Tag Archives: shrimp

Guest Post: My husband “cooked” me dinner for my birthday!

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BBQbuttershrimp

Ok… so I obviously love to cook, but on my birthday, I don’t want to. The problem was, I didn’t want to go out either. I am a homebody and I just wanted to be HOME on my birthday. So, my husband was there with a very big problem. Since we have gotten married he has cooked for me about 5 or 6 times. I am pretty sure he was successful 2 of those times. Sometimes he tries to get too creative. Like when he made me chicken lettuce wraps and wanted them to taste like P.F. Changs… they somehow ended up having noodles and peanut butter in them. “WHAT?” you say? “Peanut Butter in lettuce wraps?!” You say? Yes. That is what he did. That’s just one of his creative examples.

So, what I did for my birthday, INSTEAD of giving him creative control, was asked him to cook WITH me in the kitchen and I’d be his “sous-chef”. (sp?) AND he made me dinner! Definitely a FUN “date” time for us, and I REALLY enjoyed it! We made margaritas and talked, and made dinner. I loved it so much!

So I was at Trader Joes the other day buying shrimp because I can get wild caught shrimp (Red Argentinian shrimp to be precise) for $8.99/lb and they are med.-large size! The guy at the checkout register was telling me about this recipe that he had just tried the night before for shrimp and how amazing it was! So I looked it up on my phone while I was standing there and stored it away so that I could use it later. I then decided later… I wanted it on my birthday! And boy… it’s a good one!

BBQ Butter Shrimp – copy cat Ruth’s Chris Steak House

This is NOT my recipe, or my husband’s recipe… this is literally copied from this link: http://www.food.com/recipe/ruths-chris-steak-house-barbecue-shrimp-orleans-147717

Check it out!!!

TOTAL TIME
12mins
PREP

5 mins

COOK

7 mins

INGREDIENTS

Nutrition

SERVINGS 2-4UNITS US

DIRECTIONS

  1. For Barbecue Butter — Soften butter at room temperature to 70-80 degrees F. Place butter in mixing bowl; add pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, salt, rosemary, garlic, Worcestershire, Tabasco, and water. Whip on high speed 3 minutes or until thoroughly blended. Refrigerate to 40 degrees F. Makes about 2 1/2 cups.
  2. For Shrimp — Toss the shrimp with the ingredients listed above, in a large bowl. Then, place on a lined rimmed cookie sheet (so all the oil and juices won’t spill over into your oven) and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 10-13 minutes depending on size of shrimp. Cook until pink and no longer translucent inside of the shrimp.
  3. Take care not to overcook the shrimp.

Becky’s Additions: 

I served the shrimp over leftover mashed potatoes!!! We removed the shrimp from the oven, and placed on re-heated mashed potatoes, and then smothered them with the barbecue butter and some shredded cheese and ENJOYED!! It was AWESOME!!!!!! Give it a try!

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Spicy Cajun Shrimp Pasta

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So… it SNOWED! Woohoo!! Since I homeschooled, it didn’t really matter either way… we still did school today, but my kids got to go out and play in the snow! And yes, it was only a 1/2 inch MAYBE… but look at my daughter’s face…

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Priceless!!!

So what’s good for dinner on a cold day? Spicy food!!!! (And pretty much most other warm food… but spicy is on the menu for today!) And you know… I made my own “mild” version of spicy that my husband giggled at a little bit when I called it spicy. But you know, we can’t all be champions of the Taco Bell fire sauce like him, you know. 😉

So here we go:

Spicy Cajun Shrimp Pasta

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1/2 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used Trader Joes Red Argentinian Shrimp, it’s WILD CAUGHT!)
1 TB EVOO
1 TB unsalted butter
2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup sweet yellow onions diced
1/4 cup sweet mini peppers chopped (I used 1 of each color)
2 TB fresh lemon juice, and the zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup white wine – I used Riesling – use what you like to drink
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 TB. Cajun seasoning, divided – I used Emeril’s Bayou Blast
1/2 tsp cayenne powder – or more to your spicy preference
1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
8 ounces angel hair pasta, cooked according to package directions
1/2 cup reserved pasta water set aside

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Have pasta precooked and set aside. Angel hair pasta does not take very long to cook. Cook according to the packaging.

