Leftover Remix: Grilled Shrimp and Roasted Corn Pasta

Yesterday I posted my recipe for Spicy Grilled Shrimp with Corn Relish.  Well, we had some leftovers and I decided it would be fun to turn them into something new for the following dinner.  There are very few additional ingredients for this pasta dish, but your family will never know they are eating something very similar to the night before.

If you would like to make this dish, but fear you might not have any leftovers from the night before, just plan ahead and make a double recipe of the spicy shrimp.

Leftover Remix:  Grilled Shrimp and Roasted Corn Pasta

Ingredients:

Leftover Spicy Grilled Shrimp with Corn Relish (pineapple removed)

1 pound cavatappi pasta (or any shape you like)

1 package grape tomatoes

Olive oil

3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Cook pasta according to package directions.

Place leftover corn relish, grilled onions, and grape tomatoes on a large baking sheet.  Drizzle with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.  Roast in the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until grape tomatoes start to get wrinkly and corn starts to get a little color.

Meanwhile, cut up your shrimp into small pieces.  Once you remove your corn and tomato mixture from the oven, add your shrimp to the baking sheet - this will warm them up without cooking them any further.

Drain pasta.  Add all the contents from the cookie sheet into the pasta.  Make sure to scrape up all the little brown bits (this gives the great roasted flavor).  Add your Parmesan cheese and an extra drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper (to taste).

Garnish with additional sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and serve with freshly baked garlic bread.

Now that's practically two meals in one - how great is that?  I love things that do double duty!

Spicy Grilled Shrimp with Corn Relish

A week ago it actually felt like spring here in Chicago (though today, not so much), so I had grilling on the brain.  One of my favorite foods is grilled shrimp and I came up with this spicy grilled shrimp recipe with corn relish that is perfect for those warm weather days.  This recipe may appear to have a lot of ingredients, but most of the spices can be found in your pantry.

Spicy Grilled Shrimp with Corn Relish

Serves 4-6

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

Pineapple, cubed - fresh or canned chunks

Rice, of your choice

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients under "shrimp" to make a marinade/paste for the shrimp.  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.

Drizzle the remaining marinade over your sliced red onions.

Cube pineapple or used canned pineapple chunks.  If you would prefer to do these as kabobs, just cut your onions into chunks rather than slices.  We happened to have one of those pans that go on the grill (so nothing will fall through) and just decided to go with a deconstructed kabob to make our lives easier.

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.

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.

Serve with corn relish and rice of your choice (I made some red beans and rice)........my mother always told me to make sure you garnish your plate (something she learned from her mother).  Doesn't that fresh bit of cilantro just make the plate look so much more appetizing?  I think garnishing is worth the effort - it shows your family that you truly care and that the food you serve them is filled with love.

Tomorrow I will show you how I turned the leftovers from this meal into a fabulous pasta dish!

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

My husband and I have a thing for southwestern cuisine. We love it all!  I think I could serve my husband southwestern food every day of his life and he would never get tired of it........and neither would I.  We're a match made in heaven, I guess.

We both love Chile Rellenos, which is what I originally considered making with these beautiful poblano peppers.  But the idea of frying something didn't really appeal to me, so I came up with this slightly healthier alternative - Stuffed Poblano Peppers.  These peppers are stuffed with a mixture of tomatoes, green chiles, zucchini, cilantro, rice, garlic, onions, Mexican spices and Monterey Jack cheese.  They are baked in the oven and garnished with sour cream and more fresh cilantro.

In the mood for some southwestern cuisine?  Give these a try!

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Serves 3-6

Ingredients:

3 poblano peppers

1 can Rotel (tomatoes and green chiles)

1 can green chiles

2 large cloves garlic, chopped

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 zucchini, sliced

1/2 cup fresh cilantro

2 Tablespoons chile powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more or less depending on how spicy you like it)

1 Tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups Monterey Jack cheese

2 cups cooked white rice, prepared according to package directions

Garnish - Sour cream and cilantro

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cook white rice according to package directions.  Cut poblano peppers in half, lengthwise.  Remove seeds and white parts.  Place in a baking dish.

Meanwhile, over medium heat, saute onion, zucchini, garlic, chile powder, cumin, cayenne and salt and pepper.  Once onion is cooked add Rotel, cilantro and the extra can of green chiles and cook until most of the moisture has cooked out.

Add vegetable mixture to cooked white rice and stir to combine.  Add one cup of cheese and combine.

Spoon rice mixture into each poblano pepper half.  You want plenty of rice in each one, so make sure it's mounded up pretty high. 

Next, add the remaining cheese on top of each pepper.

Place peppers in oven for 30-35 minutes.  If for some reason your cheese starts to get too brown, just place some foil on top and finish cooking.  Mine ended up just right, but every oven is different.

Peppers are complete once they are easily pierced with a knife and cheese is golden brown.

