Shrimp Soup with Chili Tortilla Strips

 I LOVED this soup!!  It is so yummy and a nice light soup for spring and summer.  I found it in my Better Homes and Gardens magazine....you can also find it on their website...here.  Look how pretty their picture below looks :)  My picture below that does not do this soup justice...haha..I am terrible at photographing anyway, especially when it comes to soup.

Better Homes and Gardens picture

My picture :)  Not as pretty, but still delicious!!

Shrimp Soup with Chili Tortilla Strips

 

Ingredients:

1 large poblano pepper, seeded and chopped (about 1 cup)

1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil

1 quart reduced-sodium chicken broth

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 12 ounce package frozen shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 cup frozen corn

1 15 ounce can cannellini beans (white kidney beans), rinsed and drained

1/4 cup snipped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 small avocado, halved, seeded, peeled, and thinly sliced or chopped

1 Recipe Chili Tortilla Strips

 

Directions:  In a 4- to 5- quart Dutch oven cook poblano pepper, onion, and garlic in hot oil until just tender. Add broth, salt and crushed red pepper. Bring to boiling. Add frozen shrimp, corn and drained beans; return to boil.  Simmer, uncovered, about 2 minutes or until shrimp are opaque. Stir in cilantro and lime juice. Serve in shallow bowls topped with avocado and Chili Tortilla Strips.

 

Chili Tortilla Strips

Ingredients: 

8 to 9 inch flour tortillas

vegetable oil - I use canola oil

chili powder

 

Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Brush one side of two 8- to 9-inch flour tortillas with vegetable oil; sprinkle with chili powder. With a pizza wheel, cut into strips and wedges. Place in a single layer on a very large baking sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until crisp.

Spicy Grilled Shrimp

This is a quick simple recipe. I found this recipe in the newspaper 'Star Watch'.

Spicy Grilled Shrimp

Ingredients:

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions: Prepare grill for direct grilling on medium-high. In a large bowl, toss shrimp with vegetable oil, cayenne and salt to coat. Place shrimp on hot grill. Cook 3 to 5 minutes or until shrimp are opaque throughout, turning once. Transfer shrimp to plate and let cool 5 minutes. Serves 4.

Fettuccine Alfredo and Garlic Butter Shrimp

I can't remember where I got this recipe for Alfredo, maybe Martha Stewart.? I don't usually make it with fettuccine noodles. We like short pasta at our house, penne or farfalle. Also, when I made the Alfredo sauce, I didn't have the heavy cream....SO I used whole milk instead and used two egg yolks instead of one.

The shrimp was SO yummy with the pasta. I had my nine year old helping me fix this meal. I asked him to 'toss' the shrimp together with the steamed pasta. He proceeded to mutilate the broccoli into itty bitty pieces as he was 'tossing' them together. He had a little TOO much fun. I guess he needs a lesson on 'tossing'. It was still SUPER yummy, just not quite as pretty:) or maybe more pretty...whichever you think.

Fettuccine Alfredo

Ingredients:

• 4 T. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
• 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
• 1 pound fresh fettuccine or best-quality dry fettuccine (I used whole grain penne)

Directions: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. While you are waiting for your water to boil, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add heavy cream and cheese. When cheese is melted, add egg yolk(I add a little of the sauce to my egg yolk to temper it and then add it back to the warm sauce). Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat. Add fettuccine to boiling water, and cook until al dente, following package directions. Drain pasta, and transfer to a large serving platter. Pour sauce over fettuccine. Serve immediately.

Garlic butter shrimp

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds large shrimp
• 3 T softened butter
• 1 t. garlic powder or garlic salt. I used salted butter, so I went with the garlic powder
• 3/4 t. red pepper flakes
• 1 t. finely grated Parmesan cheese

Directions: Mix butter, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and parm cheese together well. Add mixed butter to a hot frying pan or cast-iron skillet(med heat). Add shrimp and cook ~2-3 minutes per side until cooked through.

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

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.