Is it SPOILED?????

 Spoiled Food: Being new to the kitchen, you may be wondering how to tell if those items in the back of your cabinets, refrigerator and panty are "not so fresh."  Here is a handy beginner's guide to help you make that decision

Eggs

When something starts pecking its way out of the shell, the egg is probably past its prime.

Dairy Products

Milk is spoiled when it starts to look like yogurt.

Yogurt is spoiled when it starts to look like cottage cheese.

Cottage cheese is spoiled when it starts to look like regular cheese.

Regular cheese is spoiled when you think it is blue cheese but you realize you've never purchased that kind.

Bread

Sesame seeds and Poppy seeds are the only officially acceptable "spots" that should be seen on the surface of any loaf of bread. Fuzzy and hairy looking white or green growth areas are a good indication that your bread has turned into a pharmaceutical laboratory experiment.

Flour

Flour is spoiled when it wiggles.

Canned Goods

Any canned goods that have become the size or shape of a softball should be disposed of carefully.

Carrots

A carrot in which you can tie a clove hitch is not fresh.

Raisins

Raisins should not be harder than your teeth.

Potatoes

Fresh potatoes do not have roots, branches, or dense, leafy undergrowth.

Chip Dip

If you can take it out of its container and bounce it on the floor, it has gone bad.

Unmarked Items

You know it is well beyond it’s prime when you're tempted to discard the plastic container along with the food. Generally speaking, plastic containers should not burp when you open them.

Here are some basic Food Storage Guidelines

Shrimp Creole

If you are a fan of Southern Louisiana gumbo and jambalaya, you’ll find many of the same flavors and ingredients in shrimp creole, like the ‘holy trinity‘ of onion, green peppers and celery in Cajun and Creole cuisine.

Creole dishes are typically thicker, spicier and served on top of hot rice rather than having the rice cooked and or stirred in to the dish. Shrimp Étouffée is another similar dish, but made with a roux (flour and fat cooked together to use as a thickener) base instead of a tomato base.

Ingredients

1 cup long grain white rice substitute (see Cook's Notes)
3 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion diced small
2 ribs celery diced small
1 medium green bell pepper diced small 
3 large cloves garlic minced
1  14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
2 teaspoons Creole seasoning or more
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
Louisiana-style hot sauce such as Frank's, Texas Pete or (if you must) Tabasco, to taste
1 pound medium or large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed
chopped fresh parsley to taste

Instructions

Cook faux rice according to package directions.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. 

Add onion, green bell pepper, celery and garlic; cook and stir for 7-10 minutes until tender.

Reduce heat to medium-low and add tomatoes with juice, Creole seasoning, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaf; stir and simmer 5 minutes, allowing flavors to meld. If desired, add more Creole seasoning and hot sauce to taste.

Increase heat to medium-high and add shrimp; cook and stir until shrimp is pink and cooked through. 

Serve over hot white rice, sprinkled with desired amount of chopped fresh parsley.

Cook's Notes:

• Kick up the heat with additional hot pepper sauce, cayenne pepper, or hot paprika.
• Serve over creamy grits instead of rice.
• Add some sweet red bell pepper along with the green for added flavor depth.
• This works great with cauliflower rice - but I really love the Palmini "hearts of palm" rice
• You can skip the parsley and garnish nicely with chopped spring onion greens