Easy Shrimp Boil

I have longed for going back to Door County, Wisconsin, where I could get a classic fish boil.  I have not had one of those in almost 30 years, but it seems like something that I have to get on.  So when I saw a recipe for a Weeknight Ship Boil from Eating Well, I thought that this was something I had to try.  I played with it a bit and really liked the way it came out.  I think I will be making this again in the near future!

Ingredients (Serves 3-4)
5 quarts Water
1/3 cup Seasoning mix (Morton's Nature's Seasons or McCormick's Old Bay)
1 tsp Celery seed
4 tbsp Lemon juice
8-10 Baby red skinned potatoes
1 cup Carrots (baby cut or sliced into one inch pieces)
1 lbs Shrimp, peeled & raw (21-25 per pound)
5-7 oz Chicken or turkey cooked sausage (kielbasa or andouille works well), cut into 1-inch pieces
2 Ears corn, husked and broken in half
Melted butter for serving (optional)

Directions
1. Combine water, seasoning mix, celery seed, and lemon juice in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Add potatoes and cook for 15 minutes.
2. Add carrots and cook an additional 10 minutes.
3. Add shrimp, sausage, and corn to the pot and cook (stirring occasionally) for around 6-7 minutes.
4. Using a slotted spoon and tongs, divide the shrimp, sausage and vegetables among the 3 or 4 serving bowls. Drizzle each portion with around 2 tablespoons of the cooking liquid.

Enjoy!  Serve with butter, if desired.

New England Style Lobster Rolls

Well this was fun!  I tweaked the recipe for New England Lobster Rolls from A Family Feast site.

This came out so well - we can hardly believe it.  I had been inspired to do this for some time.  Pam loves, loves, loves these.  But it was not until I saw that you can buy frozen lobster meat at Meijer that I decided to give it a try.  I might do this again with lobster tails - but we will definitely do this again!  From the Family Feast site: "If you are using live lobsters that you will cook yourself, the yield is about 25%. So for four pounds of live lobsters, you will end up with one pound of cooked meat (give or take a few ounces depending on the size of the lobsters."

Ingredients (for two large Lobster Rolls)
8 oz Lobster meat, loosely chopped into bite sized chunks
3 tbsp Olive oil mayonnaise (adjust as desired)
1 tsp Lemon juice
¼ cup Celery, sliced thinly
1 tsp Parsley, dried
1/2 tsp Celery seeds
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste.
Rolls (you can use Italian or French bread or split-top hot dog rolls)

Directions
1. Place the cooked lobster meat in large bowl.
2. Add mayonnaise, lemon juice, celery, parsley, celery seeds, Kosher salt and black pepper. Mix thoroughly.
3. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for around an hour.
4. After the hour, divide the lobster salad on the rolls.  You can add lettuce on the lobster roll if you prefer.

Enjoy!

One-Pan Petite Meatloaf With Roasted Veggies

We made this last fall and it was really great. Just catching up and getting my recipes loaded. This one was adapted from a great recipe from Cooking Light from Gina Homolka, the founder of skinnytaste.com @skinnytaste. I am a big fan of sheet pan dinners - so it was worth a try. I loved how this came out and it is a great way to make a hearty meal, even after a long day at work. Most of the ingredients can be purchased in advanced, and the veggies can be traded in and out as they are available.

Ingredients (Makes 4 servings)

Olive oil cooking spray
1 lbs Ground turkey (93% lean)
1/2 cup Old fashioned oats
6 tbsp Ketchup, divided
2 tbsp Minced onions (dried)
1 tbsp Parsley (dried)
1 large Egg
1 tsp Marjoram (dried)
1 tsp Kosher salt, divided
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
One bunch asparagus, trimmed and thin (or green beans)
8-10 oz Baby carrots, with larger ones cut in half
2 tbsp Olive oil
1/4 tsp Black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. 
2. Coat a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. 
3. Combine turkey, oats, 4 tablespoons ketchup, dried onion, dried parsley, egg, marjoram, and 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt in a medium bowl. 
4. Divide into 4 (4- x 2 1/2-inch) loaves; place, evenly spaced, on pan. Combine Worcestershire sauce and remaining 2 tablespoons ketchup in a small bowl; brush over loaves. 
5. Combine asparagus, carrots, olive oil, black pepper, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt in a large bowl. Scatter vegetables around loaves. 
6. Bake at 450°F for 20 minutes. Stir vegetables and continue to bake until loaves are no longer pink in the center, 10-12 more minutes.

Enjoy!

Holiday Brie Bites

We ended up making another recipe from Lauren Miyashiro on the delish.com.  This recipe was requested by my sister-in-law and we used the recipe for Cranberry Brie Bites as an inspiration.  These are super easy to make and taste fantastic.  You can adjust the recipe a great deal and I am sure that it will come out well.  These are really nice and look pretty on a tray.

