Shrimp Heaven

Anybody else love shrimp? It can get really expensive to make for a whole family though. To save money, I like to add it to a pasta dish to make it go farther. I just made the recipe below for dinner, loosely based on a recipe by Melissa D'Arabian from Food Network but changed to suit us. I think I changed it enough so I feel okay posting it here. It is quite different from the original. Tim really liked it....and that's saying a lot because it's hard to even get him to try anything new. I think we have a budding gourmand on our hands now. While eating the dish, he remarked, "The shrimp really loves the lemon!" :)

The above picture is what was left over after Tim and I decimated the dish before Ram even got home from work. It was good!

Tim just got off the phone with his grandma....evidently we're getting a free load of firewood. To quote MIL, "Grandpa has been possessed by the chainsaw and everything is coming down!"

Shrimp Linguini

1 lb medium raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (reserve shells)

1 lb thin linguini

2 tbsp butter

1/2 bunch parsley, chopped

1/2 cup of reserved pasta cooking water

Shrimp Stock

Shrimp shells

Water

1 tbsp dehydrated onion or 1/4 cup chopped fresh onion

1-1/2 cup chicken stock

1 garlic clove, smashed

1/2 teaspoon pepper flakes

To make shrimp stock, after peeling shrimp, reserve shells & tails. Place in a small saucepan, add chicken stock and enough water to cover shells. Add onion, garlic, and pepper flakes. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain. Discard shells.

Shrimp Marinade

2 garlic cloves, grated (more or less to taste)

Zest and juice of 1-1/2 lemons

1/4 cup olive oil

Sea Salt and freshly ground pepper

In a bowl, combine shrimp, lemon zest and juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Set aside for a few minutes. If you want to marinade it longer, place in refrigerator.

Cook linguini as directed on package. Drain.

Heat a skillet over high heat. Drain shrimp, reserving marinade, and add shrimp to skillet. Cook for about 3 minutes until done, turning once. Remove the shrimp to a plate and add the remaining marinade. Let cook for 2 minutes and then add 1-1/2 cups of shrimp stock and about 1/2 cup pasta water. Continue to cook until reduced by half. Add the butter and parsley.

Toss together the shrimp and pasta, turn into serving bowl. Serve topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Serves 6.

Foody Survey

FOODIE SURVEY, Part One

1. How do you like your eggs?
Over easy.

2. How do you take your coffee/tea?
With sugar and any sort of flavored creamer, especially French Vanilla.

3. Favorite breakfast food:
Pancakes with an egg and either bacon or ham. Eggs Benedict! YUM!

4. Peanut butter: Smooth or crunchy?
I prefer smoooooth.

5. What kind of dressing on your salad?
Bacon ranch.

6. Coke or Pepsi?
Diet Pepsi.

7. You’re feeling lazy, what do you make?
Creamed peas on toast.

8. You’re feeling really lazy. What kind of pizza do you order?
If it’s just me, Hawaiian. If the guys are here, it has to have more meat and less fruit!

9. You feel like cooking. What do you make?
Something that tastes like it took hours to make but really only took ½ hour.

10. Do any foods bring back good memories?
Lots of them, like the smell of a BBQ grill reminds me of my mom & dad, as they loved to grill.

11. Do any foods bring back bad memories?
Only one that I can think of. Slim Jims. I once ate one when I was coming down with the stomach flu and can’t even stand the smell of them now.

12. Do any foods remind you of someone?
Quite a few remind me of my mom.

13. Is there a food you refuse to eat?
Can’t think of any.

14. What was your favorite food as a child?
Hamburgers and believe it or not, spinach!

15. Is there a food that you hated as a child but now like?
Mushrooms and oysters.

16. Is there a food that you liked as a child but now hate?
For years, I didn’t like potato soup, as that was the only thing my older sister could cook when she babysat me. I’ve since learned she was a lousy cook and potato soup is quite good when made correctly…..with lots of bacon!

17. Favorite fruit and vegetable:
Fruit: Apples, oranges, grapes, Rainier cherries.

Veggies: Cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, anything stir fried.

