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Celebrating Every Day!
Find inspiration for an exciting dinnertime
any night of the week.

Sautéed Louisiana-Style Gulf Shrimp and
Grilled Sirloin Steak With Simple Mole Sauce

(Family Features) - Family dinnertime is a longstanding American tradition, but with our busy schedules it can often be viewed as a household chore rather than a time to connect with family. With longer workdays, after-school activities and everyday errands, how do we find the time and inspiration to make dinnertime fun again?

Katie Brown, lifestyle expert, TV personality and author, shares insight about how to find inspiration for special dinners and how to spice up mealtime any night of the week!

Katie's Big Easy Menu

When you find yourself in the mood for Cajun, try this spicy shrimp recipe. Serve over any of Lipton's Cajun Sides, including Red Beans and Rice, Dirty Rice, Garlic Butter Rice or New Orleans Style Chicken Rice, featuring all the rich flavors and textures of Creole and Cajun cookin'.

Sautéed Louisiana-Style Gulf Shrimp

4 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion
1/2 cup finely diced green bell pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons Lawry's Seasoned Salt
1/2 teaspoon ground chili powder
2 plum tomatoes, sliced 1/2-inch thick
2 green onions, cut diagonally
1/2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
Salt and pepper
1 pound uncooked jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white wine
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
Fresh chives, chopped (optional garnish)

Melt butter in large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Sauté garlic, onion, bell pepper, seasoned salt and chili powder until peppers are soft, about 3 minutes.
Add tomatoes, green onions and thyme, season with salt and pepper and cook until tomatoes soften slightly, about 1 minute.
Turn heat to high and toss shrimp into pan, cooking until pink. Add flour until well combined. Add wine and lemon juice and cook on high for about 1 minute or until sauce reduces slightly.
To serve, spoon shrimp in sauce onto beds of rice and sprinkle with chopped chives, if desired.

Cooking hints:

Shrimp are easy to cook, but they do cook quickly. Throw them last into whatever you are cooking so that they don't get rubbery.
Seasoned salt is a great way to get a lot of seasoning in one bottle!
Mix up your flavors by serving this dish with Dirty Rice.
Always keep a bag of peeled and deveined shrimp in your freezer. Then you're ready to turn any mid-week dinner into a seafood treat!

Katie's Fiesta Menu

Pair a grilled sirloin steak with one of Lipton's new Fiesta Sides line of Tex-Mex and Southwestern flavors, including Mexican Rice, Smoked Chipotle Rice, Jalapeño Jack Pasta, Spanish Rice, Nacho Pasta and Taco Rice.

Grilled Sirloin Steak With Simple Mole Sauce

1 1/2 pounds sirloin steak
2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt and coarsely ground pepper
Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock
Salt and pepper

Preheat grill.Coat steaks in olive oil and generously season with salt and pepper. Grill over hot flame to desired degree of doneness.
Heat olive oil in small saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, add cumin and cinnamon, and toast for about 30 seconds, making sure not to burn. Add garlic and onion to cumin-cinnamon mixture and cook until onions are translucent. Stir in tomato sauce and chicken stock, and generously season with salt and pepper. Simmer for an additional minute. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
Slice grilled steaks into strips and fan slices out on each plate. Pour sauce over steak slices and serve.

Cooking hint: Toasting spices intensifies their flavor.

Trying something new is easy! Now that Americans are being exposed to more international and regional tastes through restaurants and popular cooking shows, Katie suggests checking out your local supermarket for the latest ethnic sauces, spices and side dishes. It's a simple way to bring new and exciting flavors to your dinner table.
Every night can be a fiesta. Katie reminds us that one theme that's always a hit comes from South of the Border. Start by adding a little flare to your table by using a Mexican blanket as a tablecloth. Substitute colorful bandanas for everyday napkins, and slip maracas in a napkin ring for a festive touch. For an easy-to-make centerpiece, fill a vase with colorful aqua rocks and a candle. Finally, play a Latin CD to set the fiesta mood!
Find inspiration in the most overlooked places. Flip through an old photo album and recall a meal that you had on vacation or a destination that you'd like to re-create. Check your calendar for an upcoming holiday that you could celebrate such as Chinese New Year, Mardi Gras, Cinco de Mayo or the first day of fall. Another idea is to choose a theme from your kids' school curriculum - when they study China, why not make an Asian dish? Ideas for an inspired dinnertime are all around you!

Get more of Katie's dinnertime inspiration, recipes and table décor from her new booklet "A Guide to Inspired Meals with Katie Brown," available FREE on www.liptonfavorites.com.

SOURCE: Lipton Side Dishes