Serve one pepper or two (if you have hungry adults).  My husband and I both ate two, but we are pretty big eaters and didn't have a lot of side dishes.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream on each pepper and a sprinkling of fresh cilantro.  If you have salsa on hand, that would be great too!  You can add additional side dishes - we had warm buttered tortillas, but some refried beans would be another good idea.

Cottage Mama's Note:  This dish is a great way to sneak some veggies into your non-veggie lovers.  I used zucchini because that's what we had on hand.  You could use sliced carrots, corn or even add in some black beans for extra fiber.  Watch the cayenne pepper if you plan to serve this to little kiddos.  Luckily my little ones like some spice, but if they aren't used to it, ease them into it slowly.

Breaded Chicken Cutlets with Orange and Arugula Salad

I'm not joking when I say that this recipe is ridiculously good!  I can't take credit for this one since it is actually a Rachel Ray recipe, but man, I had to blog about it because my husband and I just loved all the flavors.

This recipe has the perfect balance of sweet, tart and savory all in one bite.  Serve it with mashed or roasted potatoes and you have a meal that is fit for entertaining (or an easy weeknight dinner).

I'm not going to post the recipe here, since I can take credit for it, but you can find it HERE.  I will, however, tell you the minor changes I made that you might want to give a whirl if you decide to give this recipe a go (which I highly recommend).

I breaded the chicken pretty much the same, however; I used panko bread crumbs instead of regular.  You can find panko bread crumbs in most major grocery stores in the same section as the regular ones.  I find they add a crunch to breading that really can't be beat.  The orange zest is key in this breading, so don't leave it out even if you think it sounds strange.

For the orange and arugula salad, I made a vinaigrette from 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 Tablespoons orange juice, 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard, salt and pepper.  I used small tangerines instead of regular oranges which made assembling this dish really easy.  Arugula has a very peppery, bitter flavor when tasted on its own.  Personally I don't love it by itself, but pair it with something sweet or savory and the balance of flavor is amazing.

I served our chicken cutlets with homemade mashed potatoes.  We had some leftovers and it was equally as good the next day.  So cook up some extra cutlets and have some chicken to use in other dishes throughout the week.  If you don't like arugula or don't have any on hand, the chicken cutlets by themselves are still very good.  But if you can, go for the salad on top - it is diviiiiiiine!

Again, click HERE to go to the Rachel Ray recipe for  

Breaded Chicken Cutlets with Orange and Arugula Salad.

Tortellini with Lemon Cream Sauce

 

Sometimes the most delicious dishes only contain a few ingredients.  My tortellini with lemon cream sauce is one of those.  So simple, yet indulgently delicious.  

Tortellini with Lemon Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

1 package fresh cheese tortellini (8 oz.)

3 tablespoons butter

1.5 cups heavy cream

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 lemon
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Begin cooking fresh tortellini according to package directions.

In a large pan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add in heavy cream and bring to a boil.  Once you've reached a boil, reduce the heat to medium.  Add in the juice of one lemon, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.  Taste the sauce to check for salt and pepper.  I like a lot of pepper in my cream sauce and if it doesn't taste savory enough, it probably needs more salt.

Allow the sauce to bubble lightly until it reaches your desired consistency.  Once you are happy with the thickness of your sauce, reduce the heat to low until your tortellini is ready.

Drain tortellini and add to the large saucepan.  Toss to coat.  Serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese, freshly grated black pepper and a slice of lemon.

Enjoy!

Blackberry and Mustard Glazed Ham

This ham was SO good (if I do say so myself)!  I served this for Christmas Eve dinner for my family, my in-laws and my two sister-in-laws.  And even my husband, who would much prefer some type of red meat, absolutely loved it.  This recipe was given to my mom by someone she works with (Miss Mary) and then was passed onto me.

If you're looking for a great, crowd-pleasing ham, this recipe will do the trick!

Blackberry and Mustard Glazed Ham

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

1 6-8lb. fully cooked, spiral sliced ham

1 jar (12 oz.) blackberry preserves

1 jar (7 oz.) whole grain mustard

1/2 cup apple cider or apple juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare glaze.  Mix blackberry preserves, whole grain mustard and apple juice together.  Set 1/2 of mixture aside to be made into sauce (see step below).

Brush some of the mixture on top of the ham.  Place ham in oven for 1.5 hours, basting with glaze every 20 minutes.

Place 1/2 of the reserved glaze into a heavy bottom saucepan.  Set on medium-low heat and allow glaze to reduce by half.  Place in a dish and serve alongside ham as a sauce.

Place ham on a large serving platter and garnish with fresh blackberries, sliced apples, and fresh herbs.  Enjoy!

Cottage Mama's Note:  This glaze would be delicious on grilled pork chops, chicken breasts, lamb or any other meat that is complimented by a slightly sweet sauce.  Ham was served with mashed potatoes and gravy, cornbread stuffing, salad with dried cranberries, sugared pecans and feta cheese, and homemade bread.

IKEA Swedish Meatballs: Knock-Off Recipe

This post may make you feel differently about me, but I have to come out and say it - I l.o.v.e. IKEA Swedish meatballs.  Yes, I love IKEA, but the meatballs really put the experience over the edge for me.

