Pan Seared Shrimp and Arugula Risotto

I found this recipe in the May issue of Cooking Light. I'm no stranger to making risotto, thanks to Mary Ellen's fantastic recipes.

This one did not dissapoint. The arugula was the perfect spicy complement to the shrimp. Mr. Tote loved it, as well. We'll definitely be making this again!

4 C chicken stock
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
dash salt and pepper
1 shallot, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 C Arborio rice
1/2 C dry white wine
1/2 C grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 Tbsp butter
3 C baby arugula
1/2 C thinly sliced fresh basil - I omitted since I didn't have any on hand

Bring chicken stock to a simmer in a saucepan. Keep warm over low heat.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shrimp with a dash of salt and pepper. Add shrimp to pan and cook or 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and set aside.

Heat remaining tablespoon of oil and the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic to pan. Sautee for five minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add rice and cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Stir in wine. Cook for one minute or until the liquid is almost all absorbed, stirring constantly.

Add 1 C stock. Cook four minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Stir in remaining stock, one ladle at a time, stirring frequently until each amount of stock is absorbed before adding the next. This should take about 25-30 minutes.

Stir in shrimp and cook one minute or until done. Stir in cheese. Remove from heat. Stir in arugula and basil until slightly wilted. Serve immediately.

Apps and Wine Party Wrap Up

The weekend before Christmas, we hosted an Appetizers and Wine party. It all stemmed after Mr. Tote and I attended a client appreciation event where they served us shrimp cocktail shooters in shot glasses. Now, I've seen this done many times before, but I had put the idea in the back of my mind. Seeing these beauties at the party reminded me that I never did make those darn things. Hence, the reason for the holiday get together. So we had 11 of our friends over, along with three children under the age of 2. We asked everyone to bring a bottle of wine, while we supplied the food goodies. Below is the menu we served...

Roast Beef and Sharp Cheddar Sandwiches
Ham and Aged White Cheddar Sandwiches

Stone Ground Honey Mustard - recipe follows

Creamy Horseradish - recipe follows

Shrimp Cocktail Shooters with a salt and pepper rim - recipe follows

Pesto Pinwheels from Ellie at Vintage Victuals

Buffalo Chicken Dip, aka Chicken Shit

Baked brie with walnuts and apricot preserves inspired from Vintage Victuals

Veggie tray with ranch dip

For desserts we had:

Rocky Road Fudge

Eggnog Thumbprint Cookies from Shelby at The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch

Hershey Pretzel Bites

I added some fun DIY touches to our "counterscape." To avoid having to use regular old plates for serving, I grabbed a few spare tiles and used other items around the house to raise them up. This worked great for the shrimp cocktail shooters because I hid a big bowl of ice in the shadow box frame to keep the shrimp cold.

I also picked up some holiday colored paint swatches from Lowe's and used a white pen to put signs up for all of the food. This really came in handy for when folks were wondering what the heck was wrapped up in dough (the brie with walnuts and apricot preserves).

Mr. Tote was so helpful!

The sandwich platter took a reeeaaaallllly long time to make. I purchased rolls that had to be baked and sliced in half. Then I had to slice the cheese thinly off the blocks I bought. It was really time consuming, but they turned out so cute.
With the sandwiches, I served some stone ground honey mustard and creamy horseradish.

Stone Ground Honey Mustard
1/2 C stone ground mustard
2 Tbsp honey

In a small bowl, microwave the honey for 20-30 seconds, or until thin. Mix in the mustard with a fork until fully incorporated. Refrigerate until serving.

Creamy Horseradish
1/3 C mayonnaise
1/3 C sour cream
1/3 C horseradish

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl and refrigerate until serving.

As I mentioned earlier, the inspiration for this party came from some cocktail shrimp shooters I had at a client appreciation party. Their shrimp were served in a tall glass shotglass with WAAAAAY too much cocktail sauce for one little shrimpy. So I headed to Party City to pick up some 1.5 oz. clear plastic shot glasses.

I wet the rims of the cups with a sponge and dipped them into a mixture coarse kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper in a shallow dish. Now I know how bartenders feel when they have to rim margarita and daquiri glasses with sugar or salt.

I made the cocktail sauce with about a cup of ketchup, a third of a cup of horseradish and a tablespoon of lemon juice.

Here are some additional pictures of the food.
The rocky road fuuuuuuuuuuuudge...

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. I feel so blessed that I was able to spend lots of time with my family and friends.

Tequila Lime Shrimp

The crew over at Hungry Girl is always cooking up something delicious that is low in calories and fat. BONUS! When I saw this recipe for Tequila Lime Shrimp, I just had to try it. I probably overcooked the veggies a bit, plus my yellow pear tomatoes were a bit ripe so they were extra soft to begin with. But the flavor was A-MAZ-ING!

