Shrimp Cesar Salad Filed under ( light recipes, quick and easy, salad, seafood, shrimp )

I had been in a lunch rut for some time now. And as I've mentioned before, I really love my lunches. I finally threw this little salad together, and I've probably had it about five times since then, it's so good! There is absolutely no brain work that goes into it, sauteed shrimp, tossed Caesar salad and you're made in the shade. Have it for lunch and then have it four times more!

Shrimp Cesar Salad

Ingredients

1/2 cup raw medium sized raw shrimp, shells and tails removed
1 teaspoon old bay seasoning, or favorite seafood seasoning
1 cup spring mix, or Caesar salad mix, or chopped romaine lettuce
2-3 teaspoons creamy Caesar dressing
2-3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
pine nuts (optional)

Directions

Toss lettuce mix, salad dressing, Parmesan cheese and pine nuts in a bowl. Place on plate. Saute shrimp in olive oil and seasoning until pink and fully cooked. Add to salad, get your Diet Coke on ice and enjoy your afternoon!

Pan Seared Shrimp Filed under ( light recipes, main dishes, quick and easy, seafood, shrimp )

Happy Monday to you all! I hope the summer is treating you very kindly!

I don't cook shrimp that often for two reasons. The first is because I'm the only one in my family who likes it, gosh! And the second is because for the longest time it has been intimidating to me. But in the last few months I've come to realize that it's really easy to make, especially when you use this recipe. The one thing I've learned about cooking shrimp is to be careful not to overcook it so that it doesn't come out rubbery. If you have any other shrimp-cooking tips, do share! I can't get enough, and my family will learn to like it by golly!

Pan Seared Shrimp
Slightly Adapted from Taste of Home, Healthy Cooking June/July 2009 ed.

Ingredients

1 lb uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup white wine, chicken broth or seafood stock
1/2 teaspoon seafood seasoning (I used McCormick, delish!)
2 tablespoons minced parsley

Directions

In a large skillet, saute shrimp and garlic in oil for 3 minutes. Add wine or stock and seasoning; cook and stir 3-5 minutes longer or until shrimp turn pink. Sprinkle with parsley.

Asian Shrimp, Mango and Avacado Slaw Filed under ( fruit, light recipes, main dishes, my life, salad, seafood, shrimp, veggies )

Hello my friends, I've missed you! The month went so fast, but what a great month. Lots of relaxing, boating, swimming, playing and EATING. Spending all that time with family was so nice and we had a great time, but it also feels good to be back in the comfort and quiet of home.


I have to post this salad because it's what my mom and I ate the most when we were together. Cathy, who's got a great blog at Wives with Knives posted this a few months ago. I immediately bought the ingredients, absolutely loved it, and promptly sent my mom the recipe. Since then I'm fairly confident that her and my dad have enjoyed it at least ten times. We have tried the creamy dressing as well as the vinaigrette, and honestly they are both delicious. The only change we made was adding a bit of red pepper to the slaw, and a scoop of peanut butter to the dressing. The slaw lends itself to a lot of variations, like Cathy says, but guaranteed delicious. Check out the recipe here, and thank you Cathy!




And now a few pics of one of our best boating days. We combined a day at the lake with a my mom's birthday and it was a fabulous day. My entire family was there and we had an absolute blast. I never laugh as hard as I do when I'm with these people.

I love this shot, my husband, who really hasn't done a whole lot of waterskiing, has absolutely no fear. The very first time he got up he was catching air. He did have his fair share of wipeouts though, as you see here.

Taking a tube ride with our son. He's braver then I am, I caught him laughing during some moments that had me white knuckled.

Hanging out on the Big Mable with two of my brothers. Seriously the funniest people I know.

My little girl taking a swim. Her favorite part of the day was just being able to jump off the boat into the water.

Me and my guy.

My daughter and her grandma, the birthday girl.

My son and his cousin. Two of the best friends and worst enemies at the same time, you know how it is at that age, haha!

How has your summer been so far? What are you doing to beat this heat?

CEiMB: Kind-a, Sort-a...Not really... Filed under ( Appetizers, asian, CEiMB, chicken, light recipes, main dishes, sauces, shrimp, veggies )

I am crazy for spring rolls. I love how fresh and healthy they are, but with a ton of flavor. So when my turn to host Craving Ellie in My Belly came up, I immediately went for the Soft Asian Summer Rolls with Sweet and Tangy Dipping Sauce. I went to the grocery store(s), only to find that rice paper rounds are no where to be found...anywhere! Arrrrgh! I thought about a variety of substitutes, including the nori wraps used for sushi, but I just couldn't see myself using that for something as delicate as a spring roll.

