Crispy Creole Shrimp Linguine

This is one of those pretty simple dishes that can be prepared in the time that it takes for the pasta to boil. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 box of Linguine 
• 20-30 small peel and eat shrimp, uncooked
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon creole seasoning
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 parmesan cheese
• salt
• pepper
• oregano
• red pepper flakes

Cook pasta according to package instructions.

Clean and peel the shrimp, season with the creole seasoning, then sprinkle flour on top and toss together so they are all well coated.

In a deep skillet add olive oil and butter heat over high heat. Add shrimp and cook on each side for about 2 minutes until crispy on both sides. 

Remove shrimp and set aside, in same skillet add in heavy cream and chicken broth. Season to taste with salt, pepper, oregano, and red pepper.  Cook until sauce thickens then add parm cheese and whisk.

Add Linguine and Shrimp to sauce, and toss until everything is well coated.

This dish was truly flavorful and filling. I couldn't even finish my portion, but my husband loved it so much he ate the rest of mine too. I made a really nice Caprese salad on the side too, and ended up mixing a little into my shrimp and pasta- it made for a really nice fresh contrast to a heavy pasta dish. Next time I make this I will definitely add some fresh tomatoes at the end. Enjoy!

Credits:

crispy cajun shrimp

Quinoa stuffed Portabello Mushrooms

I made this last week, but haven't had time to post it yet. Just thinking about it now and looking at my pictures makes me want it again!

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 large portbello mushroom caps
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1/2 red onion diced
• 4 cups baby spinach roughly chopped
• 1 small can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup fresh basil chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 oz fresh mozzarella cubed (I used pearl sized Mozz balls)
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated
• salt and pepper to taste

Bring 1/2 cup quinoa and 1 cup of vegetable broth to a boil in a small pot. Cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until all the broth is absorbed. Take off the stove and cool to room temperature.

While the quinoa is cooking, heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a pan. Add the red onions, and cook until the onions begin to soften. Add the spinach and tomatoes and saute until the spinach is wilted and the mixture is heated through. Season with oregano and salt and pepper to taste.  Add the basil and remove from the stove. Gently stir in the quinoa and let everything cool to room temperature. Once the mixture has cooled, fold in the cubed mozzarella.

Clean out gills of mushroom caps, and wipe them down. Drizzle some olive oil in a 9x13 baking dish and arrange caps to fill them, season inside with salt and pepper. Divide filling equally in mushroom caps, and sprinkle parm cheese on top of them.

Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, until cheese is melted and everything is heated through. Serve immediately.

This is another pretty simple and flavorful vegetarian dish! I will most defiantly try this again or do a different variation of it. The combination of the fresh basil, oregano and tomato gives this a yummy taste- almost like a deconstructed mushroom pizza with no crust. Enjoy!

Credits:

quinoa stuffed mushrooms

Baked Haddock

We've been trying to eat fish more often and my husband really wanted me to make a "New England Bake" which, I guess, Is just baked haddock with crackers on top. Of course I wanted to make it as delicious as possible so I tweaked it a little. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound of haddock filets
• 3 tablespoons butter melted
• 3 tablespoons white cooking wine
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 lemon
• 12 buttered crackers crumbled
• italian seasoning

Slice lemon in half, set aside one half for juice and continue slicing other half into thing slices. Arrange lemon slices in bottom of a baking dish.

Squeeze other half of lemon into a dish, add butter, wine, minced garlic- pour a tiny bit of this mixture over the sliced lemon in the baking dish. Arrange filets over lemon, pour rest of the mixture over the fish. ( I rubbed the filets with the mixture after to make sure that they were well coated)

Sprinkle with crumbled crackers, and italian seasoning.

Bake at 425 for about 15 minutes, or until the fish flakes apart.

This was so amazingly flavorful, I can't even begin to describe how delicious this haddock was. It was better than anything that I've ever got in a restaurant. I highly recommend  making this dish. I literally prepared this, steamed broccoli and made rice all at the same time and everything was done in under a half hour. Enjoy!

