Shrimp Alfredo with Pasta

Look at this treat!!

I was going to make pasta with the Bolognese sauce I had in the freezer but I had a little free time after work so I went to the store for the ingredients (turns out I only needed the shrimp!).

For some reason, white creamy sauce was very appealing to me last night over tomato sauce. Maybe because it's so much more caloric?!

The recipe for this sauce came from Tasty Kitchen via The Pioneer Woman. The recipe was created by A Sweet Pea Chef. (See how a recipe can really get around quickly?!)

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 lb. shrimp, deveined, peeled & tails removed

4 Tablespoons butter

3 garlic cloves, pressed

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup milk

3 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded

1/2 teaspoon pepper

a pinch of salt if needed

your favorite pasta, I used bucatini

Put a large pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil. Once a rolling boil is reached, add a few pinches of salt and the pasta. Cook according to package directions.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the shrimp and cook about 2-3 minutes on each side or until nice and pink. It does not take long at all. Remove shrimp from the pan to a plate.

In another large non stick skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the cream cheese and whisk until smooth. As you continue to whisk, slowly add the milk. Finally, whisk in the cheese and pepper. Taste to see if it needs salt.

Add the shrimp and pasta to the sauce and toss.

Caesar Salad Linguine with Grilled Shrimp

Continuing my quest to make healthy, fresh and unique meals, I tried Caesar Salad Pasta, also from Cuisine at Home. This recipe calls for a can of anchovy fillets in order to make an authentic caesar dressing. I have never worked with anchovies before but I am happy to report they are easy to use and taste great. But I think you have to try it for yourselves because I was hesitant!

I had some trouble with the croutons - they burned on the grill! Next time, I would make skewers of shrimp only and croutons only, which is how I wrote the recipe below. I wouldn't alternate on the same skewer as the recipe says because the bread will burn before the shrimp is done.

8oz dry linguine
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup diced shallots
1 can (2 oz.) anchovy fillets in oil, minced
3 Tablespoons minced garlic
2 Tablespoons minced lemon zest
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
salt and pepper

Boil linguine in a large pot of salted water according to package directions; drain and set aside.

Melt butter with oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add shallots and anchovies and cook until shallots are soft and anchovies melt, about 3 minutes. Add garlic; cook until fragrant, 1 minute.

Stir in lemon juice, zest, Worcestershire and pepper flakes. Toss linguine with sauce to coat.

Off heat, toss romaine and Parmesan with pasta and season with salt and pepper.

Serve pasta with grilled shrimp and croutons.

Grilled Shrimp & Crouton Skewers

1/2 cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon minced lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
24 large shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails left on
24 cubes Italian baguette, 1-inch thick

Preheat grill to medium. Brush grill grate with oil.

Whisk together oil, zest, juice, salt and pepper in a medium bowl and set aside.

Thread shrimp on 4 metal skewers. Thread bread on 4 metal skewers. Brush all skewers with lemon oil. Grill, covered, 2-3 minutes per side.

*You can use wooden skewers as long as you soak them for at least 15 minutes before use or they will burn.*

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

Continuing on with the fiesta on Saturday, here is a recipe for a delicious summer salad. I got the recipe from a blog that Bec showed and I'm loving it: Gina's Skinny Recipes. There are so many great recipes on this site! I have made many things from her.

1 lb shrimp, cooked, deveined, peeled and chopped

1 tomato, seeded and diced

1 avocado, diced

1/2 jalapeno pepper, finely diced

Juice of 2 limes

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped

salt

pepper

In a small bowl, combine lime juice, oil, pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the shrimp, tomato, avocado and jalapeno. Pour dressing over top and add cilantro. Toss gently. Add more salt and pepper if necessary.

**You can also add some finely diced red onion in the dressing but we did not because we're not big onion lovers**

The Pioneer Woman's Penne a la Betsy

Bec gave me the Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook a few years ago for my birthday and it has been used very frequently. It is actually my goal to make everything in the book. So far I haven't made anything that I don't like!
t
I have been wanting to make Penne a la Betsy for so long now and last night I finally made it happen. Adam isn't a huge pasta guy but if you add cream and shrimp, he's on board!
p
This recipe is incredibly easy and incredibly delicious! What more could you ask for!?? I highly recommend giving this a try!

Thank you, Pioneer Woman!
i



3/4 pound penne pasta (or any other pasta - I used rigatoni)
1 pound shrimp
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 8oz. can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
Fresh parsley
Fresh basil
Pepper to taste
Salt to taste
;
Cook the pasta until al dente.
;
Peel, devein and rinse (under cold water) the shrimp. Heat about 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil in a large fry pan over medium high heat. Add shrimp and cook until just opaque. Do not overcook. Remove from pan onto cutting board and let cool a few minutes. Pull off tails and chop into bite sized pieces. Set aside.
;
Finely dice onion; mince garlic. Heat 2 tablespoons oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic. Saute and stir occasionally for a few minutes. Then add wine. Stir occasionally while wine evaporates for 5 minutes.

Add tomato sauce and stir to combine. While stirring, add cream. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for about 8 minutes.
;
Now chop some basil and parsley. (I used about 6 large basil leave and omitted the parsley).

Add shrimp to the cream sauce and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the herbs and finally stir in pasta. Mix until combined and serve immediately.

;

Roasted Chickpeas with Shrimp

In our quest to get sexy wedding day bodies, Adam and I have been looking for healthy dinner recipes. When I was on the South Beach Diet, I found a blog called Kayln's Kitchen and she features tons of great SBD recipes. So I was looking at her site and she recommended a recipe from Whistlestop Cafe Cooking. Chickpeas (I love) and shrimp (Adam loves). I thought it sounded like a hit!