Finally it hit me that the closest thing to rice paper would be a soft butter lettuce leaf. They're velvety and mild in flavor, plus you get the extra benefit of nutrients and vitamins. This was the moment that Spring Rolls became Lettuce Wraps.



Instead of assembling all of the wraps like you would a spring rolls, I simply laid out all of the ingredients for people to pick and choose what they wanted. I had shredded carrot, cilantro, salted peanuts, cucumbers, rice noodles tossed in sesame oil, chopped chicken and shrimp. I also made the Sweet and Savory sauce in the spring roll recipe, as well as giving the option for a peanut sauce and a sweet chili sauce. I used all three in each of my wraps!

The result? A lunch that I will have again and again! It's quick, easy to assemble, and I feel healthier when I eat it! Later that night since I hadn't quite had enough, I filled a bowl with the rice noodles, piled on a bunch of ingredients with the sauces and went to town. Oh! I love this stuff!

My apologies to CEiMB for not making the Spring Rolls that I in fact chose, but I really did try! Hopefully the lettuce wraps will make a good substitute!

Shrimp Wonton Soup–Take 1 Filed under ( Asian, Chinese, Healthy, shrimp, side dish )

 

HAPPY FRIDAY! This has been a semi-busy week and I am super excited for the weekend! What do you have on tap?  Tonight, we’re doing dinner with my parents. Saturday morning,  I am teaching Pump (Amelia and Lindsay are coming!) and then we’re hitting up somewhere for food. The rest of the weekend??

Last week, Josh mentioned that he really wanted Wonton soup, but that he wanted a healthier homemade version. Now, I’m not a greasy Chinese food fan, so I’ve never had wonton soup. I researched recipes on the web and came up with my own version (which was served with fried rice):

Ingredients:

• 8 large shrimp, cooked through (I boiled mine) and cooled
• 1- 8 oz can water chestnuts, diced (divided)
• ¼ teaspoon Chinese 5 spice powder
• 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
• 14 wonton wrappers
• 1 cup shredded cabbage (divided)
• 32 oz low sodium chicken or vegetable broth

Directions:

Chop shrimp into small pieces. In a bowl, combine, shrimp, ¼ can water chesnuts, 5 spice powder, soy sauce and ¼ cup cabbage.

Spread wontons on a towel.

Spread filling evenly between the wonton wrappers.

Wet fingers and twist wrappers to form purses or envelops (envelops are easier), using the moisture to seal them shut.

Heat chicken or vegetable broth over medium heat until broth comes to a simmer. Add ¾ cup cabbage, remaining water chestnuts and purses/envelopes and cook for 10 minutes (until wrappers appear more translucent). Serve! If you’d like, top with chopped green onion.

Now, this soup was tasty….but it wasn’t a real Chinese food takeout tasting soup. Anyone have any good wonton soup recipes to share?? Let me know!

A New Year! Filed under ( Appetizers, cheese, Dips, holiday food, party food, shrimp, veggies )

Well, I know it's already the fourth, but what the heck...

It's good to be back! How was everyone's holiday? I did my best to check up on ya'll from time to time, but I have to admit, I missed our regular interactions. We are back from our vacation, still getting unpacked, but excited about the new year. I feel so good about 2010 and I have a lot of goals, but first things first...

Check out my blog! My super talented, web designin' brother voluntarily made me a new header and background. What a Christmas present! I love what he's done with it, and yes, I look exactly like the girl in my header (snort, cough). If you're interested in having your blog redone by Kendall, email him at kendall@bengalworks.com for pricing and packages.

And now onto my goals. I don't know about you, but I love making new year resolutions. I do it every year, and I make a lot. I never accomplish all of them, but I do accomplish some, and it feels so good. Some of the goals I have in the kitchen are:

1. Eat healthier. I'm not going to say lose weight. I would like to lose weight, but it's not about weight right now as much as it is about health. I need to eat healthier and exercise to avoid diseases that run strong in my family. I need to be healthier for my joints, muscles and skin. I want to have energy for my family and obligations. I also want to keep my husband and kids healthy, and being the primary cook in the home warrants me that responsibility. AND, if I happen to lose weight on that particular journey, then that would be a fantastic bonus!

2. Join at least two clubs this year. I've already joined the HBin5, which I am so excited about (my sweet man got me the book for Christmas). Does anyone have any recommendations for another club that you've enjoyed? I think this would be a fun way to push myself and meet new people.

