Garlic and Feta Shrimp Linguini

On Friday, I was seeking a good meal for a meat-less dinner...enter the bag of frozen shrimp I had in my freezer.  I threw this together without a recipe, though I'm sure there are similar versions out there, I didn't use one specific version and threw things together that sounded delicious!  It turned out very good.  Simple, flavorful, quick - you can't beat that!  Once again, it earned the thumbs-up seal of approval from my husband.

Garlic and Feta Shrimp Linguini

Ingredients

• 1 bag of frozen shrimp (raw, but peeled and deveined), thawed and patted dry
• 3 T. unsalted butter
• 2 T. extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced/pressed
• Seasonings of your choice, I used a Sicilian blend I had on hand
• Feta cheese, crumbled or cut into small chunks
• Linguini, cooked and drained
• Parsley for garnish

Directions

• Heat a high-walled, heavy pan over medium high heat.
• Melt butter and oil together pan.
• Add shrimp into one layer.
• Sprinkle seasonings of your choice over shrimp.
• Cook on one side for about 2 minutes, then flip, add the garlic and cook until done - when shrimp are curled up tightly and firm.  Don't overcook or they will get rubbery and tough.
• Add your cooked linguini into the shrimp and butter, stirring to mix well and coat the noodles with the sauce/garlic.
• Once served up in bowls or dishes, mix in the feta cheese and garnish with parsley.

Shrimp Stir Fry

I am getting out of my cooking rut and thinking up new things to try.  I've made this stir fry in the past with chicken, but this time I added shrimp and  the results were delicious. It's been a long time since I made a stir fry and once you get the ingredients all chopped and prepped, it is so easy!  This one actually tastes like takeout at home!  I got the seal of approval from my taste-tester (a.k.a. my husband) several times.

Shrimp Stir Fry
Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 1 bag of frozen shrimp, peeled and deveined, thawed
• ½ c. lower sodium Soy Sauce
• 3 T. Sugar
• ½ c. low sodium chicken broth, divided
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 3 T. canola oil, divided
• Half of white onion
• 1.5 c. chopped fresh broccoli florets
• 2 cloves garlic
• 10 whole mushrooms, sliced
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into thin planks
• 1 can baby corn, cut into pieces
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Directions

• Prepare all vegetables and have them ready.
• Mix ½ cup soy sauce with sugar. Stir together and set aside. 
• Mix ¼ cup chicken broth with arrowroot. Stir together and set aside. Measure an additional ¼ cup chicken broth. Set aside.
• To begin stir fry, heat skillet or wok over high heat. When it’s hot, drizzle in 2 Tablespoon canola oil.
• Add shrimp to skillet and fry quickly, stirring around for 2 to 3 minutes. When just cooked through, remove to a separate bowl.
• Add additional 1 tablespoon canola oil to same skillet. Throw in onions and cook for 1 minute. Add broccoli and carrots, cooking for about 2 minutes. Add garlic. Stir. Add mushrooms and stir. Cook for 45 seconds. Add baby corn. Stir.
• Pour in ¼ cup chicken broth and soy sauce/sugar mixture. Drizzle in sesame oil.
• Dump in cooked shrimp. Stir together. Pour in chicken broth/arrowroot mixture. Stir together, then turn off heat. Sauce will be much thicker and glossier.
• Serve over cooked rice.

Shrimp Burgers

 

This is another recipe I had starred in my Google Reader to try.  I had all of the ingredients on hand along with some fresh burger buns, voila!  Dinner's ready!  It was very easy to put together and dinner was ready within a half hour.

Shrimp Burgers
Recipe courtesy of No Fear Entertaining

Ingredients

• 1 pound shrimp
• 2 Tbsp onions or scallions, diced finely  
• 3 Tbsp celery, diced 
• 2 Tbsp parsley, chopped 
• 2 Tbsp red pepper, finely diced 
• 11/2 teaspoons lemon zest 
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise 
• 1 cup bread crumbs (or cornbread crumbs) 
• 1 egg, beaten 
• Salt and pepper, to taste  
• Peanut Oil or your choice for pan

Directions

• Cook & peel the shrimp & chop or grind up.
• In a large bowl mix the shrimp with the onions, parsley, red pepper & lemon zest. Stir in the mayonnaise, bread crumbs and the egg & beat with a whisk or wooden spoon until evenly distributed. Season with salt & pepper to taste. 
• Form into patties and saute in oil until both sides are nicely browned. Drain on paper towel. Serve on hamburger buns or choice of bread with lettuce, tomato & sauce (tartar or I used a Chili Mayo sauce). We used soft rolls and homemade tartar sauce.

