Shrimp Scampi

James has been after me for a little while now to make shrimp scampi. I've never made it before and frankly hadn't felt like looking up a recipe! Then lo and behold, good friend ShoeFanatic posted a recipe for it on her blog! It looked so delicious and she gave it such a great review that I just had to try it. Here is the recipe she used:

Shrimp Scampi

Ingredients:
1 lb peeled and deveined large shrimp
Seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder)
Olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, diced
1/2 tsp dried hot red-pepper flakes
1/2 c. dry white wine
Salt & pepper
5 T butter
3/4 lb angel-hair pasta
Fresh parsley, chopped

Method:

Boil pasta to your liking. Reserve at least 1 cup of pasta water for later.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. You need just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan.

Sauté shrimp, turning over once, until just cooked through, about 2 minutes, and transfer to a large bowl. Add garlic, red pepper flakes and wine to skillet. Season with salt and pepper to your liking. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, for about 1 minute.

Add butter to skillet, stirring until melted, and then add shrimp back in. Add the parsey as well and coat the shrimp well. In the large bowl, toss the pasta and shrimp mixture well. Add some of pasta water if necessary to keep moist.


The Ingredients


The Finished Product

The Verdict: This was fantastic! I was a little wary of it because it just didn't look like there would be enough sauce for the noodles. I used the medium size shrimp to save money and was just as happy with them. It was great, it wasn't dripping butter down your face like often happens with scampi. James and I both went back for seconds and we will be happily enjoying the leftovers tomorrow night! I highly recommend it! Thanks, Shoe!

Turkey Baby Food

My baby girl is now at the stage where we're trying out meat. So after looking up a few recipes, I decided to try my own spin on a "Thanksgiving Dinner" for her. Here it is:

Turkey Puree' Baby Food

Ingredients:

Ground turkey (I purchased mine as a package of 4 patties)
Cooking Spray
Mrs. Dash

Method:

Heat a nonstick skillet sprayed lightly with cooking spray to medium heat. Add patty, seasoning VERY lightly on both sides with Mrs. Dash. Cook, chopping up to be sure it cooks thoroughly. When done, empty into a bowl and puree' using an immersion blender. You may need to add a small amount of water in order for it to puree' correctly. Put into individual servings in the ice cube trays, cover well and freeze. Then pop them out and put them in a ziploc bag for proper freezer storage.

When ready to serve, simply microwave along with a spoon of cranberry sauce or sweet potato puree'.


The Ingredients


Cooking...


Made into puree'. Yes I know it looks disgusting. Be glad you're a grown up!

Ham in the Crockpot

This recipe is the best ham you could ever have, considering it's out of a crockpot and sooo easy! And that says a lot because I don't usually like ham and I REALLY don't like cherries, but I love this! It's compliments of Bettee Markins (sorry I don't know your married last name!). Make sure your ham says READY TO COOK and not FULLY COOKED and make sure you buy one that will fit into your crockpot!

Ham in the Crockpot

Ingredients:

1 butt portion ham, ready to cook, 7-8 lbs.
1 small can pineapple slices, drained
1 small jar maraschino cherries, drained
1 small bottle of honey

Method:

Spray crockpot with cooking spray. Place ham, pointy side down into the crockpot. Dump cherries, pineapple and honey on top. Cover and cook on low for 6.5 hours. Check for doneness. Ham shouldn't need to cook more than 8 hours because it'll dry out.


The ingredients


In the crockpot, ready to cook!


I realize this isn't the most appealing picture, but it shows how tender the ham was when I took it out of the crockpot, literally falling off the bone!


All sliced up and ready to eat!

Verdict: This ham is fabulous! When I took it out of the crockpot, I kept the juices in a separate bowl that people could spoon over their own meat. It was incredibly tender and I was told it was the best ham ever! It's so easy you'd be crazy not to try it!

Christen's Meatloaf

I'm not a fan of meatloaf. This is a recipe I've been cooking for years to rave reviews, therefore I'm not going to put a verdict because everyone has liked it for years. I call it meatloaf for people that don't like meatloaf. It's different. And sorry, I didn't take pictures of it, but I cooked it last night with a salad, instant potatoes and a can of turnip greens with some ham in it. Good stuff.