Ingredients (makes 24 brie bites)
Cooking spray, for pan & parchment paper
1 (8-oz.) tube crescent dough (low fat works fine here)
1/2 (8-oz.) wheel of brie or slicing brie (around 4 oz)
1/2 cup Cranberry sauce, whole berry (24 tsp)
1/2 cup Nuts, chopped (can mix or match - I used pecans and almonds)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375° and grease a mini muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. On parchment paper, roll out crescent dough, and pinch together seams. Cut into 24 squares. Place squares into muffin tin slots.
3. Cut brie into equal sized pieces (around the size of a quarter and a 1/4" thick) and place in the muffin tins.
4. Top each piece of brie with 1 tsp of cranberry sauce and around 1 tsp chopped nuts (almonds or pecans).
5. Bake until the crescent pastry is golden, about 13-15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Holiday Antipasto Sandwiches

Pam found this great recipe from Lauren Miyashiro from the delish.com website for Antipasto Squares.  We were cooking for our big holiday party and we were looking for an easy crowd pleaser  So we tried these and they were a hit.  We played with the recipe and used a lower-fat crescent roll (so it was a bit better).  Not only did they heat up well for leftovers, but they were great cold.  We will definitely make these again.  The recipe is fairly flexible, so you can add or subtract items as you see fit.  Or more appropriately, if it fits within the sandwich.  We made it in half-portions than were originally called for - and it worked out well. 

Ingredients (each recipe makes one set of 8 sandwiches)
Parchment paper
1 (8-oz.) tube Crescent dough (can be low-calorie)
4 thin slices Ham (from the deli)
10-15 thin slices Pepperoni (or turkey pepperoni)
2-3 thin slices Turkey (from the deli)
2 slices, Provolone cheese
2 slices or 1/4 lbs shredded, Mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Pepperoncini, sliced and drained (adjust to taste)
Olive oil spray
1 tbs Grated Parmesan
1 tsp Oregano, dried

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Place one unrolled can of crescents on prepared baking sheet and pinch together seams. Layer ingredients on one half of the crescent roll (below the center seam).  Layer ham, half the pepperoni, turkey, the other half of pepperoni, provolone cheese, mozzarella cheese, and the drained pepperoncini.
3. Fold the top half (without ingredients) down towards the bottom to make the contents covered with dough.  Pinch the seal at the edges of to make a good seal (it does not have to be perfect).
4. Lightly spray the top with olive oil (or brush).  Then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and oregano.
5. Bake for 32-35 minutes (until dough is golden and cooked through).  Let cool for 15 minutes before slicing into 8 squares.  A pizza cutter here works well.

Enjoy with marinara sauce for dipping the edges.

Chicken Barley Soup

I have always loved beef barley soup.  So with the days getting colder, I thought it would be a good time to work up a few new recipes for soups to warm me up after a Michigan Fall or Winter day.  I adapted this recipe from the Skinny Taste recipe for Chicken Barley Soup.  I modified this for my ingredients and taste.  It was fantastic!  It made for a fairly dense soup - so if you want a more liquidy soup - add a total of 8 cups of chicken broth.

Ingredients
2 tbsp Olive oil
3 tsp Garlic (or cloves), chopped
1 cup Carrots, chopped
1 cup Onions, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
2 Skinless bone-in chicken breast
7 cups Chicken broth
2 tbsp Parsley, dried
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp Sage, dried
1/4 tsp Black pepper
2/3 cup Barley (quick or instant)

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic and stir for around one minute.  Add the carrots, onion, and celery to the pot and saute for around 10 minutes.
2. Add chicken, broth, dried parsley, Kosher salt, sage, and black pepper and raise heat to bring to a boil (this will take a few minutes).
3. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer covered over low heat for 30 minutes.
4. Remove the chicken from the pot and shred the meat while discarding the bones.  Return the chicken to the pot along with barley and simmer for an additional 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Coconut Chocolate Cookies

I was given a simple task, find a recipe for a cookie or dessert that was healthier than the normal fare that we might get at a grocery store or, let alone, out at an ice cream place.  Something to enjoy after dinner that is satisfying as a dessert.  Well, I did not have a great deal in the house, but I found an amazing recipe at Cooking Light for Toasted Coconut Chocolate Chunk Cookies.  Using the coconut really was fantastic.  I will play with this recipe some more - but I love the flavor that the toasted coconut gives to the cookie.  This is definitely a keeper and you likely have all the ingredients right now in your kitchen (maybe you will have to pickup the coconut).  Very easy and delicious.  The batch is around 20 large cookies - with my guess that each has around 100 calories.

Ingredients (Makes around 20 large cookies)

1 cup Flaked sweetened coconut
1 cup All-purpose flour
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1/4 tsp Baking soda
1/8 tsp Table salt
3/4 cup Light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup Unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup Semi-sweet Chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Arrange coconut in a single layer in a small baking pan. Bake at 350° for 7 minutes or until lightly toasted, stirring after four minutes. Set aside to cool.
3. Into a mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda and table salt.  Stir with a whisk until blended.
4. Place sugar and butter in a mixing bowl or mixer.  Beat at medium speed until well blended. Add  vanilla and egg and mix until blended. Slowly add flour mixture, beating at low speed, until combined. Then add the toasted coconut and chocolate also at low speed.
5. Drop mix by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets covered with parchment paper. 6. Bake at 350° for 11 minutes or until bottoms of cookies just begin to brown (one sheet at a time).  Remove from pan, and cool completely on wire racks.

Enjoy!