Fabulous Recipe: Lime Shrimp with Coconut Rice! Quick, easy and delicious!

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Williams-Sonoma has a fabulous recipe. It’s quick, easy and comforting. The way the flavor of the coconut milk gives the rice just a faint taste and makes it nice and creamy is just so comforting! The shrimp cooked in a little butter with lime zest, juice and green onions is perfection. Click HERE for the link to the original Williams-Sonoma recipe that you can print.

Below is my version. I cooked the full amount of rice, and made half the shrimp portion, since there are only two of us. The first time I made it there wasn’t much of a lime taste. The second time I upped the zest and lime juice and it was perfect! If I was making this for four people I would double the lime zest and juice and serve with a big tossed salad, some nice hot bread and olive oil!

MY VERSION OF LIME SHRIMP WITH COCONUT RICE – Serves 2 (Click HERE to print my version):

The ingredients… butter, white rice, water, coconut milk, lime, garlic, shrimp, green onions

(Note: I did not use cilantro… you either like it or it tastes like dish soap. I taste JOY dish soap. Pthewy!)

THE RICE

Start by melting 1 tablespoon of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add 1 cup of rice and cook, stirring constantly, until well coated with butter (about 1 minute).

Then stir in 1 1/2 cups coconut milk and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook until liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender (about 20 minutes).

THE SHRIMP

I get the ingredients ready to use. Grate or mince the ginger, chop the green onions, zest and juice the lime, rinse and dry the shrimp and then proceed as follows:

While the rice cooks, grate the zest of one small lime and squeeze the juice from that same lime. About 5 minutes before the rice is ready, in a large fry pan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter.

Add the garlic, lime zest and lime juice and stir until the mixture is bubbly.

Add the shrimp and green onions. Saute until the shrimp are just opaque and cooked through, about 3 minutes (do not overcook). Stir in half of the cilantro if using.

FINISH THE RICE

Fluff the rice and gently stir in the remaining cilantro (if using). There are four servings of rice, which you can use to heat up for a quick side dish. Spoon some rice onto a pretty plate and top with shrimp mixture.

Serves 2.

Wait. Until. You. Taste. It! See how quick and easy it is? The main portion is cooked in 5 minutes, right before the rice is ready! Woohoo, love that!

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Weeknight, by Melanie Barnard (Oxmoor House, 2006).

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Recipe… Tyler Florence’s Roasted Sweet Potatoes… QUICK, EASY & IMPRESSIVE!

EYES-ROLL-BACK-IN-YOUR-HEAD-GOOD! A fabulous recipe from Tyler Florence… just gotta love that guy! After you make these sweet potatoes the first time this will be in your stack of favorites forever. Healthy sweet potatoes, olive oil, honey, a wee bit of salt and that’s it! Who doesn’t love a recipe that’s quick, easy and tastes like you spent some time?! We used to have baked sweet potatoes, but they take a good hour to bake, and sometimes it’s too hard to wait that long. I wanted something that would be done by the time the chicken came off the grill… so it had to be a little snappier than an hour. Tyler cuts his sweet potatoes into 1″ chunks, and it takes about 30 minutes. If I put the oven on convection it’s even quicker. And if I need it even quicker than that I cut them up a little smaller. This recipe never disappoints. One thing I do, that Tyler doesn’t mention is to lightly toss (to coat) before putting in the oven, and flipping once about halfway through the roasting process. they get gooey and brown and just fabulous! I also didn’t drizzle with olive oil at the end, I didn’t think it needed it, and didn’t want to add the extra fat/calories… My photos… and Tyler’s recipe with a link to the Food Network (for easy printing) below…

Scrub and peel… (clearly these aren’t peeled)

Cut into 1″ pieces. I cut in half longways, then each half cut in half longways, then cut into 1″ chunks

Drizzle the honey…

Drizzle the olive oil… then sprinkle a little cinnamon and pop it into a hot oven! TADA! Look at the first photo again… Heaven, right?

Here’s the recipe from the Food Network (click to get the printable version):

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Honey and Cinnamon

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence – Prep Time: 15 minInactive Prep Time: — Cook Time: 30 min  Level: Easy

Serves:

4 servings

Ingredients
4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling potatoes after cooked
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Lay the sweet potatoes out in a single layer on a roasting tray. Drizzle the oil, honey, cinnamon, salt and pepper over the potatoes. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes in oven or until tender.

