Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Okay...I have no pictures of this cause I wasn't quite myself yet when I made this and didn't snap pics like I said I would. I know I will make this again, though, and I will definitely take pics.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

2 cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans of whole kernel corn, rinsed and drained
1 pint of grape tomatoes, halved
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 medium red onion, diced
2 serrano peppers, ribs and seeds removed, diced finely
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
juice from 3 medium limes

Mix everything together and let chill. It's great with tortilla chips or served over burritos. I personally like to eat it straight up. Any way you eat it, you'll love it!

Later lovelies!
L.

Stir Fried Vegetables - So yummy for your tummy!

So, I made a stir fry again tonight for supper - we had the same one last week and it was so good Shooter requested it again. I, of course, obliged because it's super easy and super healthy for us.

I first started out by cutting up an onion into big chunks.

Then I cut up my bell pepppers. Shooter and I are not big fans of green bell peppers so I use red and yellow ones. I prefer their flavor but they also lend a good bit of color to the dish. I slice them up into pieces.

Then I clean and set aside the snow peas and mushrooms.

We also love soybean sprouts. I prefer them to water chestnuts, but you could easily substitute water chestnuts if you prefer. They give the same kind of crunchiness to the dish.

Now, I get my "wok" ready - I heat it on high heat with about a tablespoon of oil in the pan. I use vegetable oil for this dish.

Once the pan is hot, I add in the onions and let them cook for about 3-4 minutes. They go in first because I want them cooked through a little more than the rest of the veggies.

Now I add in the peppers and the snow peas. They take a little longer to cook than the mushrooms and the sprouts so they go in first. I let them cook for about 3 minutes.

Now I add in the mushrooms and the sprouts. At this point I also add in about a tablespoon of Ponzu sauce. Ponzu sauce is like soy sauce but it tastes fruitier - more citrusy. :-D I'm making this all up ya know. hehehe!

After about a minute I add in about two tablespoons of a stir fry sauce I bought at the grocery. It's random - I usually buy whatever looks good to me that day. This one is kinda spicy and we like it lots. I let it go for another minute and if the sauce is still kinda loose (i.e. runny) then I'll mix a tablespoon of flour with a tablespoon of Ponzu and add that to the pan. That will help thicken it up for us.

Also, I added chicken into the stir fry this time....I don't always do this. Before I started the veggies I browned the chicken and the set it off to the side to hang out until the veggies were ready. Then I added the chicken back in to warm through.

In the meantime, I usually make up a pot of Jasmine rice. Oh lover of my soul...I adore Jasmine rice!!!!! I prepare it according to the package directions but add a tablespoon of rice wine vinegar to the water. It adds a little zing that I like with my stir fry. This time, however, I forgot to get it started and we ate the stir fry riceless. It was good, but I recommend rice.

Now...this is all for me....and only me....excuse me.....

*burp* Wow that was good!!

I hope you try this out...trust me, it's easy, it's fast, it's delicious and most of all it's good for you!

Later lovelies!

L.

Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta

Saturday morning/afternoon I was lazily doing laundry - watching my fave Food Network shows and also my fave PBS cooking shows. Around 12pm Everyday Food comes on PBS and normally I don't watch it, but there was nothing else good on. They showcased some easy and fast dishes for weeknight meals.

One that stood out to me was one called Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta. One of Shooter's favorite dishes is from a restaurant here in Atlanta called Kyma. It's a greek restaurant that features whole shrimp baked in a savory tomato sauce and sprinkled with crumbled feta. He adores that dish! In an effort to cook healthier and also get my seafood requirements in, I thought I'd try it out.

You should too! It's easy and oh so delicious!

After prepping everything you saute the garlic, oregano, scallions and tomatoes until soft and the liquid has evaporated. It makes it all sooooo yummy!

The recipe called for serving the dish with orzo and green beans but I thought serving it with couscous would be authentically Mediterranean. It was delicious and soaked up the yummy broth created when the shrimp and tomatoes baked.

Here is the baking dish with everything assembled...looks good enough to eat already, eh?

Oh, come to me lover of my soul....here is the final product fresh from the oven. The cheese is all melty and browned. It's all bubbly and luscious.

And here's my plate...it was soooo tasty...*burp*

And now, here's the recipe:

Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta

Courtesy of Everyday Food

Serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 thinly sliced scallions
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined large frozen shrimp, thawed, tails removed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh fresh mint, plus more for garnish
4 ounces feta cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 475 degrees with rack set in upper third. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium. Add scallions, garlic, and oregano; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add tomatoes. Cook over medium, stirring occasionally, until no liquid remains in skillet, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Add shrimp and mint to skillet. Stir to combine; transfer to an 8-inch square (or other shallow 2-quart) baking dish. Crumble feta over top.
Bake until liquid is bubbling, cheese is beginning to brown, and shrimp in center of dish are opaque, 15 to 20 minutes.

