.grilled shrimp and mango salad.

A couple years ago I was in Chicago for a scrapbooking event. It's a big thing for the craft and hobby industry and I was along for the ride with a company I was designing for at the time. I shared a hotel room with three other ladies and one night while out to dinner, my friend Bek ordered this grilled shrimp and mango salad. It looked FABULOUS! Since I'm all about salads, I thought I would try remaking it here at my house.



It's quick and easy and so deliciously refreshing. A light cilantro lime vinaigrette tops this off. The dressing can be made ahead of time and held in the fridge for future use.





Begin by taking however many shrimp you want and rinsing them well. Pull of the tails if they still have them on.





Season with seasoned salt.





Skewer up the shrimp and turn on the bbq.





Grill each side. When they're pink, they're done cooking. Don't let these overcook because the shrimp will be tough.

Peel and grate a couple carrots.

Seed and dice a tomato (or two).

Peel and slice a mango. If you're making this for a crowd, then dice the mango so it stretches further.

Slice some red onion.

Thinly slice some cucumber.

And finally, grate some cheddar cheese.

You can mix all these things together in a bowl with some lettuce (I used iceberg and romaine), or you can plate it like I did in the photo at the top. Drizzle lightly with cilantro-lime vinaigrette.

CILANTRO LIME VINAIGRETTE:

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (key limes are good)
1 small jalapeno pepper, ribs and seeds removed, coarsely chopped (leave in some seeds if heat is desired)
1 small clove garlic, halved
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon honey
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 pinch ground cumin
1 pinch salt, to taste
1 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro

Put all of the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.

.cajun chicken pasta w/ roasted red pepper sauce.

I received an email the other day asking if I had a cajun chicken pasta recipe that I would be willing to share. Well, I didn't, but I am *always* looking for new dinner ideas and thought this would be a good one. I didn't want to do a basic cream sauce so I took it one step further and made a roasted red pepper cream sauce that was out of this world! A little kick and oh yah..

This recipe doesn't take that long to make. You just have to remember to make your rub and coat the chicken the night before so it has enough time to marinate. You can have this on your table in under an hour!


In a large ziploc, put 4 Tbsp paprika, 2 Tbsp salt, 2 Tbsp garlic powder, 1 Tbsp black pepper, 2 Tbsp onion powder, 1 1/2 Tbsp cayenne pepper, and 2 tsp thyme. Shake it up to mix everything together.

Put two chicken breasts in the bag and shake to coat. Seal well and hold in the fridge overnight.


Before grilling, scrape off some of the rub so it's not all caked on. Grill on high to sear each side, then lower the temp and cook through. Once cooked, pull from the grill and bring inside.


Once the chicken has rested for a few minutes, shred using two forks. I left the pieces in bite sized portions. I didn't want it *too* shredded. Set aside.


Mince one shallot.

Mince 3-4 cloves garlic.


Take a jar of roasted red peppers and drain completely. Roughly chop the peppers.


This is the pasta I used. You can use fettuccine or any kind you want.


Bring salt water to a boil and cook the whole box of pasta for 12-14 minutes. Once cooked, drain well.

While that cooks we're going to make the sauce.


Heat 2 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.


Add the shallot, garlic, and peppers. Cook over medium heat and let them sweat for about 5 minutes. You don't want the heat too high. Sauteing (like I usually do) seals in the flavor. Sweating the garlic and shallots releases and mellows the flavor. That's what we want!


Season with a little salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper. Don't use too much pepper! You want a little heat, not too much.


After those 5 minutes, put everything into a blender. Put the lid on and start blending.


Make sure you're careful with this step! Slowly add a pint of cream through the top hole. Make sure you keep the cap on and drizzle that cream in because it will shoot up at you.


Pour the sauce back into the skillet and put over low heat to reheat a little.


Grate about 1/2 cup parmesan cheese.


Add the cooked pasta and parmesan to the sauce and toss everything together well.


Add the shredded chicken. Toss well.


Chop a little parsley and add to the pan. Toss well again.