Meatloaf

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs. lean ground beef
1.5 tsp. salt
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 tsp. pepper
8 oz. can tomato sauce (I use roasted garlic flavor)
2 TBSP brown sugar
2 TBSP spicy brown mustard
1 egg
1 TBSP vinegar
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1.5 tsp Tony's Creole Seasoning

Method:

Mix meat, breadcrumbs, 1/2 tomato sauce, egg, cheese, salt, pepper and Tony's. Shape into a loaf and place in a greased loaf pan. Poke small holes along the top. In a bowl, combine the remaining tomato sauce with the mustard, brown sugar and vinegar. Pour evenly over the loaf. Bake at 350 for 75 minutes.

Grilled Shrimp Soft Tacos

James and I couldn't agree on what to cook for dinner tonight so we landed on this, our very own concoction! We wanted grilled shrimp but couldn't decide what to cook with it. So we thought up these tacos and made homemade tartar sauce with olives in it to spread on. Here is the recipe for the tacos:

Grilled Shrimp Soft Tacos

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 envelope of McCormick's Baja Citrus Marinade
1 TBSP water
2 TBSP tequila
juice of 1/2 lime
2 TBSP apple cider vinegar

Mix envelope of marinade, water, tequila, lime juice and vinegar together in a bowl and add shrimp. Coat evenly. Keep refrigerated until ready to put on the grill. When ready to grill, place shrimp on skewers and grill on the bbq. When they are cooked through make soft tacos using toppings of your choice. We used the homemade tartar sauce, lettuce, cheese, avocado slices, pico de gallo, fresh cilantro and a few shakes of hot sauce. You can eat it like a soft taco or fold like a burrito.


All the toppings...


Folded up like a burrito

The verdict: This was fantastic! James was not too sure about adding the tartar sauce as a topping but he did it and was glad. The olives in the tartar sauce gave it a little more of a "fancy" feel. We ate all of the shrimp, as one pound only had 18 shrimp in it. Since we wish we had more to have as leftovers, we just might make this again tomorrow night :) Two very enthusiastic thumbs up!

Coconut Cream Cake

Happy Easter everyone! Today's recipe is courtesy of a woman I used to work with. It's a light cake that is served cold which makes it a perfect dessert after eating hot Louisiana boiled crawfish! Most people in South Louisiana have boiled crawfish for Easter (I can't imagine having ham or something!!) so it's nice to have a cool, sweet treat. This hit the spot!

Coconut Cream Cake

Ingredients

1 box white cake mix, along with whatever it calls for on the box to bake it
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 can coconut milk
whipped topping

Method

Bake cake as directed in a 13x9 pan. While cake bakes, mix together the condensed milk and coconut milk. As soon as cake is baked, remove from oven and use a fork to poke holes all over the top. Pour on the milk mixture while the cake is still hot and allow to settle. Cover and refrigerate. When ready to serve, spread whipped topping over the top of the cake.


The ingredients (minus the tub of whipped topping, which I forgot to include in the picture)


Cake baked with holes poked all over it


Milk mixture poured over it


With the whipped topping, ready to eat

The Verdict: Well I should have taken a picture of the empty pan! There was NOTHING left. Need I say more?

Mexican Casserole

This recipe is compliments of my mother-in-law, Aubrita. It is fantastic as a side dish to fajitas, or as a main entree' with a side salad. I cut it in half, so if you are making it for more than a couple of people, please be sure to double the recipe.

Mexican Casserole

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1 pkg. Taco Seasoning (I like the hot flavor)
1/2 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can Campbell's Cream of Chicken and Mushroom soup (it's a blended flavor can)
Crushed tortilla chips
1 cup shredded cheese

Method:

In a non-stick skillet, brown ground beef and saute' onion and bell pepper. When meat is browned and veggies are softened, add package of seasoning. Mix well, if needed you can add a small amount of water.

