Bored. Bored. Bored.

Eating the same meals, week after week, may be fine for some people. But I love food, and I love variety. And the whole family was getting bored, bored, bored with our same-old weekly menu. So last weekend I went through the file of recipes I've been collecting to find new and interesting meals.

Every cook has one of these file. We see a recipe in a magazine, newspaper or online and rip it out (or print it out), then put it in a file to cook another day. But instead of trying those recipes they pile up. Until one day you empty that fat file and fill up the paper recycling bin.

Not this time.

I sifted (pun intended) through the recipes and took out three that, as it turned out, were really good. The first one I cooked—Scallop Gumbo—was from The New York Times. Here's the link... http://nyti.ms/bldQ5X

If you don't want to click to the site, I've copied and pasted their recipe below. On a "Fussy Scale" I'd rate it a 6 out of 10. (A 1 is making toast. A 10 is making a souffle.) You start by making a roux, which is not hard but requires constant attention. This is typical of New Orleans-style recipes.

I also served it like they do in Louisiana, with a mound of delicious rice in the center of the bowl. Then you surround the rice with that stew-like soup.

This recipe serves 6 full bowls or 8 smaller bowls.

What to buy

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup flour

1 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 tablespoons minced garlic

Salt and black pepper

2 to 3 cups vegetable or chicken stock, or water

2 cups chopped tomatoes with their juice (canned are fine)

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried

1 tablespoon fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried

2 bay leaves

Cayenne to taste

1 pound bay scallops (the smaller ones)

Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish.

What to do

1. Put oil and butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. When butter is melted, add flour and cook, stirring almost constantly, until roux darkens and becomes fragrant, about 15 to 20 minutes; as it cooks, adjust heat as necessary to keep mixture from burning. Add onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic and raise heat to medium. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables have softened, about 10 more minutes.

2. Stir in the stock, tomatoes, thyme, oregano, bay leaves and cayenne. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat so soup bubbles steadily. Cook for about 20 minutes or until flavors meld. Add scallops and cook until they are no longer translucent, about 2 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Taste, adjust seasoning and serve, garnished with parsley.

If you make this, please post your review on this blog.