Take sweet potatoes out of the oven and transfer them to a serving platter. Drizzle with more extra-virgin olive oil.

SERVES: 4 (SIDE); Calories: 304; Total Fat: 15 grams; Saturated Fat: 2 grams; Protein: 2 grams; Total carbohydrates: 41 grams; Sugar: 24 grams; Fiber: 5 grams; Cholesterol: 0 milligrams; Sodium: 216 milligrams

Copyright 2012 Television Food Network G.P.
All Rights Reserved

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_9936_34948_RECIPE-PRINT-FULL-PAGE-FORMATTER,00.html?oc=linkback

Catch you back here tomorrow!

The Best Baked Chicken Breasts… Quick, Easy and sooo good!

Ina Garten’s recipe for baked chicken is the easiest and the tastiest that I’ve found. To smell that chicken in the oven, ahhhh… whip up some mashed potatoes, or some sweet potatoes, quinoa, rice or just some veggies and you have yourself a meal fit for a king! It gets deeply brown like fried chicken. The skin gets crispy… Ina says she bakes the chicken on the bone and WITH the skin, then peels the skin off before eating (which is mighty hard to do, let me  tell you!).

This is all you do.

Buy however many chicken breasts you want (or other parts, but time may be different).

Put heavy duty foil on a cookie sheet (something with a rim to catch the grease).

Olive oil on the chicken, rub it around, coat both sides.

Salt and pepper.

Oven at 350 degrees. Bake 45 minutes to an hour OR until the temperature of the chicken reaches 180 degrees. If they’re small it could take about 30 minutes. Ours are usually close to a pound each (I KNOW!)… hefty for sure!

The. Best. Ever!

Shown above with sweet potatoes… recipe coming soon! Catch you back here tomorrow!

Recipe: How To Make Beef Stew: Quick & Easy!

For those of you out there who have never made a beef stew, I’m going to show you a quick and easy recipe… In the photo above… I look like I have control with one tiny piece of bread (whole wheat at that!), right? Truth is, I took all these photos while cooking (which is similar to juggling in my opinion), by the time it was ready, LETS EAT is what came to mind… and we did. I think I had two bites left and said HHHHHHIIIIIIIIEEEEGGGGHHHHH! I forgot to take a PHOTO! Poor Fred. Every time I make a recipe that ends up on this blog he watches a tornado with a camera in the kitchen, then a crisis afterwards because I FORGET TO SHOOT THE LAST PHOTO, good grief, the most important one! Lo and behold, there was one slice of bread left… enough to make me look dainty. Ha.

Ok, on to the recipe… click HERE for the printable recipe (minus all the photos)…

Ingredients: 1 # stew beef, carrots (4-6 should be good), 4-6 medium potatoes (I used red and did not peel, but that’s up to you), 1 onion, chopped (I used slices to try, but it cooks down so you really can’t tell), salt, pepper, worcestershire sauce, olive oil and beef broth.

Start by chopping the carrots, potatoes and onions, I usually cook this for a few hours so the veggies will be done and the meat will be tender.

In a plastic zip bag or on a plate, add a few spoonfuls of all purpose flour (I always use unbleached), add salt and pepper.

Roll the pieces of stew beef around so that they’re coated in flour, this will help thicken the stew slightly.

Heat some olive oil (or canola oil) in a heavy bottom pan.

Drop the flour coated beef stew pieces into the hot oil to brown (not cook all the way through).

Once the meat has browned, move it off to the side…

Now, toss in the onions. stir them around until they’re translucent…

Once onions are translucent, stir to combine.

Now is the time to add some beef broth and Worcestershire Sauce (at this point you can also add some red wine if you like). You can use all beef broth or part beef broth and part water. The amount will depend on how many veggies you added… you’ll want to almost cover it… Stir it around and loosen up all those tasty brown bits that are stuck to the bottom of your pot. They add some heavenly flavor!

Now add the potatoes and carrots, salt and pepper and any other seasonings you might like…

Now it’s ready to cook! Turn the heat on medium high until it comes to a slight boil (where you see bubbles), then turn it down to low and simmer. I usually do this with the lid off most of the time… or I’ll crack it so steam can escape if I don’t want the liquid to reduce any more…

Something that gives soups and stew some nice flavor are the center pieces of celery, you know, the ones with all the leaves… toss them in whole, and you can pull them out when it’s done. It adds a nice flavor.

