Chipotle-Cornmeal Crusted Fish {Gluten Free}

I’ll just go ahead and prepare you know; for several posts in a row, I have more Pink Parsley repeats to show you.  I’m not sorry either.  I love what she posts, and almost everything she makes becomes a bookmark in my browser.  I love the recipes she makes!  So, thank you, Josie, for sharing!
I love this recipe, foremost, because the recipe is gluten free as is; always a plus in my kitchen.  The sous chef was impressed because of the amount of flavor you get in one bite.  The crust of the kitchen paired with the burst of flavor from the homemade salsa is delicious.  This is an easy weeknight meal, for sure.  This household highly suggests!

Ingredients
Fish
4 firm fish fillets (5-6 ounces each)
2 canned chipotles in adobo sauce, minced
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
juice of 1/2 lime
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cornmeal, or cornbread crumbs
Peach Salsa
2 ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and chopped
1 ripe tomato, cored, seeded, and chopped
1/2 bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and minced (about 1 Tbsp)
juice of 1/2 lime
pinch salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions
For the salsa, mix together all the ingredients, and set aside for at least 10 minutes. Taste and season accordingly.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil a large baking sheet with oil. Pat the fillets dry with a paper towel, and season with salt and pepper.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the chipotles, oil, lime juice, cilantro, garlic, thyme, and salt. Pulse a few times to combine.
Pour the sauce into a shallow bowl or dish, and spread the cornmeal in a separate dish. Dip each fish fillet first into the chipotle sauce, then dredge in the cornmeal. Turn the fish several times to coat, and pat the fillets to adhere the crumbs. Arrange the fish in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with a small amount of oil.
Bake uncovered until the fillets are golden and the fish flakes easily with a fork. It could be as little as 10 minutes, or up to 25 depending on the type and thickness of the fish. For the last 2 minutes, turn on the broiler to achieve a crispy crust.
Serve with peach salsa and lime wedges.

Classic Crab Cakes

As some may recall, I very much like to follow Bethenny Frankel and have taken great advice into my own eating habits from Naturally Thin. I’ve tried couple recipes of hers previously, and there are definitely more to come.  Her recipes are quite easy to transition to gluten free, if even necessary at all (this part I love!).  This is one of her recipes suggested in the ‘Downsize Now’ chapter of Naturally Thin.
I made the full recipe of these crab cakes, and the sous chef and I could NOT finish them for dinner one night!  This was the only thing on our menu that night.  We had leftovers, although leftover crab cakes are not really my thing.  Nonetheless, if you are cooking for two or preparing this recipe as an appetizer for two (say for Valentine’s Dinner tonight ), I would do some reducing on these crab cakes.  All that said, these were DELICIOUS!  I love the many flavors involved in this recipe!  Below is my adaptation of the recipe to make it gluten free, which is hardly different from the original recipe AT ALL!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup small-diced red onion
1 1/2 cups small-diced celery
1 1/2 cups of each; small diced red and yellow bell pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup gluten free breadcrumbs (I used Udi’s whole grain bread and created bread crumbs from this loaf)
1/4 cup gluten free mayonnaise
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 pound (8 ounces) jumbo lump crabmeat, drained
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons store-bought pesto + 2 tablespoons gluten free mayonnaise mixed together and seasoned with salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fresh minced parsley

Directions

Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onion, celery, and bell peppers until soft.  Season with Old Bay, salt, and pepper.  Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs, mayonnaise, mustard, and the Worcestershire sauce.  Stir in the crabmeat to combine, but don’t overmix.  The crabmeat should remain in large pieces.  Combine ingredients from steps 1 and 2.

Spray a nonstick pan with cooking spray and turn heat to medium.  Scoop evenly-sized cakes into the pan using an ice cream scoop and sauté over medium heat until crispy on both sides.  Top each crab cake with tiny dab of pesto/mayonnaise mixture.  Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.