Shrimp in a Lemon Cream Sauce

Found: Frozen shrimp in the back of the freezer.
Reward: A delicious dinner!

I didn't follow any real recipe for this meal, but instead just used a couple basics to whip up a shrimp dish that knocked my husband's socks off!

Shrimp in Lemon Cream Sauce
Recipe courtesy of Me

Ingredients

• 1 lb. shrimp, peeled, deveined and de-tailed
• Splash of olive oil
• 2 tbs. butter
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 tbs. all-purpose flour
• Salt
• Pepper
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2.5 cups of whole milk

Directions

• Heat skillet over medium high heat.
• Add olive oil and place shrimp in a concentric circle in pan and season with salt & pepper, cooking for 3 minutes on first side, then flipping, seasoning and cooking an additional 2 minutes on the other.
• Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside.
• Reduce heat to medium low and add butter to pan.
• Add minced garlic and cook for one minute.
• Whisk in flour and continue to whisk until a golden brown.
• Slowly add the milk, continuing to whisk until completely incorporated.
• Season with salt, pepper, lemon zest and lemon juice.
• Bring heat back up until a simmer and the sauce thickens to coat the back of a spoon.
• Add shrimp back into the sauce and let them heat back through.
• Serve over the pasta of your choice, garnished with parsley.

Lemon Pepper Grilled Scallops

For this beautiful, sunny day, my husband and I took a trip to our local Farmer's Market and to our local grocery store to gather items for tonight's dinner. Nothing sounded better than a plate of grilled scallops and a light, refreshing salad...so that's exactly what we got! Along with these scallops, we had a dish new to us, Watermelon & Feta Salad.

Lemon Pepper Grilled Scallops

Ingredients

• 1 lb. large fresh scallops
• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 1 tsp. Lemon Pepper seasoning
• 1 tsp. fresh lemon zest
• 1 tbs. fresh lemon juice

Directions

Pat scallops dry and place into a medium sized container. Pour olive oil and lemon juice over the scallops, then sprinkle with the Lemon Pepper seasoning, stirring to combine. Let sit and marinate in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes until you are ready to grill.

While scallops are marinating, pre-heat grill to high, 15 minutes later, clean grates with a brush then wipe the grates with a paper towel dipped in vegetable oil (holding the paper towel with a pair of tongs).

After cleaning, place scallops directly on the grill, cover and let cook for 3-4 minutes on first side, then flip and continue cooking for about 3 minutes on the second side. Remove and enjoy!!!

Shrimp Tempura, Part II

Remember the post when my parents sent me the shrimp picture and recipe from Cooks Illustrated? When my husband and I visited them this past weekend, my mom was kind enough to make this shrimp for us to try and it was FABULOUS...I would highly recommend trying this!!

Shrimp Tempura
Recipe courtesy of Cooks Illustrated, May 2009

Ingredients

• 3 qts. vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails on
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup vodka
• 1 cup Seltzer water
• Kosher Salt

Directions
Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. In large, heavy Dutch oven fitted with clip-on candy thermometer, heat oil over high heat to 385 degrees, 18 to 22 minutes.

While oil heats, make 2 shallow cuts about ¼ inch deep and 1 inch apart on underside of each shrimp. Whisk flour and cornstarch together in large bowl. Whisk egg and vodka together in second large bowl. Whisk seltzer water into egg mixture.

When oil reaches 385 degrees, pour liquid mixture into bowl with flour mixture and whisk gently until just combined (it is OK if small lumps remain). Submerge half of shrimp in batter. Using tongs, remove shrimp from batter 1 at a time, allowing excess batter to drip off, and carefully place in oil (temperature should now be at 400 degrees). Fry, stirring with chopstick or wooden skewer to prevent sticking, until light brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer shrimp to paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle with salt. Once paper towels absorb excess oil, place shrimp on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet and place in oven.

Return oil to 400 degrees, about 4 minutes, and repeat with remaining shrimp.

Fish Tacos

I've decided to try and incorporate more seafood and healthier foods into our diets, so our fridge is now stocked full with fresh veggies and less red meat. I asked my husband to take out some fish for dinner and wanted to find a way to twist up our regular baked Tilapia...I used it in this recipe I found on the New York Times website, check it out HERE!

