Friday, April 30, 2010

Shrimp & Grits

Yummy. Oh, so yummy.



I actually wish I had some of this right now. It was sooooo good!!

I made this for dinner one night last week. I think shrimp and grits can be breakfast or dinner. I choose to go for dinner! I found it in a Southern Living Easy Entertainment magazine that I bought last November in the grocery store. So far I've really liked the recipes I've made from it!

Shrimp Ingredients:
1 lb unpeeled, medium size raw shrimp
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup flour
2 bacon slices
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 tsp canola oil
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp hot sauce

Grits Ingredients:
14 oz can low sodium chicken broth
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup uncooked quick cooking grits
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1/4 tsp ground white pepper

Directions for shrimp:

Peel shrimp & devein.

Sprinkle shrimp with pepper and salt; dredge in flour (oops! I forgot this step!!)

Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon and drain on paper towels, reserving 1 tsp bacon grease.

Saute mushrooms in hot drippings with oil in skillet 5 minutes or until tender. Add green onions and saute 2 minutes. Add shrimp and garlic and saute until the shrimp are lightly browned.



Stir in chicken broth, lemon juice, and hot sauce and cook 2 more minutes, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet. (At this point I turned the shrimp off and cooked the grits. Warm the shrimp back up once the grits are almost done.)



Direction for Cheese Grits:

(Note: My grits were a little runny because I put too much chicken broth in mine. Saryn was whining and Jordan was talking to me and I ended up putting in 16 oz instead of 14 oz. I cooked them a lot longer than the recipe stated but couldn't get them as thick as they should be. Still tasted great though!

Bring chicken broth, milk, salt & 1 1/3 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat; gradually whisk in grits. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until thickened.



Stir in cheddar cheese and remaining ingredients.

Spoon shrimp mixture over hot cheese grits; sprinkle with crumbled bacon.



Enjoy!

Friday, April 23, 2010

Fish Tacos



I wanted tacos for dinner the other night but kind of wanted a little something different. I decided that maybe fish tacos would be interesting to try. I've only made them once before and those one's I fried. I found this recipe at Eat at Home and here she grilled the fish. I almost didn't make them because I thought they wouldn't be good unless they were fried. Well, I gave it a shot and they were really good! Jordan said he actually preferred them this way over being fried!

I made some changes because I forgot a few ingredients at the store. You can really change this recipe up to suit your tastes so play with it a bit!

Ingredients:

4-6 Tilapia fillets, thawed (I bought 4 for the two of us)
Old Bay seasoning
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tbs. lime juice
3 teaspoons of adobe sauce from chipotle peppers (I couldn't find this so I bought chipotle salsa instead)
Handful of chopped fresh cilantro (forgot this at the store but would add it next time)
Slaw mix (forgot this as well so I just used chopped lettuce but would try the slaw next time)
Corn tortillas
Cheddar cheese, shredded – if desired
Chopped tomatoes – if desired
Chopped avocado – if desired

Directions:

Sprinkle the fish with Old Bay seasoning. I also put on some lemon pepper as well. Next time I would probably season with some salt too. I cooked our fish in a skillet with olive oil but you could cook it on the grill or in the oven. The fish was done in 5-7 minutes on the skillet - it flakes easily with a fork when it's done.

For the sauce, stir the sour cream, cilantro, adobe sauce and lime juice together. Since I was using chipotle salsa I put in a few spoonfuls and tasted the sauce. I think I ended up putting about 5 spoonfuls of salsa in to get the taste I wanted.

Once the fish is cooked, cut it into pieces. Assemble the tacos by layering the fish, slaw or lettuce and sauce on warmed corn tortillas. We also added tomatoes, avocado & cheese. 4 fillets of tilapia made 8 tacos. We each had two that night and I had two for lunch over the next two days. I served this with a side salad.



Yummy, enjoy!!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Coconut Cake



We had friends over for Easter dinner this year and Jordan asked if I would make a coconut cake for dessert. I didn't even know he liked coconut cake! :) So, I set out to find a recipe as I've never made one before - and honestly I don't think I've ever tried a coconut cake before either. I found one on The Food Network by Paula Deen. Can't go wrong with Paula Deen, right?