Be sure not to cook too long or too little before flipping the crab cake.  This is the only tricky part to this recipe.  Unfortunately, mine are little too done in these pictures.
In order to make this recipe as Bethenny suggested, simply make the gluten free ingredients above not gluten free.

Shrimp, Peas and Rice

When I saw the title of this recipe, I was highly unsure of why this dish would yummy to eat.  It’s not that any of 3 taste bad, but I wasn’t sure why they would all be together in one dish.

Well, I’m officially wrong because this was the best thing we have eaten in a while that was extremely easy to make!  What we loved about it even more was that it makes a great 'take-to-work’ dish for lunches.  Make this for your family tonight, and I promise you’ll be asking why you didn’t double the recipe for leftovers.  Best part is, it’s rather healthy!

Source: Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 cup uncooked long grain rice

2 cups fat free chicken broth

1/2 cup frozen peas

1 tablespoon light butter spread (I used Smart Balance light)

2 tsp plus 1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1 tbsp chopped parsley

salt and fresh pepper

Directions

In a medium size heavy pan melt butter spread. Add rice and saute about a minute. Add chicken broth and peas and bring to a boil. When all liquid is absorbed reduce heat to low and cover. Cook on low for about 15 minutes, until rice is cooked through.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tsp olive oil over medium heat. Season shrimp with salt and pepper and add to hot pan. Cook about 2-3 minutes, until shrimp is cooked through. Remove shrimp from pan and set aside.

Add 1 tbsp olive oil to the skillet and add rice. Add grated cheese, shrimp, and parsley and saute another minute, mixing well.

Crab Quesadillas

I think I warned you previously that I had lots of seafood recipes ready to provide you :)  I wasn’t lying!  I found this recipe on FoodNetwork.com, although it is an EatingWell.com recipe. 

I’ve also discussed before that it’s wise to check the reviews on FoodNetwork.com recipes before making it, and I failed to follow my own advice this time.  Had I done so, I would have read people warning against using the orange zest and orange juice in the quesadillas.  For me, that is the flavor that ruined it.  That said, the sous chef LOVED it!  Hence the reason I’m posting this recipe.  I mentioned previously in my Orange Chicken post about how the orange flavor was much more received by the sous chef than I; the same situation applied here.  Thus, if you think you are ok with things being orangy, leave it in.  If not, take it out, and I think you’ll be just fine.

The recipe below is adapted to accommodate leaving out the orange flavor, if you desire.

Ingredients

1 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
2 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
4 scallions, chopped
1/2 medium red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped pickled jalapenos (optional)
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest (optional)
1 tablespoon orange juice (optional)
8 ounces pasteurized crabmeat, drained if necessary
4 8-inch whole-wheat tortillas
2 teaspoons canola oil, divided

Directions

Combine Cheddar, cream cheese, scallions, bell pepper, cilantro, jalapenos (if using), orange zest (if using) and juice (if using) in a medium bowl. Gently stir in crab. Lay tortillas out on a work surface. Spread one-fourth of the filling on half of each tortilla. Fold tortillas in half, pressing gently to flatten.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place 2 quesadillas in the pan and cook, turning once, until golden on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes total. Transfer to a cutting board and tent with foil to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and quesadillas. Cut each quesadilla into 4 wedges.

Baked Lump Crab Cakes with Red Pepper Chipotle Lime Sauce

Yuuuuuuum!  I went crazy picking out seafood recipes recently, and this is the first of those recipes.  It should be obvious why I picked it first; so delicious!  Also, the Red Pepper Chipotle sauce is soooo amazing!  The sous chef and I both agreed that it would make a great friend to some fish as well. 

