Recipe(tried): Shrimp Creole

I thought others might enjoy this recipe for Shrimp Creole. I have made it a number of times. Serve it over hot, fluffy, long grain rice (Uncle Ben's Original), with a green salad of your choice and crusty bread.

Shrimp Creole

1/3 c. canola oil
1/4 c. flour
1 lb. fully peeled, deveined raw shrimp
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c. onion, minced
1/2 c. green pepper, minced
1 c. water
2 tsp. salt
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1, 8 oz. can tomato sauce
2 Tbl. fresh parsley, minced

To make the roux, combine oil and flour in a heavy skillet (black cast iron if you have one.) Heat to medium-high heat, stirring constantly until it is light brown (the color of a copper penny). Transfer the roux to another large (12 inch) skillet. (The reason I suggest this is because of the tomato sauce in the sauce. Since it is acidic, I don't like to make the entire dish in the cast iron pan.) Heat the roux to medium heat and add the garlic, onion, and green pepper. Cook 3 or 4 minutes. Gradually add the water, tomato sauce, cayenne and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook, covered 20 to 30 minutes. Uncover and raise the heat to medium. Add the shrimp and cook 4 or 5 minutes, depending on the size of shrimp you use, turning the shrimp over halfway through cooking. Stir in the chopped parsley and serve over hot rice. Note: You can double the roux, using half for the recipe and refrigerate the other half until the next time you need it. It will keep a long time, tightly covered in the refrigerator.