Tag: Tasty Kitchen

Saturday Night Supper… Before and After

Blondie2 Comments

We had various items to eat up and now that we have a stocked freezer and refrigerator, we had plenty to throw together for supper.

We had Sweet Bourbon Beef Kabobs from the meat market and we had the fresh shrimp from Fabian Seafood from my previous blog post Yummy Shrimp and A Good Book and I had a few steak tomatoes left from the farmer’s market.

I am sure everyone just loves all the food photos that every one takes and then they post them to social media. 🙂 I don’t mind it but get annoyed sometimes because then I become hungry for what I see and can’t have it, it can be frustrating at times. haha 🙂  Well along with the mass amounts of people who take photos, I took a “Before and After” pictures of our supper because it was significant difference in our food and it was quick, easy and delicious.

The Before Picture: 

Saturday_Supper_Before

It doesn’t look too appetizing just yet. Just wait…

* The Sweet Bourbon Steak kabobs- from the meat market.

Shrimp Recipe: 

The recipe is a marinated that you put the raw shrimp in and then an additional basting recipe for once they are on the grill. We took the legs off and deveined the shrimp, we left shell on.I did not have big skewers so I had to use my small ones. Don’t forget to soak your wood skewers prior to grilling so they don’t start on fire.

I am not going to give exact amounts of what I used as it was for a larger amount of shrimp, where we had a smaller amount and I threw the ingredients in the baggie to marinate the shrimp for a few hours. So please portion and ration based on the amount of shrimp you have and what you want them to taste like.

Fly by the seat of your pants. 🙂 You can’t mess it up.

Marinade-

  • White wine
  • Juice from a lemon
  • Coarse sea salt
  • Cracked black pepper
  • Red pepper flakes
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Minced garlic

Basting Sauce-

  • Salted butter melted
  • Finely minced garlic cloves
  • Juice from a lemon
  • Cracked black pepper

Tomato Recipe:

I loved the tomato recipe because it was quick, light fresh and had lots of flavor. I didn’t have any fresh herbs because I would have added them as well. It would have tasted great with chopped cucumber. We will definitely make it again. 🙂

  • Chopped tomatoes
  • Chopped red onion
  • Olive oil
  • Balsamic Vignette or red wine vinegar
  • Salt
  • Pepper

The After Picture:

Saturday_Supper_After

It was a great quick, easy and light supper. It was Gluten Free as well. 🙂

Yummy Smells from the Kitchen…

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The last few weeks I have tried some great recipes.

The weekend after New Years Eve, Carl’s parents and younger sister came to visit us to have our third Christmas gathering. I was debating on trying a new recipe. (I know, I know you shouldn’t do that with dinner guests) I bought a lasagna pan. 🙂 and I was going to make Pioneer Woman’s lasagna. Good thing I consulted with my sister prior to buying my ingredients. She said there is a yummy, much easier lasagna to make and it has cream cheese.

I got my recipe from Tasty Kitchen. This is the recipe I used- Cream Cheese Lasagna.

I will let you know what I did to switch it up.

#1 I used gluten free noodles. Tinkyada is the brand I use. #2 For the Italian sausage I used turkey sausage from Jennie-O. I used 1 pound of lean ground turkey and 1 pound of lean italian seasoned turkey.

All of the rest was the same. It so good and somewhat healthy. No body could tell that the noodles were gluten free and couldn’t tell that it was made with turkey. I will be making it again for sure.

PW’s Shrimp Scampi Recipe

Blondie2 Comments

On Wednesday night this past week I was so hungry for a light pasta. I was on Tasty Kitchen looking for a shrimp scampi recipe.

Pioneer Woman had a fantastic Shrimp Scampi and it was fairly easy to make. I didn’t have all the ingredients but I made it work. It must have been good Carl had seconds and he ate all the leftovers! 🙂

Shrimp Scampi

PW’s picture.

Ingredients:

  • 4 Tablespoons Butter
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • ½ whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
  • 4 cloves Garlic Cloves, Minced Or Pressed
  • 1 pound Large Shrimp, Peeled And Deveined
  • ½ cups White Wine
  • 2 whole Lemons
  • 4 dashes Hot Sauce (I Used Tabasco; More To Taste)
  • Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
  • 8 ounces, weight Angel Hair Pasta
  • Chopped Fresh Basil To Taste
  • Chopped Fresh Parsley, To Taste
  • ½ cups Grated Parmesan Cheese
I added some extra seasoning. I really like Old Bay seasoning for seafood the lemon herb flavor.