These make a great dinner as I wasn’t even able to finish 2!  The sous chef had to finish off my last few bites :)  I wanted very much to eat them all, but they are just very filling.  The recipe below serves 4 crab cakes, but you could make them smaller to make bite size crabcakes; say 16 crab cakes would make these small enough for bite size.  Making them smaller might alter your cooking time though, so be aware. Source: Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 1 cake

Crab Cakes
9 ounces lump crab meat, picked free of shells
1/2 cup (about 13) reduced fat Ritz crackers, crushed
1 whole egg plus 1 egg white, beaten
2 finely chopped scallions
2 tbsp finely chopped red bell pepper
1 tbsp low fat mayonnaise
2 tbsp fresh cilantro (or parsley)
1/2 lime, juiced
salt and pepper to taste
cooking spray
Zesty Chipotle Lime Sauce
1 tbsp roasted peppers (jarred)
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1 tsp minced canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
1 tsp fresh lime juice

In a small blender (or magic bullet) puree mayonnaise, lime juice, roasted pepper and chipotle pepper.

In a large bowl, combine crushed crackers, eggs, scallions, pepper, mayo, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper. Mix well, then fold in crab meat, careful not to over mix so the crab remains in large chunks. Gently shape into patties using a 1/2 cup measuring cup.

Chill in the refrigerator at least 1/2 hour before baking.
Preheat oven to 400°. Grease a baking sheet with cooking spray. Bake about 8-10 minutes on each side, until nicely browned.

Drizzle red pepper chipotle lime sauce over crab cakes and serve.

Paella

I know Cinco de Mayo was a while ago, but it got me inspired to make Paella for the first time!  Yes, that’s right, I’ve never made Paella before.  Usually, when I’m making a somewhat traditional dish that is a first try for me, I’ll dive into my Fannie Farmer Cookbook.  This cookbook is great for that sort of thing!

The sous chef and I discovered that we aren’t big fans of clams, so…we ended up removing those little guys and tossing them.  Otherwise, this dish was TERRIFIC!  We had plenty of leftovers and ate them all!!!  The recipe I’m posting below is the halved version of the recipe as I just can’t imagine needing the full recipe that the cookbook lists.  As it is, we had to use our largest tupperware dish to save the leftovers!

Paella
adapted from Fannie Farmer Cookbook

Ingredients
1/16 teaspoon of saffron
2 cups chicken broth
2-3 chicken breasts
salt
freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
6 thin slices spicy Spanish sausage (Chorizo)
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup short grain rice
1/2 pound shrimp, cooked, shelled, and deveined
1/2 package frozen tiny peas, or 3/4 cup fresh peas
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 tsp salt

Directions

Put the Saffron to soak in 1 Tbsp of the chicken broth.  Rinse the chicken, pat it dry, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, add the chicken and brown well on all sides.  Add 2 tbsp of water and the oregano.  Cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes or until the chicken is done.  Remove the chicken and set aside.

Lightly brown the sausage slices; remove and set aside.   Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.  Melt the butter in the pan and stir in the rice, saffron, and about half a teaspoon of salt, cooking for 5 minutes.  Add the remaining chicken broth, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  In a shallow 4-quart casserole, arrange the rice, chicken, shrimp and sausage so that some of each shows on the top.  Heat in the oven about 15-20 minutes.  Meanwhile either pour boiling water over frozen peas or blanch frozen peas 2 minutes.  Scatter over casserole, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.

Surf and Turf Salad

Trying to eat light is a much more frequent thing in our household.  Sure you’ll still see me make sweets, but we are making an effort to eat less meat and increase the amount of veggies and fruits that we eat.  Spotting this recipe in Rachael Ray’s 30 Minute Get Real Meals was perfect to add to my shopping list!  We both truly enjoyed this recipe and the salad dressing is really great!

Ingredients

2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 inch fresh ginger root, peeled and minced or grated
3 tablespoons Tamari (dark aged soy sauce)
1 teaspoon ground coriander (1/3 palmful)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon grill seasoning, such as McCormick brand Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 lemon, zested
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus some for drizzling
1 1/2-2 pounds flank steak
1 bunch scallions
16 medium shrimp, peeled, tails removed and deveined
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 hearts of Romaine, chopped
4 ounces baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley (a couple handfuls), chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped

Dressing:
1 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
Salt and pepper
Directions

Pre-heat a tabletop grill, grill pan, or outdoor grill to high.

