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.

Lake Charles Favorites

In an attempt to post in somewhat of chronological order, I wanted to first blog about some of my favorite restaurants/dessert places from my hometown of Lake Charles, Louisiana. So here goes (in no particular order):

1) Darrell's - My favorite, and actually the only thing I've ever gotten here, is the Darrell's Special. It's a roast beef sandwich which tons of other stuff on it. I can't even begin to tell you what, but I can promise two things: first, it's one of the best sandwiches you'll ever have, and second, it's hands-down the messiest sandwich you'll ever have. If you're ever in the area you have to try this sandwich! I wish I could have one right now...

2) Italian Villa - May it rest in peace. This restaurant is no longer open, but I had to include it because it was my favorite growing up. I ate here for a few Proms and other occasions, and it's one of the best Italian restaurants I've ever eaten at. They even unfold your napkin and put it on your lap for you (kind of shocked me, but hey, talk about good service)! I of course always ordered the shrimp fettucine alfredo, and their garlic bread and salad were great, too. The restaurant was in an old house, and it had a candlelit romantic sort of feel. I sure wish this place was still open!

3) Country Club Donuts - My favorite donuts ever. Not even Krispy Kreme donuts beat these. And don't even go with anything special - just eat a warm, regular glazed donut and you're in heaven!

4) Landry's (Lafayette, LA) - I LOVE the stuffed shrimp here. So good! I've only gotten to eat here a few times since I'm not in Lafayette very often, but when we used to drive through (when we lived in Louisiana), this was my favorite place to stop for food.

5) Steamboat Bill's - I don't love this place as much as some people, but their shrimp pistolettes have helped them make it on my list.

6) Smoothie King - This one's for Jack, since I'm not as much a smoothie person as he is. He loves this place and always has to get a smoothie when we're visiting. I don't really taste the difference between different smoothie places, but Jack does and and this is his fav.

Well, that's all the noteworthy, Lake Charles-specific places that I can think of right now. If I come up with more later I'll update!