Linguine with Shrimp and Lemon Oil

I made this last night for Dinner.. It was really delicious! I added a chopped Tomato to the finished dish, and I used Angel Hair pasta because it's our favorite. Next time I will also add chopped Artichoke hearts. Do you like Arugula? I would suggest trying it in this recipe, it is so yummy. It's peppery and crisp. Adds a great texture to this dish, and.. it's good for you!

Ingredients

For the lemon oil:
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 lemon, zested

1 pound linguine pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
16 ounces frozen shrimp
1/4 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1 lemon, zested
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 ounces arugula (about 3 packed cups)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions
For the lemon oil:
Combine the olive oil and the lemon zest in a small bowl and reserve.

For the pasta:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, in a large, heavy skillet warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until pink, about 5 minutes. Add the cooked linguine, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine. Turn off the heat and add the arugula. Using a mesh sieve, strain the lemon zest out of the reserved lemon olive oil and add the oil to the pasta. The zest can be discarded. Add some of the cooking water to desired consistency. Add the chopped parsley to the pasta and toss to combine. Serve immediately.
Recipe and Photo Food Network, Giada De Laurentiis

Spicy Grilled Tilapia with Aioli

• 2 lbs (or 4) Tilapia Fillets
• 2 teaspoons Olive Oil
• 1 teaspoon  Cajun or Creole Seasoning, I use Emeril's.
• 1 teaspoon  Old Bay Seasoning

Aioli:

• 1/2 cup Mayo
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice, I add some zest in there too
• 1  tablespoons Dijon Mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon dried Tarragon
• Note: Tarragon has a strong flavor.  It's lemony and rustic. I love to use fresh Tarragon, vs. dried. It's not as strong. I also imagine that using Dill in place of the Tarragon would be really yummy too!
• Prepare Aioli by combining all ingredients and place in the fridge. The longer it sits, the better.
• Preheat and oil your grill. You'll want it fairly hot to give the fish a good sear and not fall apart.
• Rub both sides of the fish with the olive oil.
• Sprinkle seasonings on both sides of the fish, rub it in and place on grill. Cook for 2 1/2 minutes, turn once and cook another 2 1/2 minutes.
• I stink at grilling fish. It never comes out right for me, sticks to the grill, flakes off.. ugh. So, I have a grill pan that has holes in the bottom of it (Bed, Bath and Beyond). You can also use a sheet of aluminum foil, sprayed with cooking spray, with small holes poked in it, to ensure your grill doesn't eat your fish before you do.
• serve with Aioli. Makes 4 servings

Tilapia Tostada's with Black Beans

I saw this recipe while watching Melissa d'Arabian's show on Food Network. I thought it looked lovely... and while i didn't have all of the correct ingredients on hand, i had the most important ones... Tilapia and Avocado!
Melissa's is here if you want to check it out.

This is mine:
1 lime, zested and juiced. The limes were so hard at the grocery store today. I had to pop one in the microwave for 15 seconds just to get it going...
2-3 garlic cloves, pressed
a couple of tablespoons of EVOO
1 pound Tilapia, cut in 2 inch pieces.

I sauteed my black beans in evoo, some chopped white onion, ground cumin, salt and pepper, and about 1/2 a cup of chicken stock. I started these first, so i could let them soak in all the flavor.

Then I marinated the fish for 15 minutes. and stuck it in the broiler for 7-10 minutes, depending on how big your chunks are.

Fry up some corn tortilla's for your tostada shells, spoon on some of the beans and then the fish pieces and top with your favorite toppings. I put avocado and cilantro, tomato and red onion on mine.

**to those of my friends who DON'T like fish - try the tostada's with just the beans. My kids ate theirs this way (cause they ate the fish before i could put their tostada's together!) and it makes a pretty good meatless dish!

Summer Salad with Garlic-Chili Shrimp

Okay, well I know it's not summer anymore, but the thermostat is still reaching 70+ here in California, we still have beautiful produce, and I'm always looking for a complete meal worthy salad. This is what I made for dinner lastnight, along with Pioneer Womans Easy Seseme Noodles. Delicious!!

Shrimp:

1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce *I couldnt find this sauce, so I used 1 ts. Sriracha Chili Sauce, mixed with 2 minced garlic cloves and a few dashes of white rice vinegar and I wouldnt change it, it was yummy*

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon
2 pounds uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Salad:
2 ears of corn, husked
3 small tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges
1/3 English hothouse cucumber, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise
1 large avocado, halved, peeled, pitted, cut into thin slices

4 cups (loosely packed) mixed baby greens
Dressing:
3 teaspoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (such as Asian)
2 tbs. olive oil
*I added a dash of ground ginger and 1 small minced garlic clove*

Toasted sesame seeds for garnish *I would also add some almonds or chow mein noodles or raw ramen noodles for a crunch, it was lacking texture* Add to the salad.