And that’s it! This is a great dish to make on a cold day, keeps the kitchen nice and warm. You can serve this with warm bread and a salad… or all by itself! Enjoy!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Lobsters… SET THEM FREE… oh, wait a minute…!

This is a photo I shot while in Maine. When I used to see this (as you do all over) I used to dream about setting them free, ha ha… Then one day I was watch Alton Brown on the Food Network, he was talking about the similarities of lobsters and… one of my biggest fears… la coockaracha’s as I like to call them, it doesn’t sound so greasy, so downright creepy (oh I just know I’m going to have a nightmare tonight!)… cockroaches. Lobsters and cockroaches are in the same family.

Set them free?

Nope… Maybe don’t squish ‘em, but hey, definitely don’t set them free!

Maybe, toss them in a macaroni and cheese… like this recipe from Ina Garten?! Hee, hee.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Pork Tenderloin with Pears and Onions… the best recipe ever!

Mmmm, pork tenderloin… nice and lean and when pear and red onions are added and a honey balsamic is drizzled over the top this turns into an absolute masterpiece. Some friends of ours had us over for dinner and this is what we had. What a treat! I couldn’t believe how wonderful this was, how the flavors were perfectly combined. This is quite possibly the best recipe you will ever make. It’s a 5 star recipe from Williams-Sonoma and it is… TO. DIE. FOR. It’s like something you would get in a very, very nice restaurant. It’s healthy and it only takes minutes to prepare… are you ready?!

Scroll to the bottom for the printable recipe… Note: I put my sweet potatoes in the oven 30 minutes prior to starting the pork tenderloin… then pulled them out of the oven after the pork had a chance to rest a few minutes… hope you enjoy…

Season the pork tenderloin

Sauté  in an oven proof sauté pan until brown

Transfer to a plate

Saute onions and pears

Return pork to pan and drizzle with honey and balsamic vinegar mixture, scatter thyme leaves

Put pan in oven and bake until juices run clear

Remove from oven, place pork tenderloin on a plate and cover with foil. Allow it to rest 5 minutes… it’s worked hard… it deserves a rest!

After the pork has had a little siesta, cut it into slices, place slices on a plate and top with the onion and pear mixture… spoon a little of the honey balsamic vinegar mixture from the pan…

I served with a baked sweet potato and green beans.

Here it is from the Williams-Sonoma website…

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Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Pear and Thyme

Printer Friendly Version

Combining juicy pork tenderloin with fresh pear slices and red onion, this simple dish is perfect for an autumn evening. Honey and balsamic vinegar form an appealing glaze on the meat.

Ingredients:

• 1 pork tenderloin, about 1 lb., trimmed of excess fat
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 red onion, cut into 1/8-inch wedges
• 4 Forelle or Bosc pears, cored and each cut into 8 wedges
• 2 Tbs. honey
• 1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
• Leaves from 12 fresh thyme sprigs

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 400°F.

Season the pork tenderloin well with salt and pepper. In an ovenproof sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil until shimmering. Sear the pork, turning occasionally, until well browned, 6 to 8 minutes total. Transfer to a plate.

Add the onion and pears to the pan and sauté for 1 minute. Return the pork to the pan and drizzle with the honey and vinegar. Scatter the thyme leaves in the pan. Transfer to the oven and roast until the juices run clear when the pork is pierced with a knife, 15 to 20 minutes.

Transfer the pork to a cutting board, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut into slices 1/2 inch thick. Divide the pork, pears and onion wedges among 4 individual plates, drizzle with the glaze from the pan and serve immediately. Serves 4.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Cooking for Friends, by Alison Attenborough and Jamie Kimm (Oxmoor House, 2008).

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Oh heavens… this sounds good right NOW! Catch you back here tomorrow!

Kale and White Bean Soup recipe – New Year’s Day!

Well HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013 to you! What’s better than starting out the new year with something healthy? This soup is so good on a cold day, it heats you from the inside out! Note that it truly is better made a few days ahead, but it’s perfectly acceptable on day one! Have a small bowl and enjoy your day… then settle down to a big bowl in a night or two, you won’t be sorry! I served it with a small salad and an olive baguette that I heated up from Trader Joe’s… oooowie!

Here’s the printer friendly version from Epicurious, it’s a keeper for sure!

I used Great Northern beans which were so perfect in this soup. Silky smooth without falling apart, even after several days of reheating!

