Haddock and Shrimp Empanadas with Honeydew Salsa

Posted by CK in celery, cilantro, easy, haddock, honeydew, onion, parsley, recipe, salsa, shrimp

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Ever since amanda and I did our first wine tasting when we reviewed Unquenchable: A Tipsy Quest for the World's Best Bar Wines, we've been having monthly wine and food pairing evenings. The experience was so amazing that we had to recreate it again and again.

We've already looked at wines from the 4 corners of the world, including South Africa, Portugal, Australia, and Canada. Argentina was up next on the list and I was to bring a meal paired with white wine. I picked the Etchart Cafayete Torrentes (suggested by either the SAQ or LCBO quarterly magazines - honestly can't remember which one). The SAQ website suggested pairing this wine with the empanada recipe that I'm about to describe. With a few adjustments to make it healthier, as well as to use up ingredients I already had at home, the following is what delighted all guests:

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped cooked shrimp
• 1.5 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp red onion, finely chopped
• 1.5 cups cooked haddock, shredded
• 2 heaping tbsp greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lb pie dough

Salsa

• 2 cups chopped honeydew
• 2 tbsp each: red onion, parsley, cilantro - finely chopped
• 2 tsp lime juice (add more if you like it very tangy)
• pepper to taste

Method:

1. In a bowl, mix the first 5 ingredients and set aside
2. In a smaller bowl, mix the yogurt and 1/4 cup of milk until you get the consistency of cooking cream (add more milk or yogurt if necessary)
3. Mix in 3 tbsp of the yogurt mixture to the fish stuffing
4. Pre-heat your oven to 375 F
5. Roll out the pie dough and create 8 circles approximately 6 in. in diameter
6. Put fish stuffing on one side of the circle and fold the other half on top. Seal your dough using a fork. Use the same process for the remaining 7 circles and place on a parchment-paper lined cookie sheet.
7. Brush the empanadas with the remaining milk and bake for 20-30 minutes (until the crust becomes golden brown)
8. While your empanadas are baking, mix your salsa ingredients and place in the fridge until ready to serve.

This is an excellent recipe for left over white fish + it's great comfort food! I served these as an appetizer to our meal (1 empanada per person). You could also serve these as a main course (2 per person). Amanda had prepared a delicious pesto that she served with fettuccine, paired with a Pascual Toso Malbec.

Although I haven't tried, I bet these empanadas would be a great freezer meal. I'll keep you posted on how that goes :)

Enjoy!

- CK

Easy Half-Pop Shrimp

Posted by amanda in appetizer, easy, healthy, recipe, shrimp

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Sometimes I'm in the mood for something special, but I don't have a lot of time, ingredients, or energy. Usually this is because I've left dinner too late, and am so hungry I don't feel like cooking. On nights like these, I tend to throw together things in my cupboard and hope for the best. Tonight? Success!

These shrimp take all of 15-20 minutes (but, only 5 of which that you will spend actually doing anything) and are super tasty and flexible. I ate mine off the baking sheet, but they could definitely be dressed up, drizzled, or served on something green. They'd be nice and punchy on a salad, or would make a nice crunchy-chewy topping to a simple pasta.

You'll need:

Panko crumbs

Shrimp, tails removed (this is most of your 5 minutes). I did 30 medium sized.

1/2 - 1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp whole wheat flower

A few good cracks of black pepper

1-2 tsp minced garlic

(chili flakes or other seasonings optional)

DO:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Put shrimp in a bowl big enough to do some moderate mixing in.

Drizzle with olive oil. Stir in garlic and distribute as evenly as possible.

Sprinkle mix with flour and stir

Crack your pepper over the mix. If you want chili flakes or other seasonings for extra kick, go for it now.

Toss in enough Panko crumbs to more or less coat your shrimp to your liking (this works best if you use less rather than more - enough for a little crunch here and there).

Shake out onto a cookie or baking sheet.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, checking periodically to make sure they're the way you want. They should smell delicious.

