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Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning 2013

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Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning 2013

 

Devin's Kickass Cajun Seasoning
Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning

As we kick off a brand new year and almost five years of Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning, I’m happy to know that so many of you love our spice! Most of you know we created the spice because of my love for Cajun cooking and my home state of Louisiana. Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning was created especially to help the city of New Orleans recover from the devastation of hurricane Katrina and we give part of the proceeds directly to help that effort. Last year we gave $14,000 to Brad Pitt’s charity, “Make It Right” who is directly helping New Orleans rebuild ecological housing. This year we hope to top that and with your help I’m sure we can exceed that number as New Orleans continues to rebuild. However, our spice doesn’t just benefit New Orleans, it benefits any other natural disasters that has happened in our country such as, hurricane Sandy in New York recently. We want to be known as the spice that gives back.

 

Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning and Cajun Cookin

Cookin Cajun
Cookin Cajun

In addition to Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning, I created the cookbook, “Cajun Cookin” with a variety of not only Cajun recipes, but appetizers, soups, salads, stews and meats to use with our spice because it’s simply great on everything. Most of our customers actually use the phrase, “We use it on everything.” That’s no exaggeration because I know we do and have for nearly five years now. Our Cajun spice is lower in sodium than any other Cajun seasoning that I know of and has no MSG. I created that way because I was tired of what was in the supermarkets. Most Cajun spices were way too salty and did contain MSG. So our spice is my original recipe that I perfected for that reason. It’s got alot of flavor and a bit of a kick, but not to spicy, so it really does just make you the cook you didn’t know you could be just by adding it to any dish. My “Cookin Cajun” cookbook is now available in an ebook that you can download to your ipad or computer and has lots of wonderful photos to go with nearly every dish.

 

 

The Future of Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning

 

 


When we created  Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning  we wanted to start small and grow organically with a product we could be proud of. Since Ronn and I are in the entertainment business, we knew nothing about the food industry, which was a bit of an education in the process of creating “Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning” and took nearly two years to formulate. My goal is to have it one day be in the supermarkets  and available all over at a cheaper price. It’s very hard to compete with brands that are household names and already on the shelves in supermarkets, however I will not give up on this dream because I know we have a “kickass” product pardon the pun. Most of you who have tried it know what I’m talking about and those of you who haven’t, well you are missing out. We use it for BBQs, in the summer and I love to give it to our new friends and have them come back and rave about how much they love it on everything. So we believe the future of Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning is very bright and with your continued help will be the a spice that makes a difference!

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New Ebooks

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Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning

When Ronn and I developed “Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning” it was for the purpose of helping my home state of Louisiana recover from the devastation of hurricane Katrina. I wanted to give back to hurricane victims in a small way that could someday turn into something huge.

Cookin Cajun

At the same time, I created the cookbook, “Cookin Cajun” as an aid to the spice with some of my favorite dishes that I love to cook all the time. Ronn shot the photos in the cookbook and designed the label for our spice and it’s something we are both very proud of.

I’m so thrilled that so many of you love the product and now I’m happy to have “Cookin Cajun” in ebook form available for only $9.99 to download on your ipad or Kindle just in time for the holidays.

With 80 pages of picture recipes such as, red beans and rice, Jambalaya, Gumbo and chili, you can become a fabulous Cajun chef and Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning is all you will need to impress your guest with amazing Cajun dishes. There’s even a recipe for my Thanksgiving turkey! 

I’ve had lots of experience in throwing all kinds of parties, big and small and have garnered quite a reputation for that, so I also did an ebook on party planning that will give you tips on how to throw the most elegant parties without costing a fortune. This ebook is available for only $5.99 to download also to your computer, ipad or kindle. Many of you have asked me for recipes and I’ve posted many of them here on this blog, but I think you will truly enjoy these ebooks and along with the spice make an impression at your next dinner party.

Remember we give a part of the proceeds to help hurricane victims to Brad Pitt’s charity, “Make It Right” on all our Devronn products and together we can make a difference. We hope to be adding more amazing products such as Ronn’s own salad dressing and BBQ sauce soon to our online store.

