tax prep software, ease of cooking won out.

Taken here upon completion at wheelchair height, the result was is a bit horizontal. Patti took a picture at stand-up height below, which accents the reds slightly better than at 'chair level...

Rubies abound from the entree, to the placemat to the wine.

The only caveat here is the shrimp. Although obtained at a buy-one-get price, I sometimes wonder about where it is from. This was from Thailand, a democratic monarchy, and US ally.

But what of Gulf shrimp fishermen who find it difficult to match the price of imported shrimp. I would love to always use the finest shrimp in the world from the Gulf region from Florida to Louisiana (the best I ever had was in Biloxi MS). But costs must be considered, alas....

Add a candle for ambience, the easy prep made the meal and conversation arrive all the sooner.

See Mary's always fun ruby meme!