Roasted Shrimp with garlic and herbs

This appetizer is a different twist on the classic shrimp cocktail.  It's yummy, trust me.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. of shrimp (peeled and deveined)
2 cloves garlic finely minced
4 Tbl. of extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. dry basil leaves
salt and pepper

Toss the shrimp in the olive oil mixture.  Set in the fridge for about 30 - 60 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  When the shrimp are finished in the marinade, place them in a single layer on a baking sheet, cover and let them come to room temperature.

Bake for 8 - 10 minutes until they are pink and firm to the touch.  Don't over cook or they will be rubbery.

Remove from the oven and let them cool a bit.  Serve with your favorite cocktail sauce.  Homemade cocktail sauce is good, simply mix ketchup and creamy horseradish.  This can be made a spicy or mild as you like.

Enjoy friends!

New Zealand Mussels Appetizer

I bought a bag of these frozen mussels at a HyVee supermarket.  They are already cleaned and cooked, so it makes preparation super simple.  Plus they are very affordable!  (I've heard these also called green mussels.)

This recipe, with a few modifications, can be found at Food.com.  This is one delicious appetizer. So let's get cooking.

Thaw the mussels and loosen them from the shell. Drain and pat dry, then place them back in the shell and arrange on a baking sheet.

Next make the bread crumb topping.

1 cup panko bread crumbs
3 Tbl. melted butter
1 Tbl. parsley flakes
1 clove garlic finely minced
2 Tbl. grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
juice of one lemon

In a bowl, combine bread crumbs, melted butter, parsley flakes, minced garlic, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

Squeeze the lemon juice over the mussels, Spoon the bread crumb mixture evenly over the mussels, pressing down a bit.

Broil for 5 minutes or until the bread crumb topping is golden brown and crunchy, and the mussels are warm. Watch carefully when broiling.  It can go from golden brown and delicious to black and burned.  Not that I would know anything about that.  ;)

Enjoy friends!

Country Style Boneless Pork Ribs

If you have never tried country style boneless pork ribs, you are missing out.  They are very meaty and very lean. This is an easy "fix it and forget it" recipe.  I used the Traeger Grill, but these can also be done in the oven.

 1 package of country-style boneless pork ribs
2 shallots
2 garlic cloves
1 (12 oz.) beer
Barbecue sauce -- your favorite

Brown the pork in a skillet on all sides.(First pat them dry with a paper towel, they will brown better.)

Place the ribs in an oven proof pan and surround with the shallots and garlic.

Pour the beer over the ribs.

Cover the pan with foil and seal.  

Place in the Traeger Grill or the oven at 375 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

After 1 1/2 hours, uncover and pour out the beer. 

Using your favorite BBQ sauce, slather it on.  Ribs go back in uncovered for an hour.

The meat should be brown and tender and the sauce should be thick.

Serve with additional BBQ sauce on the side.

Serve with a side of home made coleslaw and an ice cold beer.

Enjoy friends!

Pan Seared Rosemary Flounder

From time to time, I read the recipes that come with packaged products, and this time I actually tried a recipe that was printed on the package of flounder flillets I purchased.  Lucky for us, this turned out to be delicious.

Here's what you will need to prepare this dish:

2 flounder fillets, thawed

1 Tbl. olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, stem removed

flour for dredging

1 Tbl. butter

salt and pepper

lemon wedges

Directions:

1)  Heat oil in pan over medium heat.  Add garlic and rosemary to the pan and cook for about 3 minutes.  Garlic should start to brown, but be careful to avoid burning it.  

Remove garlic and rosemary, transfer to a bowl and set aside.  Leave the oil in the pan.  Along with the garlic and rosemary into the bowl, add 1 Tbl. butter, and a wedge of lemon.  This will be used to make the pan sauce.

2)  Pat the fillets dry.  Dredge fillets in flour that has been seasoned with salt and pepper.

3)  Put the fish in the pan in the oil.  Cook for about 3 minutes on each side, turning only once -- flounder is very delicate and can easily break apart.

4)  Place fish on serving plates.  Return the garlic/rosemary to the pan, add 1 Tbl. butter and a squeeze of lemon juice.  Once the butter has melted, stir and pour over the fish.  Serve immediately.

Enjoy friends!

Roasted Tomato Bisque

The garden clean out produced more ripe tomatoes, and with the cooler weather a warm tomato soup is in order.  We had grilled cheese sandwiches with the soup--what else??

First step is to cut the tomatoes in half or quarters.  Arrange on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle on salt and pepper.  I also added some slices of garlic.  

Roast in a 350 oven until nice and soft.

Here are the tomatoes out of the oven.  The aroma is amazing.

Next step, put the tomatoes and all the pan drippings into a large dutch oven.  

Simmer and add the remaining ingredients.

