Blackberry Crunch

I got this recipe from my family's recipe book.  It was submitted by my aunt, Marilyn, who is a fantastic cook!  I was looking for a dessert to make one night for some friends from church who were coming over for a meeting.  I knew I would be getting home from work a little late and wouldn't have tons of time, but I wanted to serve something homemade.  This was super fast and perfect for a cold winter night!

Blackberry Crunch
Ingredients:
1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple, undrained (in its own juice)
3 cups blackberries (Marilyn's recipe calls for blueberries, but nearly any berry will do!)
1 package yellow cake mix
1 stick margarine, melted
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions:
Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan.  Spread undrained pineapple in pan.  Layer berries over pineapple.  Sprinkle dry cake mix over the berries.  Then pour the melted margarine over all.  Sprinkle top with chopped nuts.  Do not stir.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.  Serve warm with ice cream.

And... we're back!

I've been posting on my blog for 3 1/2 years now. I had been doing really well the first 3 years posting about once a week or at least a few times a month, but last summer I went back to school and have had far less free time!  I'm not taking a class this semester, so I hope to be back to posting more often!  I've back blogged a few recipes that I've had time to make recently, so please take a look at those.  For some reason, blogger is not letting me upload photos for my recipes right now, but I'll try to come back later and post pictures.  I'm not sure how often I'll be able to blog, but hopefully you'll see a few new recipes every now and then.  Happy cooking!!

Shrimp Diablo

My friend, Sydney, and I are always exchanging recipes over lunch.  She sent me this one recently after trying herself, and I'm dying to get the chance to make it!  I love spicy seafood, so I know this dish is going to be great!

 

Shrimp Diablo

Ingredients:
1 lb. med. lg. shrimp. Frozen but uncooked. Peeled & deveined.

1 t crushed red pepper flakes

6 T good olive oil

1 1/2 T salt

1/4 C cognac or brandy

4 T minced garlic

1/2 t sugar

28 oz can diced, unflavored tomatoes, drained

1 C dry white wine

1/4 C chopped parsley

1 lb. linguini

1/3 C heavy cream

2 oz. capers, drained & rinsed.

Directions:
1. Get a big pot of salted water on stove to boil. Heat a heavy 12 inch skillet on high for about 4 minutes. This is very important - don't go too fast. The pan needs to be really, really hot. While the pan heats, toss the shrimp with half the red pepper flakes, 2 T of the olive oil and 3/4 t salt. Stir to coat shrimp and let them sit.

2. When pan is ready dump in the shrimp and use a wooden spoon to spread them around in a single layer. Let them sit there for 30 seconds - the bottoms will turn a mottled brown. Remove from the heat and stir the shrimp so the other side is down. Add the brandy and wait a second or two. Put the pan back on the heat and wave a match over the pan until the brandy lights. Watch your eyebrows! Shake the skillet until the flames die down. Pour the whole mess into a holding bowl.

3. Let the skillet cool a bit. Return to a low heat. Add 3 T of the garlic and 3 T of olive oil. Cook the garlic, stirring all the time until it is well cooked - about 6 minutes or until straw colored, not brown.

4. Add the rest of the pepper flakes, 3/4 t salt, sugar, tomatoes and wine. Make sure the tomatoes are drained or you'll have a good tasting but watery sauce. Simmer on medium heat for 8 minutes.

5. While the sauce simmers, add the pasta to the boiling water.

6. Add the shrimp and all their juices, the rest of the garlic and the parsley, Simmer until the shrimp are hot again. Add cream and capers.

7. When the pasta is done, drain - saving 1/3 C of pasta water. Put pasta in a big bowl - add the reserved water back and about 1/2 C of the sauce. Toss well.

8. You can now either add the sauce and serve family style or put the pasta in bowls and top with the sauce.

Pimento Cheese Crisps

I found this recipe over the summer and made them for a party.  Then in December, my church used the same recipe for our big Christmas party, and I realized how great these would be for the holidays!  They are similar to the cheese straw recipe I posted 3 years ago, but spicier and easier to make (since you don't have to squeeze the dough through a cookie press).  I've made them several times now, and they always turn out great!

Picture from:  The Runaway Spoon

Pimento Cheese Crisps
(from The Runaway Spoon)
Ingredients:
1 (4-ounce) jar diced pimentos
8 ounces sharp cheddar
½ cup (1 stick) cold butter
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
Dash of cayenne pepper
A generous pinch of salt
A few grinds black pepper
½ cup chopped pecans

Directions:
Rinse and drain the pimentos and place them on paper towels. Pat them dry and then leave them for 10 – 15 minutes to air dry.

Grate the cheese and the cold butter together in a food processor. Switch from the grating blade to the metal blade, then add the flour, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne salt and pepper. Process until the dough just begins to come together and looks moist and grainy. Add the pecans and process until the dough begins to pull away from the sides and form a ball. Add the pimentos and pulse a few times until the dough is a ball.