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Making It Right in New Orleans

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On August 23, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and devastated that region with 175 mph winds that left over 1836 people dead and cost over $100 billion dollars in damages. Many people lost their homes and relocated. This was one of the deadliest and costliest natural disasters in US history. Since then many people have been able to return to their home town thanks to the efforts of the “Make It Right” foundation and Brad Pitt’s passion for New Orleans. The first star studded fund raiser for “Make It Right” was hosted in New Orleans by Brad Pitt, Randy Jackson and Ellen DeGeneres. They showed us the progress that is being made with Green energy efficient homes that has enabled many native Louisianians to return home. This amazing technology has helped many other displaced people all over the world with these kinds of homes and I’m happy to be a part of this with “Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning.” It seems the region is coming back and will be stronger and better as time goes on. We are very proud to have participated in the first gala for “Make It Right.” All the performances by Sheryl Crow, Rhianna, Snoop Dog, Seal and Kanye West were amazing and the show will be broadcast later. The gala was totally first class and one of the most fun charity events we have ever attended. Ronn chatted with Portia DeRossi as I re connected with Sean Penn and Randy Jackson, who is from my home town of Baton Rouge. We had the best Cajun food prepared by Emeril and surprise appearances by Football hero Drew Brees and Dr. Drai. There was an open bar and the party went on all night long, so needless to say we didn’t want to miss any of it. By the end of the evening, Ronn was hanging with Jamie Foxx and Rhianna, while I partied with my home girls. One of my first college roommates came to visit me from Baton Rouge. We had not seen each other in 24 years! But that’s okay, because those are my life long friends that I cherish and we know it doesn’t matter if we don’t see each other, we are always there in each other’s heart. That’s how we are in Louisiana. If you are a friend, you are family and the passage of time just doesn’t matter.  It made me so proud to see how much New Orleans loves Ronn as walked around the French Quarter listening to Jazz, stopping for Beignets and eating lots of gumbo.  The culture is still there and the pride of Louisiana is still there, hell it’s a miracle that the French Quarter is still there! When Katrina hit New Orleans I cried and I wanted to do something to help rebuild it, thus “Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning” was born. I’m happy to see there are others that feel as passionate about New Orleans as me and it’s amazing to the see the progress when we all do a little bit to help. We now have several people helping us get our spice into restaurants and supermarkets. It made us so happy to be able to  donated 1000 spices to the gala’s gift bags and we helped to raise over $14,000!  That was small compared to other sponsors like Google, but we will most certainly be back next year bigger and better. Thank you to everyone who helped and participated.  We are the spice that’s “Making It Right” in New Orleans so please spread the word and help us to continue.[wpvideo J1rs8eC0]

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Slow Cooked Southern Styled BBQ Ribs

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  • 2 slabs of baby back ribs
  • 1 cup KC Masterpiece® Southern Style Barbecue Sauce (New Flavor!)

Dry Rub

  • 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 4 teaspoons garlic salt
  • 4 teaspoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
  • Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning

Liquid Seasoning

  • 1/2 cup apple cider
  • 1/4 cup apple jelly
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • Dry rub generously

Remove the membrane from the back of the rib slabs. In a small bowl, combine the dry rub ingredients and mix well. Reserve one tablespoon of the rub for the liquid seasoning mixture. Generously apply the dry rub onto the front and back sides of the ribs.

Build a charcoal fire for indirect cooking with Kingsford® charcoal. Add a small aluminum pan to the void side of the grill and fill in halfway with water. When the charcoal grill reaches 250 degrees Fahrenheit, place ribs meat-side up on the grill grate and cook over indirect heat for two hours and 15 minutes.

Remove the ribs from the grill. Place each slab meat-side down on its own doubled aluminum foil square. Mix the liquid seasoning in a small bowl. Pour 1/2 cup on the liquid over each slab. Then, tightly wrap and seal each slab with aluminum foil. Place the wrapped ribs back in cooker for one hour at 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

Remove the ribs from the charcoal grill and discard foil. Brush KC Masterpiece® Southern Style Barbecue Sauce on both sides of the ribs. Place the ribs back on the grill for 15 minutes, or until sauce caramelizes.

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Filet Mignon with Mustard Sauce

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  • 1 (7-ounce) filet mignon (2 inches thick)
  • 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons Cognac
  • 1/4 cup beef broth
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons coarse-grained mustard
  • 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
  • Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning
Halve filet crosswise and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil over moderate heat in a small heavy skillet until hot but not smoking, then cook filets 2 to 3 minutes on each side for rare. Let stand on a cutting board, tented loosely with foil, 5 minutes. While filets are standing, deglaze skillet with Cognac over moderate heat, scraping up brown bits. Add broth and water and boil until reduced to about 1/4 cup. Remove from heat and whisk in mustard, butter, any meat juices from cutting board, and salt and pepper and Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning to taste. Thinly slice filets and serve with sauce.  