Here's the entire recipe from Sweet Pea's Kitchen

5 1/4 pounds ripe but firm tomatoes, cored and quartered, divided

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

4 carrots, peeled and chopped (I used some canned carrots)

2 shallots, quartered

4 garlic cloves, crushed (I roasted the garlic with my tomatoes)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 tablespoons dry sherry (I used dry white wine)

1 to 2 cups chicken broth, divided

1/4 cup heavy cream (I used half and half, but go ahead and use cream if you have it)

1 tablespoon basil, chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the 3 1/2 pounds of quartered tomatoes, olive oil, light brown sugar, carrots, shallots and garlic, and toss to coat. Season the vegetables lightly with salt and pepper. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and roast until caramelized, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, peel off the skins and discard. Transfer the tomato flesh along with the rest of the roasted mixture to a large dutch oven and set aside.
Add 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, crushed red pepper, tomato paste, dry sherry, remaining 1 3/4 pounds of tomatoes and 1 cup chicken broth to the dutch oven and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are very tender, about 15 minutes.
Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth.
Add the heavy cream and return to simmer. Season to taste with salt, and pepper. If desired, add more chicken stock until your desired consistency. Sprinkle each bowl with basil before serving.

Enjoy Friends!

Chicken with Rosemary Dijon Mustard Sauce

I'm always searching for new ways to prepare chicken. Plus the fact that my fresh herbs are growing and are quite abundant.

This dish is very easy to make, it takes about 20 minutes and will serve two people. It is tangy and zesty. The ingredients you will need are: boneless skinless chicken breasts, olive oil OR coconut oil, white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc), garlic, fresh rosemary, Dijon mustard, salt & pepper.

If you don't want to use wine in this recipe, chicken stock would be a great substitute.

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (pound them down to 1/4" thick)

2 Tbl. olive oil OR coconut oil

1/2 Cup white wine (use a wine you would drink--not "cooking wine")

2 Tbl. fresh rosemary sprigs

1 clove garlic minced

2 Tbl. Dijon mustard

salt & pepper

 

Directions:

• After pounding the chicken to 1/4" thick, season with salt and pepper on both sides.
• Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet, add the chicken and cook until done on both sides, about 5 minutes per side.
• When the chicken is done, set it on a heat proof plate and keep it warm in the oven
• To the same skillet, add the wine, rosemary, and garlic.  Simmer and reduce by half.
• Take the skillet off the heat, add the Dijon mustard and stir in.
• Slice the chicken breasts on a diagonal and pour the sauce over.  Serve.

Enjoy friends!

Mushroom Asiago Chicken

We were in Wisconsin recently and one must buy and bring home cheese!  I bought a nice wedge of asiago cheese and then proceeded to find a recipe in which to use said cheese.  And here it is!

Courtesy of The Midnight Baker Blog.

Mushroom Asiago Chicken

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast (about 2 large)
• 2 cups mushrooms, cut in half
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 springs fresh thyme
• 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
• 1/2 cup seasoned flour
• 2 tbs butter
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4-1/2 cup shredded asiago cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1/4 tsp pepper (or to taste)
• seasoned flour:
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Pound chicken breast with a meat mallet between 2 sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap until meat is uniform thickness; about 1/4-inch. Cut into serving-sized pieces (2 or 3 pieces per breast)

Heat the butter with *1* tbs of olive oil in deep, heavy skillet or saute pan over medium heat.

Dredge chicken in seasoned flour.  Add to hot oil/butter in skillet.  Saute until golden on each side, about 5 minutes per side.  Remove from pan.

Add remaining olive oil to hot skillet.  Saute mushrooms and garlic until mushrooms begin to brown.

Add white wine to skillet, scraping up all the browned bits that are at the bottom of the pan (this is called "deglazing"). Bruise the fresh thyme by twisting it between your fingers or hitting it with the dull side of a knife in a few places.  Add thyme to mushroom/wine mixture in pan.

Add the chicken back to the pan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Remove chicken from pan.  Add the cream and heat through. Add the asiago cheese (if you like it strongly flavored, use 1/2 cup; not as strongly flavored, use the 1/4 cup--asiago is a powerful cheese and you can even use less for just a whisper of flavor.  I like it strong so I used 1/2 cup).

Cook, stirring constantly over low heat until cheese melts. Continue cooking until sauce is reduced by about 1/2.  If you wish to skip the reduction step, you may thicken the sauce slightly with about 1 tbs instant flour or 1 tbs cornstarch mixed with 2 tbs water...however, the reduction will taste better.

Add chicken back to pan and heat through.

Garnish with sprigs of fresh thyme.  May be served over any pasta.

About 4 servings.

Here is how it looks courtesy of The Midnight Baker Blog!

Enjoy friends!!

Cassoulet -- My Way

Today is cloudy, cool, and rainy!  A perfect day for some comfort food.  I had some big fat chicken legs in the fridge and some canned great northern beans, so cassoulet!  This is a much simpler method for making cassoulet. So here goes.  Oh, one other thing, I have fresh herbs growing in pots on my patio and you definitely need fresh herbs for this recipe.  Actually it's not so much a recipe as a process.  Let's get cooking!