Combine the first 10 ingredients in a shallow dish. Coat flank steak in mixture and reserve for 10-15 minutes.

Trim ends and one inch of tops off of the scallions. Drizzle EVOO over both the scallions and the shrimp and season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Grill scallions and shrimp for two minutes on each side. Remove from grill and reserve.

Place flank steak on grill pan and cook 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove the meat to a plate, tent with foil, and let juices settle for five minutes.

Combine greens, red onion and parsley leaves on a large platter or individual plates. Cut reserved scallions into 1-inch pieces. Scatter over greens and then evenly distribute the grilled shrimp over the greens.  In a small bowl mix the lemon juice, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce and whisk in three tablespoons EVOO. Season the dressing with salt and pepper and drizzle it back and forth over the arranged greens and scallions and shrimp. Slice the steak very thinly against the grain on an angle with a sharp knife and arrange it over the salad.

Mother’s Day 2010

It’s time to honor Mom!  How are you planning to dine with Mom this Sunday?  Is this your first reminder that Mother’s Day is THIS weekend?  If so, I hope I can help you get ready :)  Here’s some ideas from Krista Kooks to help you enjoy time with Mom at home.  Click on any of the pictures to be directed to the original blog post. Blueberry Delight-Great for breakfast or brunch with Mom. Bacon Quiche Biscuit Cups- Also great for breakfast or brunch.

Fish Oreganata- Perfect main dish for a light lunch with Mom.Roasted Vegetables-Use this preparation method for your favorite vegetable.

Parsley-Paprika Potatoes- Delicious compliment to the 2 above.    Spring Summer Ziti-Just make a simple pasta to share with Mom.Fruit Cookie Pizza- Help Mom keep it light for dessert with this fruit cookie pizza!

Whatever you do, I hope you have a great Mother’s Day with Mom!

Fish Oreganata

Ok, I’ve probably said it several times before, but I LOVE me some tilapia.  Aggie’s Kitchen posted this fabulous fish recipe recently, and I immediately bookmared it.  It looked mouthwatering delicious and very in line with me wanting to shed some pounds!!  This recipe was indeed mouthwatering delicious as I expected.  I don’t think the sous chef got any of this recipe :)  I saved the leftovers and ate them later.  Yes, I do feel slightly bad, but…it tastes SO GOOD!  Can you blame me?!

Source: Weight Watchers Make It in Minutes: Easy Recipes in 15, 20, and 30 Minutes via Family, Friends and Food via Aggie’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 lb mild white fish (I used tilapia, but flounder, haddock or other white fish can be used)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
zest from one large lemon
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3-4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil and then spray with non-stick spray.

Place the fillets on the baking sheet. Combine remaining ingredients (EVOO through oregano) in a bowl. Press the bread crumb mixture into the fish fillets making sure they are covered. Bake until the fish is just opaque in the center, about 10 minutes.

Delicious meal for lunch or dinner.  Fortunately it’s quick and easy making lunch come quick!

Tilapia with Balsamic Brown Butter

I can absolutely promise you that this tastes amazing, and the pictures do not do this fish justice at all.  We are so used to having tilapia with a lemon or lime flavored seasoning/taste that it was a drastic difference to have this sauce on top of the fish.  That said, it’s a welcomed difference.

This is part 2 of the dinner I mentioned on Friday in this post.  You can find this recipe with the Creamy Farfalle in the Big Orange Book by Rachael Ray.Ingredients:

4 (6 to 8-ounce) tilapia fillets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp EVOO
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Season the fish with salt and pepper. Dust fish with flour and shake off excess.