I want to mention that adding the parmesan rind (from all the reviews I read) is IMPERATIVE! Don’t skip that step. We’re fortunate to have a Whole Foods nearby, I bought a container of them for $1.80, enough for several pots of soup!

The recipe says 1 bay leaf (not from California). Not sure where my bay leaf was from, it didn’t say?? It was fine!

For the sausage… I’m not a big smoked sausage kind of gal… wanted something healthier, so I opted for fresh chicken hot Italian sausage and it was PERFECT! Just the right amount of bite that livened this soup up nicely. Mild Italian sausage would be nice as well.

I left out the carrots. They would have been pretty, but my husband isn’t a big lover of carrots in soup, and I thought they could easily be left out of this soup, although I might do a few long shreds into the soup next time for color…

I used local Kale… not sure what variety it was, but it was fabulous!

When I make a recipe I like to have all my ingredients measured out and ready to go…

I snip the ends off the sausage and cut longways and the sausage falls right out of the casing… brown it, drain it and set it aside to add near the end of the recipe…

Kale And White Bean Soup

Gourmet | February 2002

Yield: Makes 6 main-course servings Active Time: 1 hr Total Time: 3 hr 1 lb dried white beans such as Great Northern, cannellini, or navy 2 onions, coarsely chopped 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped 5 cups chicken broth 2 qt water 1 (3- by 2-inch) piece Parmigiano-Reggiano rind 2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 bay leaf (not California) 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary 1 lb smoked sausage such as kielbasa (optional), sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick 8 carrots, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces 1 lb kale (preferably lacinato), stems and center ribs discarded and leaves coarsely choppedAccompaniment:provolone toasts Cover beans with water by 2 inches in a pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let stand, uncovered, 1 hour. Drain beans in a colander and rinse. Cook onions in oil in an 8-quart pot over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add beans, broth, 1 quart water, cheese rind, salt, pepper, bay leaf, and rosemary and simmer, uncovered, until beans are just tender, about 50 minutes. While soup is simmering, brown sausage (if using) in batches in a heavy skillet over moderate heat, turning, then transfer to paper towels to drain. Stir carrots into soup and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in kale, sausage, and remaining quart water and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until kale is tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Season soup with salt and pepper. Cooks’notes: •Soup is best if made 1 or 2 days ahead. Cool completely, uncovered, then chill, covered. Thin with water if necessary.•Lacinato is available at farm stands, specialty produce markets, and natural foods stores. Be aware that it has many aliases: Tuscan kale, black cabbage, cavolo nero, dinosaur kale, and flat black cabbage.

Let me know how you like it! It’s a super tasty, soul warming treat!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Corn Pudding Recipe for Christmas Dinner…

There is nothing better than a good corn pudding to go along with a holiday meal. A mixture of sweet (Jiffy corn muffin mix) and savory it seems to just melt in your mouth! This recipe is from Daphne Oz (yep, her dad is Dr. Oz, she’s the gal on THE CHEW, a TV show about food…). I saw this in the DASH RECIPES circular that comes in the paper once a month. GREAT RECIPES inside that little gem, so be sure to look through it carefully! This isn’t a healthy side dish, but hey, it’s the holidays, this is a very popular recipe right now… Like Daphne says… eat less the day before and the day after a holiday feast, that way you can enjoy the holiday! From DashRecipes.com:

DAPHNE OZ’S CORN PUDDING

INGREDIENTS

1 (8.5-box) Jiffy corn muffin mix (or vegetarian equivalent)
1 can cream-style corn
1 can corn nibblets, drained
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup sour cream

AT A GLANCE:SERVINGS: 8ACTIVE TIME: 10 min

TOTAL TIME: 1 hr 5 min

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Grease an 8 to 10-inch pan with butter and pour in mixture. Bake at 350˚F for 55-60 minutes. 

Serves 8.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Image: DashRecipes.com

Fabulous Bean Soup – it can’t be easier!