Preheat oven to 350. Toss shrimp in 1 TB olive oil, splash white wine, 1 tsp minced garlic and salt and pepper and 1/2 of the cajun seasoning. Put shrimp on cookie sheet lined with tinfoil, put pieces of approximately 1 TB of butter over the shrimp, and place into preheated oven. Bake for 10-12 min (depending on size of shrimp) until cooked thru and pink. If timed right, you will take the shrimp from the oven, and dump into skillet with onions and peppers right as they are cooked through.

Heat 1 TB olive oil  and 1 TB butter in a large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Saute the garlic, onions, and bell peppers, for 3 minutes. Add the lemon juice, zest and Worcestershire sauce, and half of the Cajun seasoning. Add the wine and remaining Cajun seasoning and reduce heat and simmer for another 5 minutes. Add a bit of cayenne powder at this point to spice it up a bit if you’d like to. If too thick, add the 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water at this time. Then, remove shrimp from the oven and place into skillet with all juices and sauce from the pan. Place the pasta into the skillet, and stir to coat well. Top with grated Parmesan cheese and serve!

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Enjoy being warmed up by this yummy dish!

And now, for the quote of the day:

inspirational-quotes-happy-marriage

Warm Asian Flavor Shrimp and Bok Choy Soup

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Ingredients:
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • About 1/2 head of baby bok choy, chopped (separate white and green pieces)
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced very thin
  • 2 tsp. minced garlic
  • 2 tsp. shaved fresh ginger (on the small side of a cheese grater)
  • 4 c. vegetable or broth
  • 2 c. water
  • 2 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce )
  • 2 tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar
  • 4 oz thin rice noodles (1/2 package)
  • 1 lb. raw shrimp (I used jumbo, but you can use whichever you prefer)
  • 1 bunch green onions, sliced

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Instructions:
  1. Place shrimp onto a baking sheet (with a lip… you don’t want the liquid spilling over the side!) and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 350 for 10-12 min depending on size of shrimp. This is from FROZEN.
  2. Heat sesame oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add white pieces of bok choy and carrots, saute for 5 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, and saute one minute longer.
  3. Add broth, water, soy sauce, and fish sauce. Bring to a boil.
  4. Add uncooked noodles, and cook 2 minutes, separating noodles as they cook. Stir in green onions, and green pieces of bok choy. Cook 2-3 minutes longer. Add the cooked shrimp and stir in.
  5. Turn off heat, stir in rice vinegar, and serve immediately.

My husband LOVED this!! This would be great on a cold and rainy day!! Very comforting soup!

and now, for the quote of the day:

beth moore quote 2

Spicy Shrimp Tostado with Refried Black Beans and Guacamole

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spicyshrimpguactostado

These tostados were on my list since I saw them. I changed a few things, so now, the recipe is mine!! 🙂 I needed something pretty quick, but realized I was out of refried beans…. so, I made some out of canned black beans!!!

Recipe for Refried Black Beans:

1 can Organic Black Beans
1/2 cup organic low sodium vegetable broth
1 TB canola oil
3 TB finely diced onion
1 tsp. cumin
1 TB butter
1/8 tsp minced garlic

Refried Black Beans Directions:
Put oil and onion and cumin into sauce pan and stir and simmer until onions start to become translucent. In the mean time, rinse the can of black beans until all of the liquid that it is canned in is gone. I usually do this in a colander. Then, take the black beans and the vegetable broth, and put into a blender, or like me, the nutribullet. Blend until smooth. Then, add into the sauce pan with the onion and oil blend. Stir, and add the butter and garlic. Let simmer until cooked down and thick and able to “pull” from the bottom of the pan.

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Shrimp:

8-10 shrimp
2-3 TB olive oil (or similar oil)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt
ground black pepper
Place shrimp into a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Then sprinkle on the spices and toss. Place onto tin-foil lined cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. (This is for medium sized shrimp, you want to cook until no longer translucent).

Tostada Ingredients:

Shrimp (as cooked above)
Heated up frozen corn(about 2 TB per tostada)
Guacamole (about 2 TB per tostada)
diced tomatoes (as much as you’d like!)
Refried Black Beans (as cooked about) about 2-3 TB, as you’d like

I bought the corn tostadas. Place on a plate. Refried beans first, then guacamole, then the corn, tomatoes, then shrimp. ENJOY!!!!!!