Credits:

Baked Haddock

Smoky Sweet Potato Burgers with Roasted Garlic Cream and Avocado

When I saw this recipe I knew that I just had to make it. It was surprisingly very simple to make, I made the mix for the "burgers" earlier in the day so it could chill and tighten up in the fridge. The same thing with roasting the garlic for the cream sauce- and throwing that together. So by the time dinner rolled around I just threw the burgers on the griddle and that was that.

SWEET POTATO BURGERS:

• 2 medium sized sweet potatoes coarsely mashed
• 1 small can of cannellini beans (rinsed and drained)
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 egg slightly beaten
• 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 avocado sliced
• whole wheat buns

To cook sweet potatoes, fork them all over place on a paper towel, place in microwave for 5 minutes, turn over and heat for another 5 minutes- when cooled enough scoop flesh from skin.

In a bowl coarsely mash beans then add in sweet potato flesh. Add garlic, panko, flour, egg and seasonings- keep in fridge until ready to use.

ROASTED GARLIC CREAM:

• 2 bulbs of garlic
• 3/4 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• salt and pepper to taste

To roast the garlic, I peeled all of the cloves- place in a small baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Cover with foil and roast at 375 for about 45 minutes, remove from pan right after so they don't continue to cook and burn on the bottom.

Combine garlic, yogurt, maple syrup and blend together in a food processor or blender until smooth, add salt and pepper to taste. ( I used my magic bullet) Put in fridge until ready to use.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Remove mixture from fridge and form into 4 equal patties, then place in the skillet once hot. Since the mixture can be wet and messy, do not move until they are fully cooked and golden on one side! This takes about 5-6 minutes. Then, add more oil if needed (this really helps cook them) and flip burgers very gently. Cook for another 5-6 minutes. Toast buns if desired.

Assemble burgers with sliced avocados and garlic cream.

This was absolutely delicious. The consistency of the burgers was almost that of hummus because of the mashed beans. And the roasted garlic cream was so good I wish I had made more to keep in the fridge and put on some other things. This made a good amount of burger mix, so it can be kept in the fridge to use for up to a week. Enjoy!

 The boys Loved it!! :)

Credits:

Smoky Sweet Potato Burgers

Salisbury Steak with Potato Pancakes

I didn't realize when I first started this meal that the gravy itself was going to take over 40 minutes to make... I really enjoyed it, but it wasn't to fun doing it with hungry children at my feet. Points off Mom for not reading the whole recipe before I began. Regardless, it was probably the one of the best gravy's that I've made. S0- Here we go...

ONION GRAVY:

• 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups  beef broth
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 3 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
• Salt and pepper

Heat butter in a large sauté pan. Add onions and cook over medium-high heat, until onions start to brown, stirring occasionally.

When onions are slightly softened and turning a deep honey brown, add 1/4 cup broth. Reduce heat, cover and continue cooking, adding more broth as needed to prevent caramelized bits at the bottom of the pan from burning.

It should take at least 25 to 30 minutes to properly caramelize onions. Stir in flour and cook for about 2 minutes. Add wine and reduce by half. Stir in remaining beef broth and tomato paste. Stir in cider vinegar. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to low and keep warm.

SALISBURY STEAK PATTIES: 

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup cooked white rice
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons parsley 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

 Mix ground beef, rice, egg yolk, salt, pepper, onion, Worcestershire sauce, parsley in a bowl. Shape into oval patties about 3/4-inch thick. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet set over medium-high heat. Sear patties about 3 minutes per side, or until a brown crust forms. Pour gravy over patties and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Serve warm 

 POTATO PANCAKES:

• 4 pounds potatoes, peeled and shredded 
• add in scallions, cilantro or any herb to make it colorful
• 1 egg white
• salt and pepper
• veggie oil

Squeeze the shredded potatoes dry. In a large bowl, using 2 forks, mix the shredded potatoes with the scallions, egg white, salt and pepper.

Heat up skillet to high and add about a tablespoon of oil to coat bottom.

Add the potato mixture to the skillets and press into firm cakes. Set a heatproof plate or glass pie plate over each cake just to cover it. Weight down each plate with a large, heavy can and reduce the heat to moderate. Cook for 5 minutes.

