Shrimp Pad Thai

Shrimp Pad Thai

*From Cooking Light

8 ounces uncooked flat rice noodles (pad Thai noodles)

2 Tb dark brown sugar

2 Tb lower-sodium soy sauce

1 1/2 Tb fish sauce

1 1/2 Tb fresh lime juice

1 Tb Sriracha or chili garlic sauce

3 Tb canola oil

1 cup (2-inch) green onion pieces

8 ounces peeled and deveined large shrimp

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup fresh bean sprouts

1/4 cup chopped unsalted dry-roasted peanuts

3 Tb thinly sliced fresh basil

1. Cook rice according to package directions; drain.

2. While water comes to a boil, combine sugar and next 4 ingredients (through Sriracha) in a small bowl.

3. Heat large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion pieces, shrimp, and garlic; stir-fry 2 minutes or until shrimp is almost done. Add cooked noodles; toss to combine. Stir in sauce; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly to combine. Arrange about 1 cup noodle mixture on each of 4 plates; top each serving with 1/4 cup bean sprouts, 1 tablespoon peanuts, and 2 teaspoons basil. Yield: 4 servings.

My take: I really like this, even better than some Pad Thai I've gotten at restaurants. I use frozen shrimp, which makes it a little easier in my opinion. Overall it's a fairly quick and easy recipe, and I'm a fan. We've had this multiple times.

Shrimp Cobb Salad

*From Cooking Light magazine

Shrimp Cobb Salad

4 slices center-cut bacon
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 t. paprika
1/4 t. black pepper
Cooking spray
1/4 t. salt, divided
2 1/2 T. fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 t. whole-grain Dijon mustard
1 (10 oz) package romaine salad
2 C. cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 C. shredded carrots (about 2 carrots)
1 C. frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
1 ripe peeled avocado, cut into 8 wedges

1. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; cut in half crosswise. Wipe pan clean with paper towels. Increase heat to medium-high. Sprinkle shrimp with paprika and pepper. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shrimp to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Sprinkle with 1/8 t. salt; toss to coat.

2. While the shrimp cooks, combine remaining 1/8 t. salt, juice, oil, and mustard in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add lettuce; toss to coat.

3. Arrange about 1 1/2 C. lettuce mixture on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with about 6 shrimp, 1/2 C. tomatoes, 1/4 C. carrot, 1/4 C. corn, 2 avocado wedges, and 2 bacon pieces. Yield: 4 servings.

My take: The shrimp seasoning was really good. I did make it a little less healthy by adding more bacon (if I'm going to cook bacon, I want to cook a lot of it) and leaving out the corn (it just didn't sound that yummy to me). I also made the recipe a little easier by just using baby carrots and not quartering the tomatoes. This recipe was great and will definitely be repeated.

Scallops with Spinach and Paprika Syrup

*From Cooking Light magazine

1/4 C. sugar
1/4 t. paprika
1/8 t. ground red pepper
1/4 C. fresh lemon juice
2 t. olive oil, divided
1 1/2 lbs jumbo sea scallops
1/4 t. salt, divided
1/4 t. black pepper
1 t. minced fresh garlic
10 oz. fresh baby spinach
1/4 C. pine nuts, toasted

1. Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a saucepan; cook 4 minutes or until mixture thickens. Cool slightly.

2. While paprika mixture cooks, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 t. olive oil to pan; swirl to coat. Pat scallops dry with paper towels; sprinkle with 1/2 t. salt and black pepper. Add scallops to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan; keep warm.

3. Add remaining 1 t. oil and garlic to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add half of spinach; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add remaining spinach; cook 2 minutes or until wilted. Stir in 1/8 t. salt.

4. Divided the spinach mixture evenly among each of 4 plates, and divide the scallops evenly among servings. Drizzle paprika mixture evenly over scallops; sprinkle 1 T. pine nuts over each serving. Yield: 4 servings.


My take: We're continuing on a "health" kick, so this looked healthy and yummy since I love seafood. But it did not turn out well. The scallops were okay (not great), but the spinach was the worst part. It got really wilted, and when cooked it tastes really bitter. I don't mind raw baby spinach at all; in fact, we eat it all the time. But now I know I'm not a fan of the cooked version. :) And I didn't love the mix of sweet (paprika syrup) with not sweet (scallops and spinach). Some may like this recipe, especially if you can master cooking the spinach without it wilting too much. I won't be repeating this one.