Instructions:

Boil water for pasta; have it ready.

Heat olive oil and melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook for two or three minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add shrimp, then stir and cook for a couple of minutes. Squeeze in lemon juice. Add wine, butter, salt and pepper, and hot sauce. Stir and reduce heat to low.

Throw angel hair pasta into the boiling water. Cook until just done/al dente. Drain, reserving a cup or two of the pasta water.

Remove skillet from heat. Add pasta and toss, adding a splash of pasta water if it needs to be thinned. Taste for seasonings, adding salt and pepper if needed.

Top with grated Parmesan and minced parsley and serve immediately

I didn’t have the fresh herbs for the garnish but I had the fresh parmesan cheese.

Shrimp Scampi with Pan Roasted Asparagus and Linguine

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I have been a little behind in getting the goodies to you all! 🙂

Last week I made Shrimp Scampi with Pan Roasted Asparagus and Linguine from the Tasty Kitchen site.

photo I took.

Ingredients: 

  • ½ pounds Linguine Pasta- I used Gluten Free Linguine- Quinoa Pasta
  • FOR THE ASPARAGUS:
  • ½ Tablespoons Butter
  • ½ Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 1 pound Asparagus, About 1 Bunch
  • FOR THE SHRIMP:
  • ¼ cups Finely Chopped Onion
  • 5 cloves Garlic (large), Minced
  • ½ Tablespoons Butter
  • ½ Tablespoons Oil
  • 1 pound Shrimp, Cleaned And Deveined
  • ¼ cups White Wine
  • Salt And Pepper, to taste
  • Chopped Parsley And Grated Parmesan Cheese For Serving, Optional
  • 1 whole Lemon, Cut In Wedges For Serving

Instructions: 

Heat a pot of salted boiling water for linguine while you begin cooking asparagus and shrimp.

For the asparagus: Heat a large skillet over medium, warm butter and oil. Toss in asparagus and cook covered for a couple minutes, depending upon the thickness of the asparagus, until slightly undercooked. (Asparagus will get tossed back in the pan after the shrimp to finish cooking.) Remove from pan and set aside.

Begin cooking pasta in boiling water. It will take around 8 minutes.

For the shrimp: In the same skillet used to cook the asparagus, cook onion and garlic in butter and olive oil over medium low heat until onions are translucent. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add shrimp, cooking on first side until pinking slightly, then flip. Pour in wine. Stir and cook another minute.

What I would do different at this part:

I had to add some extra seasoning to the shrimp, Carl is not a fan if the fishy taste of shrimp. I added some more shakes of garlic and then I added Lemon and Herb Old Bay Seasoning. After I was done eating supper. I realized, I will make this again but I am going to use the shrimp from a recipe I made from Pioneer Woman‘s website.  It is the Spicy Lemon Garlic Shrimp recipe.

Add asparagus back to the dish. Stir and cover. Reduce skillet heat to low until pasta is cooked. Add cooked pasta to shrimp and asparagus along with a little pasta water if more moisture is needed. Salt and pepper to taste and garnish with parsley and Parmesan cheese, if desired. Serve with lemon wedges.

Pasta with Sweet Italian Sausage

Blondie3 Comments

This past weekend Carl’s older sister had flown in from the East coast, we were surprising his mother who had retired from teaching after 35 years, Congrats to her. 🙂 We had planned to eat out on Saturday night at Rudy’s Red Eye Grill . I really liked this place because it is a fun atmosphere and it was a plus that they have a gluten free menu! I normally get the shrimp scampi, yummy!

On Sunday, I wanted to cook at home. For lunch, we had wild rice brats from the meat market with all the yummy fixings. Sunday Night I made a pasta dish that I found on Tasty Kitchen. It was pretty good and super easy to make.

Pasta with Sweet Italian Sausage-

Picture is one I took.