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Light Summer Lemon-Yogurt Pasta with Veggies and Shrimp

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shrimplemonyogurtpasta

Adapted from Jillian Michaels’ “The Master Your Metabolism Cookbook”

Light Summer Lemon-Yogurt Pasta with Veggies and Shrimp

Serves 4 (calories: 323 per serving)

  • 8 OUNCES WHOLE WHEAT LINGUINE (OR YOUR PASTA OF CHOICE)
  • 1/2 CUP NONFAT PLAIN GREEK YOGURT
  • 1/2 SWEET ONION CHOPPED
  • 1/4 CUP GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE
  • 1 TEASPOON GRATED LEMON ZEST plus the juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/4 TEASPOON SALT
  • 1/4 TEASPOON GROUND BLACK PEPPER
  • 1 TABLESPOON OLIVE OIL
  • 3 MEDIUM (8-OUNCE) ZUCCHINI, CUT INTO THIN STRIPS (3 INCHES LONG AND 3/4 INCH WIDE, LIKE A BIG STICK OF GUM)
  • 2 GARLIC CLOVES, THINLY SLICED
  • 1/2 PINT GRAPE OR CHERRY TOMATOES, HALVED LENGTHWISE
  • 20 medium shrimp (peeled and de-veined and baked at 400 w/oil and salt and pepper for 8-12 min depending on size of shrimp)
  • 1 red bell pepper sliced

 

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  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook about 9 minutes, or according to the package directions. Drain the pasta. Set aside.
  2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together the yogurt, Parmesan, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Set aside.
  3. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini, and cook just until wilted, flipping them over occasionally with a spatula. (The zucchini will be soft and somewhat see-through.)
  4. Use a spoon or spatula to push the zucchini aside so a space on the bottom of the pan is clear. Add the garlic, and onion and cook for 15 to 30 seconds, until golden but not really brown.
  5. Mix the garlic into the zucchini.
  6. Stir in the tomatoes and bell pepper and cook until softened, about 2 minutes.
  7. Transfer the zucchini mixture to the yogurt mixture, and stir to combine. Add the drained linguine, and toss gently to combine. Divide among four bowls and serve.

 

 

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Spaghetti Carbonara with Shrimp and Grape Tomatoes

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SpaghettiShrimpCarbonara

THIS is a new FAVORITE!!! I gotta say, this is one my hubby said “I WOULD ORDER THIS IN A RESTAURANT!!!”

This is an Italian Staple. I have seen so many different adaptations and recipes for this! I did my own adaptation of this recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/jamie-olivers-pasta-carbonara-351138

I did change more than 3 things, so it’s MY recipe… but I can’t guarantee that noone else made my version because Carbonara is so popular! But… oh man… SO GOOD!

Warning***** I CANNOT tell you that this was under 500 calories… bacon fat was used… FYI. BUT IT WAS YUMMY!!! 😉

Ingredients:

This is for 3 -4 (small) servings

1 Lg. handful THIN spaghetti pasta
1 egg
1 cup white wine (or if you prefer, chicken broth)
sea salt
fresh ground black pepper
4 slices smoked streaky bacon (I use antibiotic, nitrite and nitrate free), roughly sliced
1 cup fresh chopped mint and parsley
1/2 small container of grape tomatoes (about 20)
1/4 chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup hot pasta water (don’t dump all of it!!!)
8 pieces of fresh, wild caught, shrimp
sprinkle of freshly grated parmesan cheese

