Bayou Chicken or Shrimp Pasta.

I got this recipe from Emeril at Food Network. I substituted shrimp for chicken when I made it this time, but I have also made it with chicken and it is fabulous either way!!

The recipe calls for 1 T finely chopped habanero pepper. I only used one habanero(~1 t chopped) since I was making it for the kiddos. If you like it hot, add the full tablespoon. Ours was not hot at all. The first time I made this I used 2 habaneros with seeds and ribs and it was HOT. Anyway you make it...hot of mild, chicken or shrimp...this pasta dish is YUMMY!!

Bayou Chicken or Shrimp Pasta

Ingredients:

• 1 pound linguine (I used Farfalle(bow tie) pasta)
• 1/4 cup kosher salt
• 2 T unsalted butter
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces or equal amount shrimp
• 2 T Essence, recipe below
• 1 1/2 t salt
• 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 1 T finely chopped habanero pepper
• 1 T minced garlic
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup reserved pasta cooking water
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion tops (I didn't use)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 T chopped fresh parsley leaves (I didn't use)
  

Directions: Set a large 1-gallon stock pot of water to a boil and add the kosher salt. Place the pasta in the pot and stir until the water returns to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente.

While the pasta cooks, prepare the sauce. set a 12-inch saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the butter and olive oil to the pan. Once the butter has melted, season the chicken or shrimp with 1 T of the Essence and 1/2 t of the salt and add to the saute pan. Sear the chicken/shrimp until well browned/pink(shrimp) on both sides, about 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add the onions and habaneros to the pan and saute until the onions are softened and lightly caramelized, about 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic to the pan and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the cream, remaining 1 T of the Essence, remaining 1 t of salt, and the chicken/shrimp to the pan and bring to a boil. Cook the sauce until the cream is reduced by half, about 2 minutes. add the tomatoes, pasta and the reserved cooking water to the pan and cook tossing to incorporate for 3-5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and add the green onions, Parmesan and parsley and toss to blend(I added extra tomatoes here). Serve immediately.

ESSENCE:

2 1/2 T paprika

2 T salt

2 T garlic powder

1 T black pepper

1 T cayenne

1 T dried oregano

1 T dried Thyme

Broccoli Salad

My sister made this for us while she was visiting a couple of weeks ago. It is SO yummy!!

Broccoli Salad

Ingredients:

• 3 crowns of broccoli
• 12-14 slices of cooked, chopped bacon
• ~1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 T Red Wine Vinegar

Directions: Wash and chop broccoli into bite size pieces and put in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix together 'dressing' ingredients: mayo, sugar and vinegar. Pour 'dressing' over broccoli and toss to coat. Stir in bacon and Parmesan cheese. Adjust the amount of bacon and Parmesan cheese to your taste.

Quick and Simple Brownies

Sorry about the lack of posts!! Things have been busy here! I have about a million projects around here that I am working on or are at least floating around in my brain!! My sister and her family were here visiting from Utah last week and we enjoyed every minute of it!! I have a recipe that she made for us that I will be posting soon!!

Anyways...I LOVE brownies!! I found this recipe here while I was blog hopping one day. The other day, I was out of eggs, and CRAVING something chocolate!! I remembered this recipe and decided to try it! Me and the kids LOVED it! My hubby has been out-of-town and these definitely did not last until he got home, but I'm sure he would have loved them too!! These are quick, simple and delicious!

Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1 3.4 oz package instant chocolate pudding mix
• milk, amount indicated in pudding directions
• 1 18 oz box of chocolate cake mix (I used Devils Food Cake)
• 1-2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or other mix-in (optional)

Directions: Prepare pudding according to package directions. Stir in cake mix, careful not to overbeat or incorporate too much air. Stir in chocolate chips or other mix-in. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched.

Now I'm off to take care of my case of Utah peaches that I have been ignoring for a week. I think I will freeze some for morning fruit shakes and make some into freezer jam....YUM!!

Honey Crystal Almonds

These are SO good!! You HAVE to try them! I only had enough almonds to make 1/2 of a batch. It is probably a good thing, I could have eaten an entire batch myself. My boys LOVE almonds so I thought I'd whip this up for a nice after school snack. I had to get theirs bagged up right away so I wouldn't eat them all.

I found this recipe on an ad for California almonds.

Honey Crystal Almonds

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole natural almonds
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 T butter
• 1 cup turbinado sugar

Directions: Spread almonds in a shallow pan. Place in a cold oven; turn oven to 350 F and roast 12-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until well roasted. Over medium heat in medium saucepan, heat honey and butter to boiling. Reduce heat to medium low, simmer 2 minutes stirring occasionally. Add almonds; simmer and stir for another 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the almonds to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper(I used wax paper) or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Spread the almonds in a single layer and cool slightly. To coat, toss almonds with sugar in a medium plastic food storage bag.

Cilantro Lime Shrimp

I LOVE shrimp and so do my boys. When my six year old requested shrimp for dinner I was happy to cook this up.

Our BBQ grill has died and gone to BBQ heaven:( Since it has been gone we have been using our 'camp grill'. We have not been in too big of a hurry to replace the BBQ grill because our camp grill is WONDERFUL!! It cooks so nice and evenly, but it is a little on the small side, SO someday we will be replacing the big grill. Since I was cooking this on our 'camp grill' I didn't skewer the shrimp. Just threw them on the grill, knowing that the holes were small enough, I didn't have to worry about losing any. If I was using our 'regular' grill I would either skewer these for shish kabobs or put foil down on the grill to cook them on.

Cilantro Lime Shrimp

Ingredients:

• 1 pound large raw shrimp
• juice of 1-2 limes, depending on size (~1/4 cup)
• 1/2 cup oil (I used canola oil, but have used olive oil in the past)
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 t crushed red pepper flakes
• salt to taste (1/2 -1 t)

Directions: Remove shells from shrimp and rinse. Pat shrimp dry. Combine remaining ingredients in a quart size zip-loc bag, add shrimp and marinate for 2-3 hours. Cook shrimp on a hot grill for 2-3 minutes per side, until pink on both sides. When serving squeeze a little more fresh lime juice over the shrimp.

We served our with some fresh corn on the cob, a nice big salad and some pasta with browned butter and cheese.