I served the tacos with flour tortillas, homemade pico de gallo, shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, lime and a sauce I whipped up (see below).

Garlic Cilantro Sour Cream Sauce

• Juice of 1/2 Lime
• 1/4 cup chopped Cilantro
• 1 tbs. minced or pressed garlic
• 1 cup of sour cream
• 1/2 cup of plain yogurt
• Pepper to taste

Mix all together well, chill in refrigerator to let flavors mix before using.

Baked Shrimp Scampi

I had this marked in my Google Reader from Annie over at Annie's Eats..she has such a fabulous blog and is so nice, go check out her blog...go ahead, I'll wait here....just be sure to come back!!

Ok, so I saw this and thought it looked wonderful! I worked late today and Paul said he would go to the store for me and make this for dinner for us...and he did. It was really good, it had a really good flavor! Definitely satisfied my seafood craving!

Baked Shrimp Scampi
Recipe courtesy of Annie's Eats, originally from Barefoot Contessa, Back to Basics cookbook

Ingredients

• 1 lb. large shrimp in the shell (I use about 20/lb. size)
• 1 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. dry white wine
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 tsp. minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
• 2 tbsp. minced shallots
• 1 1/2 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
• 1/2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary leaves
• 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
• 1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup panko (used regular Italian breadcrumbs)
• Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture.
• In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, bread crumbs, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of black pepper until combined.
• Starting from the center of an oval or round baking dish, arrange the shrimp in a single layer in the dish. Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Place under the broiler for 1 additional minute to brown the top. Serve with lemon wedges.
  

Friday Fish & Chips

I saw the recipe for Alton Brown's Chips and Fish on Bridget's beautiful blog, The Way the Cookie Crumbles....I thought it looked FABULOUS.....and a little lightbulb went off right over my head like "*BING* You have an electric deep fryer in a box downstairs!!!" So, we broke it in using this recipe.

I used cod fillets and cut them into smaller chunks, made the french fries and got to work on the fish. It got stuck to the basket. I had to pry it out, but it looked promising. I know what to do next time to prevent that, but I guess I learned some valuable frying lessons this time around.

The taste was delicious...it was very time consuming though and not something I would make all the time, but I'm glad to say that I did make homemade fish & chips. Now, to work on airing out the condo from smelling like a greasy spoon!!!!

You can find the recipe that I used here...I followed it pretty much exactly, however I used Cod and omitted the Old Bay Seasoning, only because I didn't have any!

I also made my own Tartar Sauce...for this:

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups of Mayo (I used Hellman's Light)
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tbs. finely minced onion
• 3 tbs. jarred pickle relish
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. dried dill

Directions

• Mix all together, chill in fridge until you are ready to use.

Roasted Broccoli and Shrimp

Paul and I love this recipe for roasted broccoli that I found on Amateur Gourmet. I just love Adam's blog, I think he has a fabulous sense of humor and his recipes are great as well. This is another winner...simple and filling, I served this over rice. An easy and quick weeknight meal! I love those.

Roasted Broccoli and Shrimp
Recipe courtesy of Adam at Amateur Gourmet

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. broccoli florets
• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds (I omitted)
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/8 tsp. chili powder (I used paprika)

• 1 lb. peeled & deveined shrimp
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper

Directions

• Heat the oven to 425.
• On a large baking sheet, toss together 2 pounds of broccoli cut up into florets, 2 tbs. olive oil, 1 tsp. whole coriander seeds (or 1/2 tsp. ground), 1 tsp. whole cumin seeds (or 1/2 tsp. ground), 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper & 1/8th tsp. hot chili powder (I used paprika). Spread into a single layer & put in the oven for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, toss together one pound large shrimp, shelled & deveined, with 2 tbs. olive oil, lemon zest from one lemon, 1/2 tsp. salt & 1/2 tsp. pepper in a bowl. When the broccoli's been in the oven 10 minutes, add the shrimp to the broccoli and toss.
• Roast another 10 minutes, tossing once halfway through, until the broccoli is tender & browned.
  
• Serve in a big bowl of rice & squeeze some lemon on top...& I added Parmesan.

A delicious experiment

We had frozen Tilapia filets for a while now and with groceries dwindling in the house, it was time to get over my fears of making fish....what if it isn't done enough? What if we get sick? What if it turns out tough and rubbery? It will stink up the entire house!

