Orzo Alfredo with Pancetta, Peas & Shrimp

Orzo Alfredo with Pancetta, Peas & Shrimp

ingredients

• 1/2 box of orzo
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 Tbs butter
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• peas
• shrimp
• pancetta, cooked
• salt & pepper

directions

1. Cook orzo according to directions on box.
2. In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, mix cream, peas, butter, parmesan, pancetta and shrimp. Heat over medium low heat, whisking constantly until parmesan & butter have melted and shrimp has cooked.
3. Combine with orzo, season with salt & pepper and served topped with additional parmesan cheese.

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Chili Relleno Casserole

 

One of The Husband's favorite things to order when we're eating at a Mexican Restaurant is chili relleno. The photo really doesn't do this dish any justice...it's much more delicious than it looks with just a hit of spice. This version is also much healthier than your usual chili relleno and since we're meat-lovers in this family, I packed on the ground meat.

Chili Relleno Casserole
(adapted from For the Love of Cooking)


ingredients

• 5-7 Anaheim chilies (depending on the size)
• 3 eggs
• 3 Tbs flour
• 3 Tbs sour cream
• 1 (3oz) can of sliced black olives
• 2 cups Mexican blend cheese
• 1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
• 1 lb ground meat
• 1 can green enchilada sauce

directions

1. Rinse chilies and place on a baking sheet covered in foil. Broil chilies for about 5 minutes on each side or until skin is blackened.
2. Remove from oven and place in bowl with cover. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Remove chilies. Skin and remove veins and seeds. Cut into strips.
3. Preheat oven to 350℉. Combine eggs, flour, sour cream, olives, salt and pepper to taste then mix thoroughly. Coat a baking dish with cooking spray.
4. Add a layer of the chilies. Then egg mixture, then cheese, then black beans, then ground meat; repeat layers until gone. Top with enchilada sauce and a more cheese. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. Serve with optional toppings like sour cream, avocado, salsa & more cheese! 

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Flourless Chocolate Cake

Flourless Chocolate Cake
(adapted from epicurious.com)

ingredients

• 1/2 cup fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (I used Scharffen Berger)
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus additional for sprinkling

directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F and butter an 8-inch round baking pan. Line bottom with a round of wax paper and butter paper.
2. Chop chocolate into small pieces. In a double boiler, melt the butter first then chocolate, stirring, until smooth. 
3. Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and whisk sugar into chocolate mixture. Add eggs and whisk well. 
4. Sift 1/2 cup cocoa powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. 
5. Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven 25 minutes, or until top has formed a thin crust. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes and invert onto a serving plate.

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Shrimp Scampi

Shrimp Scampi
(adapted from Epicurious)

ingredients

• olive oil
• peeled, deveined large raw shrimp
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• salt and pepper
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• pasta, preferably, angel-hair or linguine 
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• zucchini, diced - optional

directions
1. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to boil.
2. Heat oil in skillet over high heat and saute shrimp, turning over once.  Cook for about 2 minutes, just until through, with a slotted spoon, move shrimp to plate.
3. In same skillet with shrimp removed, cook zucchini until through, remove to plate.
4. Add garlic to remaining oil, red pepper flakes, wine, salt & pepper and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally for about 1 minute.
5. Add butter to skillet, stirring until melted, and stir in shrimp & zucchini.  Remove from heat.
6. Cook pasta in boiling water until tender. Reserve 1 cup pasta-cooking water, then drain pasta.  Toss pasta well with shrimp mixture and parsley in large bowl.  Add some reserved cooking water if necessary to keep moist.

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Seared Scallops with Lemon Orzo

I went looking for steak, but instead found fresh wild caught jumbo scallops. This meant a change in the dinner menu, but I'm not complaining since it was a great opportunity for a new recipe. 