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1

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add the spaghetti, and cook according to the packet instructions. Cook 2 pieces of the bacon in the oven on a cookie sheet lined with foil at 400 degrees for 18 minutes. When you remove from the oven, put bacon on paper towel, and leave bacon fat on tin foil.
2
Whisk the egg in a bowl with the wine, salt and pepper. and then put the shrimp onto the pan with the leftover bacon fat, turn over until coated in fat. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes. (for LARGE shrimp frozen)
3
Put the remaining 2 pieces of bacon into a second pan and cook until crispy and golden. Then, add garlic and onion, and 1/4 of the wine. Once onions start to look translucent, add the tomatoes.
4
When the tomatoes start to sear, add a bit more of wine, put lid on, and cook until the tomatoes burst.
5
When cooked, drain pasta in a colander, saving a little of the cooking water.
6
Add the pasta to the bacon mixture in the skillet and stir in most of the mint and parsley, finely sliced – if the pan isn’t big enough, mix it all together in a large warmed bowl.
7
Now add the the hot pasta water to the egg and wine (or broth) mixture. Once beaten, add to the pasta mixture. What’s important here is that you add it while the pasta is still hot. This way, the residual heat of the pasta will cook the eggs, but not so that they resemble scrambled eggs. Then add in the shrimp. (I cut up the shrimp into approx. 1 inch pieces and tossed in)
8
The pasta will actually cook the egg enough to give you a silky smooth sauce.
9
Toss together and loosen with a little of the reserved cooking water if necessary.
10
Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with the Parmesan and the rest of the mint and parsley leaves, and serve as soon as possible.

Read more: <a href=”http://www.food.com/recipe/jamie-olivers-pasta-carbonara-351138?oc=linkback”>http://www.food.com/recipe/jamie-olivers-pasta-carbonara-351138?oc=linkback</a&gt;

ENJOY!!!!!!!

Pork “Carnitas” Tacos and Cajun Shrimp Tacos… mexican caribbean theme!!

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carnitasandshrimptacos

My husbands close friend came and visited, and went on vacation with us!! So, the night he arrived, my hubby had a request for Mexican-Caribbean themed dinner. One of our all-time favorite restaurants is “Salsas” which is Mexican-Caribbean. So… Here’s what I came up with!!!

(Oh, and I tried to make home-made tortillas… it was a fail. I will be re-attempting at a later time. They tasted like flour… crackers. Yeah… lol!)

“Jerk Shrimp”

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of shrimp (or more, but you’ll have to increase recipe) I use WILD CAUGHT red Argentinian shrimp from TJ. I am kind of particular about not purchasing farm raised shrimp.
1 TB allspice
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp. Himalayan pink sea salt
2 TB sunflower oil (or olive oil)
1/2 tsp. ground cumin

Put all dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir together. Add the oil and make sure all of the seasonings are wet. Then add the shrimp and toss until well coated. Then, put into the refrigerator to marinate. Mine marinated for 45 min. That would probably be the minimum, up to over night. When ready to cook the shrimp, from frozen or raw, bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 min until cooked through. (Depending on the size of the shrimp).

(adapted from here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aaron-mccargo-jr/jerk-seasoning-recipe.html)

The rest of the recipe for the Shrimp Tacos came from here: http://www.closetcooking.com/2013/08/jerk-shrimp-tacos-with-pineapple-salsa.html

SOOOO GOOD!!! It’s jerk shrimp tacos with pineapple “crema” which helps with the heat, with a fresh grilled pinapple salsa and slaw to top it. One of my top favorites!!!!!!! Check out the link!!
You need a can (or fresh) of cored sliced pineapple, crushed pineapple, greek yogurt, and a can of coconut milk. For the pineapple salsa it’s also got red onions, cerano peppers, etc.

“Carnitas” with Pork Tenderloin

1 pork tenderloin (mine was about 2 lbs)

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder (I personally  used 1 tsp minced garlic)

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp ground himalayan sea salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 bottle of light german beer (my addition)

I got this recipe for the rub here: http://www.eatliverun.com/crock-pot-beef-carnitas-tacos/

 

I just put the tenderloin in the crock pot, drizzled w/about 2 TB of olive oil, made sure the rub covered the pork tenderloin on top and on bottom. I then poured the bottle of beer over the top, and closed the lid. I cooked it on LOW for 7 hours. DELISH! It fell apart it was so tender!!!

I then put out the tortillas (store bought… phew!), chips, guacamole, slaw, pineapple crema, pineapple salsa, salsa verde, greek yogurt, and fresh onions…. and put out the 2 protein options and dug in!! This was a light and satisfying feast!!! 🙂

Sunday Lunch

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There are a few recipes that need to go in here… so I’ll start with the simple.

Beets:

Fresh beets, cut up and boiled for 20 minutes. Then, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt. YUM!