First brown the chicken legs in a skillet.  I have recently been using coconut oil for cooking and baking.  (No, it does not taste like coconut--its just healthy clean pure oil.)

While the chicken legs are browning, chop up some onion, carrots, celery, and garlic.  I used half a large white onion, two stalks of celery, two large carrots, and two cloves of garlic.

Other stuff you will need...

Take the chicken legs out and place them on a plate.  Add the chopped onion, celery, carrots, and garlic.  Saute for a minute or so until fragrant, add salt and pepper.   Chop some fresh rosemary and thyme--about a tablespoon of each.  Add to the vegetables.

Next pour in a can of chicken broth and a can of tomatoes.  I used San Marzano tomatoes that I canned last summer.

Place the chicken legs on top of everything, cover, and place in a 350 degree oven.  Bake for about one hour.

Drain and rinse two cans of great northern beans, or navy beans, or canellini beans, pour over the chicken.  Add more chicken stock at this point if it looks too dry.  Sorry, this photo is sideways!!

Back into the oven for another 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, 3 tablespoons of butter, and some chopped flat leaf parsley -- about 3 tablespoons.  Mix the parsley into one cup of bread crumbs.

Remove the dutch oven and uncover.  Sprinkle the bread crumb parsley mixture over the chicken/bean/veg mixture.  Drizzle the melted butter over the crumbs.  Place back in the oven uncovered for another 10 minutes or until the bread crumbs are golden brown.

Serve each person a chicken leg (or two) with some of the crispy crumbs, beans, and vegetables.  A slice of buttered bread goes well with this dish.

Enjoy friends!

Angry Shrimp with Garlic, Chili, Basil Oil

Hungry for a different way to have shrimp?  Different than the standard Shrimp Cocktail?  

Here's the recipe that will become one of your favorites, like it is ours!

First make a spicy mixture of flour, red pepper flakes, and chipotle chili pepper, salt & pepper.  Dredge the cooked, deveined, thawed shrimp in the flour mixture.

 Leave the tails on so you will have a little "handle"

Finely mince some garlic and chili pepper.  About a tablespoon of each.  

You will also need a tablespoon of dried minced basil.

Warm some olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Add the shrimp.  

Don't move it around,it needs to get crispy.

Flip 'em over and crisp the other side.

Drain the shrimp on a paper towel.  Add the garlic, chili, and basil to the remaining oil in the skillet.

Swish it around until the garlic is kinda soft.

Pool the garlic, chili, basil oil on a serving plate,

arrange the shrimp on top.

Alternately, you can drizzle the oil over the shrimp.

Tonight I served the shrimp with toasted garlic sourdough bread.

Enjoy friends!

Lemon Chicken -- American Style

This is a classic American lemon chicken recipe without being too lemony, I think it has just the right amount of lemon flavor to it.  Thanks, SIMPLY RECIPES food blog, for this wonderful dish!

p.s. This is nothing like the lemon chicken dish one would order at the Chinese restaurant.  Although that is also delicious!

Gather up the ingredients and let’s get cooking!

2 large chicken breasts (skin on, bone in), or use thighs and legs if you prefer dark meat. With the tip of your knife, cut into each chicken piece one or two times by about 1/2 inch.  This will allow the marinate to penetrate.

Place 2 Tbl. lemon zest, 1/3 Cup lemon juice, 2 cloves garlic (grated or crushed), 2 tsp. dried thyme, 1 tsp. dried chopped rosemary, 1 tsp. sea salt, and 1 tsp. black pepper in a small bowl, whisk to combine.

Ok, confession!  I thought I had some dried thyme---not!  So I started thinking of the song by Simon and Garfunkel.  "Parsley, sage, rosemary and Thyme".  Good, I have parsley!  And it worked out great.

Place the chicken breasts and the marinade in a gallon-sized freezer bag. Mush the chicken around in the marinade. Seal the bag and place in a bowl in the refrigerator (in case of leakage). Let marinate for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Remove the chicken from the marinate and place in a single layer on a baking dish skin side up.  Reserve the marinate.  Brush the chicken with some melted butter and olive oil.  Then into the oven.  Bake for a total of 50 to 55 minutes.  Half way though the baking, baste the chicken with the reserved marinate, then back into the oven.

Chicken is done when juices run clear and internal temp of breasts is 165 degrees, thighs 175 degrees.  The skin is crispy and brown!  Let rest for 5 - 10 minutes before carving.

Carve the chicken breasts on the diagonal.  And get ready to eat....

Tonight we had the chicken with steamed broccoli and cauliflower.  Oh, lemon chicken you are my friend!

This chicken was juicy and tender and very delicious!  Enjoy friends!