Seared Scallops with Lemon Orzo
(adapted from Cooking Light) 
ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1/2 cup prechopped onion
• 1 cup uncooked orzo
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 2 Tbs chopped fresh chives
• 2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds sea scallops
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

directions

1. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan; sauté 3 minutes.
2. Stir in pasta, broth, wine, and thyme; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and pasta is al dente. Stir in chopped chives and lemon juice. Keep warm.
3. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle scallops evenly with salt and pepper. Add scallops to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.
4. Serve with pasta mixture.

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Easy Mexican Dinner

My good friend told me about this quick dinner she whipped up one night with some random leftovers in her fridge. I was immediately intrigued since I was just craving some fish tacos. Tortilla, frozen fish nuggets/sticks some greens and tarter sauce and you have home-made fish tacos!  Genius really!  I didn't have tarter sauce, so instead I whipped up a lemon-cilantro crema to go on top of our fish-tacos.

lemon-cilantro crema
(i didn't use any exact measurements, so just season & add to taste)

• Mayonnaise
  
• Sour cream
• Chopped cilantro
• Garlic salt
• Lemon juice

To accompany our tacos I also made one of our favorite Mexican dishes, Shrimp Cocktail. Normally we'll get these cocktails from the street vendors, who'll promptly open their igloo and scoop us a cup of this delicious spicy red concoction. I know, it sounds a lot more frightening than it really is and you can definitely find this dish in most Mexican restaurants as well... in either case, it's quite an addicting dish, a little like gazpacho, but better!

Coctel de Camarones (shrimp cocktail)
(adapted from Chef Rick Bayless)

ingredients

• 1 pound uncooked small shrimp
• ¾ cup ketchup
• ¼ cup Mexican hot sauce, I used Tapatio
• ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 3 Tbs fresh lemon juice
• 1 small white onion, chopped
• ¾ cup clam juice
• 1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, sliced crosswise

directions
1. Boil the shrimp, cook until shrimp are pink and firm, 10 to 30 seconds. Immediately drain shrimp in a colander and then rinse under cold water until shrimp are cool.
2. Stir together the ketchup, hot sauce, cilantro, lemon juice, white onion, and clam juice in a medium-sized bowl. Add shrimp and stir well.
3. Taste & season with salt accordingly, garnish with slices of avocado, and serve with lime wedges and crackers or tortilla chips.

Note: If you're not accustomed to spicy food, I recommend adding the hot sauce a little at a time and season it to taste.

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ATK's Banana Bread

I have to give credit to my friend Brian here, because if he didn't distract me at work with episodes of America's Test Kitchen, I never would have found this fabulous recipe! Personally, I'm not a fan of bananas, but put it in a bread or smoothie and I just might force myself to ingest some. So you can say it was a good distraction, since just a few days earlier, The Husband was forced to eat 4 overly ripe bananas by himself... in one sitting.

BANANA BREAD

350F, 8.5” x 4.5” loaf pan

ingredients: bread

• 5 super ripe banana
• 1 3/4  flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 stick melted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 c toasted walnuts or pecans

: topping

• 1 banana, sliced quarter inch
• 2 tsp sugar

directions

1. Peel and put banana in bowl cover with plastic wrap, puncture some holes, microwave on high for 5 minutes.  This releases liquid.

2. Drain, pour liquid into saucepan and reduce till 1/4 cup about 5 minutes

3. Combine, salt, flour & baking soda, whisk and put aside

4. Take juice & microwave banana and mashed together. Make sure there’s no big piece of banana

5. Mix butter, vanilla, eggs and sugar with the banana mixture

6. Mix in dry ingredients. Don’t over stir flour mixture. Fold in walnuts

7. Spray 8.5 x 4.5” loaf pan with baking spray

8. Pour mixture into loaf pan

9. Slice 6^th Banana into quarter inch slices

10. Line side of pan with overlapping sliced banana (2 long-side, not down the center)
11. Sprinkle 2 tsp of sugar on top, this candies the banana & makes a nice shiney crust

12. 350F oven, middle rack, 1 hour.  Rotate at 30 minutes

13. Let it cool for 15 minutes

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