Shrimp Rolls with Homemade Potato Chips

These were so good.  The recipe comes together quickly and you probably have the ingredients on hand.  I am looking forward to making these in the summer!  Very refreshing.

The recipe calls for a pound of cooked, shelled shrimp.  I personally think the precooked shrimp tastes very bland.  I always have a bag of uncooked, frozen shrimp in the freezer, so I pour half the 2 pound bag into a bowl of warm water while I am getting all the other ingredients out.  Then I take off the tails and put them on a paper towel to get the water off of them.  I find the best way to cook shrimp is to put them on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

These shrimp are good  if you chill them and serve them with cocktail sauce too!!  YUM.

Here are the ingredients that make the "shrimp salad."  If you have never used Greek yogurt, you should.  It is awesome and I can use it for lots of things.  I substitute it for sour cream all the time.  You can add fruit and granola to it for a quick and healthy breakfast.  YUM.  My son loves it with a scoop of strawberry jam as a snack.  

These are all things you probably have on hand (minus the yogurt).  I always have it on hand.  They now sell Greek yogurt at costco, which makes me very happy!  Oh did I mention it is good for you?

Once you mix all your ingredients with the cooled shrimp.  You put a lid on it and place it in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

I can hear the Bunco girls teasing me now..."you know you can buy a bag of chips for a few bucks."  :)  Yes, I know this.  I am not really a chip eater though.  I love oven fries and potato wedges, but chips are not my favorite.  I do find the kids get huge smiles when they think they are getting "junk" we don't usually buy.  

Chips are very easy to make.  Use a mandoline to slice the potatoes 1/8-in thick.  Season with oil, salt and pepper (or whatever seasoning you like), and bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.

Take some whole wheat hot dog buns and brush them with olive oil.  Place them in a grill pan and toast them until grill marks appear.  Fill with shrimp mixture.

Yum!  

Serve with homemade chips.  Yes, mine are slightly overcooked!  lol  I think next time I will slice them thicker!  Or pay attention!!  

Shrimp Roll

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup nonfat plain Greek-style yogurt 
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped scallion green (about 1 scallion)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 pound cooked, shelled medium shrimp
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 whole-wheat hot dog buns
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

If using regular yogurt, place it in a strainer lined with paper towel and set the strainer over a bowl. Let the yogurt drain and thicken for 20 minutes. 

In a bowl, stir together the thickened or Greek-style yogurt, mayonnaise, celery, scallion and lemon juice. Fold in the shrimp and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Chill until ready to use.

Just before serving, open the hot dog buns and brush the inside with olive oil. Heat a grill pan over moderately high heat and grill the bread, cut side down, until toasted, about 3 minutes. Fill each with 3/4 cup of the shrimp mixture and serve immediately. 

Asian Noodle Bowl

The Asian noodle bowl went over very well with the family.  The boys only question was, why are my noodles so dark?  I usually use whole wheat noodles, which are lighter than Soba noodles.  I have always substituted whole wheat pasta for Soba in the past because I couldn't find them.  I finally found them at Meijer, in the Asian isle.  I wasn't looking for the right packaging!  Now I know and will definitely use these again.  They cook fast and really authenticate the dish!

As I stated in my post about the Tri-color pepper steak recipe.  When cooking Asian food, have all your prep work done in advance.  It makes the cooking process super quick and easy!

I'm putting this picture in here for those of you wondering what ginger root looks like.  Fresh ginger is so fragrant.  To peel the skin off (thin brown layer), you can use a spoon and just scrape it right off.  It is very easy to do.  Break off a piece of the ginger (however much you need for your recipe) and store the rest of the root in the fridge.  As you see in the pic, the inside is yellow.  I minced it for the recipe.

I have found with many of Ellie's recipes, it just doesn't have enough flavor.  I used Asian Seasoning (Pampered Chef) and Sazon (Goya) on the chicken before cooking it.  The meat was juicy and flavorful!

These are soba noodles.  Of course, you take off the fancy paper that holds them together before cooking!  :)  These are great because they only take about 3-5  minutes to cook!

I love my wok, and use it whenever I can.  If you don't have one, don't worry.  You can use a large skillet and accomplish the same thing.  Have all of your ingredients sliced and in prep bowls so that when it is time to add you can do it right away.  With everything prepped, the dish takes no time to cook.  