3. Make homemade ravioli, potstickers and beef wellington. I've been intrigued with all three of these things and I'm dying to try them myself.

4. Create more original recipes. Most of the things I post are simply recipes that I have found to be very good. I think it would be so fun to start experimenting and writing up my own dishes.

So there you have it, now that it's all out there, I'll be more likely to do it! It will take a week or so to post the mouthwatering foods that are responsible for my unwanted holiday pounds, but after that hopefully there will be some goal accomplishing!

And on to the food. Since this has already been a long post, I'll just show you what our Christmas Eve meal was comprised of. We decided this year we would just set out a huge spread of appetizers to fill up on. This is such a fun idea because everyone gets so full, but also gets to try a huge variety of fun party food.

My mom made these awesome pears, covered in a Gorgonzola mixture and dipped in pecans. Heaven!


We also had a fantastic shrimp cocktail and veggie tray, two of my holiday "must-haves."


And I was SO excited because I finally got to make a cheese platter. I've been wanting to try one of these for a long time. Unfortunately when I went to Costco, the cheese selection was a little slim, but it was still fun. I followed Ina's rule, which is to have one hard cheese, one blue cheese, and one soft cheese. For the soft cheese, I used a triple cream Brie. For the blue, I used a cheese called Cambozo, which was a very soft and subtle blue cheese. It was delicious on apples. And for the hard cheese, I used a cheese called Comte. It had the flavor of Swiss or Gruyere, and it was pretty good, but I probably would have preferred something a bit tangier like Pecorino Romano. And for good measure I threw in some Baby Bellas, which is a soft and mild cheese, great for kids. It was so fun and came out rather pretty if I may say so myself.


Throw in a bunch of cookies, candy, chicken fingers, hot bean dip, and spring rolls, and here you have the final spread. Mmmmmm, can it be Christmas again!



And last, but not least, I'd like to thank Debbie, at Dining with Debbie for this cute award! I am just getting to know Debbie, but I already really enjoy her for her fun posts, personality and delicious food.

Thanks Debbie! I'm going to think of who to pass this on to!

Phew, well, there you have it! I wish you all health, peace and prosperity this year of 2010 and may your tables always be full of good food!

Coconut Shrimp with Fiery Mango Sauce Filed under ( coconut, light recipes, main dishes, sauces, seafood, shrimp )

Back when I was getting to know my husband, the ever important question came up, "do you like shrimp?" His answer, which remains his answer still is "not unless it's been breaded and deep fat fried!" Not being one to fry things often, I resigned myself to a happy but shrimp-less life with my husband, crossing my fingers that his non-shrimp loving genes wouldn't be passed on to my kids. It was.

So you can imagine my joy in finding this recipe from Cooking Light (for those of you new to my blog, I'm in love with Cooking Light. If Cooking Light was a religion, I'd be their first follower.) Big fat shrimp, coated in a crunchy, sweet layer of coconut and panko, and skillet fried to a browned crispy perfection. They're accompanied by a sweet and HOT mango sauce. I think I used jalapenos instead of habaneros, I haven't quite reached that level of bravery when it comes to hot foods.

During these cold, post-holiday days of winter, give this tropical dish a try, it might give you that bit of hope that you need to get you through it!

Coconut Shrimp with Fiery Mango Sauce
Cooking Light January 2010

Ingredients

Sauce:
1 teaspoon canola oil
2/3 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (12-ounce) can mango nectar
1/4 Scotch bonnet pepper, unseeded
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon salt

Shrimp:
28 jumbo shrimp (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut
1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/3 cup cornstarch
3 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 teaspoons canola oil, divided
Cooking spray

Directions

1. To prepare sauce, heat a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, ginger, and garlic; sauté 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add nectar and pepper; bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes or until reduced to 3/4 cup. Remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes. Place mixture in a blender; process until smooth. Stir in juice and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Cool.

2. Peel and devein shrimp, leaving tails intact; discard shells.

3. Place coconut in a food processor; pulse 6 times or until finely chopped. Add panko; pulse to combine. Place coconut mixture in a shallow dish. Place cornstarch in a shallow dish. Place egg whites in a shallow dish. Sprinkle shrimp evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Working with 1 shrimp at a time, dredge shrimp in cornstarch, shaking off excess. Dip in egg whites; dredge in coconut mixture.

4. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons canola oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add 7 shrimp to pan; coat tops of shrimp with cooking spray. Cook shrimp 2 1/2 minutes on each side or until done. Repeat procedure 3 times with remaining oil and shrimp.

Serves 4