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Crawfish Etouffée

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  • 2 pounds peeled crawfish tails
  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter
  • 2 cups chopped onions
  • 1 cup chopped green bell peppers
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 cup water
  • Salt and cayenne pepper, to taste
  • 1/3 cup chopped green onions
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions, bell peppers, and celery and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft and golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the crawfish tails and cook, stirring occasionally, until they throw off some of their liquid, 6 to 8 minutes.

Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and add to the crawfish mixture. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens, 4 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and cayenne and Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning of course.

Serve immediately over steamed rice. Garnish with a sprinkling of green onions and parsley.

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Oven Roasted Dungeness Crab

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  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon minced shallot
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper
  • 2 large Dungeness crabs, cooked, cleaned, and cracked (about 4 1/4 pounds)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, divided
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided
  • Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning
  • 1/2 cup blood orange juice or regular orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated blood orange peel or regular orange peel


Preparation

Preheat oven to 500°F. Melt butter with oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in garlic, shallot, and dried crushed red pepper. Add crabs; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon chopped thyme and 1 tablespoon chopped parsley over crabs. Stir to combine. Place skillet in oven and roast crabs until heated through, stirring once, about 12 minutes.

Using tongs, transfer crabs to platter. Add orange juice and peel to same skillet; boil until sauce is reduced by about half, about 5 minutes. Spoon sauce over crabs. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon thyme and 1 tablespoon parsley and serve.

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White Wine Beef

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Ingredients

  • 1/2 lb boneless sirloin steak (preferably top butt; about 1 inch thick)
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped rosemary
  • 2/3 cup dry white wine
  • Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning


Preparation

Trim excess fat, then thinly slice steak. Toss with flour, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté steak in 2 or 3 batches until no longer pink on the outside, about 2 minutes per batch, adding 1 1/2 tablespoons more oil as needed. Transfer to a plate.

Sauté garlic and rosemary in remaining tablespoon oil over medium-high heat until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper and boil, scraping up brown bits, until reduced by half. Return beef with juices to skillet and warm through.

 

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Stuffed Clams

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Baked Stuffed Clams

Baked Stuffed Clams Recipe

Although this recipe calls for fresh clams, you can also make this with canned minced clams (use one 6.5 ounce can, drained of all but 1 Tbsp of clam juice). Bake as directed on clam shells, or bake in a casserole dish and use as a dip with crackers.

If you’ve purchasing clams, keep them in the refrigerator covered with a damp, wet towel. If you have dug up your clams, keep them covered with cool sea water in a bucket. Throw away any cracked or broken clams.

Ingredients

  • 10 large chowder or large clams, rinsed, sand and grit removed
  • 3 Tbsp minced onion
  • 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
  • 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (or 2 teaspoons dried)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 Tbsp clam juice (or cooking liquid from steaming the clams)
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning

Method

1 Fill a large pot with 1 1/2 to 2 inches of water. Bring water to a boil. Add the clams to the boiling water. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let the clams steam for approximately 6-10 minutes, until the shells open. Remove clams from the pot and let cool enough to handle. Discard any clams that have not opened (if they haven’t opened it means they were dead to begin with and should not be eaten).

2 Remove the clam meat from the clams (not the clam foot which is attached to the shell) and mince finely. Break apart the clam shells from their hinges. Rinse. Pick 10-12 of the cleanest, nicest looking clam shells and set aside.

3 Preheat oven to 350°F. In a sauté pan, melt the butter on medium heat and add the minced onion. Once the onions have softened (2-3 minutes), add the garlic. Cook the garlic for 1 minute, then add the parsley, bread crumbs, minced clams, lemon juice, and clam juice. Stir until the stuffing mixture is completely moistened. (If too dry, add a bit more butter or clam juice; if too wet, add a bit more bread crumbs.)

baked-stuffed-clams-1.jpg baked-stuffed-clams-2.jpg

4 Lay clam shells on a baking dish. Scoop a little stuffing mixture onto each clam shell. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, until Parmesan is lightly browned on top.

Makes 10-12 stuffed clams. Serves 3-6.