Heat 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook fish 4 minutes on each side, until cooked through.
Remove fish from skillet to a platter and cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Reduce heat to medium and add butter to pan. Brown butter, 2 to 3 minutes, stir in balsamic vinegar and simmer 1 to 2 minutes to reduce by half. Pour the brown butter and vinegar over fish. As promised, here’s a picture of the whole meal! If you want to know if this is good, let me help you…

Of the 4 fish filets….I ate 3 of them.

Tyler Florence’s Sautéed Shrimp

Well, I think I may have used to many shallots in this recipe as it was hard for me to even taste the shrimp!  That said, less shallots in this recipe would have made this perfect.   It’s really easy to make, too!

Tyler Florence’s Sautéed Shrimp

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 cup chicken broth
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

Directions

Put the flour on a plate and season with a healthy amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to combine evenly. Dredge the shrimp in the seasoned flour to coat all sides.

Heat the butter and oil in a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat until butter stops foaming and just starts to turn a light brown. Add the shrimp, and give it a toss, saute for 5 minutes until the shrimp is firm and there is a crispy coating on the outside. Remove the shrimp to a side plate and cover to keep warm.

Put the pan back on the heat and add the garlic and shallots. Cook and stir for 1 minute until soft. Add the lemon juice and chicken broth, give it a stir and let it cook down for 1 minute to thicken slightly. Put the shrimp back in the pan and coat in the lemon sauce. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

Chili Lime Tilapia

A fellow Nestie shared her recipe for Chili Lime Tilapia one day, and I was determined to make the recipe that night after having a look at her recipe and photos. I had already purchased Tilapia intending to request that my sous chef make it for me (seeing as how he is better at cooking fish than I). Normally he makes a delicious lemon pepper tilapia, but I had to beg that he work with me this time to make this Chili Lime Tilapia. After devouring this delicious recipe, he agreed that this was the way to go for dinner that night!

We absolutely loved the tang of this recipe and of course how healthy you feel after eating fish for dinner.

Thanks Bakin' and Eggs!

Seafood Pasta with Sherry Tomato Cream Sauce

My wonderful sous chef told me he was craving a recipe with shrimp as part of the recipe, so I decided to deliver! He’s not usually a fan of mushrooms, but this one looked so good, I decided to make it anyway. I’m glad I did because we ate every bit of this!!! I think it’s probably difficult to go wrong with a pasta and cream sauce, but still. I think I really need to consider making this a staple recipe in our household because it’s so quick and simple! This is most definitely a 30 minute meal if not a 20 minute meal. I know my mother would love it also, as there are very few dishes involved in the preparation :)

Source:

Click here for the recipe.

The clickable link recipe is a little different from that in Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book. The book's recipe suggests that you use any kind of small seafood meat, such as shrimp or crab meat in addition to the lobster suggested in the recipe on FoodNetwork.com. Thus, we used shrimp.

Eat up!

Mac N' Seafood

Several weeks ago, I was very eager to make something with scallops. My intrigue was sparked by the weekly grocery ads as they were supposedly on sale. Little did I know that the nearest 2 HEB stores (a grocery store in Texas) to me did not have seafood counters! I didn't know that was even possible! I then ventured to our nearest Kroger (yes, that would be my third trip to a grocery store just to find scallops), and even they didn't have fresh scallops. I had buy them in the bag. Not the worst thing in the world, but it still wasn't what I set out to buy.

Nonetheless, I had my sights set on making Rachael Ray's Milk Mac N' Seafood. (Note: It's only called Milk Mac N' Seafood because, that week, she was gearing up for the Oscars and chose to highlight each movie up for film of the year with it's own recipe.)

Ingredients

1 bulb garlic
1 tablespoon EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus additional for drizzling
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
1/4 cup (about a handful) flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped
Salt and ground black pepper
1 pound macaroni or small shells
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup white wine or sherry
1 1/2 cups milk
A few grates fresh nutmeg
1 1/2 cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano
2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese
1 pound bay scallops

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Slice 1/4 of an inch off the top of the garlic bulb, exposing the top of all cloves. Place garlic onto a small piece of aluminum foil and drizzle with EVOO. Enclose garlic in a small pouch and roast in oven until cloves are deep golden brown, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

Squeeze roasted garlic cloves out of bulb and into a medium mixing bowl. Mash into a paste with a fork. Add breadcrumbs, parsley, thyme, some salt and pepper to bowl, and stir to combine. Reserve.