For Shrimp:  Mix chili-garlic sauce, cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in large bowl. Add shrimp and toss to coat. * I did this an hour 40 min prior to marinate*

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large nonstick skillet over med-high heat until hot. Add half of shrimp and sauté until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Using tongs, transfer shrimp to plate. Add 1 tablespoon oil to same skillet. Add remaining shrimp and sauté until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer shrimp to plate and cool.

Cut corn from husks. In same pan used to cook the shrimp, saute the corn until brown. Add to salad.

Dressing:  Whisk 2 tablespoons oil, lime juice, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, salt, pepper and sesame oil in medium bowl.

Top the salad with the shrimp, and dressing and toss, serve. Made 4 servings.
Bon Apetite

Black Bean Soup with Crab & Kielbasa Sausage

I love to make this soup - it's the only soup my husband will eat!

Last year, when Hurricane Ike visited us, we had this great idea (haha!) to weather it out, stay home and just see what happens. Well, it was ok - the kids slept a bit, i slept nothing, and my husband was asleep on the couch 3 hours before it even approached our West Houston home. I bought a few things to have on hand. You know, water, diet coke, chips, just the essentials. I did, however have the where-with-all to make this soup a few days before. I bought double ingredients, to perhaps share with others. I made the rice, too, and we stored it in the fridge, thinking we could heat it up in those days following the hurricane.
Let me tell you, this soup was the best part of the whole ordeal! In the middle of electricity-free, candle-lit, air conditioning-free, and humidity-laden air, our family was able to heat this soup up on the stove (we had gas still and just struck a match to light it!) and had some resemblance of a 'normal' day!
I had this vision of us serving the meal to all of our neighbors and them being so grateful! Well, we did share it, to A neighbor, and THE neighbor was grateful, we just had a lot left over and without refrigeration - the soup went bad soon after. It's the thought, right??

ANND - it's a slow-cooker recipe, what else could be better?

The Ingredients:
2 (15-oz) cans black beans, drained
3 cups chicken stock
1 (15-oz) can diced tomatoes
1/2 lb kielbasa sausage, cut in half length-wise, then sliced in 1/2 in thickness
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced carrot
2 T ground cumin
2 bay leaves
Salt & Pepper

The Garnishments:
2 cups lump crabmeat, picked for shells and cartilage
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

The Side/Serve-Along-With:
Brown Rice (Make sure you factor in the 45 min it takes to cook the brown rice!)

The Method:
In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients from black beans through S & P -- Mix well. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours.

Spoon brown rice into a bowl, then ladle soup over rice and garnish with crab and cilantro.

adapted from a Robin Miller recipe

Tilapia with Balsamic Butter sauce, Thyme Mashed Potatoes and Snap Peas

This recipe is so good. I do not really like fish, but I am trying.. I made this and I actually ate a whole filet.. and my husband, a fish lover.. raved. It's yummy.

THYME MASHED POTATOES
3 pounds russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, quartered
4 1/2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
6 tablespoons (or more) warm whipping cream
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme
BALSAMIC BUTTER SAUCE
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups sugar snap peas, strings removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 4- to 5-ounce tilapia fillets
1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes


Thyme Mashed Potatoes
Boil potatoes until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain; return to pot. Add butter, 6 tablespoons cream, and thyme; mash. Season with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Rewarm over medium heat, stirring often and adding more cream by tablespoonfuls if dry.
Balsamic Butter Sauce
Simmer vinegar and garlic in small saucepan over medium heat until reduced to thick syrup, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
Cook snap peas in boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Drain. Return to same pan; set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in each of 2 large skillets over high heat. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Sauté fish until golden, about 2 minutes per side.
Rewarm balsamic syrup over medium-low heat. Whisk in 1/2 cup butter 1 piece at a time. Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter to peas; stir over medium heat until warmed. Season with salt and pepper.
Divide potatoes, tilapia, and peas among plates; drizzle with sauce.

Bon Appetit 2009

Tilapia with Green Beans, Corn & Pesto

3-4 Tilapia fillets
salt and pepper
1 T olive oil
1/2 lb green beans (i used frozen green beans, about 2/3s of the bag)
1/2 bag frozen corn
2 green onions, sliced thin
store-bought pesto


heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat
season fish with salt and pepper
place fish in skillet and cook on one side for 4-5 minutes (until golden brown)

flip the fish, scatter the green beans and add 3/4 cup water. cover and let cook for another 5 minutes. the vegetables should be tender and the fish opaque throughout.

place the fish on plates, leaving the green beans and adding the corn. cover and let cook another 2-3 minutes. finally, stir in the pesto and green onions. (ok, i only added the green onions after i plated the kids food...)

serve the fish and vegetables with an additional dollop of pesto.

---seriously, i made this meal in about 15 minutes, from start to finish. super easy, super fast and super delicious. my husband told me a few times how good it was, especially with that pesto! a great summer meal!

adapted from real simple, august 2008