Eat and enjoy!!

 luv,

A

Shrimp-Stuffed Shells

Posted by CK in cottage cheese, easy, pasta, recipe, shrimp, vegetarian

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Stumble Upon is a great tool to find all kinds of fantastic recipes. Not usually being a full time vegetarian, yet choosing to be vegetarian for the next month and a half, I have to make sure to find filling, nutritious and delicious recipes to fill the void. This adapted shrimp-stuffed shell recipe from Cooking Light was easy and quick to make (minus the shrimp procedure, read on...), and definitely hit the spot!

Ingredients (yield 3 large servings)

• 20 uncooked jumbo pasta shells (about 8 ounces)
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 6 cloves)
• 1/2 cup cottage cheese
• 1/4 cup skim milk reduced-fat milk
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, and coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 3 cups basic marinara sauce, divided
• Grated Mozarella and Parmesan cheese (as much as you want)

Method

1. Put your frozen shrimp in a bowl of warm water.
2. Preheat your oven to 400°.
3. Cook pasta 7 minutes or until almost al dente, omitting salt and fat. Drain well.
4. While your pasta is cooking, peel your shrimp and coarsely chop them.
5. Heat a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat.
6. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly
7. Add cottage cheese, milk, and pepper; cook for approximately 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. 
8. Sprinkle your shrimp with with corn starch and toss well to coat. Add the cottage cheese mixture to the shrimp shrimp and toss well.
9. Divide shrimp mixture evenly among pasta shells.
10. Spread 1 cup marinara over bottom of dish. Arrange shells in prepared dish and top with the remaining 2 cups marinara. Sprinkle shells evenly with your cheese. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until shrimp is done. 

Enjoy!

- CK

Cottage Component 2!: Summer-Lovin' Sweet and Sour Skewers

Posted by amanda in budget, chicken, grill, kabobs, onion, peppers, recipe, sauce, shrimp, skewers, zucchini

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Before we left for our cottage adventure, CK came up with a great plan for feeding us right: we adjusted a recipe she found in a magazine to suit our group's budget and tastes, and came up with this winner! The quantities on this one are rough, because it really depends who you're trying to feed - our menfolk ate easily three times are many skewers apiece as we did. That being said, we served 6 people for about 6$ a head (including the pasta salad). We made around 40 skewers with this quantity of marinade, but that included a bunch that were just shrimp, without veggies. These, as it turns out, are a big hit, so when you run out of veggies and chicken, begin skewering just shrimp, and you will be everyone's favorite.

Marinade: (Note: Because I don't eat chicken, we split up our shrimp and chicken into different batches, dividing this amount of marinate between two bowls, and divvying up the veggies accordingly as well)

Props to Remy: Our host and a master griller!

In a large bowl (you'll be putting your chicken shrimp and veggies in here too) mix together...



3 tbsp ketchup
3 tbsp soy sauce (try to get reduced sodium)
3 tbsp sugar
1.5 tbsp apple cider vinegar

 Skewer ingredients: 

• 3 small zucchinis, chopped into rounds
• 1 green pepper, deseeded and chopped into chunks
• 1  red pepper, likewise
• 1 sweet onion (we used the leftovers from the pasta salad), cut into chunky wedges
• An orange pepper would be a nice addition too, chopped into chunks
• 1 bag frozen deveined shrimp (ours was a bag of 60-70 shrimp) - if you can buy them uncooked with tails off, power to you. Or, you can spend a good 15 minutes taking the tails off these babies if you REALLY love your guests).
• 4 chiclen breasts, cut into chunks

Mix skewer ingredients into marinade (whether you keep' em separated or not), and let sit for about 15 minutes. If you like your skewers really juicy, set aside a few spoonfuls to brush onto the cooked skewers. Skewer ingredients onto sticks, alternating meat with vegetables for as long as possible. Grill on the BBQ for about 4 minutes each side. Serve immediately. Pairs nicely with the Picnic-Perfect Pasta Salad!

Grill on!