Carefully remove plate and flip pancakes, cover again with a plate and cook for an additional 10 minutes until brown and crispy. Repeat process with the rest of the mixture. 

Credits:

scallion potato pancakes

salisbury steak with caramelized onion gravy

Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

This is a really easy, essentially 2 part recipe. Baking the spaghetti squash, and making the sauce. Simple!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 medium-sized spaghetti squash
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 Tablespoon cream cheese 
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus 2 Tablespoons extra for topping
•  salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• Crushed red pepper flakes and fresh parsley, for optional garnish

First place the squash in a baking dish, and CAREFULLY pierce the skin multiple times with a knife.

Bake at 375 for about an Hour and a half until skin is easily pierced all the way through with a fork.

Set aside to cool for 15-20 minutes, and start the sauce.

Melt butter in medium sauce pan over med low heat, once hot add garlic and cool for 1-2 minutes don't burn. Add in flour whisk for a minutes. Add milk, and whisk until there are no lumps. Once hot add cream cheese, stir until smooth remove from heat and add parm cheese, salt and pepper.

Cut cooled spaghetti squash in half, scoop out all seeds. Scoop flesh from squash, toss with Alfredo sauce, top with parsley! voila! 

The sauce was yummy, the squash was yummy... It was a little monochromatic flavor wise. I think I prefer to have a red sauce with the spaghetti squash. I think next time I might try a spicy red sauce  or vodka sauce.

Credits:

Skinny spaghetti squash alfredo

Frozen Blueberries Covered with Honey Greek Yogurt

Saw this online the other day and I specifically bought blueberries yesterday so I could make this for the kids. This is perfect for summer or when you want a sweet healthy snack without the guilt. I told Maxx they were Ice Cream fruit snacks. He bought it! The original recipe says to take a tooth pick and do each berry individually in the yogurt - I put yogurt in a ziplock with the blueberries, shook it and threw it on a cookie sheet and froze it. Looking at my pictures compared to the original, I think next time I will take the time and dip each individual berry to get a really nice coating. Regardless the kids loved them! I wish I had bought another thing of blueberries.

INGREDIENTS:

• Fresh Blueberries
• Honey Greek Yogurt

Take a toothpick and dip each berry in the yogurt, place on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper and freeze.

Easy Peasy! The kids love it! Mom's Happy! Enjoy!

Credits:

yogurt covered frozen blueberries

Spinach and Parmesan Orzo with Sun Dried Tomato and Basil Chicken Sausage

I really meant to make this meal last week when I bought the chicken sausage, but by the time the end of the week rolled around Mike wanted to get take out, then the next day when I was going to make it the spinach I had bought specifically for it had gone bad. Ugh I hate throwing food away. So when I went shopping yesterday I was determined to make this meal and finally use that sausage in the fridge. Super easy, the only thing you really have to prepare is the orzo and spinach. The sausage comes pre cooked so after the spinach was done I just threw it in the same pan to brown up and heat.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 tablespoons butter, divided 2 tablespoons for the orzo and then 2 for the spinach
• 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
• 14.5 ounces of water
• 2 teaspoons chicken base
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 (10 oz) bag of baby spinach
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• Sun Dried Tomato and Basil Chicken Sausage 

In a sauce pan melt 2 TBS butter and add Orzo- cook for a few minutes until lightly browned, Add water and Chicken base- Bring to boil - Reduce heat - cover and simmer for about 12 minutes or until water is absorbed and pasta is tender.

In another pan melt 2 TBS butter and add garlic- Add whole bag of spinach and sauté until wilted. Set Aside.

Brown sausage for 9 minutes in same pan as spinach.

When orzo is done, add sautéed spinach and Parm Cheese, stir to combine. Add a little pepper and salt if needed.

Serve Sausage on top of Spinach Parmesan Orzo. 

Yummy fast dish to make, from start to end you can pretty much do this in 20 minutes! We ate ours with a side salad as usual. Something you can feel good    about eating afterward. Enjoy!

Credits:
Spinach Parmesan Orzo

Blackened Chicken with Mushroom Quinoa and Avocado Cream Sauce

I've been dying to make quinoa lately and had pretty much all of the ingredients to make this dish- although the way I prepared the quinoa was a little different than the original recipe- and my chickened didn't turn out quite as blackened as I would have hoped. It was a flavorful dish none the less. Enjoy!!