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family.   Have some fun and use chopsticks if you like!

ASIAN NOODLE BOWL
by Ellie Krieger from the  So Easy cookbook

8 oz soba noodles or whole-wheat spaghetti
2 tsp canola oil
1 bunch scallions (white and green parts), sliced (save 1/4 C for garnish)
1 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
1 15-oz can baby corn, drained
1/2 lb broccoli florets (about 3 cups)
1/2 lb fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add the noodles or pasta and cook according to the directions on the package.

Heat the canola oil in a wok or very large skillet over medium heat.  Add the scallions and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant but not browned, about 30 seconds. 

Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until just cooked through, 4-5 minutes.  Add the baby corn, broccoli, mushrooms, pepper slices, broth, and soy sauce and cook, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli is bright green and crisp-tender and the peppers are crisp-tender, 5-6 minutes. 

Add the noodles and sesame oil and toss to combine.  Divide among bowls and garnish with the reserved 1/4 cup of scallions.

Makes 4 servings

Pasta e fagioli

This has to be one of my most favorite soups.  I have had a cold for this last few days and when I have a cold (which is rare!), I want soup!  Chicken noodle, minestrone and pasta e fagioli are my favorites.  Plus it is winter and we just had a blizzard!  Definitely calls for soup, right?

I found this recipe in my Giada De Laurentiis Giada's Family Dinners cookbook.  It does not disappoint and is very easy!  Here are the steps:

Saute onion, garlic and pancetta.  Now, I never have pancetta on hand always forget to get it at the grocery store.  What I do always have on hand is Canadian bacon and prosciutto.  I used Canadian bacon for this.

While that is sauteing, you need to make a sachet of herbs.  Fancy talk for put some herbs in cheesecloth.  I just realized I forgot to add the bay leaf, lol, but it all turned out fine.  Cut the herbs small enough to fit in the cloth and then tie it with kitchen twine.

See, easy!  If you don't have cheesecloth you can just tie the herbs together and put them in the soup.

Here I have added the chicken broth, red kidney beans (rinsed and drained) and the sachet of herbs.  Cover this and bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.

Put about a cup of the bean mixture in a blender and puree until it is smooth.  DO NOT USE A FOOD PROCESSOR.  I thought I would save myself from bringing out the big old mixer by using my small food processor.  All of the liquid came flying out and it was not pretty.  So use the mixer.  :)

Add it back to the soup and bring back to a boil.  Then add your macaroni noodles and cook about 8 minutes.  I used whole wheat pasta so I cooked it 10 minutes.  

I grated fresh parmesan cheese and had it on the side to add to each serving.  It definitely made the dish even better.  Tried to send hubby to the store for crusty bread, but I got "the look" so it didn't happen.  :)  I think that would be a great addition to the soup!

 

Pasta e fagioli

Ingredients

• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 large sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3 ounces panchetta, chopped
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 5 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 3/4 cup elbow macaroni
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch red pepper flakes, optional
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Wrap the thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf in a piece of cheesecloth and secure closed with kitchen twine. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, pancetta, and garlic and saute until the onion is tender, about 3 minutes. Add the broth, beans, and sachet of herbs. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then decrease the heat to medium and simmer until the vegetables are very tender, about 10 minutes. Discard the sachet.

Puree 1 cup of the bean mixture in a blender until smooth. Before putting the puree back into the soup, add the macaroni and boil with the lid on until it is tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Return the puree to the remaining soup in the saucepan and stir well. Season the soup with ground black pepper and red pepper flakes.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle with some Parmesan and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil just before serving.

Tri-Color Pepper Steak

 

This dish was chosen by my 9-year-old son, Nicholas.  I like to try new recipes, and for me allowing the kids to choose makes it more likely they will eat it.  I had the ingredients for 4 recipes I wanted to try and let him choose from them.  He picked it, they ate it.  Did I mention my kids don't usually like steak?  They ate every bite.  

The recipe came from Ellie Krieger's latest cookbook So Easy.  I got it for Christmas and have been meaning to try out a few recipes I thought my family would enjoy.  One thing I have found with Ellie's recipes...we need more flavor.  I will definitely season the meat well the next time I cook this dish.  As with any Asian cooking, have all your ingredients prepped and it will be ready fast and taste delicious!