Dump the dough onto a piece of waxed paper, scrapping out all the pimento pieces from the bowl. Knead the dough a few times just to incorporate and distribute the pimento pieces. Cut two more lengths of waxed paper, divide the dough into two portions and place each portion on one waxed paper length. Form each onto a log and roll tightly, pressing in to form a nice solid log. Twist the ends like a candy wrapper. Refrigerate the logs for at least an hour before baking, but you can refrigerate them for two days or freeze them for 3 months.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350° and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the rolls from the fridge and slice into medium-thick wafers, about 1/4 inch each. Place on the baking sheet with a little room to spread and bake until golden around the edges and firm on the top, about 10 – 12 minutes. Cool on the pans for a few minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool.
Makes about 3 dozen

Chicken and Avocado Salad with Lime and Cilantro

Kent and I made this the other night.  The original recipe says that it makes 4 servings, but it was really closer to just 3 lunch servings or 2 dinner servings.  But, it was super good!!  It definitely has a Mexican feel (Kent added a little tequila, too).  This recipe comes from a link to no-heat lunches, so I think I'll definitely be making this again to take to school!

Picture from: Kalyn's Kitchen

Chicken and Avocado Salad with Lime and Cilantro
(Recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen)

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded into large pieces
2 medium avocados, diced
1 T + 1 T fresh squeezed lime juice
salt, to taste (I didn't use too much salt because you can always add more at the table.)
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro (or chop it more coarsely if you prefer)
2 T mayo or light mayo

Instructions:
Shred the chicken apart until you have 2 cups of chicken shredded into fairly large chunks. Dice the avocados into medium-sized pieces, mix with 1 T of the lime juice, and season avocado with salt to taste. Thinly slice the green onion and finely chop the cilantro. Mix mayo and 1 T lime juice to make the dressing.

Put the chicken into a bowl large enough to hold all the salad ingredients. Add the sliced green onions and dressing and toss until all the chicken is coated with dressing. Add the avocado and any lime juice in the bottom of the bowl and gently combine with the chicken. Then add the chopped cilantro and gently mix into the salad, just until it is barely combined.

Serve right away or chill for a while before serving. This could be served inside pita bread or sandwich bread, but we just ate it as a salad. (I would imagine this would be fine in the fridge overnight but I didn't have any left over when I made it!)

Lazy Sushi Bowl

This is another great Asian dish!  It has a lot of ingredients and takes some time, but it's really good.  My friend, Lacey, and I made it for dinner one night, and then I took the rest for lunch the next day.  This is a great way to have a sushi-feel at home without having to actually roll the sushi.  You could definitely add seared tuna if you want fish.  Most of these ingredients can be found on the international aisle at the grocery store.

 

Picture from: Veggie Wedgie

Lazy Sushi Bowl

(From Veggie Wedgie)

serves 3

Ingredients:
-1 cup sweet brown rice
-1 cup shelled edamame beans
-1 cucumber
-1 small avocado
-2 spring onions
-1 tsp fresh ginger juice
-2 tbsp brown rice vinegar
-1 tbsp soy sauce
-1 tsp wasabi paste
-1 tbsp sesame oil
-2 tbsp black sesame seeds
-2 nori sheets

Directions:

Cook brown rice with water as instructed in the package. Blanch edamame. Chop avocado and cucumber very small. Mix ginger juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, oil and wasabi. Pour over cucumber and avocado and let it marinate while the rice is cooking. When the rice is done, mix everything together and toss well. Before serving sprinkle with black sesame seeds.  For the nori, you can either use scissors to cut it up in small pieces and garnish the plate.

Garlic Parmesan Edamame

I found this recipe on Pinterest and made it along with the sushi bowl recipe that I'll also be posting.  So easy and so yummy!!  If you generally like edamame, you'll love this!

Picture from: Keeping up with the Joneses

Garlic Parmesan Edamame

(recipe from Keeping up with the Joneses)

Ingredients:

1 (16 oz) pkg frozen edamame in shell
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt to taste

Steam edamame in microwave until slightly warm and not frozen. The kind I buy at Sam's comes in microwave steaming bags, but 28 cooks says you can throw the edamame in a ziploc bag with about a tbsp of water, seal it, leaving a small opening for steam, and heat it on high for 2 minutes (*I acutally tried this, and it works!). Drain and set aside.

In a small food processor or blender, combine olive oil and garlic. Process until well-combined. Heat a wok over medium high heat. Add edamame and toss for a few seconds. Add garlic oil and saute for a minute or two, stirring constantly. Add breadcrumbs, Parmesan, and salt and toss until well coated. Serve immediately. Eat like regular edamame, eating the pods and leaving the shell.