In a bowl, mix your can of soup with the Rotel tomatoes. Set aside. In a casserole sprayed with cooking spray, layer crushed chips, meat mixture, soup mixture. Repeat. Top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.


The ingredients


The baked casserole

Verdict: This is delicious! We made it just like this recipe I typed, which is the half recipe of what she gave me. So remember to double it if needed. We had it with a salad and it was the perfect easy dinner! Highly recommend it!

Creamed Chicken over Biscuits

This recipes is courtesy of the Cooking Light 15-Minute Cookbook. In August I had some pretty serious heart problems after giving birth to my baby girl, Elise. As a result, I had to watch my diet pretty close and I used recipes from this cookbook often. Everything I've ever cooked out of it was delicious! I told my husband that we needed to go back to using it for our meals so we can stay on the right track, and asked him to pick a recipe and I would fix it. This is what he chose.

Creamed Chicken over Biscuits

Ingredients:
1 can flaky buttermilk biscuits
Cooking Spray
1 (9-ounce) pkg frozen diced cooked chicken breast
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 (10-ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables, thawed and drained
1 (10 3/4) can condensed cream of roasted chicken with savory herbs soup, undiluted (such as Campbell's Healthy Request)
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Method:
Bake biscuits according to package directions, set aside and keep warm.

While biscuits bake, coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken and garlic; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in vegetables and remaining 4 ingredients; cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender and thoroughly heated, stirring often.

To serve: Split biscuit in half, place on serving plate. Spoon chicken mixture evenly over biscuits.

Only 254 calories per serving!

Notes: Since I couldn't find the chicken soup it calls for, I used regular cream of chicken soup and some dry herbs. Also, I didn't have cooked chicken so I used one raw chicken breast, added a little creole seasoning and cooked it in 1/2 tablespoon butter. I also added 1/4 cup chopped onions, then the garlic and followed the recipe after that!


Creamed Chicken over Biscuits Ingredients


The finished product

The Verdict: We both LOVED this. I truly didn't think I would like it. I was wrong. And my husband ate IT ALL. There are no leftovers! It was so easy to make, very inexpensive (buy a good but inexpensive wine - Redwood Creek is only like $6). We will definitely be making this again in the near future!

Vegetable Beef Soup

When I was growing up, if I ever so much as got a case of the sniffles my grandma would have a pot of soup coming my way. Unfortunately I didn't get the recipe for her vegetable beef soup, but I do have another of her soup recipes and was able to use it to concoct my own veggie beef. I believe I've come quite close in replicating her recipe. Warning - it makes a TON! But it freezes great!

Vegetable Beef Soup

Ingredients:
1 pkg frozen seasoning blend
1/2 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 can tomato paste
2 (14 oz) cans stewed sliced tomatoes
2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce
1 can original Rotel tomatoes
1 can Summer Crisp Corn (DelMonte)
1 can sliced carrots
1 small can peas
1 small can lima beans
2 cans beef broth
1 large cooking spoon of Worcestershire sauce
1 large cooking spoon of Lea & Perrins wine sauce for chicken
2 teaspoons sugar
chopped cabbage
1 large turnip, peeled and chopped
1 red potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 pkg. tender stew meat
salt, black pepper, Tony's Creole seasoning to taste

Method:
In a small pot, add the stew meat and cover with beef broth just till covered. Bring to a boil, then simmer until cooked through.

In a very large pot, make a roux using oil and flour. Oil must be hot before adding flour, stir constantly until the oil/flour mixture turns the color of a brown paper bag. Don't rush it, it's the secret. Add seasoning blend, cook until tender. Add 1/2 can beef broth to dissolve the roux, then add remaining 1/2 can. Once it comes to a boil, add the tomato paste and Rotel tomatoes. Stir well. Add the tomato sauce, stir well. Add the rest of the ingredients, including the broth that the stew meat was simmering in. Cover and simmer on med-low for 45 minutes. Check and adjust seasonings, if needed. Extra beef broth or water can be added if needed.