8 oz. raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 small onion, sliced
3 tbsp. (1 1/2 oz. or 1 shot) tequila
2 tbsp. lime juice
2 tbsp. coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Bring a large pan sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook until onion is slightly translucent, about 3 minutes. Carefully add tequila to the pan and stir. Cover the pan and let simmer for 5 minutes.

Add shrimp and cook for about 3 minutes, until shrimp are nearly opaque. Add tomatoes, lime juice, cilantro, chili powder, and salt, and mix well. Stirring occasionally, cook until tomatoes have softened and shrimp are cooked through, about 2 minutes.

WW Points per Serving: 4 Points

Mussels and Sourdough Baguette

One bag of these puppies was the perfect amount for Matt and I for dinner. Mmmmm.... yummy!

1 mesh bag of fresh mussels (Here are some tips for buying and cleaning mussels)
1 C white wine
2-3 C chicken stock
3 cloves garlic, crushed/minced
1 ½ Tbsp Old Bay or other seafood seasoning
Fresh parsley, finely chopped
Sourdough Baguette

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Thinly slice the baguette and bake on a large sheet until the slices are nice and crispy.

Thoroughly rinse and clean the mussels, discarding any that are cracked or split open.

Meanwhile, in a medium (4-5 qt) pot bring the wine, chicken stock, garlic, seasoning and some chopped parsley to a rolling boil. Allow to boil for 10 minutes or so to allow the flavors to meld.

Add the mussels. At this point, make sure that the liquid barely covers most of the mussels.

Cover the mussels and cook for 5-10 minutes, until they have all started splitting open. Remove from the heat and dump all of the mussels and liquid into a large serving bowl. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve with the slices of baguette. I like to eat mine on top of the baguette and using the leftover baguette to dunk in the sauce goodness.

Tilapia with Roasted Corn

I found this recipe on Amy's blog, Life in the Junction. It was good and a nice light meal on a Saturday evening.

1/4 cup lite Miracle Whip
1 tsp chili powdersalt
2 tilapia filets(4 oz each)
1 1/2 cups frozen corn,
lime, cut into wedges

Preheat the broiler. In a small bowl, combine the Miracle Whip, chili powder, and 1/4 tsp salt.

Grease the bottom of a 9 inch square baking dish with 1 tsp of the dressing mixture. Place the tilapia fillets in the baking dish and coat with the remaining dressing mixture. Top with the corn.

Broil until corn is lightly browned and the fish is cooked through, about 10-12 minutes. Serve with the lime wedges.

WW Points per Serving: 6 points

Shrimp Ravioli with Carmelized Shallot Cream Sauce

Still recovering a bit from our night out on Friday, I was craving something carb-y and cheesy. I googled shrimp ravioli and found this easy recipe, using wonton wrappers for the ravioli. I completely modified the original recipe's sauce, which was for a basil cream sauce. Carmelized shallot just seemed like it fit better for the mood I was in. The sauce was absolutely fantastic. The carmelized shallot had such a sweet, rich texture.

The wonton wrappers worked good, but didn't have the "authentic" ravioli texture, like real pasta would. That being said, I don't have a pasta press, so the wonton wrappers were a very nice substitute. And I had planned to shred some fresh parmesan over the pasta, but like I said, Friday was a rough night and I totally forgot to add it.

Now, I want to make wonton soup. Too bad I used the rest of our ground pork on the Thai Noodles and Pork dinner from a few nights ago... I'm a mess.

My modified recipe is below...

1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 lb deveined, peeled, shrimp (if you have cooked shrimp, even better!)
4 oz fresh goat cheese
1 large egg yolk, reserve the egg white
1/2 half and half
1 shallot, sliced
1/4 C white wine
24 wonton wrappers, or as many as you need

If your shrimp are uncooked, cook up in a skillet with the clove of crushed garlic and a little butter until no longer translucent.

Chop the shrimp into tiny pieces. Mix shrimp, goat cheese, egg yolk and garlic (if you didn't cook it with the shrimp) in bowl.

Sautee the sliced shallot for 8-10 minutes, or until the shallot is medium to dark brown. Add the white wine to deglaze the pan.

Add the creamer and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until slightly reduced.

Place half of wonton wrappers on work surface. Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon shrimp mixture to each. Brush edges with egg white (or water) and fold over to form triangles. Repeat with remaining wontons. Cook ravioli in large pot of boiling salted water about 3 minutes.

Serve with warm sauce. NOTE: I may toss the pasta with the sauce next time to prevent the ravioli from sticking together when plated.

Oven Baked Parmesan Tilapia with Dill Tartar Sauce

So, I am trying to branch out and create more of my own recipes instead of duplicating ones found online or in cookbooks. I browsed a number of tilapia filets today and came up with the recipe below. I am trying to incorporate more fish into our repertoire of meals and Matt has been somewhat leery of the dreaded “fishy” taste. Well, he loved the fish tacos and this one definitely passed the test, too! This fish was delicious and we both loved the intense flavor of the parmesan cheese with the seasoned bread crumbs. We can’t wait to make this one again!