Ingredients:

  • ½ pounds Sweet Italian Sausage (I used sweet italian turkey sausage)
  • 1 pound Lean Ground Beef
  • 3 cups Tomato Sauce (homemade Or Store Bought)
  • 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
  • 1 cup Low Fat Milk
  • 1 pound Pasta
  • ¼ cups Fresh Basil, Chopped
  • Salt And Pepper, to taste
  • ¼ cups Parmesan Cheese, Grated (or More To Taste)

Instructions:

Roast the sausages on a baking sheet in a 350ºF oven for approximately 20 minutes. Flip them over and continue roasting for another 20 minutes or until they are brown and the inside is no longer pink.

While the sausage is cooking, brown the ground beef in a pan on the stove top, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Add the tomato sauce, garlic powder, milk and stir. When the sausages are cooked, slice diagonally and add to the beef sauce. Simmer on low heat while you cook the pasta.

You can use whatever pasta you like but I recommend one that holds a thick sauce well. I used calamarata (a pasta with large wide rings that resemble calamari) but pappardelle or penne would also work well. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to package directions, drain and add to the sauce. Toss in the basil and season to taste. Finish with the grated Parmesan cheese.

What I did different- 

I did not roast the italian sausage in the oven. I cooked it in a pan with olive oil and then put it to the side. I also added a can of chunky of tomatoes to add more flavor and color, I did not add as much tomato sauce then. I did follow the directions of adding the milk, but next time I would maybe add half the milk but with more tomatoes of any type. If you really like flavor I would add a few italian spices.

Welcome To My Kitchen…

Blondie1 Comment

About 2 weekends ago, Carl and I went to a co-ed Pampered Chef party, oh was I in heaven. I had a few things in mind that I wanted to get. I know my sister mentioned to get the awesome can opener! I was all over that.

Here are the goodies we got.

We picked out two sauces that we had a chance to try at the party. They were a Beer Barbecue Sauce and a Carolina Mustard Sauce. So delicious!

I also wanted just a few little kitchen utensils. I picked out a silicone basting brush, a mini stainless steel whisk and an citrus peeler. I needed a citrus peeler for my oranges. My Papa used to use one all the time when he peeled oranges for me.

Best thing we got was the smooth-edge can opener. Carl has cut his finger a time or two trying to open the cans!

I have a big nice Williams Sonoma baking pan but I didn’t have a nice square baking pan and thought that was a must have.

As a thank you for buying so much we got a free set of bamboo snack bowls.

I am excited for my new additions to my kitchen! 🙂

Happy Sunday Evening!

A Few Goodies…

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So When I got home from sister’s weekend in Iowa, Carl was wanting to make chocolate chip cookies. We went to Cub Foods and low and behold we found a gluten free-wheat free cookie mix  and all we had to add was butter and an egg.

The brand is called Fahlstrom Farms and it is Beth’s Chocolate Chip Cookie mix. They were so chewy and you could not tell they were gluten free.

Since we have moved and I have a bigger kitchen to cook in, I have a massive amount of Tasty Kitchen recipes printed out. So I had asked my sister if she could pick me up a recipe book binder! OMG! I am so excited about it, Cheap Thrills! 🙂

Front of the binder, how cute!

Inside of the binder has plastic sleeves for the favorite recipes and has tabs to put your recipes in the correct categories.

I can’t wait, happy organized cooking in our kitchen, sounds fun doesn’t it! haha. I am sure Carl will be happy as my recipes will not be laying around everywhere.

I hope you all have a wonderful evening, supper is done (I made my Italian Sausage Linguine, recipe, here it is), dishes washed and chocolate chip cookies are made for work presentation tomorrow. 🙂 Now to watch my shows and read!

A Fiesta in the Kitchen

Blondie3 Comments

ICARUMBA…. On Sunday after church service I started going through my recipes and looking online for what I wanted to make for the week. I go through cooking spurts, this week is one.

Monday Night- I made the Hamburger Wild Rice Hotdish, it was quick easy and yummy. Carl said he wanted something with chicken. I found a chicken crockpot recipe.

Tonight I made Crockpot Tex Mex Chicken off the Tasty Kitchen website. I was nervous because this morning my crockpot was talking back to me. The setting and the buttons were doing funny things, so all day during work I was nervous that I would come home to spoiled food. Good thing when Carl got home he called and said it looked like the crockpot worked. 🙂

On my way home I called my mom to ask what would be a good crockpot to look at. Mom never fails and sent me a bunch of awesome website links to read up on and find a crockpot.