Healthy Schmelthy

Ha! I went out and grocery shopped this afternoon. I mean REALLY went grocery shopping. Today was the first time in WEEKS that I have been able to go into the grocery store and not gag at least 2 or 3 times.

Shooter and I went to this fabulous market near out house called the Super H Mart. It's really an Asian market but it also carries a good amount of American and Spanish products as well. they also have a HUGE HUGE HUGE produce section and it's amazingly well priced too.

I had in mind that I wanted to make a couple of "dips" that would make good snacks for me to take to work this week. Plus I had some meals in mind for the week too.

I picked up four bunches of cilantro, two red onions, 6 serrano peppers and eight limes - going into a black bean and corn salsa (I'll post some pics and the recipe this week) and also a pineapple and mango salsa. Also for the pineapple and mango salsa I picked up a pineapple and two mangoes.

I also got a couple of 8oz containers of baby spinach that I wanted to put with some canned cannelini beans for a dip I'd seen Giada De Laurentiis make on Saturday. I have already made it and let me tell you, it is AMAZING!!!! I'll post some pictures and the recipe this week.

I also wanted to make a really fresh chicken stir fry so I poked around and found some fresh snow peas, bean sprouts, a red and a yellow bell pepper, and cremini mushrooms. I have some carrotts here at the house that I'll throw in with that as well.

I also got a couple of heads of leaf lettuce for side salads and lunches this week. I got a couple of quarts of strawberries that smell amazing...haven't tried them yet so we'll see. They'll likely go on a salad this week. They also had the most luscious, huge, crisp seedless green grapes and we picked up a couple of bags of those...one bag is almost gone. ha!

I mention all these items because we walked out paying less than $40 for all that produce. Now that I am finally starting to get some energy back I am looking forward to doing more cooking and posting that for you guys!

Later lovelies!
L.

A big huge bowl of sinful deliciousness!

I made a chocolate trifle for a dessert social we had at our church on Sunday evening. We had an auction to raise money for HOPE and a concert by our praise band and a comedian performed as well. It was a blast.

I decided on this amazing chocolate trifle that I hadn't ever made before. It was rated really high at Allrecipes.com, so I figured what the heck.

Darn it if I didn't get a picture of it...but I'm sure I'll be making this again. I used a grocery bakery made chocolate creme cake and made a pudding layer with instant chocolate pudding, sweetened condensed milk, water and homemade whipped cream. Then put a layer of strawberries and raspberries and topped it with homemade whipped cream. I then repeated for four more layers. I topped it with more strawberries, raspberries and chocolate curls. It was delicious!!! I'll make it again and post pictures...I promise!

It's officially summertime at our house!

Okay....so it's not REALLY summer...but the first signs that warm weather is upon us is the weekly salsa and guacamole making that goes on in our house. I also have discovered an awesome refreshing Mango and Pineapple salsa. I was inspired by the oh so fresh mangoes and pineapples at the farmer's market last week. I'm including that recipe as well.




I have to say....I make a darn good tomato salsa...it's evolved over a couple of years into a recipe that is pretty much fool proof. Shooter even took some to work and his Latino friends all raved about it. They're always amazed to find out I'm not Latina. Not even a little bit.

Here's the fabulous recipe


Laura B's Quick and Easy Salsa

2 boxes of Pomi Chopped Tomatoes
3 medium jalepeno's, diced finely (I usually leave some of the veins but remove the seeds)
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
Juice of two or three limes (make sure you roll them under your palm to release the juice)
Salt to taste (I think I use somewhere in the neighborhood of 1Tbs to 1.5 Tbs)
1 Tbs cumin
Hot pepper sauce to taste (I use Tapatio)

In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients. Transfer to an airtight container and let sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.

I usually go easy on the salt and pepper sauce at first. I let it all sit together and get chilled before I do my final seasoning adjustments. All the flavors need to meld. Ha...I sound all culinarily smart don't I?



Now.....prepare to have your socks knocked off!

Laura B's Mango and Pineapple Salsa

3 ripe mangoes, peeled and chopped

1 pineapple, chopped

1 medium red onion, finely diced

1-2 jalapeno (s), finely diced

one bunch of cilantro, chopped

pinch of salt

juice of 1 lime

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir well to combine. Put in an airtight container and store in the fridge for at least 2 hours prior to serving. This works on everything from steak tacos to seared tuna. Enjoy!