1/2 lb tilapia filets
1/4 C all purpose flour
1 Tbsp caribbean jerk seasoning
1 egg
1 Tbsp milk
1/2 C seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 Cparmesan cheese
1/4 C lite Miracle Whip
2 tsp dill weed (fresh or dried)
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
Juice of one lime

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a small dish, combine with Miracle Whip, dill, mustard and lime juice. Place in the refrigerator to let flavors meld together.

Wash and pat dry the fish filets.

In one bowl, combine the flour and caribbean jerk seasoning. In another, combine the egg and milk. In another bowl, combine the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.

Dip the fish in the flour mixture, then the egg mixture, then the bread crumb mixture and place on the baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until fish is flaky.

Serve with the dill tartar sauce and sides. We served this with sliced redskin potatoes and cauliflower.

Fish Tacos with Chili Lime Cream

First, I must say how much I LOVE my new lightbox that Matt and I made tonight. The fish tacos tasted amazing, but the lightbox makes them look even more incredible! OK, back to the fish tacos. This was just about the quickest dinner I have ever made. I was able to put it all together while Matt played with the lightbox as evidenced below.

Ingredients (serves 2):
1/2 pound tilapia filets
2 tsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
4 fat free 6" flour tortillas
Shredded cabbage or package of cole slaw
Shredded pepperjack cheese (optional)

For the chili-lime cream (from BHG, February 2009):
1/4 C reduced fat sour cream
Juice from half a lime
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Wrap the tortillas in tin foil and place in the oven until warmed through.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the tilapia filets and salt and pepper the side that's up. Sautee for 2-4 minutes per side, until fish is flaky.

Meanwhile, combine the ingredients for the chili-lime cream.

When the fish is fully cooked, flake with a fork. Assemble the tacos with the fish, cabbage, chili-lime cream and pepperjack cheese, if desired.

WW points per serving (two tacos, without cheese): 7 points

Back to the lightbox. Here are the two websites I used for help:
http://www.wikihow.com/Create-an-Inexpensive-Photography-Lightbox
http://freshfodder.wordpress.com/2007/01/03/diy-ebay-photo-studio-0/

Below is the finished product and, as mentioned above, Matt's professional photograph... ha! I couldn't have done it without his help, though!

Shrimp and Roasted Vegetable Alfredo

An easy Sunday dinner. Serves 2.

Ingredients:
Vegetables - I used 1/2 bell pepper, 3 scallions and 6 mushrooms for this recipe
Olive oil
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 lb. peeled, de-veined raw shrimp
4-5 oz. whole wheat pasta
2 oz. lite cream cheese
2/3 cup skim milk
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

First, drizzle the veggies with some olive oil, salt and pepper and roast them for 20-3o minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Sautee 1 tsp. olive oil and the garlic over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the shrimp and roasted vegetables and sautee until the shrimp are no longer transluscent. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.

In the same saucepan, over low heat, add the cream cheese and milk. Whisk the milk and cheese together continuously. Once fully incorporated, add the freshly grated parmesan cheese. Add the shrimp and vegetable mixture back to the cheesy mixture and toss to coat.

Serve with the whole wheat pasta.

Asian Salmon with Parmesan & Roasted Veggie Couscous

We had this for dinner tonight. The marinade is from a Weight Watchers (WW) recipe. Serves 4.

Asian Salmon
Marinade:
2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. grated, peeled fresh ginger
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. honey (I substituted 1 Tbsp. orange marmalade)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp. sesame oil
4 four-oz. pieces of skinless salmon (1 lb. total)

Roasted Veggie Couscous
Ingredients:
1 pkg. Middle East parmesan couscous (regular couscous will work just fine)
Roasted veggies, chopped (recipe follows)
Freshly-grated parmesan cheese

Prepare the couscous, following the directions on the box. When you put the couscous in and take it off the heat, add in the chopped roasted veggies.

Prepare the marinade by mixing all ingredients in a large bowl. Toss the salmon in the marinade to coat. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the salmon and remaining marinade and cook until lightly browned on the outside and opaque in the center, about 2-3 minutes per side.

WW Points per serving: 8 points

We used almost a full pound for just the two of us and it was a little too much for either of us to finish. Pandora and Ozzy thoroughly enjoyed the leftovers...

GUILTY AS CHARGED!!!!

To roast the veggies, use whatever you have on hand. I used bell pepper, zucchini, onion and a few baby carrots. I also recommend scallions, yellow squash, mushrooms, egglant, etc. Set the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the veggies with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread them out on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Flip/toss the veggies one more time and roast for an additional 10 minutes, or until brown/black on the edges. Depending on the size of the chunks of veggies may vary the cooking time.