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!

Patriotic Cookie Pizza

Yummy yummy dessert! Last week, another co-worker had a birthday, and I know she likes to try to be somewhat healthy. Thus, I thought I might find something sweet to make her with some fruit. I'm enjoying some of the recipes I've made with Pillsbury products, so I checked out their website and found this Patriotic Cookie Pizza. I thought it was great to find a recipe that uses their refrigerated sugar cookies and doesn't have overly complicated ingredients.

Here's how to make this very well-received dessert!

INGREDIENTS

1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookies
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
2 cups fresh raspberries
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1/4 cup apple jelly, melted

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 12-inch pizza pan with cooking spray. Cut cookie dough into 1/4-inch slices; place in pan. With floured fingers, press evenly over bottom to form crust.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cool completely, about 25 minutes.

In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon peel until fluffy. Spread over baked crust.

Arrange raspberries in large star shape in center. (I decided to forgo the star since I wasn't making this for a patriotic holiday).

Arrange blueberries around raspberries. Drizzle or brush with melted jelly. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes. Store in refrigerator.

Mini Italian Meatloaves

Sorry it's been so long peeps! It's been a rough couple of weeks in the Krista Kooks household, but I should be getting back to kitchen more often soon.

That said, last week, as my sous chef and I were trying to be frugal, I decided to try to make something out of as much as I could find from we already had in the house. I noticed that Erin ( from Dinner and Dessert ) made these Mini Italian Meatloaves in February of 08 and loved them. I know how much my hubby likes his comfort food, so I thought this might be a nice treat away from my experimental recipes.

Here is how I cooked the meatloaves which is not very different from how Erin has it on her blog.

1 pound ground beef

1 egg, beaten

1 cup marinara sauce, divided (I used a Classico sauce)

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1/4 cup onion, chopped

salt and pepper to taste (I used kosher salt)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon onion powder

3/4 teaspoon parsley

3/4 teaspoon basil

3/4 teaspoon oregano (Oops I used 1/2 a teaspoon too much!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Gently mix 1 cup marinara sauce and remaining ingredients together. Divide into 4 equal size pieces and form into desired shape. Place on greased roasting pan. Pour extra marinara sauce over top of each loaf and top with desired amount of extra cheese. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. (It took 45 minutes for me).

Enjoy these little tastes of heaven! They are definitely a crowd pleaser for the men in your household :)