I decided I wanted to try to recreate the IKEA meatballs experience at home and I think I came pretty darn close!  The gravy is out of this world, so that is what I really tried to focus on with this recipe.  If you think meatballs and gravy for dinner is totally weird you can stop reading right now (I won't be offended), but if you love these savory little meatballs like I do, I highly suggest you try this recipe!

IKEA Swedish Meatballs

"A Knock-Off Recipe"

Ingredients:

1 bag party-size meatballs (I bought mine from Trader Joe's)

1 box beef stock

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons butter 

2 tablespoons flour

Olive oil (just a little for starting the meatballs)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Optional side dishes:

Mashed potatoes (recipe here)

Sauteed spinach with garlic

Directions:

Drizzle a little olive oil into your saute pan and set on medium heat.  Saute frozen meatballs for 7-9 minutes.  You want to brown the outside of the meatballs.  Once outside of meatballs are browned, remove from pan and set aside.

Next add butter and flour to saute pan.  Cook flour for 2-3 minutes.  Then whisk in 3/4 of a box of beef stock into your pan.  Scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of your saute pan.  Whisk to incorporate all of the flour and butter mixture into the stock.  Add 1/2 cup heavy cream and salt and pepper, to taste.  Turn up heat to medium-high.  Bring gravy to boil and reduce to a simmer.  Cook for 10 minutes or until gravy reaches desired consistency.

While gravy is cooking, microwave (I know, totally strange) your meatballs so they are cooked through.  Do this according to package directions.

Once meatballs are cooked, return them to the saute pan and coat with gravy.

Serve meatballs with mashed potatoes (make sure to put gravy on those too!) and sauteed garlic spinach.  If you really want to be like IKEA add a little cranberry sauce (they use lingonberry sauce, but I'm not sure where you find that).  

 This is a stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal that shouts comfort food.  

Perfect for winter!

White Pizza from the Cottage Garden

The tomatoes in our garden have finally started to ripen (yipee!) - it seems like they have taken forever this year!  Last night we had three medium-large fresh tomatoes and a bunch of basil ready to use up, so what did I make?  White pizza! 

Basically white pizza is defined as pizza without tomato sauce.  Sometimes you will find the tomato sauce substituted with an alfredo sauce or pesto sauce or just with no sauce at all.  So here is my easy, white pizza recipe and I have to admit, this was so good.  Best to make this recipe when tomatoes are truly in season - it takes the flavor to a whole new level.

White Pizza Recipe

Serves 4 (or 2 very hungry adults)

Ingredients:

1 ball of fresh pizza dough (store-bought or your favorite recipe)

3 medium-large fresh tomatoes

1 large bunch fresh basil

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

2 cups mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Olive Oil

Garlic salt

Freshly ground pepper

Red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and gather all of your ingredients.

Drizzle a little olive oil onto your cookie sheet and roll out pizza dough.  Don't worry about the way it looks, just stretch it out as much as possible.  I actually prefer a more rustic, organic shaped pizza.

Drizzle a little more olive oil on the pizza dough.  Sprinkle with garlic salt and freshly ground pepper.

Slice your fresh tomatoes and lay them out on top of your dough.  Season with a little more garlic salt and pepper.

Now layer your sliced red onion. 

Next sprinkle 3/4 of your mozzarella cheese evenly over the top of the pizza.  Place fresh whole basil leaves on top of the cheese.  Finish the top by sprinkling the remaining 1/4 of mozzarella and all of the Parmesan.

Bake on 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until crust appears to be golden brown.

To serve, sprinkle with Parmesan, red pepper flakes, and a tiny drizzle of olive oil.  Enjoy!!

Cottage Mama's Note:  I used store-bought pizza dough from Trader Joe's (.99 for one ball of dough), but you could also visit your favorite pizza restaurant and ask for some dough - many of them will sell just a ball of dough.  Or what would be even better, is if you made your own.  Whatever works for your lifestyle and schedule will be perfect!

Week 4: What's for Dinner?

It's that time again - so what's for dinner this week?  Here's the plan......just click on the picture to go directly to the recipe:

Monday

Make the first dinner of the week fun with cheese fondue.  Cut up cubes of bread, cooked chicken breast, steamed veggies, potatoes and crunchy apples to dip in your fondue.

Tuesday

If you haven't tried this recipe yet, give it a go!  You will not be disappointed and I have a feeling you might start eating fish more often!  Don't have cajun seasoning?  Well try something else.....how about lemon pepper or italian seasonings?

Wednesday

Serve with a side of whole-grain Spanish rice, tortilla chips and fresh guacamole - delish!

Thursday

Breakfast for dinner?  Yep, that's right!  Change it up a bit - I bet your family will be pleasantly surprised.

Friday

Make this an entree by adding cubed ham or cooked chicken breasts.......I'm getting hungry just thinking about this dish!

Have a great week!