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Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning

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Grilled bacon wrapped filet on top of steamed spinach and sliced potatoes with a mushroom and pepper sauce was a favorite dinner we had last week. Ronn even grilled them in the pouring rain, which made it all that more special. You can find this along with other recipes in my “Cooking Cajun ” cookbook.  Use “Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning” on all your dishes to add an extra zesty flavor to your dishes. With the holidays around the corner, why not try giving a can as a gift and help the city of New Orleans rebuild from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina? I promise you won’t be disappointed with our amazing Cajun spice, so spread the word and the love with “Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning” today! www.devronn.com

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Yummy Appetizers

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Here are a couple of yummy, healthy and simple appetizers that’s great to have as a snack or at your next dinner party. It great with Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning which adds alot of flavor to everything! Simply take a few Roma tomatoes and cut the tops off, scoop out the interior and add fresh crabmeat mixed with Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning and parsley flakes for bite size stuffed tomatos! Cut an avacado in half and take out the seed, put in the crabmeat mixture and serve with a nice Chardonnay. Ronn and I had both of these yummy appetizers yesterday and I just had to share it with you! For more recipes visit our website www.devronn.com

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Recipe of the Week

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I thought you’d guys would like something Cajun, just had that feeling. So here is a great Jambalaya dish. Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning makes it extra zesty!


Ingredients

  • 5 1/2 pounds chicken pieces (drumsticks, thighs, and breast halves with skin and bones)
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 pounds andouille* or other spicy smoked pork sausage, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
  • 3 medium onions, chopped
  • 2 celery ribs, chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 cups chicken stock or broth
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 (14- to 16-ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice, drained and chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
  • 2 1/2 cups long-grain white rice, rinsed and drained well
  • 1 cup thinly sliced scallion greens
  • Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning


Pat chicken dry and season with salt. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 10- to 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken in batches, without crowding, turning once, 6 to 8 minutes total (add remaining 2 tablespoons oil as needed between batches). Transfer to a bowl as browned.

Reduce heat to moderate and brown sausage in 4 batches in fat remaining in skillet, turning, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined bowl as browned.

Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon fat from skillet, then cook onions, celery, and bell pepper in skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden brown and softened, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add 1 cup stock and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Transfer mixture to a wide 8-quart heavy pot and add chicken, water, tomatoes, cayenne (if using), and remaining cup stock. Simmer, partially covered, until chicken is tender, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Transfer chicken with tongs to a clean bowl and measure cooking liquid with vegetables, adding additional water as necessary to measure 7 cups. If over 7 cups, boil to reduce.

Stir rice into cooking liquid (in pot). Arrange chicken over rice (do not stir), then bring to a boil over high heat, uncovered, without stirring. Bake, covered, in middle of oven until rice is tender and most of liquid is absorbed, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let jambalaya stand, covered, 10 minutes. Gently stir in scallion greens, sausage, and salt to taste.

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Recipe of the Week

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Spaghetti with Fresh Clams, Parsley, and Lemon

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

* 8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

* 3 pounds fresh Manila clams or small littleneck clams, scrubbed

* 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

* 1/2 cup dry white wine

* 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning

* 1 pound spaghetti

Preparation

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add sliced garlic and sauté until light brown, about 1 minute. Add clams and 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley; stir 2 minutes. Add wine; simmer 2 minutes. Add fresh lemon juice. Cover and simmer until clams open, about 6 minutes (discard any clams that do not open).

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Add pasta to clam mixture and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to large bowl. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons parsley and serve.

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Recipe of the Week

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Here is a quick and easy salad that is great with Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning and so healthy!


Herb Salad with Feta, Roasted Red Peppers, and Toasted Nuts
  • 1 5-ounce container herb salad mix
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped roasted red peppers from jar
  • 1/2 cup walnut halves or pecan halves, toasted
  • 1 10.5-ounce jar feta cheese in oil with herbs and spices
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning

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    Recipe of the Week

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    Here is a dish that you can serve over rice, pasta or your favorite veggie. I cooked it today and served it over green beans. You can also add capers or arugula instead of spinach. Of course, Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning makes it extra zesty!


    Shrimp Scampi

    Ingredients

    • 2 cloves garlic, sliced
    • 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
    • Kosher salt and pepper
    • 1 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
    • 1 5-ounce package baby spinach
    • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
    • 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
    • 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped
    • 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped
    • (more)
    • 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
    • Kosher salt and pepper
    • 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
    • 1 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
    • 2 cloves garlic, sliced
    • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
    • 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped
    • 1 5-ounce package baby spinach
    • 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
    • Kosher salt and pepper
    • 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
    • 1 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
    • 2 cloves garlic, sliced
    • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter and a generous amount of Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning
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