Plate up and garnish with a little more grated parmesan and a sprig of parsley.

Thank you Celeste for the email and I hope your family enjoys this dish as much as we did. It's definitely going to be made again and again here! If you're low carbing like I'm doing, you can just leave out the pasta on your plate. The chicken and sauce are great by themselves.

Serve with salad.


Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_107dr5m2mcg

.apricot balsamic chicken.

Tonight I had planned to make lemon chicken, but remembered I used up my lemon the other day making blueberry crisp (recipe to come). So I had to think up Plan B and thought I would try out a new recipe. I have to say I was a little skeptical. I didn't think there would be a lot of flavor or that apricot and balsamic would go well together. I really couldn't have been more wrong. It was awesome!



The sweetness and slight tartness mixed with the bold acidic flavor of the balsamic matched very very well. Then throw in some crushed pepper flakes and rosemary? Oh momma. It wasn't hot and the kick was exactly what made this so delicious.



This chicken doesn't take horribly long to make either. The sauce is made in a matter of minutes. No marinating needed. Just grill up your chicken and when it's about done, start slathering with the sauce to caramelize.



Melt 2 Tbsp butter in a saucepan over medium heat.



Once melted, add 1/2 cup apricot preserves. I used Polaner because it doesn't contain corn syrup - which the recipe recommends.



Add 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar.



1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes



1/2 tsp rosemary leaves



And a generous pinch of sea salt.



Lower the heat to medium low and let this cook on the stovetop until it gets a little thick.



Remove from the pan and pour into a dish to let cool. Bring to room temperature. This can be made days in advance and held in the fridge. When you're ready to use it, just put it in the microwave for a minute to loosen it up a little.



Take your chicken pieces and season both sides with salt and pepper. I used thighs only because we like dark meat. You can use whatever you want.

Put the chicken on a heated bbq grill. Make sure the heat is on low so you don't burn the chicken on the outside and it still be raw on the inside.



When the chicken is cooked (touch the center and if it's still spongy it's not cooked! It needs to be a little firm.) brush on the glaze.

Turn and glaze the other side. Do this until you've used up all of your sauce and the chicken is nice and caramelized. Pull from the grill.
Serve with rice and veggies.


Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_80czkfc4c3

.greek steak.

Do you feel like you always make a dish a certain way over and over? I feel this way about steak. I always seem to get ribeye and we usually throw on some Montreal seasoning and grill it up.



I came across a recipe in one of those little food magazines you pick up by the register on your way out of the grocery store. The spinach and feta topping is quite delicious with juicy kalamata olives and tomatoes, and a kick of garlic.



I used frozen spinach. I've used both fresh and frozen and I prefer fresh, but this way is just as good when you're in a pinch and don't have fresh on hand. You'll need about 1/4 cup for two steaks. Thaw by running under cold water. Then wring all of the water out. Break apart the spinach clumps and set aside.



Seed and dice one roma tomato.



Chop one clove garlic.



Take some kalamata olives (I used 5-6) and remove the seeds if they aren't already seeded. Chop up and set aside.



Let your steaks sit out on the counter 30 minutes prior to grilling. This relaxes the meat and will help them cook evenly. Rub both sides of the steak with a garlic clove.



I'm breaking out of the montreal seasoning rut and using lemon pepper.



Rub it on both sides of the steaks.



Put on your bbq grill and cook to your desired doneness. We like our steaks medium rare. Let rest while we make the topping.



Heat some olive oil in a skillet and put in the garlic. Saute for 30 seconds. Don't let it burn!



Add the diced tomato. Cook for a minute or two. We don't want the tomatoes to get too soft so don't let them go too long in the pan.



After about a minute, add the spinach. Use a spoon to break it up even more so it distributes itself evenly.



Season with some fresh cracked pepper and sea salt.



Remove from the heat and grate in some fresh parmesan. Mix together.

Spoon some on the top of the steak. Sprinkle on some crumbled feta cheese and kalamata olives.

Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_73ctgn83gf