I cut the peppers and onions first and then the meat.  All are sliced in thin slices to cook quickly.

I used flank steak, but the recipe says you could use London broil as well.  I always have flank steak on hand so it was a no brainer for me.  It is a lean cut of meat too!

Once the meat is cooked through you set it aside (along with all the juices) to add back to the dish after the veggies are cooked.

While the veggies were cooking, I cooked brown rice to serve it over.  Now those who know me know I want a rice cooker super bad because I am horrible about cooking my rice!  My solution in the mean time is to get the microwavable bags of brown rice.  They take about 3 minutes and are perfect.  I made two bags since the recipe called for about 3 cups of brown rice.

You add the meat and juices back to the skillet, along with black pepper, and heat through.

The corn starch added to the skillet was supposed to thicken the "sauce," but it still looked pretty juicy to me...not sure why.  It was still delicious and we poured it on our rice and veggies for extra flavor.

Quick and Easy!  Yummy too!

Tri-Color Pepper Steak

• 4 teaspoons canola oil
• 1¼ pounds top round, London broil, or flank steak, thinly sliced
• 5 large assorted bell peppers (such as a mixture of red, yellow and green; about 2 pounds total)
• 1 large onion, sliced into half moons (about 3 cups)
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1½ cups low-sodium beef broth
• ¾ cup dry red wine
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1½ teaspoons cornstarch, dissolved in ¼ cup cold water
• 3 cups cooked brown rice

Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium/high heat. Add the beef and cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer the meat with its juices to a plate.

Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in the same skillet over medium/high heat. Add the peppers and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and continue cooking until the peppers are softened and onions are translucent, about 5 minutes more.

Return the beef and juices to the skillet and add the broth, wine, soy sauce and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the liquid. Serve over the rice.

Makes 4 servings

Clean Eating Magazine Appearance

Okay, for those of you who said you didn't get to see it or couldn't find the magazine....I'm posting it.  I am not afraid to toot my own horn.  I love testing the recipes for Clean Eating Magazine.  They are always healthy recipes that I don't mind "trying out" on my family.  This was a favorite of my family's, so it is great that the magazine used my comments for this publication!  (Although they did spell my first name wrong.)  lol

Anyway, if you have never heard of this magazine, it is an excellent one to subscribe to.  There are tons of healthy recipes and alternatives to family favorites that make them healthier.  I recently found out that there is even a cookbook of their best recipes.  I definitely need to add it to my collection.

I actually blogged this recipe when I made it.  So if you want to try it out, you can look for it on this blog under Breakfast Casserole.  It is really good and you can eat it any time of day.

Enjoy.  :) 

Easy Parmesan Risotto and Parmesan Chicken

This is so much easier than it looks and sounds.  I love risotto, but I don't love to make it.  The constant adding liquid and whisking has kept it off my table for years.  When I got Ina Garten's latest cookbook, How Easy Is That?, I stumbled upon an EASY recipe for risotto.  You dump everything in the pot and let it do the work.  I made it with Parmesan chicken.

Parmesan Chicken (also by Ina Garten) is a favorite at my house.  It is also extremely easy.  So if you want a dinner that looks and tastes delicious, but doesn't take all night, this is your winner.  The chicken is super easy.  All you do is take however many chicken breasts you need for your family and pound them to 1/4 inch thick.  Be careful to do this evenly so that your chicken will cook evenly.  You are going to dip them into a flour/salt&pepper/grated Parmesan mixture, then into egg wash, then into Italian bread crumbs.  Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and add 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Once it is melted, place the coated chicken breasts into the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side.  Add more oil and butter and cook additional chicken breasts.  That's it! (recipe at the end of this post)

I cooked the Risotto in my Deep Covered Baker.  Use whatever casserole type dish that you have with a lid on it.  IT HAS TO HAVE A LID.

Give these a try and let me know what you think. 
Easy and delicious!!