Guacamole:

2 avocados, sliced and diced
the juice of 1 lime
1/4 sweet onion
splash of hot sauce
1 small bunch of FRESH cilantro (about 1/4 cup)
grape tomatoes sliced in half (I used around 10)

Shrimp Caprese Orzo Pasta

Original recipe: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=2746948

Minutes to Prepare: 5
Minutes to Cook: 10
Number of Servings: 4

 

Ingredients

Orzo Pasta, 1 cup 
Grape Tomatoes cut in 1/2, 1 cup 
1/2 tsp minced garlic
Basil, 1 tbsp
 White Balsamic Vinegar, 1 tbsp 
Salt, 1 dash
Pepper, black, 1 dash
*Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1 tbsp
Juice of 1 lemon, plus the zest
Shrimp, raw, 10 medium
1/4 of a cucumber, sliced
FRESH mozzarella cut into slices
While orzo pasta is cooking according to box instructions, mix the tomatoes, half the garlic, the basil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and mozzarella cheese in a serving dish.In the oven, at 350 degrees, cook shrimp in the remaining garlic and the EVOO. About 8-15 minutes (depending on size and if they were frozen).

Drain pasta and stir together with diced tomato mixture and then top with cooked shrimp.

Serving Size: Makes 3-4 Dinner Portions

Number of Servings: 4

1/2 tsp. minced garlic

 

Greek Chicken:

adapted from this recipe: http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/06/greek-marinated-chicken/

Ingredients
  • 1 cup plain greek yogurt
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • ½ Tbsp dried oregano $0.08
  • 1/2 small bunch fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 medium lemon
  • ½ tsp ground himalayan sea salt
  • freshly cracked pepper $0.05
  • ¼ bunch fresh parsley $0.20
  • 3½ to 4 lbs chicken pieces $6.86
  • Instructions
    1. To make the marinade, combine the yogurt, olive oil, minced garlic, oregano, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper in a bowl. Use a fine holed cheese grater or a zester to scrape the thin layer of yellow zest from the lemon skin into the bowl. Also add the juice from half of the lemon (about 1-2 Tbsp). Stir until the ingredients are well combined. Roughly chop a big handful, or about ¼ bunch, of parsley and stir it into the marinade.
    2. Add the chicken pieces and marinade to a gallon sized zip top bag. Remove as much air as possible, close the bag tightly, and massage the bag to mix the contents and make sure the chicken is well coated. Refrigerate the bag for 30 minutes.
    3. After marinating for 30 minutes, either cook the chicken on a grill OR preheat the oven to 375 degrees in preparation to bake the chicken.
    4. To bake the chicken, place the chicken pieces in a large casserole dish (9×13). Bake the chicken in the preheated 375 degree oven for 45-60 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

 

 

Curried Rice with Shrimp

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curriedshrimp

Original Recipe Credit: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/curried-rice-shrimp-00000000006830/index.html

I have adapted my recipe from the recipe listed above.

I used brown rice in my recipe… I’d actually recommend white rice, I just didn’t have any left, so I used what I had.

Step 1: Put 1 cup of rice into the rice cooker, and fill it with water until the water reaches the first crease on my pointer finger. That’s how my mom measured… so that’s how I measure it. Don’t even know how much water that turns out to be, but it works! Then, I add 1 tsp. of minced garlic and 2 tsp. of curry powder. I close the rice cooker, and press cook. (If you do NOT have a rice cooker, I recommend you following the original recipe link above.)

Step 2: Peel and cut 4 carrots. I cut the carrots into about 1 1/2 in to 2 inch pieces. Then, I chopped up 1/4 of an onion. I put the carrot and onion into a skillet w/1/4 cup of water and 1 TB olive oil and 1/2 tsp minced garlic and a dash of curry powder. I put the lid on and simmered on med-low heat. (15-20 min).

Step 3: While the carrots and onions are simmering, I put the shrimp, still frozen, on a tin-foil lined cookie sheet and drizzled olive oil over top. (2 TB?). I then sprinkled with salt, pepper, garlic powder and just a touch of curry powder (to continue with the theme). I baked them at 375 for 15 minutes.

Step 4: Assemble. All things should get done right around the same time. Carrots should be firm, but tender. Shrimp should not be translucent at all, and cooked through. Rice should be sticky and a nice curry-yellow. Put rice in bowl, then carrots and onions, toss, and add shrimp to top. Garnish with basil as desired.

Enjoy!