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• ½ Teaspoon of Paprika
• 1 Teaspoon of Salt
• 1 Teaspoon of Pepper
• 1 Teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
• 1 Teaspoon of Onion Powder
• 2 Teaspoon of Olive Oil
• 2 Cups of Chicken stock 
• 1 Cup of Quinoa
• Juice and Zest from Two Limes
• A Dash of Salt and Pepper
• 2 Avocados
• 1 onion diced
• 1 cup of sliced mushrooms
• 1/4 cup of white cooking wine
• 1/4 cup of plain greek yogurt

Combine stock and quinoa in a sauce pan and bring to a simmer, reduce heat cover and cook for about 15 minutes until water is absorbed. 

Combine all of the dry spices and coat both sides of the chicken. Heat up 2 table spoons of olive oil in a pan, when hot add chicken and cook for about 7 minutes on each side until completely cooked. Set aside to cool.

Throw the diced onions in the same pan the chicken was cooking in and sauté for about 3 minutes until translucent, hit it with the white wine to deglaze then add in the mushrooms and cook until well coated and cooked through.

Add cooked quinoa to mushroom, onion, wine sauté and cook on low for 3 minutes to combine all of the flavors. Add 1/2 of a lime of juice.

To make the Avocado cream sauce, take the flesh of the avocados and the greek yogurt, add 1/2 lime of juice salt and pepper.

Put mushroom quinoa on plate, slice chicken and place over it. Put some avocado sauce on top and squeeze some fresh lime juice over everything to finish it off. 

This was a super yummy dish and the mushrooms and wine in the quinoa gave it a really awesome flavor in contrast to the avocado cream sauce. I'll most likely make this dish, or a variation of in the future. 

 Credits:

Blackened Chicken with Lime cilantro Quinoa

Homemade Sausage and Mushroom White Lasagna

I saw this recipe last week and knew that I had to do it. First of all, I never made a white sauced lasagna before. Second of all, I had a pound of ground pork in my freezer and wanted to try my hand at making my own sausage. So this was really fun for me to put together on a Sunday afternoon (The sausage I made the day before). The 'sausage' by the way, was essentially ground pork with a bunch of seasonings rolled in wax paper and left in the fridge for 24 hours, so don't get nervous when I say - 'I made my own sausage'. 

SAUSAGE:

• 1 Pound Ground Pork
• 1 table spoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano 
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 3/4 teaspoon paprika
• 3/4 teaspoon red pepper flake
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar

Place the pork and red wine in a bowl and add all of the above ingredients. Kneed until all flecks of spice are evenly distributed through the sausage. Roll up into saran wrap or wax paper, place in a zip lock bag and into fridge (for use within 24 hours, or freezer to save).

LASAGNA INGREDIENTS:

• Box of lasagna noodles cooked 
• 4 cups whole milk
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 pound of Italian sausage (ground)
• 12 tablespoons butter, divided (1 stick plus 4 tablespoons)
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 1/2 pounds of mushrooms (I used large sliced and oyster)
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 cups shredded gruyere cheese
• fresh parsley for garnish

First - Sauté up the ground sausage in a pan for about 3 minutes, until almost cooked- then add the onions and cook until onions are translucent and pork is done. Set aside.

Then in the same pan heat up 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil put in 1/2 the mushrooms and some salt and pepper. Cook 2 or 3 minutes until mushrooms are evenly coated. Add 2 more tablespoons each of oil and butter and add the rest of the mushrooms, a little more salt and pepper - cook mushrooms for about 5 minutes until evenly coated and softened. Set aside.

To make the white sauce - first in a medium sized sauce pan bring milk to a simmer and set aside, while in a larger sauce pan melt 1 stick of butter, then add the flour at medium low heat stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Add all of milk into the butter and flour- add salt, pepper, basil and nutmeg and cook on med/low for 5 minutes until thickened. Set aside.