Vegetable Beef Soup Ingredients


The Soup

Verdict: Fantabulous! While this soup does make enough to feed an army, it's so delicious you will want to eat it for days. Once you get tired of it, put it into quart sized ziplocs, label and freeze. Defrost for a quick dinner on a cold night or when you don't feel well. It has magical healing powers ;)

Crockpot "Easy Company Beef"

I am loooving the crock pot lately! It's so easy to put stuff in there and set it and go play with my baby girl all day! Today I made a recipe from my crockpot cookbook that was basically beef stroganoff. It was a very basic recipe, but there's nothing wrong with that!

Easy Company Beef

Ingredients:

3 lbs. beef stew meat
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can sliced mushrooms
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1/2 cup red wine

Method:

Combine all ingredients into slow cooker, mixing well. Cook on LOW for 10 hours. Serve over rice or noodles.


The Ingredients


My husband wanted his over rice (see asparagus recipe that was posted yesterday)


But I wanted mine over pasta

Verdict: Very good! We much preferred this recipe of what was basically beef stroganoff over the one that I posted not very long ago. It had the desired color of stroganoff and a great beefy (is that a word?) flavor. This will definitely become an easy family favorite crockpot meal!

NY Strip Steaks with Coffee-Peppercorn Marinade; Bacon & Caramelized-Onion Asparagus

For a while now, James and I have been on the hunt for a really good steak marinade. We've come across some good ones, and some pretty good ones, but we wanted a wow really good one. I searched on the Food Network for some recipes and found a marinade that was meant to use for flank steak, but I used for NY Strips instead. I also found a great deal on fresh asparagus at Kroger ($0.94 per pound!!) so I wanted to try something new with that. I decided to try a recipe that was in the most recent Kraft Food and Family magazine, tweaking it a little. Here are the recipes:

Coffee-Peppercorn Steak Marinade:

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons strong brewed coffee
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt

Method:
Mix all ingredients and pour into a dish that your steaks can lay flat in. I put a little bit of Tony's (not much) on the outside of my steaks, then placed them in the dish, covered and marinated in the refrigerator for a few hours, turning occassionally. Cook with whatever your desired method is to your preferred level of "done."


Ingredients for the steak & marinade


Steaks sizzling!

Marinade Verdict: This is hands down the best steak marinade I have ever had the pleasure of having on my steak. Our search has now ended and this will be the only marinade we ever use, ever again! It's just fabulous! I was worried it would be too sweet but it was not at all! We both LOVED it!

Now for the...

Bacon & Caramelized-Onion Asparagus

Ingredients:
4 slices bacon
1.5 lb. fresh asparagus spears, trimmed
water
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup (good) ranch dressing (I used the creamy ranch in jars in the produce section)
NO MORE THAN 1/4 tsp liquid crab boil (don't put too much or you will have to move out of your house!!)

Method:

Cook bacon in nonstick skillet 3-5 minutes or until crisp, turning frequently. Drain bacon on paper towels. Place asparagus in a microwave-safe casserole, add water until all asparagus is in water. Add tiny amount of crab boil. Microwave on HIGH 6 minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender. Meanwhile, add onions to skillet, cook and stir until tender. Stir in dressing.

Drain asparagus, top with sauce and crumbled bacon.


The ingredients for the asparagus


All Done!

Asparagus Verdict: Fantastic!!! My first bite I was a little unsure about and felt it could use a little salt. So I added some. From then on, we were both practically licking our plates! The sauce was so delicious and the asparagus were the perfect crisp! I have another bunch in the fridge and you best believe I'll be making it this way again!


Everything ready to eat (potatoes were instant, roasted garlic flavor!)

Do yourself a favor and make this soon!! ~C.

Irish Beef Stew

In honor of St. Patrick's Day today, I'm cooking a crockpot Irish Beef Stew. This recipe comes from the Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook that friends Karen and Clint Ortis bought us for a wedding gift (thanks Karen and Clint - we love it!!) and can be found on page 83. Of course being from Louisiana, I have to spice it up some. So not pictured in the ingredients is 1 tsp of hot sauce of your choice (we like Louisiana Gold).