Well, those fears were all completely unfounded! This mild, flaky fish was a cinch to put in the oven and 18-20 minutes later, a delicious meal! Along with this, I decided to make an Italian Baked Macaroni and Cheese...no recipe, just an idea based on this delicious mac & cheese that Paul and I had in the Italian Steakhouse on our cruise...this was close and with a few tweaks, it will be VERY close to what we had and loved!!

Baked Tilapia with Garlic Butter
Recipe courtesy of About.com

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• dash pepper
• dash salt
• pinch dried dillweed or parsley
• dash paprika
• 4 tilapia fillets

In saucepan, combine butter, garlic, pepper, salt, dillweed, and paprika. Heat over low heat until butter is melted and starts simmering. Remove from heat. Brush a little of the butter mixture in the bottom of a shallow baking dish (line baking dish with foil, if desired) then place tilapia fillets on the buttered area. Brush top of each tilapia fillet with the seasoned butter mixture. Bake at 350° for 12 to 15 minutes, until tilapia flakes easily with a fork.
Serves 2.

Italian Macaroni & Cheese
Recipe courtesy of me

• 2.5 cups Mini Farfalle (or any shaped/sized pasta)
• 1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 3 tbs. cream cheese
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 4 tbs. butter
• 4 tbs. flour
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. thyme
  
• 1 cup half and half

Breadcrumb topping:

• 1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
• 2 tbs. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil. Cook pasta according to directions.

Meanwhile, melt butter in smaller pot and add garlic, paprika, thyme, salt & pepper. Let set over low heat for the garlic to infuse into the butter for about 5-6 minutes.

Add flour to the butter, whisking constantly to form a roux. Cook for 3 minutes over medium low heat.

Add cream, whisking constantly. Let thicken over medium high heat for about 3 minutes.

Add cream cheese and stir in until mixed well and melted.

Add shredded cheeses and whisk until incorporated and melted. If too thick, add a splash of milk and whisk more.

Take drained pasta and add to cheese mixture, folding in until well coated.

Pour into a casserole dish that has been sprayed with a non-stick spray.

Melt 2 tbs. of butter and mix with the 1/2 cup of Italian breadcrumbs. Sprinkle the mixture on top of macaroni.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Delmonico Steak, Grilled Shrimp & Sweet Potato Rounds

We decided to cook steak, shrimp and sweet potatoes for dinner, pulling the steak and shrimp out of the freezer to defrost early in the day... After defrosted, we peeled the shrimp and rinsed under cold water.
Then, I skewered the shrimp and seasoned with salt, pepper, Emeril's Essence and Garlic powder, then juiced one lemon over the skewers and let that sit for about 10 minutes while Paul grilled the steak and sweet potatoes that I cut into thin round pieces. We brushed the sweet potatoes with olive oil and seasoned with salt.
For the steak, I seasoned with salt, pepper, Emeril's Essence and garlic powder, then poured Worcester sauce over it, letting it set for about 10 minutes before Paul grilled. When the steak and potatoes were finished, I brought them in to rest, while Paul grilled the shrimp skewers until pink and firm.

Here are the finished shrimp...I plated each dish (one large steak was enough for us to share) and served with sour cream for the potatoes and lemon butter to dunk the shrimp. I also squeezed some fresh lemon juice over the shrimp to give them a little more kick... Tasted great! Paul also made himself a simple salad to go with dinner as well.

Memorial Day Grilled Scallops

Don't these look absolutely delicious?

I had about 5 large scallops in the freezer and when Paul started the grill up, I thought that I should use these up! Paul doesn't care for scallops, so this treat was all mine.

I started by thawing the scallops well and then patting them completely dry with paper towel, setting them on a plate. I seasoned them with salt, pepper, a light drizzle of olive oil and lemon zest.

Then Paul popped them on the hot grill, which he had scrubbed well and rubbed with oil. You should take care not to overcook scallops, just as with shrimp. These cooked for 5 minutes per side...that might have been a minute long, but they came out well.
I then squeezed fresh lemon juice over them and sprinkled them with fresh flat leaf parsley. I melted some butter and added to that some lemon zest, juice and some pepper. Dip and enjoy!!
Paul then grilled up some perfect burgers...after those scallops, I had about half of one, but they sure were good none the less! We didn't have any corn on the cob, so we heated up the next best thing.