To assemble lasagna, spray 9x13 baking dish with non stick spray. Spread some white sauce at bottom of pan, layer lasagna noodles, 1/3 sausage onion mixture, 1/3 mushroom mixture, a little mozz and a little gruyere cheeses. Continue this 2 more times- lastly a layer of noodles, sauce and the remainder of the cheese should be on top. Bake at 375- for about 40 Minutes until top is browned and sauce is bubbly and hot. Let it sit at room temp for about 15 minutes, garnish with parsley and serve hot!

This was an amazingly rich and decedent dish. I was so impressed with how this came out, and the 9x13 pan served 6 adults, 1 child with 3 large pieces left over. It was very filling so a little piece goes a long way. All of the cheese is so tasty and the sausage and mushrooms give it just the right texture. The freshness of the parsley on top was a great contrast to such a heavy dish. This is definitely  a dish I will make again, or a variation of it because the white sauce it really yummy with just a hint of nutmeg, its different than anything that I've ever had before. I highly recommend trying this out.

Credits:

Home Made Sausage

Sausage Mushroom Lasagna

Banana Pancakes with Peanut Butter Chips

Today was Ollie's 1st birthday, and I wanted to do something special for breakfast but with little clean up because our breakfast routine is pretty hectic. Even though I used boxed pancake mix, they came out very flavorful with the convenience  of using one bowl for it all. And adding the peanut butter chips give it just the right amount of sweetness you don't even need syrup. Because lets face it, I will never give a 1 year old or 3 year old anything with syrup on it ever. I'd be cleaning it up for the next 20 years.

INGREDIENTS:

• Boxed Pancake Mix (usually you need oil, egg and milk for this)
• 1Ripe banana 
• Peanut Butter Chips (I had Reese's in the house)

Make the pancake according to directions, I just did the smallest batch 10-12 pancakes. Soften the banana with a fork and blend it into the batter. Preheat Griddle to 375 and spray with cooking spray when heated up. Pour the batter into desired amount of pancakes- and right before you're ready to flip them- place some peanut butter chips on top of the pancakes. Flip- continue cooking and serve.

I know most people don't need directions on how to make boxed pancakes- but this is just a cool thing I do for the kids so they can still have something sweet in the morning, without tons of butter, syrup or chocolate chips. 

Steak and Cheese Stuffed Peppers

A little weird for someone, prior to last week, that had never made stuffed peppers before- now be making them twice in 2 weeks. Last week I did couscous, corn and black bean stuffed peppers - and they came out amazing!! I loved it so much that I really wanted to do a stuffed pepper with meat in it this week.

I feel like every time I cook small cuts of beef for steak and cheese or stir fries I over cook it. The beef is always grey looking and super rubbery. And Even though I could be using the freshest ingredients- the dishes were always lacking. So, when I saw a variation of this recipe and that they were using roast beef from the deli, I was thrilled!! I didn't have to cook my own beef, and it was gong to be awesomely easy. And it was. Tonight was Oliver's 1st birthday dinner, and I wanted him to have something he hasn't tried before.

                                                               INGREDIENTS:

• 3 Bell peppers halved and gutted
• 1 Onion diced
• 1 cup Sliced mushrooms
• 1 table spoon minced garlic
• 3/4 Pound of thin and trim roast beef shredded
• 1/4 pound of sliced swiss cheese (or whatever you have on hand)
• 1/4 cup shredded jack cheese
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 1 table spoon worcestershire  sauce
• 1 table spoon steak sauce

Place pepper half's in a pot of water on the stove, simmer for 10 minutes to just lightly soften the peppers.

While peppers are simmering, in a pan sautee onions and bit of left over pepper in olive oil, salt and pepper until soft, add garlic and mushrooms and a little more olive oil. Sautee until mushrooms soften.

Add in the beef, salt, pepper, and sauces. Cook about 2 minutes to combine flavors.

Arrange peppers in a baking dish, put cheese in the bottom of each pepper, then add your steak filling. Top with the 

remainder of the cheese. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes until cheese is melted.

This is a great low-carb version of a steak and cheese sandwich. I cut a stuffed pepper up and the kids ate it on top of linguine. We ate ours with a side salad and baked potato. 



Credits:
Philly Stuffed Peppers