Shrimp Appetizer

Delicious and easy appetizer to throw together.  Love making this for holiday parties. 

1 lb large shrimp peeled and deveined
2 garlic cloves finely minced
1 Tbsp cilantro finely chopped, plus more to garnish
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil divided
1 English cucumber
1 fresh lime
Homemade or store bought guacamole

Place shrimp in a large mixing bowl and pat dry with paper towels. Add minced garlic, 1 Tbsp cilantro, 1 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper and 1 Tbsp olive oil. Stir well to combine.

Heat a large heavy pan over medium/high heat with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Once oil is hot, add shrimp in a single layer and sauté 2 min per side or until cooked through. I put in a bowl after cooked and squeezed the lime juice and sprinkled chopped cilantro over the cooked shrimp, stir to combine.

Divide the avocado mix over 20-22 cucumber slices. Place a shrimp on top of the guacamole/cucumber slice. Squeeze more fresh lime juice on top, serve.

Pioneer Woman's Pineapple Shrimp

I had some shrimp in the freezer I wanted to use so I went looking for a new recipe to try. I found this Pineapple Shrimp recipe on Pioneer Woman's website. It's been a while since I made something of hers and it looked easy - two great combinations!!

We liked this recipe although I would recommend adding a few of the optional ingredients. I added red pepper flakes but next time I would add some chopped jalapeno to add some spice as it was on the sweet side. I also would omit the sugar - the pineapple juice I think is sweet enough!

Ingredients:
1 pound (to 2 Pounds) Peeled, De-veined Jumbo Shrimp
1 can (about 20 Oz.) Pineapple Chunks (or 1 Whole Fresh Pineapple)

Marinade:
½ cups (to 1 Cup) Teriyaki Sauce
2 whole (to 3 Whole) Green Onions (sliced)
3 Tablespoons Garlic, Chopped, to taste
1 Tablespoon (to 2 Tablespoons) Sugar (optional)
Pineapple Juice (reserved From Can If Using Canned Pineapple)
1 dash Lemon Juice
1 dash Kosher Salt
_____
Optional Ingredients
Lime Zest
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Minced Fresh Ginger
Jalapenos Seeded And Chopped

Directions:

In a bowl combine teriyaki sauce, green onions, garlic, sugar, pineapple juice, lemon juice and salt (and any other of the optional ingredients of your choosing, to taste). Mix these together well and set aside.

Wash, then peel and de-vein the shrimp (unless they’ve already come that way). Stir peeled/de-veined jumbo shrimp into the marinade and marinate at least a couple of hours.



Skewer pineapple chunks with the shrimp and grill until done, about 1 to 2 minutes per side on a very hot grill. I broiled mine for the same amount of time. The shrimp I had were medium so I had to cut the pineapple chunks so they would fit in between the shrimp.



Flip again and cook until brown to just slightly blackened.



We had this for dinner but I also think this would be great as an appetizer for a party. I served mine with rice and a salad. I took the marinade and boiled it on the stove and then drizzled it over the rice.



Enjoy!

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!

Black Pepper Shrimp

Harris Teeter has been having shrimp on sale so I found this recipe from Paula Deen at RecipeZaar. It's her Black Pepper Shrimp and I only changed a few things. The original recipe says to leave the shrimp unpeeled and we just don't like to spend that much time working while we eat. ;) Plus, what a mess it must make! So I peeled the shrimp and reduced the pepper a little. I also only used 1 pound of shrimp because as much as we love shrimp we certainly don't need to eat 3 pounds of it at one sitting!

Ingredients:
1 pound shrimp, peeled & deveined
3 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoons chopped garlic
1 Tablespoons fresh ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450°F. Rinse and drain shrimp and place in shallow baking pan. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the garlic and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes. Pour the garlic butter mixture over shrimp and toss to coat.



Sprinkle about half the pepper over shrimp until they are well covered. Bake until pink (about 5 minutes).



Turn shrimp over sprinkle with remaining pepper and bake a few minutes longer.



This is a quick and simple meal that has is great for a weeknight but still tastes great. I served ours with bread, salad & white rice. Enjoy!

Spicy Orange Garlic Shrimp - Spaghetti

The Pioneer Woman is one of my favorite food blogs. I've tried a lot of her recipes and I can't think of one I didn't like. About a month ago (I know, I'm behind on posting!!) I made a recipe Spicy Orange Garlic Shrimp from her blog. I was planning on serving with white rice and sauteed mushrooms & onions but in the middle of cooking I realized I didn't have any white rice. Yikes! So I thought I'd serve the shrimp over pasta instead. As I was plating everything I decided to just toss the sauteed mushrooms, green peppers, & onions in with the pasta and shrimp.

I was pleased with the results, considering I was throwing stuff together as I went - Jordan was very pleased. :) He loves sauteed mushrooms and kept raving about this meal. The shrimp are very flavorful and would be great as an appetizer. Definitely give this one a try!

Ingredients:
1 bag frozen raw shell-on shrimp
3/4 cup orange juice
2-4 cloves of garlic
3 Tablespoons butter
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 tsp old bay seasoning - I didn't have old bay seasoning so I used Creole seasoning instead - might have made my dish a bit spicier.. :)

Directions:

Rinse shrimp under warm water until thawed. Peel shell & tail off shrimp and let shrimp dry on paper towel.

Thinly slice garlic cloves and combine with orange juice. Add spices to the orange juice/garlic mixture and stir to combine.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter over high heat. Once the butter has melted add the shrimp to the pan.