This soup is amazing. When it’s cold outside it will warm you. With all the beans it will fill you up and keep you full for a long time. I used a ham bone from Honey Baked Ham and it had a good bit of ham on it. There was the perfect amount, so I didn’t need to buy extra. This soup is outstanding! This is a collaboration of several recipes. Note: I DID NOT USE THE SEASONING PACKET…

Why didn’t you use the seasoning packet you ask? Well, because there isn’t anything that even remotely resembles “ham” and if there was, how would they get it in that tiny little packet? This is what’s in the seasoning “HAM” packet: Hydrolyzed Soy Protein (omg, click orange link to read what it is!), maltodextrin, salt, artificial flavorings (including artificial smoke flavor), silicon dioxide. Ok, what in that list appeals to you? One rule to becoming healthier… don’t eat stuff you can’t pronounce, don’t know where it comes from or ISN’T REAL! Soy protein for ham flavoring? Creeps. Me. Out. All you have to do is add a few spices and this recipe goes from being CREEPY to being a true delight! AND it only takes a minute to add a few spices. Here’s how I made the soup (click HERE to print recipe only):

15 (or 16 or whatever beans you’ve got!) BEAN SOUP

INGREDIENTS

1 pkg of 15 Bean Soup (dried beans only) – approximately a pound, give or take

1 ham bone – whatever size will fit in your pot (mine came from Honey Baked Ham, they sell their ham bones and they have quite a bit of ham, if you don’t have a ham place near you, you can use 1 pound of ham, ham hocks or smoked sausage).

1 large onion, chopped.

1 14.5 oz petite diced tomatoes

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 ribs celery, chopped

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 bay leaf

Pepper (I didn’t use salt because of the salt in the ham/bone, it didn’t need a speck!)

DIRECTIONS

Wash the beans and then soak in a large pot of water overnight (or for at least eight hours). Or you can use the Quick Cook Method (which is what I did because I decided to make the soup that day) – to do this rinse the beans then put them in a large pot with 3 quarts of water and bring to a rapid boil. Reduce the heat, cover and continue on a slow boil for 60-70 minutes, and then drain the beans and rinse one last time.

In a large dutch oven, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onion and celery and saute until translucent. Add minced garlic, saute 1 minute or until fragrant.

Add spices, beans, tomatoes and ham bone.

Cover with about 2 quarts of water, or enough to either cover the bone or fill your pot.

Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer about 1.5 hours.

Remove the ham bone, let cool a few minutes and cut the ham off the bone into small pieces.

Remove the bay leaf and add the diced ham back to the pot.

Serve… I served with an olive baguette from Trader Joe’s that I heated in the oven, then dipped in olive oil.

TOO GOOD, and it makes a large pot, so there is enough to eat, have lunches, and freeze!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Grandmas Goulash… quick, easy and oh so good!

Grandmas Goulash, not Grandma’s Goulash… My recipe is a combination of both of my grandma’s recipes, one of them used tomato sauce and the other used tomato paste. It’s the tomato paste that gives it the great flavor (well that and the parmesan!)… I use lean ground sirloin (the leanest) or ground round (the next leanest) and it works perfectly. This is one of those meals that tastes even better the next day… try it, I just know you will LOVE it! Goulash is one of those quick meals that is the ultimate in comfort food! Comfort food doesn’t always have to be unhealthy…

Start by chopping one onion (however much you like, or none if you prefer)… Add a little olive oil to a large skillet (or large pan if you don’t have a saucepan large enough to cook everything in).

Add 1 pound of ground sirloin (or other hamburger), and cook until done. Drain off excess fat.

Add 1-15 oz. can of tomato sauce, about 1 cup of water, 1 can of tomato paste, salt and pepper to taste. If it gets too thick add a little more water.

Simmer (not boil, just until you see little bubbles on the edges) for one hour on low. I usually have the lid cracked so all the liquid doesn’t evaporate.

After the meat sauce has simmered for about 30 minutes, turn on a large pot of water to boil the 2 cups of elbow macaroni. Follow package direction for the macaroni noodles (or similar shape, can also use egg noodles if you prefer) until done. Drain, and add to meat sauce. Give it a good stir.

Now it’s ready to dish up! Add a veggie and/or a salad and you’ve got one great meal! Click HERE to print the recipe…

GRANDMAS GOULASH

Brown 1 pound Ground Sirloin (or ground round, etc.) in a large saucepan, drain any excess fat.

Add 1 diced Onion, cook until hamburger is done and onion is tender.

To the meat add: 1-15 oz. can of Tomato Sauce, 1 cup Water, 1 can Tomato Paste and Salt & Pepper to taste.

Simmer 1 hour.

Cook 2 cups of elbow macaroni as directed on package. Drain and add to meat mixture. 

Serve with Parmesan Cheese. 

Note: You can also add a little cheese and bake it the next day to change it a little. My preference is to leave it as is, you just can’t beat it!

Catch you back here tomorrow!