Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Creole Shrimp

It's that time of month again when I peruse the pages of my recent Cooking Light magazine and re-vamp one of their recipes for my dinner table. I really enjoy this magazine for the new ideas it inspires, but don't necessarily agree with several of their ideas of "healthy" foods  (often their elimination of butter or healthy fats of any kind as well as subsitutions with low fat or no fat milk and their use of "fake" foods like margarine). However, these types of ingredients are easy to replace with more nourishing options.

In their latest issue, the June 2013 magazine, I found a wonderful shrimp recipe that my family thoroughly enjoyed. In fact, it was so good, it will likely be on the regular rotation and I hope you will enjoy it as much as we did. Here is the link to the original recipe. I've changed it up a bit below.


Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked rice, white or brown
4 - 5 tablespoons of butter, as needed
3/4 pound medium-sized shrimp, peeled and deveined, (about 15-20 shrimp)
1 - 2  tbsp Creole seasoning, divided (I used this one)
1 onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 tbsp dried thyme
1/2 tbsp dried marjoram
4 large garlic cloves, minced
3/4 - 1 cup whole milk
3/4 - 1 tbsp arrowroot powder
1 can diced tomatoes (or the equivalent chopped fresh tomatoes with juices, about two cups)
Sea salt & black pepper to taste
2 tbsp minced fresh chives


How To:
1. Rice: Cook rice as indicated on the package, set aside when finished.

2. Shrimp Prep: After peeling and deveining the shrimp, rinse and sprinkle with about 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of the Creole seasoning, mix, and set aside. I also pinch the tails off my shrimp before cooking because I have an 8-year old who prefers his shrimp "prepped", but you could do it either way. **Cooking Light recommends US Pacific white shrimp as the sustainable choice.

3. Sauce: In a large skillet over medium heat, saute onions, peppers, and garlic in butter until softened. Add shrimp and cook a few minutes per side, until just starting to turn orange. Then add tomatoes and simmer. In the meantime, mix milk with arrowroot powder in a separate glass and then add slowly to the shrimp mixture, stirring gently as the sauce thickens. Bring to a low simmer, season with remaining Creole seasoning, salt and peppers, and garnish with chives. Serve over rice.

 
Comments:
The Creole seasoning we used was a recipe from Emeril Lagasse and worked really well. I used an empty seasoning container and quickly prepared it while my onions and peppers were cooking. This is a picture before I mixed everything together - you can see the layers of different seasonings used.


The next time I make this I'll probably add a little more heat in the form of an extra dose of cayenne pepper or my husband's homemade blend. The current version is fairly mild, although it does have some heat due to the cayenne pepper in the Creole seasoning. This is gluten-free as long as you don't use a pre-packaged Creole seasoning with funny additives (that may include gluten). If you are not making your own, be sure to check the ingredient list.

This takes about 30 minutes to make and serves about four nicely.

 
This recipe was shared at Waste Not Want Not Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, Show and Share Wednesday, and Wednesday Extravaganza. Please follow the links for more great recipe ideas!

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Quinoa-Bean Salad

You will really enjoy this versatile dish, which makes enough for lunches during the week and a dinner side dish too.


Ingredients:
2 cups soaked and cooked beans (any kind, I used a mixture of Navy, Black, and Red)
2 cups soaked and cooked quinoa (I've used white and red)
1/2 cup pesto, try this version
5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp real olive oil, try this one
Sea salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 tsp each)
2 tsp coconut sugar (optional)

How To:
1. In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients above. Refrigerate until use.


2. That's it, seriously. Now enjoy!

Comments:
This is another recipe inspired by my friend, Amber. She has been giving me quite a few great ideas lately, which is key for keeping meals interesting.

This has a wonderful flavor, the addition of pesto is brilliant in this recipe. We usually have pesto in the freezer as a result of all that we made using our basil in the fall. Try serving over arugula drizzled with a little olive oil.


Be sure to soak your beans and quinoa to maximize the nutritional benefit. You can do that by soaking in water mixed with a little whey or lemon juice or ACV for at least 12 hours (quinoa) and at least 24 hours (beans). I like to keep little one cup servings of soaked and cooked beans in the freezer to make recipes like this a breeze. Also, the quinoa cooks very fast after soaking--I think about only 5 minutes after the water boils.

 
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This recipe was shared at Fat Tuesday, Traditional TuesdaysSlightly Indulgent Tuesday, Adorned from Above, Real Food Wednesday, and Waste Not Want Not Wednesday. Please follow the links for more great recipe ideas!

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Dover Sole Francese

It turns out that there is not a lot of variety in recipes for sole that are easily found online. So, when I found this recipe I was eager to give it a try. The family loved it and asked me to please oh please oh please save the recipe and make again. The original recipe is from Food.com, but I've changed it up a bit.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Lemon Butter Sole

Dover sole is a wonderful fish for those of you "on the fence" fish people or children who are not super crazy about a strong fishy fish. It has a light flavor, like tilapia or trout, but I think even more mild. It is also a very thin filet, which means very minimal defrosting time for those of you, like me, who often have to throw together a last minute meal.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Stout Mac and Cheese

Every month, I am excited to receive the new issue of Cooking Light magazine for the new dinner ideas I find after perusing the pages of this magazine. I usually have to "real foodify" the recipes, but that's ok by me! My family enjoys the new ideas that wind up on our table. This recipe is one from the April 2013 issue, which I've switched up a bit.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Escarole and Beans

For those of you who regularly peruse my blog, you know that many of my recipes are from my grandma - traditional, Italian cooking that not only tastes delicious, but is incredibly nourishing.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Seven Layer Dip

My husband loves this dip, which we make once a year for the Super Bowl. But, it is so easy, I should really make it more often.

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