We liked this cake, although I thought the cake was a bit crumbly. I may have over cooked it and it calls for 3 layers and I only made two. I would make this cake again but would make a few changes. I'd try the 3 layers (only had two 9" pans!) and would add coconut extract instead of vanilla to both the cake and the frosting.

Ingredients:
Cake:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups sifted self-rising flour
1 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I would use coconut extract next time)

Filling:
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
4 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup flaked, sweetened coconut

Frosting:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar or 1 tablespoon white corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water
2 egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (Again, I'd use coconut extract instead)

Directions for cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) cake pans. I only had two 9" pans so I only had two layers for my cake. Using an electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and continue to cream well for 6 to 8 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Add vanilla and continue to beat until just mixed. Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Level batter in each pan by holding pan 3 or 4 inches above counter, then dropping it flat onto counter. Do this several times to release air bubbles and assure you of a more level cake. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. Cool in pans 5 to 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto cooling racks.

Directions for the Filling:

Stir together sugar, sour cream, milk, and coconut in a bowl until well blended. Place the first cake layer onto pedestal. Using the wrong end of a wooden spoon, poke holes approximately 1-inch apart until entire cake has been poked.



Spread a third of filling mixture on cake layer. (I poured half since there were only 2 layers)



Top with second layer, repeat process. Top with last layer and repeat process again. My top cake was bigger than the bottom but I didn't realize that until I already had it stacked. Oops!



Cook's Note: As each layer is stacked, stick them with toothpicks to prevent cake from shifting. (I didn't need to do this)

Directions for frosting:

Place sugar, cream of tartar or corn syrup, salt, water, and egg whites in the top of a double boiler. Beat with a handheld electric mixer for 1 minute. Place pan over boiling water, being sure that boiling water does not touch the bottom of the top pan. Beat constantly on high speed with electric mixer for 7 minutes.



Beat in vanilla. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Looking a little lopsided. Maybe I should take a cake decorating class. :)



Sprinkle top and sides of cake with coconut. I found out that working with coconut is great - it covers all the flaws!!



You can leave as is or decorate as you'd like. Since it was Easter I decided to decorate with jelly beans and peeps!



Enjoy!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Murphy's Hot Hamburger



I was looking for something new to make the other day and ran across this recipe on Pioneer Woman. I'm not normally into food that has a lot of gravy poured over it but this really caught my eye. I really liked it but Jordan wasn't such a fan. It is a very brown meal and Jordan likes colorful plates of food. :) I served it with steamed broccoli & a side salad but that didn't seem to help him much. Oh well, I thought it was really good and would make it again!

Ingredients:
1 pound Ground Beef
1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
1 Tablespoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
5 Tablespoons Flour
2 cans (14 Oz. Can) Beef Broth OR 4 Cups Water With Beef Bouillon
5 whole Large Potatoes (I used 3 and had plenty for the two of us)
1 Tablespoon Oil, Or As Needed
Salt And Pepper, to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Slice potatoes into fries. Place on a large baking sheet. Pour about 1 tablespoon of oil over the fries and toss with fingers to coat evenly. Sprinkle fries with seasoning of choice. I used seasoned salt. Place in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes or until golden & crispy.



In a mixing bowl, mix hamburger, garlic, seasoned salt, onion powder and salt and pepper. Mix well with hands. Form 4 large patties. Place in a large preheated skillet over medium heat, preferably one with deep sides. Brown burgers on each side until done.



Remove burgers from the skillet and place on a plate covered in paper towels. Do not drain the grease. Add the flour a tablespoon at a time, stirring with a whisk. You have enough when the grease is all absorbed and the flour mixture gets thick and bubbly. I didn't have much grease so I had to add some olive oil. Slowly add the broth a little at a time, whisking constantly. Bring to a simmer and allow to thicken.

To serve, place an ample amount of fries on the plate. I poured gravy on the fries, placed hamburger on then more gravy on top of the hamburger.



Enjoy!