Jaw-dropping Pasta!

Jaw-dropping Pasta!

Ingredients:

-Extra Virgin Olive Oil (for cooking pasta)
-Kosher salt
-3/4lb good linguine
-3 tablespoons Unsalted butter
-2 ½ tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (for cooking seafood)
-6 cloves garlic (minced or finely chopped – DO NOT smash with back of knife)
-1 pound large shrimp (I used ½ a bag of Jumbo Frozen Shrimp)**
- (Optional) - 4 large scallops (I used frozen scallops here as well)**
-1/4 tsp fresh black pepper
-1/3 cup fresh flat leaf parsley leaves (chopped up)
-1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons, seeds removed)
-1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (use as much or as little for added heat)

Directions:

In a large boiling pot, add 1 tablespoon of salt and a drizzle of EVOO. Once water is at a rolling boil, add the linguine and cook according to package.

Meanwhile, in a large (12-inch) pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium low heat. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Be careful as garlic burns easily and will ruin your entire dish! Next, add the shrimp (& scallops) to butter/olive oil blend (I season mine with a little salt and pepper, and a squeeze of lemon first), add 1 teaspoon of salt, fresh black pepper and sauté shrimp until they turn pink (scallops will also be ready once the shrimp are pink). Flip them over once. After about 5 minutes remove from heat and add the parsley, lemon juice and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine. (You will think this is a lot of parsley, but it's so subtle, you will hardly notice it.)

After draining the pasta, put back in pot and immediately add your shrimp and sauce. Toss well with tongs and plate it up! I like to add some fresh Parmesan on top!!!

**When using frozen seafood, be sure to thaw according to package instructions ahead of time for quick preparation.

If you prep the ingredients ahead of time, the whole process will only take you about 20 minutes to prepare. It is so good – I hope you try it!!!

Chipotle Basil Corn Chowder

This is delicious, so healthy, practically fat-free, and even vegan if you follow the recipe exactly (I don't since we're not vegan.) My extremely-meat-loving husband adores it, if that tells you anything.

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, finely diced (1/2 cup)

5 small red potatoes, diced small (3 cups)

1 cup shredded carrots

1 tsp chipotle in adobo, minced (canned)-(This gives the soup a spicy "kick." I use some Hickory Farms chipotle ranch sauce instead because we always have it in the fridge.)

3 cups water

1 vegetable bouillon cube

3 cups sweet corn

1/2 cup soy milk (I use regular milk)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp lime juice

1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped

Black pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in large pot with a tight fitting lid. Add onions and saute until golden. Add the potatoes, carrot, and chipotle and stir to coat. Let them cook over medium heat for a minute. Add water and bouillon cube and mix well. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover, cooking for 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. If your corn is frozen, put it in a strainer and run lukewarm water over it until it has softened. Transfer all or half of the mixture to a blender (I transfer all but about 1 cup). Add half of the corn, soy milk, salt and lime juice and blend until smooth. Return to the pot and stir in basil and remaining corn. Add black pepper to taste. This comes from this great cookbook called Vegan Yum Yum.

S'mores Bars

TRUST me when I tell you these are better than you'd think. Quite a crowd favorite. For sure best when right out of the oven, and way better than you'd think for how easy they are. They are UN. BE. LIEVABLE.


1 pouch sugar cookie mix

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 bag chocolate chips

4 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

1.
Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, stir together cookie mix and crumbs. Stir in melted butter until soft dough forms. Press into ungreased 13x9-inch pan.
2.
Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until set. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Let stand 3 to 5 minutes or until chocolate begins to melt. Spread chocolate evenly over crust.
3.
Set oven control to broil. Sprinkle marshmallows over melted chocolate. Broil with top 4 to 5 inches from heat 20 to 30 seconds or until marshmallows are toasted. (Watch closely; marshmallows will brown quickly.) Cool 10 minutes. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Serve warm. Store any remaining bars tightly covered.

Hamburger Ratatouille

Or as my daughter calls it: Ratatooty

You need:
1 lb ground beef
5 zucchinis, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 eggplants, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 red peppers, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 small white onion, sliced
1 small red onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14 oz) of diced tomatoes, drained
olive oil
salt and pepper
2 bay leaves
1 tsp ground thyme
2 tsp dried basil
1.5 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In one pan, brown ground beef
In another larger pan heat up 3 tbsp olive oil. Brown eggplant and zucchini until crisp and lightly browned. (you may need to add extra olive oil, eggplant is a sponge!)

Remove eggplant and zucchini to a large mixing bowl. Add ground beef.

In same pan you used for the vegetables, add 2 tbsp olive oil and onions, garlic and red peppers. Saute until tender, about 5-6 minutes.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Add tomatoes and seasonings (salt, pepper, bay leaves, thyme, basil)to onions/garlic/peppers. Let simmer about 2 minutes.

Add to veggie-beef mix. Stir thoroughly.

Pour mix into 9x13 baking dish (rectangle)
Cover with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.

Make a tent with foil over the top of the casserole (so the cheese doesn't stick) bake covered at 300 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove the cover, bake another 15 minutes.

Serve with rice.

Claypot Chicken Rice (without the Claypot)

Instead of using a claypot, I made this in the rice cooker, and modified the real recipe and made this using whatever I had in the kitchen and it turned out pretty good.

Ingredients :

1 cup of rice (uncooked)
1 cup of chicken broth
4 drumsticks ( chop up 2 drumsticks into small pieces)
3 slices of ginger

Garnish :
Fried onions
Spring onions (chopped)

Marinate :
1 tbsp black soy sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp kicap manis (sweet sauce- can be found in the Asian market)
3/4 tbsp mirin sweet cooking sauce
3/4 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp ginger powder
Dash of pepper and salt

Mix all the ingredients for the marinate together.
Marinate the chicken for about 45 minutes.

Place the two drumsticks on a baking dish, drizzle with some oil and brush some marinate over.
Bake in oven 400 F for about 40 - 50 minutes or until chicken is cooked. (turn chicken over half way during cooking)

Put uncooked rice, chicken broth, ginger and marinated chicken slices in the rice cooker. Add a few spoonfuls of the marinate and stir.
Cook rice. (If your rice cooker is not an automatic one, cook for about 20 minutes or until rice is cooked)

Sprinkle spring onions and fried onions on top of rice and serve.

Note : To make it more authentic, you should add some chinese sausage, shitake/chinese mushrooms and salted fish into the rice. The two drumsticks I made in the oven is just an add-on to the meal and is optional.

Raw Gazpacho

This is the most yummy raw soup ever! Whenever I need comfort food, this does it!

Recipe taken from Natalia Rose's book The Raw Food Detox Diet

Ingredients:

• 6 tomatoes


• 1/2 to 1 cup fresh basil or fresh cilantro


• 1/4 c. apple cider vinegar


• 2 T. olive oil


• 1 t. soy sauce


• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped


• 1 to 2 cobs corn, kernals cut off (during winter, I use frozen)


• 1 apple, chopped

In a blender, combine tomatoes, basil or cilantro, apple cider vinegar, olive oil and soy sauce. Process until desired consistency is reached. Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl. Pour soup base from blender into bowl and mix well. Serve chilled. Tastes even better the next day.

Calling All Chefs!

I know it's the holidays and everyone is busy, but let's get some new recipes on here!
Especially at this time of year, it's all too easy to slip into picking up fast food or a pizza rather than cook after a long day of decorating, wrapping presents, shopping and all the other holiday "fun"

Besides, all my cookbooks got put into storage during the move, so I REALLY need new ideas!!