18. Favorite junk food:
Cheetohs, ice cream, homemade chocolate chip cookies.

19. Favorite between meal snack:
Salted peanuts.

20. Do you have any weird food habits?
I love bacon sandwiches on toast with lots of grape jelly.

21. You’re on a diet. What food(s) do you fill up on?
Popcorn, carrots, salad.

22. You’re off your diet. Now what would you like?
Anything fried, salty, or sweet.

23. How spicy do you order Indian/Thai?
Medium.

24. Can I get you a drink?
Nothing alcoholic, please. You could make me a smoothie. ;)

25. Red or White Wine?
Not much of a wine drinker.

26. Favorite dessert?
Applebees chocolate volcano.

27. The perfect nightcap?
Hot chocolate.

FOODIE SURVEY, Part Two

Chefs you admire:
Gordon Ramsay, Alton Brown, Amanda Freitag, Bobby Flay, Michael Symon.

What cooking shows do you watch?
Good Eats, Chopped, Semi Homemade, 30 Minute Meals, Iron Chef America, Top Chef, Hell’s Kitchen, Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, F-Word.

Your must-have kitchen accessory is:
A good stand mixer. Mine died last week and I’m lost without it.

What is your go-to ingredient?
Garlic.

How many courses should a meal have?
A regular meal? One or two. More formal, three or four.

What's your favorite course?
The main dish. No, the dessert.

What famous person, living or dead, would you like to make a meal for?
I’m drawing a blank here.

And, what would you serve them?
Something wonderful.

What's your favorite style of cooking?
Not sure. I like to cook everything.

What nationality of food do you like the best?
Italian, Chinese, and Mexican.

What's your favorite meal of the day to prepare?
Dinner.

Where do you find inspiration when creating a new dish?
Food Network, alrecipes.com, Google if I’m desperate.

Who has been your greatest inspiration in the kitchen?
My mom, who was a fantastic cook. My daughter, who taught me gourmet.

What is your favorite comfort food?
Fried chicken.

Do you ever eat fast food? If so, what?
Once in awhile, either Hardees roast beef sandwich or Burger King burger.

What restaurant do you want to eat at that you haven't eaten at yet?
Lots of them.

What do you serve at Thanksgiving dinner?
Turkey & stuffing, mashed potatoes & gravy, yams, scalloped oysters, cranberry sauce, corn, crudite platter, pumpkin pie, apple pie.

Are there wines or liquors that you cook with?
Not usually.

How much time do you spend cooking a meal just for yourself?
Usually not more than 15 minutes.

What would be your dream job as a chef?
My own restaurant.

What scent in the kitchen do you love – what ingredient smells the best?
Either lemons or garlic.

What ingredients do you avoid/dislike?
Hot hot peppers.

What's your secret splurge at the grocery store?
Shrimp, cod, steak.

What's your favorite midnight snack?
Cinnamon toast, Cocoa Crispies, or a small bowl of ice cream (pecan turtle trail is heavenly!)

Chick-n-Dumplings

It's a cold, rainy day here, so I decided some comfort food was in order. Yesterday I went online looking for a crockpot chicken and dumplings recipe because I was hungry for some good old home cookin' but I admit I'm lazy, so I wanted something that could pretty much take care of itself all day. I couldn't find a recipe I liked, so I invented my own. It's now 7:00 p.m. and the crockpot is empty and the guys are both sitting around fat and happy, so I guess it went over well.

I wrote the recipe down as best as I could, since my method of measuring is best described as a small pinch, a large pinch, half a handful, etc. Feel free to adjust ingredients as needed, but make sure you don't leave out the cinnamon, sage, and chili powder, because these three work their magic together. This is a good way to cook those large bargain packages of chicken legs or thighs and makes a pretty cheap meal.

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings

1 cut up chicken or 1 large package (4 lb) chicken thighs or legs

2-1/2 cups chicken broth

1 tbsp dehydrated onion

1 tsp sage

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp pepper

1-16-oz package California veggies (or veggies of your choice)

1/4 cup flour

2/3 cup cold water

2-10-oz packages refrigerated biscuit dough

Mix chicken broth, dehydrated onion, sage, cinnamon, chili powder, and pepper in crock pot. Add chicken, cover, and cook on high for 4 hours.

Add veggies. Mix flour and cold water well. Pour over chicken, stirring gently. Cover and cook for one hour.

Separate biscuit dough and tear each biscuit into four pieces. Drop on top of chicken, mixing gently. Cover and cook for 1-1/4 hours. Enjoy!