Not Shrimp Scampi

Really, it's not shrimp scampi. It's all the elements of scampi but different. Scampi is lemon, garlic, butter, and parsley. This is similar but I used lime and cilantro. I exchanged scallops for shrimp. I always put a pinch of cayenne pepper in my scampi but since I was going in a different direction with the lime and cilantro, I traded the cayenne in and used a pinch of chipotle chili powder. It turned out great. Everyone at dinner that night raved about it.



My favorite Shrimp Scampi recipe can be found here.

Shrimp Scampi over Spaghetti Squash

Garlic. Lemon. Butter. Shrimp. Delicious.



This is one of our favorite "Date Night" dishes. I make this when I want something special and to get us out of our chicken rut. One thing I do to make it different from most shrimp scampi dishes is to use spaghetti squash in place of regular pasta. My family actually likes it over the spaghetti squash better. It provides a nice contrast to the shrimp but still holds the sauce.

My favorite recipe for this comes from Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds large shrimp (21 to 25 per pound), peeled and deveined if desired
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 medium cloves garlic , minced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
cayenne pepper
Table salt and ground black pepper

Instructions

Heat 12-inch skillet over high heat until hot, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon oil and swirl to coat bottom of pan. Add 1 pound shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until just opaque, about 1 minute; transfer to medium bowl. Return pan to heat and repeat process with remaining oil and shrimp.

Return empty skillet to medium-low heat; melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Off heat, add lemon juice and vermouth. Whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons butter; add parsley and cayenne, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Return shrimp and accumulated juices to skillet. Toss to combine; serve immediately.

For the spaghetti squash:

Cut it in half and remove the seeds. Put in a glass dish cut side down with about 2 inches of water in the bottom. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and put in the microwave. Depending on your microwave and the size of your squash, the time will vary. It takes generally about 20-30 minutes.

Black beans and corn

You know when you ask someone for a recipe and they say, I don't really follow a recipe, I add a little of this and a bit of that? This "recipe" is one of those. I've made it several times for a crowd because it always goes over well and I've received many requests for the recipe. This recipe is great for a crowd, you just keep doubling the amounts until you have the amount you need. This particular time, I made it for an 80th birthday party for 80 people.

Here's the recipe as best as I can put it down on paper:

2 cans black beans, rinsed
1 can corn, drained
1 onion, diced
1 jalapeño, diced
1-2 yellow, red or orange bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 cups chicken broth (depending on how thick it gets)
1 TBS or so cumin
1 TBS or so chili powder
1 TBS or so chipotle chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the onion, jalapeño, pepper,garlic, and spices in a little olive oil until softened. Add the corn and beans and allow to cook for at least 30 minutes but it's really better when you can cook it on low for a few hours. Toss in a handful of chopped cilantro at the end. You can adjust the spices to taste, add more jalapeño if you want it spicier.

This is a picture from the Texas barbeque style dinner for 80 where I made these. It's not the greatest quality picture, but it's the best I could get since I was busy working in the kitchen. I grabbed a 12 year old who was at the party and asked himto shoot a picture of it for my blog since I'd been asked by several people for the recipe.



There was about 2 quarts left from this party and I put it in the freezer. I'm going to add more broth, rotel style tomatoes, and shredded chicken to make what I hope will be similar to taco soup.

Cider Vinegar Chicken and Garlic Smashed Potatoes

Don't let the picture fool you. It may look white and plain, but trust me it has a ton of flavor. This is a Rachael Ray recipe from my favorite 365 book I've mentioned here before.

4 6oz boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (I cut mine into bit size pieces)
coarse black pepper
2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 TB thyme leaves
3 TB honey
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 cups chicken stock

Preheat skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 TB EVOO. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to hot skillet. Brown chicken. Remove and reserve the meat. Cover it with foil. Add another TB of EVOO to the pan then the onions, thyme, honey, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the onions are brown and caramelized. Add the cider vinegar and stock. Turn up the heat to high and bring liquids to simmer. Add chicken to skillet, cook for about 10 minutes. Serve with your favorite garlic mashed potatoes. The sauce it delicious on the potatoes.

We love Greek flavors

and this is another way to have them so we don't get tired of souvlaki and Greek salad.



This dinner was a roast cut sirloin steak put in a marinade of olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, garlic, and salt and pepper. It was grilled to medium and sliced into thin strips. It was tender, flavorful, and juicy.

On the side there is couscous with chunks of feta, chopped kalamata olives, and thin strips of roasted red peppers. There is also a mix of yellow and zucchini squash and halved grape tomatoes cooked together with garlic and oregano. Of course we can't have Greek without pita, so there was grilled pita also.

It was a tasty and healthful meal.

Hoisin Pork Tenderloin

Dinner was grilled pork tenderloin marinated in hoisin sauce, pineapple juice and garlic. It was served with jasmine rice and a broccoli slaw stir fry. It was delicious and quick, almost as quick as getting chinese take out. Plus we know all the ingredients and it's made pretty healthy unlike some chinese takeout.



This is super simple.

1/2 jar hoisin sauce
1/2 cup pineapple juice
3 cloves chopped garlic

Mix together and marinate pork tenderloins. Grill to your preference of doneness.

See, it's super simple.

For the broccoli slaw stir fry:

Put a tablespoon olive oil in pan, add broccoli slaw and sliced scallions. Add salt, a bit of sesame oil, and red pepper flake. Cook until just wilted.

Gyros at home

Sure I don't have a spit at home to roast the formed pork, lamb and beef usually found in a gyro. Instead we used steak. It wasn't as traditional as a true gyro which I love in Greek restaurants but it was still very good. It is also a meal which can be prepared in less than 30 minutes minus the marinating time. Of course if you want it be more like a gyro found in a Greek diner, serve it with fried potatoes.

Ingredients:
Steak (I used top round sirloin)
lemon juice
olive oil
oregano
garlic
salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients but the meat in a plastic storage bag. Add the steak and allow it to sit for 1-3 hours.

Grill steak as desired. Throw a couple of pitas on the grill at the end of cooking time.

Slice the meat thinly and serve on pita with cucumbers, onions, lettuce and tomatoes. And Tzatziki. Lots of Tzatziki. (yogurt, cucumbers, olive oil, garlic, and a bit of lemon juice)

Grilled Red Snapper

Grilled red snapper is divine. I think it is even more so when you know you're the one who caught it and you know it is absolutely fresh. Ever since our fishing trip, I've been searching for different ways to cook red snapper. I knew we wanted to try it on the grill. A lot of the recipes I found online with pictures had the heads still on the fish. I didn't think I could cook something that could look back at me, so when my husband cleaned them he removed the heads.

Most of the grilling recipes I found had the fish's cavity stuffed with a citrus, onion or garlic and an herb. For our first try, I went with what was on hand. I sliced up a lime, onion and garlic, and picked some oregano from my herb garden. I rubbed a bit of olive oil on the skin of the fish so it wouldn't stick to the grill then gave a liberal sprinkle of sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

It was delicious. I can not wait to cook the others waiting for us in the freezer.