Cook for about 1 minute and then flip all the shrimp over. After another minute the shrimp should be cooked through.



Remove the shrimp from the pan and turn up the heat to high.

Once it starts smoking a bit add the orange juice mixture. Give it a stir and add the last tablespoon of butter.

Cook for a few minutes until the sauces is a bit thicker. Add cooked shrimp back to the sauce and stir until all shrimp are coated with the sauce. I kept them in there so the shrimp were warmed back up.



You can eat them just as they are, served with rice or served over pasta.

I served mine over pasta with sauteed mushrooms, green peppers and onions.

Shrimp Scampi Bake

Shrimp has been on sale at Harris Teeter quite a bit lately so we've been eating it more than normal. I love shrimp scampi and this recipe is pretty good and easy. Add more red pepper flakes to spice it up a bit if you like your food seasoned more.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
2 tablespoons prepared Dijon-style mustard
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (I use dried if I don’t have fresh)
2 pounds medium raw shrimp, shelled, deveined, with tails attached (I only used 1 pound shrimp and I took the tails off)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (more or less depending on your tastes)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, mustard, lemon juice, garlic, and parsley. When the butter melts completely, remove from heat.



Arrange shrimp in a shallow baking dish. Pour the butter mixture over the shrimp.



Bake in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until the shrimp are pink and opaque.

(I checked mine at 8 minutes and stirred the shrimp/sauce. Then I kept checking every few minutes so I wouldn’t over cook the shrimp. I served over pasta with garlic bread and veggies.)

Stir-Fried Noodles with Shrimp, Chiles & Lime

This is a fun recipe to make. It has a lot of interesting ingredients - many which you will not have in your house. Jordan and I both liked this recipe so I think it will be worth the extra effort to run to the store!

I did not add the mint leaves or the bean sprouts. (I don't really like bean sprouts). I made the mistake of telling Jordan that I omitted these items and he seemed to think they really would have made the dish much better. So, I'll be making this again soon and will let you know if they are really needed!

For the sauce:
2 Tablespoons fish sauce
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon chile-garlic sauce

For the stir-fry:
3 oz dried wide (pad thai) rice noodles
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
6 oz medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 1 cup)
1 4oz can fire-roasted whole green chiles (such as Ortega brand), drained and sliced into long, very thin slivers (about 1/2 cup)
1 1/2 cups bean sprouts
2 Tablespoons crushed unsalted roasted peanuts
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
10 fresh mint leaves, torn into small pieces
1 lime, cut into wedges for serving

Directions:
(Start this process while you prep/chop the other ingredients)
Submerge the noodles in a bowl of very warm water and soak until they are pliable but still rather firm, about 30 minutes. I ended up dumping the water out around 15 minutes and adding more warm/hot water as mine had cooled down quite a bit. Drain in a colander.



In a small bowl, combine all of the sauce ingredients. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet or stir-fry pan until very hot. Add the garlic, give a quick stir and immediately stir in the shrimp. Stir-fry until the shrimp turn pink.



Add the sauce and stir for 20 seconds. Add the chiles and noodles and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.



If the noodles are still firm, add 1 Tablespoon water and cook for another minute. (I had to do this). Then add the bean sprouts and cook until slightly limp. Serve the noodles garnished with peanuts, cilantro, mint and lime on the side. Squeeze a little lime juice over the noodles.



Enjoy!

Surf & Turf

I showed Jordan my food blog and he thought it was too dark. He picked this template instead of the black one. He thought the background needed to be lighter to go with the different foods that I post. What do you think?

I love grilling during the summer but after I while I get a bit bored with just having grilled meat for dinner. I found this recipe in one of my Cuisine at Home magazines and I've been waiting for shrimp to go on sale so I can try it. :) Well, shrimp was on sale at Harris Teeter this week so I gave this recipe a go!



Ingredients:
4 strips bacon
1 pound tenderloin or top sirloin steak (I just used whatever steaks I had in the freezer)
4 slices baguette, about 1 inch thick, brushed with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper
1 pound shrimp, peeled & deveined
1 Tablespoon flour
salt and pepper
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 Tablespoon garlic, minced
red pepper flakes to taste
1 cup dry white wine
3 Tablespoons butter (unsalted if you wish)
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Juice of half a lemon
Steak skewers

Directions:
Saute bacon in a skillet over medium heat until nearly crisp but still pliable - about 4 minutes. Drain on paper towel lined plate.

Preheat grill to medium high. Loosely weave a strip of bacon between pieces of meat on your skewer. I put two pieces of bacon on each skewer. Lightly coat meat with not stick spray and season with salt and pepper. Set aside while you get the shrimp going.

Toss shrimp with flour, salt and pepper. Saute 1 minute per side in the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Stir in tomatoes, garlic and pepper flakes; cook 1 minute, then deglaze with wine. Simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes.



While the sauce is simmering, put meat on grill and turn occasionally until cooked to desired doneness - about 4 minutes per side for medium rare. Remove from grill and tent with foil.

Grill prepared baguette slices about 1 minute per side.



Add the butter, parsley and lemon juice to the shrimp sauce.

I broke the skewers and placed each on a grilled baguette. Then spoon shrimp and sauce over the skewers. The sauce soaks into the bread and is heavenly with the shrimp and steak! Honestly, Jordan and I both really enjoyed this recipe and I will definitely be one I make again and again!!