Tuscan Shrimp with White Beans

This recipe is from Michael Chiarello. I watched him make this on the Food Network.  It looked pretty easy, so I gave it a try a couple of times before doing this post.  This is just delicious!  The ingredients are readily available, you probably have most on hand.  I am lucky right now because I have fresh basil, parsley, tomatoes and hot peppers growing in the garden.

I made a recipe for two tonight (half this recipe), but here's the whole recipe from Michael:

3 Cups Cannelloni white beans
1/4 Cup plus 2 Tbl. extra-virgin olive oil
16 large shrimp, peeled (tail left on) and deveined
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 small jalapeno chili, diced
1 Cup whole basil leaves (no substitutions)
1 Cup peeled, seeded, diced fresh tomato
1 Tbl. lemon juice
2 Tbl. Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Best quality extra-virgin olive oil for drizzilng

1)  Have you tried or ever made fried basil?  This is so amazing!  Toss the whole basil leaves in some warm olive oil.  When it's crispy and crackling, take it out of the oil--quickly!  Also, please stand back, the basil will pop!

2)  Drain the white beans over a bowl, saving the liquid.  Put the beans in a skillet adding just enough of their liquid to moisten them.  Add 2 Tbl. of the olive oil and bring the beans to a simmer.  Keep them warm while you prepare the rest of the dish.

3) Heat 1/4 Cup oil in a large skillet.  Add the shrimp, season with salt and pepper cook for 1 minute, tossing frequently.  Remove the shrimp to a bowl.  Add the garlic to the pan and saute, add the minced jalapeno, cook for 1 minute.  Add the tomato, stir briefly, add the shrimp and lemon juice.  Here are the individual ingredients before tossing together.

4) Spoon the white beans on a platter or individual plates, drizzle with the best olive oil you have, top with the shrimp/tomato mixture, place fried basil on the side -- to eat of course!

This is fresh, delicious, healthy, etc. etc.  Enjoy friends!

Tilapia en Papillote (in Parchment)

I have known about this technique for years, but this summer I watched Mario make Halibut en Papillote on "The Chew" tv show.  It seemed like a light delicious way to prepare fish and especially for a summer dish.  So here it is:

Gather the ingredients and let's get cooking!

4 (4 ounce) tilapia fillets

salt and fresh ground pepper

1 large tomato, chopped

1 clove garlic thinly sliced

1 shallot thinly sliced

4 fresh basil leaves thinly sliced

1 1/2 tsp. capers, drained

4 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1/4 Cup white wine

1 Tbl. butter

Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Oil a baking sheet with some olive oil so that the bottoms of the parchment packets will brown when baking.

Prepare four sheets of parchment paper by folding each sheet in half and placing a tilapia fillet centered onto one of the sides.  Season the fillet with salt and pepper.  Top each of the four fillets with equal amounts of tomato, garlic, shallot, basil, and capers.  Sprinkle with lemon juice.  Dot one Tbl. of butter on top, drizzle with white wine.

Lay the other half of the parchment over the half with the fillet.  Start folding and creasing, folding and creasing until the entire fillet is sealed up. One chef brushes the edges of the parchment with egg wash to help it stick together.  (So that's what I did.)  Place the parchment packets on the oiled baking sheet you prepared earlier.  Drizzle the tops with a little olive oil.  Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Look at this beauty after baking for 20 minutes.

To serve, cut a slit with a sharp knife in the center, then tear the packet open.  The steam will escape so be careful.  When the packet is opened, the aroma of the fish and all the toppings will knock your sox off!  Serve immediately in the parchment packet.  If you have guests, let them open their own packet and be amazed at what a great cook you are!

Enjoy friends!

Sausage, Peppers, and Penne!

So today was crazy busy! I needed a really easy quick delish dinner and this was it. Have you seen the Bistro Sensations? They are a Johnsonville product -- chicken sausage with different additions, the one I used tonight is kinda spicy; but it worked out!

Start out with some tri-colored peppers, onion, garlic, sausages, and penne.

Dice up the onion, peppers, and garlic. The chicken sausage is already cooked, so it will only need to be warmed up--slice it diagonally--looks pretty!

Start a pot of water, get it to boiling. Add some salt. Then pour in the penne pasta. I used whole wheat pasta, it takes a little longer to cook but it's yummy.

Heat some light olive oil in a skillet, add the peppers and onion and saute until they are bright colored. Don't over cook them! They want to be bright and tender crisp in the final product.

Push the pepper mixture to the side and add in the sliced sausages. These are already cooked, so they only need to warm up and saute a bit. These have cheese infused in them so that adds to the sauce.

Next, add the minced garlic and some chopped tomato. Mix it all up and taste. You won't need much seasoning because the chicken sausages are seasoned already; but taste, taste, taste!

When the pasta is done, drain it, save some of the pasta water. The pasta water can be added to the sauce if it's too dry and it will help thicken the sauce.

Add the cooked pasta to the sausage and peppers in the skillet. Mix it all up and taste! I added seasoned salt and some fresh ground pepper.

Didn't have a nice chewy baguette to serve with this; instead just a simple whole wheat toast.

Hope you will try this sometime when you need a quick dinner! Enjoy, friends! p.s. Hubby likes a dark stout beer, I like light!

Homestyle Spanish Rice

I like to make this with brown rice.  Makes it healthier!  And we like lots of veggies in there as well.

Get the ingredients ready.  Celery, jalapeno, tomato, and onion.  Also salt, pepper, cumin, and cilantro.  Garlic would be another option.

Dice all those vegies.  Try to make the dice about the same sizes so they cook more evenly.

Add a little oil to the sauce pan, put in the diced veggies and seasonings -- salt, pepper, cumin, and cilantro to taste.  Go easy, you can alway add more, but it's impossible to take out.  Stir until everything is mixed together.

The brown rice has been par boiled since it takes a lot longer to cook that regular white rice.  This is about one cup of rice.

Add the rice to the veggie mixture along with a splash of beef broth.  Stir it all together, put the lid on the saucepan and let it steam on medium heat until veggies are tender and rice is fully cooked.

Dish it up and enjoy.  We are having chicken enchiladas tonight with the homestyle spanish rice on the side.