Crawfish Etouffee

*Recipe from Houston River Baptist Church 50th Anniversary Cookbook

Crawfish Etouffee

1 stick butter
1 med onion, chopped
1 med. green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 C. celery, chopped
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
1/2 t. red pepper (I used ground cayenne pepper)
1 10-oz can Rotel
1 10.5-oz can cream of mushroom soup
1 10.5-oz can cream of celery soup
1 10.75-oz can cream of shrimp soup
1 10.75-oz can cream of cheddar soup
1 lb. crawfish tails

1. Saute in butter the onion, bell pepper, and celery until tender. Add seasonings, Rotel, and soups. Cook and stir until all ingreidents are blended together.

2. Add crawfish and cook about 20 minutes until crawfish are done. Add 1/2 C. water or more if needed should the mixure get too thick. Served over cooked rice.

Here's how it went:

Sauteeing the veggies.

Cooking it all up. I was worried it was too light-colored, but I guess it browned up with time because it came out looking like this:

So good!

My take: Having never made crawfish etouffee before and only ever eaten it a few times, I was a little worried about the end product. But Jack and I both like etouffee, so I wanted to try it out. This recipe was so easy and came out tasting really good! It has a spicy kick to it, but I like that. I often ask Jack (when I try out a new recipe) if it's worth repeating. That's the true test. This time I didn't have to even ask him. As we were eating he said it's a definite repeater.

Chicken, Tomato, and Fresh Mozzarella Ravioli Salad

*From Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade

Chicken, Tomato, and Fresh Mozzarella Ravioli Salad

1 (9 oz) package refrigerated four-cheese ravioli (or you can use the frozen kind as well)
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 (8 oz) package fresh mozzarella ball, torn into bite-sized pieces
1 cup fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1/2 t. sea salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper
3/4 C Italian dressing

1. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain, and rinse well with cold water, tossing to cool.

2. In a large bowel, combine cooked pasta, chicken, mozzarella, basil, salt, and pepper. Drizzle with dressing, and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

My take: Good, mostly because it has fresh mozzarella in it, but not great. I love fresh mozzarella! But I thought there was too much Italian dressing, so next time I'd put it on the side or only use 1/2 cup. I also added grape tomatoes.

Barbecue Shrimp with Creamy Cheese Grits

*from Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade

Barbecue Shrimp

4 bacon slices
1 lb large fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails on), or you can use frozen shrimp
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 whole cloves garlic
3 T. Tony Cachere's
1/2 t. ground black pepper
Garnish: chopped green onion

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large nonstick skillet, cook bacon until crisp, about 12 minutes. Remove bacon, and drain on paper towels, reserving 2 T. drippings. Crumble bacon.

2. In a jelly-roll pan, place shrimp in a single layer. Drizzle with reserved 2 T. drippings and butter. Add garlic, Tony's, and pepper, tossing to coat. Bake, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes, or until shrimp are pink and firm. Serve over Creamy Cheese Grits, and sprinke with crumbled bacon and green onion, if desired.

Creamy Cheese Grits

1/4 C butter
3 C whole milk
2 1/3 C chicken broth
1/2 t. hot sauce, Tobasco
1 1/3 cups instant grits (can use polenta)
1 8 oz bag shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1. In a medium saucepan, bring butter, milk, borth, and hot sauce to a boil over medium-high heat. Gradually whisk in grits, and return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, sitrring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes. Add cheese, stirring until melted.

My Take: I though the shrimp were really good. A little too spicy for me, but good. But I thought the grits were too cheesy, and that's really saying something since I love cheese! The pairing was kind of weird to me, but okay. I think when I make this again I'll use less Tony's and will just do the shrimp.

Chicken Thighs Provencal

Here's another new recipe I've tried recently from Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade. It was easy, yummy, and healthy, too! Can't wait to start getting my subscription to the magazine!

Chick Thighs Provencal

1 (20 oz) bag red potato wedges, Simply Potatoes

1 (16-oz) bag baby carrots

2 TB olive oil, divided

3 tsp dried rosemary, divided

2 tsp dried thyme, divided

2 tsp garlic salt, divided

2 tsp ground black pepper, divided

8 (6-oz) chicken thighs

4 plum tomatoes, seeded and cut into 4 wedges

20 nicoise or kalamata olives, pitted

Garnish: fresh rosemary sprigs

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a roasting pan, place potatoes and carrots. Drizzle with 1 TB olive oil. Sprinkle with 1 tsp rosemary, 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp garlic salt, and 1 tsp pepper. Toss gently, and spread in a single layer in pan. Bake for 15 min.

2. In a large bowl, combine remaining 1 TB oil, 2 tsp rosemary, 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp garlic salt, and 1 tsp pepper. Add chicken, tossing to coat. In a large nonstick skillet, cook thighs for 3 min per side, or until browned.

3. Add chicken thigh mixture, tomatoes, and olives to roasting pan. Return to oven, and bake for 30 min longer, or until chicken is done. Garnish with rosemary sprigs, if desired.