Easy Parmesan "Risotto"
Ina Garten's "Barefoot Contessa: How Easy Is That?" cookbook

Ingredients
* 1.5 cups Arborio rice
* 5 cups simmering chicken stock, preferably homemade, divided
* 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
* 1/2 cup dry white wine
* 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
* 2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1 cup frozen peas

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the rice and 4 cups of the chicken stock in a Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset. Cover and bake for 45 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente. Remove from the oven, add the remaining cup of chicken stock, the Parmesan, wine, butter, salt and pepper, and stir vigorously for two to three minutes, until the rice is thick and creamy. Add the peas and stir until heated through. Serve hot.

Parmesan Chicken 

• 4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 1/4 cups seasoned dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
• Unsalted butter
• Good olive oil

Pound the chicken breasts until they are 1/4-inch thick. You can use either a meat mallet or a rolling pin.
Combine the flour, salt, and pepper on a dinner plate. On a second plate, beat the eggs with 1 tablespoon of water. On a third plate, combine the bread crumbs and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan. Coat the chicken breasts on both sides with the flour mixture, then dip both sides into the egg mixture and dredge both sides in the bread-crumb mixture, pressing lightly.

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan and cook 2 or 3 chicken breasts on medium-low heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until cooked through. Add more butter and oil and cook the rest of the chicken breasts

Mini Turkey Pot Pies

My husband is addicted to these.  I had left over "pie filling" and had to make more crust tonight to make the rest of these.  I quote, "I could eat these every day.  When are you making them again.  Can I have these for lunch tomorrow?"  I told him, the boys may want some...he looked at me with a blank stare.  I guess he will be coming home for lunch tomorrow to have them.  :)

This all started when I saw a food network program use leftover turkey and green bean casserole, stuff them into puff pastry in a muffin pan and bake them.  I thought, I don't have the green beans but could easily find a recipe for a filling.  I came across Simple Comfort Food and found my filling recipe.

You will not believe how easy the filling is to make!

I used my Martha Stewart Home Baking Handbook to get my recipe for the pie crust.  It is super easy and only has 4 ingredients:  flour, salt, butter and water.

I used biscuit cutters to cut the "bottom crust" (4 inch circle cutter) and "top crust" (2 inch circle cutter). 

The Simple Comfort Food website uses ramekins for the pot pies, which I do have, but the muffin pan seemed so much easier.  You just line the muffin pan with the larger circles, making sure they reach to the top.

Fill each pie crust with the prepared filling.  I made the filling first because it allows it to set to cool a bit which made it easier to handle.  I used a large scoop to get an even amount into each cup.  Add the small circle cut outs to the top of each pie and make sure they seal to the bottom dough so the filling doesn't ooze out while baking.  

Brush each mini pie with egg wash and cut two slits in the top to let the steam escape while it is baking in the oven.  Bake 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.  

Can you say yum?  You will LOVE these!  You could really use chicken or turkey.  We just had a lot of leftover turkey.  Enjoy!  Let me know what you think.

Here are the ingredients for the filling:

• 4 cups of cooked turkey breast, cut into cubes
• 2 sheets of pie crust (I used Martha's recipe from The Homebaking Handbook)
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 celery stalks, cleaned, and thinly diced (I skipped the celery)
• 2 carrots, cleaned, skinned, and thinly diced
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup of chicken stock
• 1 tsp of dried thyme (I used fresh)
• 1/4 cup dry sherry (I used extra chicken stock)
• 1/2 cup frozen green peas
• 1 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 egg, beaten, for brushing on top of the pie crust
• Ramekins (I used a 12 cup muffin pan)

Directions:
 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large pot slowly melt the butter. Next, add in your onions, celery, and carrot and cook for about 10 minutes, stir occasionally. Add the flour, and stir, cooking for another couple of minutes. Whisk in the milk and continue to whisk until smooth. Stir in the chicken stock, and sherry (if using, or extra stock). Bring the heat to low, and cook for another 10 minutes. The sauce will thicken. Stir in the thyme, parsley, peas, turkey, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spray the muffin tin with Pam.  Line each muffin cup with the larger dough cut out.  I actually rolled them out a little larger to make sure they reached the top of the sides of the cups all around.  Fill each cup with a large scoop of the filling.  Top each pie with the small cut out and crimp them together.  It is fine to have the cup "overfilled" a bit.  Brush with egg wash and cut a couple of slits in the dough for steam.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes, or until they are a nice golden brown.  Allow to cool on a cooking rack for 10 minutes before removing.  Use a butter knife to cut around the edges to get them out.