Grilled Shrimp with Corn Relish

Rating: 4.25 out of 5 

Throw some shrimp on the barbie! This is option one of two for a tasty shrimp and corn combination. I love the idea of making extra one night and being able to use the leftovers in a completely different way you don't even realize it was the same ingredients. Talk about more bang for your buck. The recipes are courtesy of The Cottage Home.

Ingredients

Shrimp

 

1 lb. raw shrimp, shells on

1/4 cup olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Juice of 2 limes

Corn Relish

 

1 bag frozen corn (or several ears fresh with kernels removed if in season)

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 green onions, sliced

1/4 cup cilantro

Juice of 2 limes

1/2 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

Extras

1 red onion, sliced (we didn't use this)

Pineapple, cubed - fresh or canned chunks (we didn't use this)

Rice, of your choice (we baked garlic bread instead)

Directions

1. Combine all the ingredients under "shrimp" to make a marinade/paste for the shrimp.  If you are doing the optional onions, reserve 1/4 cup of the marinade.  Add shrimp to marinade and let sit for 20 minutes before grilling.  You do not want to over marinate shrimp.  The acid from the lime juice will start to cook the shrimp ever so slightly and if you marinate them all day then you can end up with some tough, over cooked shrimp.

2. Drizzle the remaining marinade over your sliced red onions.

 

3. Optional: Cube pineapple or used canned pineapple chunks.  

 

4. Defrost your frozen corn and combine all ingredients under "corn relish".  Allow flavors to come together.  This can be made up to a day ahead of time.

5. Heat up your grill.  Add the onions, then the shrimp and finally the pineapple once the grill is hot.  The shrimp should take approximately 6 minutes (3 minutes on each side), but the onions will take a bit longer.  If you are doing a kabob, just put everything on the grill all together.

 

Philly Cheesesteaks with Parmesan Sauce

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

There are a few things I miss from the south/east coast and a good Philly Cheesesteak is one of them (crab legs are another!). The recipe from the Recipe Shoebox sounded easy and tasty, but I decided to kick up the cheese factor with a garlic black pepper parmesan cheese sauce from Stirring the Pot (PS - if you want a recipe for a sirloin burger, the link has one that sounds great but I haven't made it yet).   

Ingredients

Cheesesteaks

3 Tbs. vegetable oil
1-1/2 lbs. boneless sirloin steak
1 medium green pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium red pepper, thinly sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
paprika, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
2 Tbs. butter
5-6 sandwich rolls (crusty rolls are good)
5-6 slices of Provolone, Swiss, mozzarella, or muenster cheese

Cheese Sauce

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

 

Directions

 

1. In hot oil (or on grill) brown the outside of the steak without cooking through. After browning cut steak into thin slices. Reheat oil (adding more if needed) in large skillet on medium heat; add thinly sliced steak. Season with paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. 

 

2. A minute or two before the steak is done cooking add the peppers and onions to the skillet, sauteing just until steak is cooked through and vegetables are crisp-tender. Remove from heat.

 

3. Place a small pot over medium heat with the butter.  Add the garlic to the melted butter and cook for about 1 minute.  

 

4. Add the flour to the pan and cook for 1 minute more.  Season with salt and the coarse black pepper.  

 

5. Whisk the milk into the butter-flour mixture and bring up to a bubble.  Simmer until the sauce has thickened, about 2 minutes.  Stir in the grated cheese.

 

6. Split each roll and spread each half with butter, then toast lightly (either in oven or on grill). 

 

7. When bread is toasted top rolls with meat mixture, cheese, and cheese sauce; wrap tightly in foil. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until thoroughly heated. 

Cookies n Cream Cookies

Rating 4.75 out of 5 (I felt guilty giving this a 5 when it is sooooo unhealthy)

I nearly had a heart attack when I saw these cookies on See Jane in the Kitchen. Partly because of the amount of sugar in the cookies but mostly because it looked like such an excellent guilty pleasure. I just couldn't wait to mix up a double-batch for our freezer.

Ingredients


2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 (4.2 ounce) package Cookies 'n Creme pudding mix
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups white chocolate chips
15 Oreo cookies, very coarsly chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream butter and sugars, add pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking soda with a whisk then add it to the butter mixture.

4. Stir in the chocolate chips and Oreo cookies. (Here is where you can flash freeze the dough and bag the individual cookies in the freezer)

5. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes in preheated oven until cookies tops barely have a touch of brown.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Fresh Salsa

Rating: Too HOT for you! 
4.5 out of 5

Okay, I am not the salsa maker in the family. However, Brian didn't have time to make the salsa before going on a business trip and the veggies were going to spoil. Not knowing what I was doing, I chopped, tossed, and mixed my way into a HOT salsa. We now have five bags of salsa in our freezer (who needs jarred salsa anyway!).

Ingredients

7 Roma Tomatoes
1 can of petite chopped tomatoes, with juice
1 white onion
5 hot peppers
5 garlic cloves
1 lime

Directions

Roughly chop all the ingredients (except the lime). Toss together and squeeze the lime juice over the salsa. 
Directions

Zesty Italian Pasta

Rating: 4 out of 5

This side dish makes me feel like I am eating the rainbow. All the beautiful colors and the tangy zest from the dressing makes this dish from Mom's Budget a keeper. Not to mention it was super easy to throw together, toss the extras in the freezer, and clean up.

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups dry vegetable rotini
1/2 cup Zesty Italian Salad Dressing
1/2 cup Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 red pepper chopped
1 green pepper chopped
1 yellow pepper chopped

Directions:

1. Cook rotini until barely cooked al dente. Drain.

2. Toss the ingredients together.

3. Freeze in single portion servings in freezer bags or containers. Great for lunches. Put into the lunchbox frozen, and it will be thawed for lunchtime.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Muffins

Rating: Unknown

I haven't actually had a muffin yet, but they sure smelled good coming out of the oven. We only have two egg muffins left in the freezer so I decided it was time to try out a new recipe from Annie's Eats. I still wanted some protein in the muffin but also wanted it to be a bit more fun, so this fit the bill perfectly. 

Ingredients

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
2/3 cup brown sugar
6 tbsp. butter, melted and cooled
½ cup peanut butter
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
¾ cup chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, peanut butter, eggs and milk until smooth. Add in the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Divide batter evenly between prepared muffin tins, filling each to the top.

4. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pulled Pork

Rating 4.5 out of 5

Since the pigapolooza let down, I have been searching for a yummy slow cooker pulled pork recipe. I found just the one at The Way the Cookie Crumbles. This is a perfect meal for the crock-pot and freezer (we got eight meals out of our pork). We decided to freeze 1/2 with BBQ sauce and 1/2 without in case we want the pork in a taco or some other meal.

Ingredients

Spice Rub:
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon dried oregano
4 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons table salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground white pepper (we used black pepper)

1 (6-8 pound) bone-in pork shoulder
½ teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)
2 cups barbecue sauce (we used Sweet Baby Ray's)

Directions

1. Mix all spice rub ingredients in small bowl.

2. Massage spice rub into meat. Wrap tightly in double layer of plastic wrap; refrigerate for at least 3 hours. (For stronger flavor, the roast can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

3. Unwrap roast and place it in slow cooker liner. Add liquid smoke, if using, and ¼ cup water. Turn slow cooker to low and cook for 8-10 hours, until meat is fork-tender.

4. Transfer roast to cutting board; discard liquid in liner. “Pull” by tearing meat into thin shreds with two forks or your fingers. Discard fat.

5. Place shredded meat back in slow cooker liner; toss with 1 cup barbecue sauce, and heat on low for 30-60 minutes, until hot. Serve with additional barbecue sauce.