Picture from my kitchen! 🙂

Here are the ingredients:

  • 1 can (about 14 Oz. Size) Chicken Broth
  • 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Cumin
  • 1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 can (10 Oz. Size) Rotel
  • 1 can (15 Oz. Size) Black Beans
  • 8 ounces, weight Frozen Corn
  • ¼ cups Fresh Cilantro, Chopped
  • 24 ounces, weight Chicken Breasts

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients, except chicken, in a crockpot and stir.

Lightly salt chicken on both sides and place in the crockpot mixture. Cook on low for 10 hours.

Remove lid 30 minutes before serving and use 2 forks to shred chicken. It should be tender enough that it easily falls apart. If not, remove to shred and then return to the mixture.

Along with the chicken, I made my Cilantro Lime Rice Recipe, it all together was delicious.

Cilantro Lime Rice-

  • 3 tsp butter
  • 2 TBS lime (1/2 lime per 2 servings)
  • 1 cup basmati rice
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 3 TBS chopped cilantro (or more)

Preparation:

  1. melt butter in saucepan over medium heat
  2. add lime and rice, fry for 1-2 minutes
  3. add water and bring to a boil
  4. reduce heat and cover until tunnels form in rice and water is fully absorbed (May need to add more water)
  5. add cilantro and serve

* I normally make this side with any taco meal we have. It is really easy to make and super easy. Sometimes I add a little lemon juice as well.

Happy Wednesday Night! Enjoy! 🙂

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

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Last night for supper I made a chicken and wild rice casserole from Tasty Kitchen. It was pretty good. Carl liked it. I would add some celery, carrots and onions to it if I make it again. It was quick and easy.

(my picture)

Ingredients:

  • 6 ounces, weight Package Wild Rice With Seasonings
  • 2 Tablespoons Butter
  • 8 ounces, weight Mushrooms, Sliced
  • 1 pound Chicken Breasts, Cooked And Shredded
  • ½ cups Sour Cream
  • 10-¾ ounces, weight Cream Of Chicken Soup

Instructions:

1. Cook wild rice according to package directions. While the rice is cooking, melt butter over medium heat in a skillet. Add mushrooms and saute until tender. I omitted this and threw a few onions in as we are not big fans of mushrooms. Add chicken, sour cream and cream of chicken soup to mushroom mixture. Remove from heat.

2. Add cooked wild rice to mixture and combine. Pour into a 2-quart casserole dish and bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes.

Chicken and Black Bean Casserole

Blondie3 Comments

Tonight for our Sunday supper Carl wanted something with chicken, I searched on Tasty Kitchen and found a Chicken and Black Bean Casserole.

(my picture)

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups Uncooked Pasta (I Use Small Shapes) I used my gluten free brand that I like.
  • 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
  • 1 whole Jalapeno Pepper, Seeded And Finely Diced
  • 1 can (14 Oz. Size) Petite Diced Tomatoes, Drained
  • 3 cups Cooked Chicken (leftovers Work Perfectly)
  • 1 can (15 Oz. Size) Black Beans, Drained And Rinsed
  • 1 can (6 Oz. Size) Tomato Paste
  • 6 ounces, fluid Water
  • 2-½ cups Shredded Mexican-blend Cheese, Divided
  • 1 Tablespoon Salt, Or To Taste
I was trying to be a little creative and I added some frozen corn, which was good. Carl said he thought it was taste good with a little bit of crunch to it like crumbled fritos or tortilla chips on the top.

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Lightly grease a 9×13 pan, set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Heat olive oil in a large pot (big enough to fit all of this in there eventually) over medium high heat. Add jalapeno and cook about 2 minutes. Add in diced tomatoes, chicken, black beans, tomato paste and water. Season with salt. Cook about 5 minutes. Stir in cooked pasta and 1 cup of the shredded cheese until everything is well blended (think about it like this, “I want a little bit of everything in every bite”). Pour into the prepared 9×13 pan.
3. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven, top with remaining 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese. Bake an additional 5-10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

We had added salsa, sour cream, hot sauce for toppings.