I made it tonight and it was quite tasty! The chickpeas get a nice roasted taste and get a bit crunchy. Shrimp keeps the meal light.


Here is the recipe, adapted from Whistlestop:



1 pound shrimp, peeled
1 can 14.5 oz. chickpeas
2 green onions, chopped - I didn't use cause Adam doesn't care for them
2 tsp lemon juice
2 Tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dried parsley

salt and pepper



Preheat oven to 400°. Cover a baking sheet with foil.


Rinse the chickpeas and place in a bowl with onions (if using), parsley, lemon juice and oil. Toss in paprika, generously salt and pepper to taste. Allow to sit until ready to roast. Peel and clean shrimp.


Pour the chickpeas onto prepared baking sheet. Place in a hot oven and roast for 10-15 minutes, stirring halfway through. Move chickpeas to end of pan but still in a single layer and place shrimp directly on pan. Roast chickpeas and shrimp for another 5 minutes until the shrimp are pink and curled.

Labor Day Weekend Fête - Part 3

And the menu goes on...


We grilled up some sliced sausages, green peppers (from our garden!) and onions on skewers. We used some spicy kielbasa and chicken sausages. My mom spotted the recipe in a Paula Deen magazine. Once the kabobs came off the grill and were placed in the chafing dish, we poured a sauce over it:
Whisk together 3 tablespoons steak sauce, 3 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce and 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard.
As recommended by Paula, you can de-skewer the cooked sausage, onions and peppers, put them in a long roll and top with the sauce.

You can see the kielbasa on the left and the chicken on the right.

See the whole grain mustard in the kabob sauce.

I whipped up a big batch of sangria - a staple for summer parties at our house. A good friend Esther, who was a Spanish teaching assistant at Hollins, gave me this authentic recipe:

This is for a very large crowd. You can always divide it down to make less.

2 1.5 liter bottles red wine
64 oz. orange juice
98 oz. lemonade
2 cups white rum
3 cinnamon sticks
3 oranges cut into bite sized pieces
3 apples cut into bite sized pieces
½ cup sugar (more if desired)

Mix together and let sit for 2 hours. Do not let sit overnight because the taste changes drastically. Drink all in the same day (not difficult!).

We added shrimp to the menu at the last minute. Since we had a large supply of skewers and lemons, we sliced up the lemons and added a wedge with the shrimp on each kabob. Due to short notice, we simply added Lawry's Herb and Garlic marinade, olive oil and dried cilantro to the kabobs and let them marinade for a few hours before they were grilled for 2-3 minutes on each side. Easy and wonderful!

Tomorrow I will finish up with a potato dish and the desserts!

Photos by Bec.

Fried Shrimp Salad

Here is a very yummy salad from Paula Deen's September magazine! It makes a filling dinner - chockfull of calories because of the shrimp but you also get lots of green veggies!

Fried Shrimp Salad

Makes 2 large salads

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 shallot, minced

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 (6 oz.) bag 5-lettuce mix

1 (5 oz) bag spring lettuce mix

1/2 cup asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces, and blanched (steam for just 2 minutes)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup bleu cheese crumbles

1/4 cup candied pecans (we used plain, chopped)

12 frozen, breaded shrimp (Paula says to fry them but we baked them according to package directions)

In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, shallot, honey, mustard and pepper.

In a large blowl, combine lettuce mixes, asparagus, cranberries, bleu cheese, and pecans.

Just before serving, plate the lettuce and top with shrimp. Add desired amount of dressing. Serve immediately.

Playing with my macro function. Oh this looks so good!

You can, of course, fry your own shrimp but I have yet to master frying anything. Grilled shrimp would also be good and be healthier.

You can play around with adding other vegetables like squash - or goat cheese instead of bleu would give it a softer texture and less intense cheese taste.

Even if you don't want to make the entire salad, the dressing is especially good and simple to make together!

Herb's Herbed Shrimp

This is the second time in two weeks that I've made this shrimp on the grill! I got the marinade recipe from the Mystic Seaport Seafood Secrets Cookbook: Volume 2. My mom and I picked this book up when we were visiting Mystic, Connecticut back in 2003 during my college search.

2 pounds jumbo shrimp, deveined - with or without shells (I peeled mine but you can also keep them on until done on the grill)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons minced parsley (I used fresh)

2 teaspoons tarragon leaves (I used dried)

6 cloves garlic, minced

Generous amounts of freshly ground salt and pepper

g

Mix all ingredients in a non-metallic bowl. Let marinade for 2 to 3 hours in the refrigerator. Cook in grilling baskets on a medium-high heat grill until done, 3-4 minutes per side.

Here, the little guys were just thrown on the grill.

Perfectly done!

Photos by Bec.

Summer Party Series - Shrimp Kabobs

We make these kabobs multiple times throughout the grilling season. They're super easy and everyone loves them!

shrimp, deveined & peeled but leave the tail on

lemon wedges (can get 8 wedges from a lemon - make sure you get all the seeds out)

coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves

olive oil

salt & pepper

wooden skewers

Soak the wooden skewers for 15 minutes so they don't burn on the grill. Alternately thread the shrimp and lemon wedges onto the kabobs. Sprinkle with cilantro, salt and pepper. Brush with olive oil. Grill until done.

You can prepare these ahead of time and then add the olive oil right before grilling. If you put the olive oil on and then refrigerate them, the oil congeals.

Here's the shrimp on the bar-bee! Ok, well not exactly, but... My dad rented a 6 foot charcoal grill for the graduation party. We weren't exactly prepared because the grill got sooo hot and our tongs and potholders were not big enough to shield us from the heat! After a few singed hairs and red arms, we had some delicious grilled meat!

Here is the done shrimp in the chafing dish beside the meatballs (will post about those suckers later).

Photos by Rebecca