Crockpot Irish Beef Stew

Ingredients:
2 lbs. stewing beef, cubed
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
2- 10 3/4 cans tomato soup
1 soup can water
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 cups diced carrots
2 cups diced potatoes
1 lb. package frozen peas
1/4 cup water

Method:

Place beef, onion soup, tomato soup, soup can of water, salt, pepper, carrots and potatoes in slow cooker. Cover. Cook on LOW 8 hours. Add peas and 1/4 cup water. Cover. Cook on LOW 1 more hour.

Notes: as mentioned previously, I added 1 tsp hot sauce. I also added 1 chopped onion (just because I like onions) and about 1/4 cup beef stock because I only used 1 pound of stew meat, so that will make up for the flavor the other pound would have supplied.


The ingredients - minus the hot sauce and onion since they were a last-minute addition.


Stew is ready to cook!


The finished product, right before devouring!

The Verdict: Delicious! James and I both really enjoyed this, which is saying a lot because I don't like stews much! We ate it over rice. I will definitely make this again, however next time I will let the peas cook for more than an hour because I found they could have gone for longer, a little undercooked tasting. Also James and I both felt it needed more salt, but you can add more salt to your own personal bowl. Two thumbs up though!

Chicken in Mushroom Sauce over pasta

This is my favorite meal that I personally can cook. It's not my favorite meal, that is reserved for boiled crawfish. And a few other things. But this is a go-to meal for something easy, tasty, and always good. Just whatever you do, do not ever try to buy the powdered mushroom soup mix because that stuff is just awful! Another tip for all recipes (not only this one) is that if you use wine make sure it's a wine you would actually drink. Nasty wine in food equals nasty food.

Chicken in Mushroom Sauce over Pasta

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup white wine or inexpensive beer (or more if you want!) both are good. Just don't use a dark beer, probably wouldn't be as good!
2 small cans mushroom pieces and stems (or if you're richer than me, sliced mushrooms)
Butter
1 onion, chopped into small pieces
Seasoning to taste (Tony's, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder)
1 pkg egg noodles, cooked.
Milk as needed

Method:

Season chicken pieces with your seasoning of choice. In a deep skillet, cook your chicken in a few pats of butter. When almost done, add the onions. When those are almost soft, add the mushrooms. Let simmer for a few minutes. Add your cans of mushroom soup and stir well, then add your beer or wine. Depending on how thick you want your sauce to be, you can add milk until you reach your desired consistancy. Taste test and add seasonings if needed. Let simmer for 30 minutes. Serve over egg noodles with a salad and garlic bread!


The ingredients


The chicken, onions and mushrooms cooking away


A super yummy meal. Sorry for the blurry picture!

Verdict: As I said, this is one of my favorite things to cook (and eat!) so I had to share. If you use wine or beer, both are good but a slightly different taste. I cannot say enough how much I love this dish, I think I'll have to cook more this week!

Sweet Potato Baby Food Puree'

Ingredients:

2 Sweet Potatoes

Method:

Wash sweet potatoes well then peelthe outer skin off. Dice into small pieces. Put into microwave steam bag and microwave on HIGH until tender enough to puree. Dump into bowl and use immersion mixer to puree. Divide into ice cube tray, cover with freezer cling wrap and keep in freezer till solid. Then pop them out of the tray, put into ziploc and store in freezer for up to 3 months.


Sweet Potatoes


Peeled and getting diced


Steamed, made into puree' and ready to be frozen!

Butternut Squash Baby Food Puree'

Ingredients:

1 Butternut Squash

Method:

Wash squash well then peel/cut the outer skin off. Dice the top part into small pieces and then scoop out the seeds of the bottom part before dicing it. Discard the seeds. Put into microwave steam bag and microwave on HIGH until tender enough to puree. Dump into bowl and use immersion mixer to puree. Divide into ice cube tray, cover with freezer cling wrap and keep in freezer till solid. Then pop them out of the tray, put into ziploc and store in freezer for up to 3 months.


1 butternut squash


bottom part with seeds


Seeds scooped out!


Diced and in microwave steamer bag


made into puree


In tray.