Place a large pot of water over high heat to boil water. When water comes up to a full boil, season with salt. Drop macaroni and cook to al dente according to package directions. Drain cooked pasta and reserve in pot it was cooked in.

Place a medium saucepan over medium-high heat with the butter. When the butter has melted, sprinkle the flour over top and cook for about 1 minute. Whisk in the white wine, milk, nutmeg, some salt and pepper into the sauce and bring up to a bubble. Simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes.

Yields: 4-6 servings

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Slice 1/4 of an inch off the top of the garlic bulb, exposing the top of all cloves. Place garlic onto a small piece of aluminum foil and drizzle with EVOO. Enclose garlic in a small pouch and roast in oven until cloves are deep golden brown, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

Squeeze roasted garlic cloves out of bulb and into a medium mixing bowl. Mash into a paste with a fork. Add breadcrumbs, parsley, thyme, some salt and pepper to bowl, and stir to combine. Reserve.

Place a large pot of water over high heat to boil water. When water comes up to a full boil, season with salt. Drop macaroni and cook to al dente according to package directions. Drain cooked pasta and reserve in pot it was cooked in.

Place a medium saucepan over medium-high heat with the butter. When the butter has melted, sprinkle the flour over top and cook for about 1 minute. Whisk in the white wine, milk, nutmeg, some salt and pepper into the sauce and bring up to a bubble. Simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes.

Remove the sauce from heat and stir in bay scallops, 1 cup Parmigiano (eyeball it) and Gruyere, reserving a handful of Gruyere for the tops. Stir to melt cheeses then toss sauce with cooked pasta. Transfer mac to six ramekins and top with the reserved breadcrumb mixture and the reserved cheese.

Arrange ramekins on a baking sheet and bake until tops are golden brown and filling is bubbling, about 25 minutes. Serve warm.

I absolutely loved this dish! While mac n' cheese is good, it can sometimes make you feel sluggish. This recipe was not the normal mac n' cheese and tasted very fresh! I think you could even make this with shrimp also if you wanted.

Spicy Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp

If you are getting ready for a great cookout at home for July 4th, then you should definitely try out this recipe for Spicy Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp. My father made these for a grad party last month, and they were a big hit! As you can see, we made a lot, but they were gone in minutes.
(Copied from the link provided above from the Taste of Home website)
Ingredients:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon each salt, pepper, curry powder, ground cumin and ground coriander
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
18 uncooked jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
9 bacon strips, halved lengthwise

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, lemon juice, oil and seasonings. Pour 1/4 cup marinade into a large resealable plastic bag; add the shrimp. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 30-60 minutes. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade for basting.

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until cooked but not crisp. Drain on paper towels. Remove shrimp from marinade; discard marinade. Wrap each shrimp with a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick.

Coat grill rack with cooking spray before starting the grill. Grill bacon-wrapped shrimp, covered, over medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until shrimp turn pink, turning and basting with reserved marinade.

Get what you need to prepare this for your 4th of July cookout because this was a big hit!

Lemon Pepper Cornflake-Crusted Tilapia Recipe

Can I just say that I am totally impressed?! Tonight, Krista Kooks' Sous Chef cooked dinner, and I am completely impressed by his ability to find the recipe on his own, used ingredients we already had in the house, and made an absolutely delicious meal. I am so so proud!


We had tilapia that we wanted to cook, and I must say that my sous chef is much better at cooking fish than I. With this recipe, he amazed me even more. We both highly suggest this recipe. We even used egg whites only for the breading process, so it was even healthier! Thus, I will inlcude this dish as a diet option for Krista Kooks.

Please go try this fish! You will love it!