-A

Salads: Recipes for freshness

Posted by CK in avocado, honey, recipe, salad, shrimp, walnuts

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On my way back from vacation last week, I picked up a copy of this month's Women's Health Magazine and stumbled upon a great article about how to make good, healthy, refreshing salads. Here's a quick salad recipe I put together based on the suggestions from the article (While I couldn't find the electronic version of this article, I found very similar salad tips on the Women's Health website). I also found a very good honey balsamic vinegrette to top up the salad. It turned out filling and most importantly - delicious! :)

Ingredients (for 1 large portion):
- a few shrimp (I had about 10 small-medium sized shrimp)
- half an avocado
- 3 hand fulls of baby spinach
- 1/3 of red pepper, chopped
- half a tomato, diced
- 1 tablespoon of crushed walnuts

One simple step: Mix it all together!

Vinegrette Recipe:
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce

Wisk all together!

I only put about 3 teaspoons on my salad before eating, but you can easily cut it down to 2 and you'd still get the amazing taste. Refrigirate the rest so you can use it another time!

Enjoy!

- CK

Pan-Roasted Shrimp with Cheese and Beans Salad

Posted by CK in beans, recipe, salad, shrimp, vegetarian

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Little time-consuming, nutricious and delicious - my general rule of thumb when it comes to cooking on a week day! To help kick start the week, C put together a very refreshing salad that works for both summer and winter seasons (I'm sure it would be a great addition to a bbq this summer - noted). Although the original recipe calls for Wisconsin aged cheese, this recipe turned out to be fabulous with just regular cheddar/mozarella cheese, PLUS it only took about 15 minutes to make! Chef Michael Symon - thank you.

Ingredients:

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• salt and pepper
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) extra virgin olive oil plus 1 tablespoon for shrimp
• 2 tomatoes, diced into medium sized pieces
• 1 can of white beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup (about 4 ounces) cheese, cut in small dice - whichever one you prefer
• 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tablespoon of basil

Directions:

1. Place garlic in mixing bowl. Add pinch of salt; mix.
2. Add lemon juice, stir and slowly whisk in olive oil.
3. Add tomatoes, beans, cheese and basil. Mix well and set aside.
4. Pan-roast shrimp: Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in sauté pan. Add shrimp and cook, turning until pink and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Do not overcook.
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Add warm shrimp to prepared mixture and toss.

Delicious and nutricious! :)

Enjoy!

-CK

Fra Diavolo Sauce With Pasta

Posted by CK in pasta, recipe, shrimp, vegetarian

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As an attempt to reduce my red meat intake, my kitchen has become a haven of good and nutritious foods. Yes, as a new year resolution, I have decided to try and control my cholesterol before my heart gets the best of me. Because of this newfound love for my health, I somewhat force myself to try things that I used to hate in the hopes that I will now like them, having acquired this new perspective. Canned tomatoes was one of those things. I always found them too mushy for me (as I do love a very hard tomato). So, here's a recipe that is sure to please both vegetarians and carnivores, as well as you canned tomato haters. Truly didn't taste the usual nastiness of it all. And if you're a seafood lover, even better! :) 

Ingredients:

- 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

- 6 cloves garlic, crushed

- 3 cups whole peeled tomatoes with liquid, chopped

- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

- 1 (16 ounce) package linguine pasta

- 8 ounces small shrimp, peeled and deveined

- 8 ounces bay scallops

- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Note: having no scallops nor small shrimp, I used a very big amount of large shrimps. Also not having red pepper flakes, I simply used black pepper. The canned tomatoes come in when it says: "3 cups of whole peeled tomatoes with liquid, chopped".

Directions

1.In a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil with the garlic over medium heat. When the garlic starts to sizzle, pour in the tomatoes. Season with salt and red pepper. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2.Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.

3.In a large skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over high heat. Add the shrimp and scallops. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently, or until the shrimp turn pink. Add shrimp and scallops to the tomato mixture, and stir in the parsley. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the sauce just begins to bubble. Serve sauce over pasta.

 Serves 8.
 
T'was delish!

Enjoy! :)
 
[source]
 
- CK