Also, this little contraption has made my life complete. I sleep with it under my pillow. We're in love and running away to Cancun next week so I can have unlimited margaritas. Okay...okay....it's not like that.....but it's one of the best darn kitchen gadgets I've ever purchased. Everyone should have one! I actually have the lemon juicer (hence the yellow color) however it works perfectly well with limes, lemons and key limes. It'll work on tangerines and small oranges but you'll need the orange juicer for navel oranges and bigger citrus. This thing literally turns the fruit inside out and extracts every little bit of juice from the lemon/lime. You just roll the lemon/lime a bit on the counter under your palm, slice it in half and then juice away with the cut side down toward the holes. It's amazing. You should try it out. There all over the place, at Amazon, Sur la Table, and Target.





Oh, and if you've never used the Pomi tomatoes...you're so missing out. My Mom introduced me to these babies and they're my secret weapon when it comes to making salsa, chili and spaghetti sauce. Beg your grocer to start carrying their stuff if they don't already. If you don't have access to Pomi tomatoes, use a good quality diced tomato. Each box of Pomi has 26 oz of chopped tomatoes. They also make a really good strained tomato product too....please don't get the two confused for the salsa recipe...it'll lead to disaster....I know....from experience.....

Well, I hope this has inspired you to make you own fabulous salsa and kick those jarred salsas to the curb. If you try it out, do let me know how you like it.

Shrimp and Grits....yummmmmm.....

Okay...for ya'll non-Southerners who happened by my blog yesterday, you were probably a bit surprised and perhaps nonplussed at my photo of shrimp and grits. To many, those items just don't go together. Well, dear ones, here in the South they do! Apparently Southerners are different from other folks in the country because we tend to like our grits in a savory fashion. I, along with many others, just can't possibly stand the idea of putting sugar or syrup or honey on my grits. BLECH! No sir, give me some cheese, butter and Texas Pete and I'm good to go!

Shrimp and grits was a new one on me though. Shrimp...YES! Grits....Absolutely YES! Together....yea, not so sure about that. I discovered the lovely bowl of heaven once I moved to Atlanta, so it's definitely NOT a Tennessee thing. It's a low country thing...which means coastal South Carolina and coastal Georgia. It is surprisingly easy to make and here is the recipe.

Laura B's Shrimp and Grits

Grits:
3 Cups cold water

2 Cups white, stone ground grits (NOT Instant)

1 Tbs salt

several pats of butter (unsalted)

1/2 Cup milk (I used skim milk)

1 1/2 Cups of shredded cheddar cheese

Shrimp:

1.5 pounds of peeled and deveined shrimp (I used 26-30 count shrimp)

1 small sweet onion, diced finely

1 Tbs minced garlic (I used the kind in a jar, hence the tablespoon measure)

2 Tbs olive oil

2 Tbs + 1 Tbs butter (unsalted) - divided

salt and pepper to taste

4 Tbs chicken stock

Start the grits first. In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Stir in the grits, whisking continuously. Stir in the salt. Lower burner to low heat and keep whisking the grits every minute or so. After 10 min, stir in a couple of pats of butter and about 1/3 of the milk. Stir in the cheese. Once cheese is melted, stir in more butter or milk based on how creamy/thick you like your grits. Remove from heat and cover.

For the shrimp, heat a skillet over medium high heat and add the olive oil and butter to the pan. When the butter is melted add the onion and saute for two minutes. Add the garlic, salt and pepper and saute for another two minutes. Once the onions are translucent, add the shrimp to the pan. Saute the shrimp until they just start turning pink. Add in the chicken stock and butter and allow sauce to reduce a little and the shrimp to cook through, stirring occasionally so that the shrimp cook evenly.

Best to serve this in shallow soup bowls. Ladle in some of the cheese grits and then spoon the shrimp and "gravy" over the grits. Add a few dashes of hot sauce, if you're so inclined. Then enjoy!!! I wouldn't be surprised if you bust out the Southern Drawl after eating a bowl of this deliciousness!

This will serve 4 adults.

If you've never worked with uncooked shrimp still in the shell, you definitely need to know how to devein the shrimp. Shrimp have a vein that run along their backs that is their digestive tract. Yup...you wanna remove that sucker before cooking. Here's a short video that I found that shows you exactly how it's done:

Wordless Wednesday - Shrimp and Grits

Recipe to follow....tomorrow....

Ahhh...long weekends do a body good

Well, it's back to work for me. I thoroughly enjoyed my day off yesterday and got some errands done. I went and ordered new eyeglasses...I can't wait to get them. They're a cool funky frame. :-) I also picked up the decorative shelves from Target that I've been wanting to get for a while...I still have decorative tiles Shooter got me for Christmas that need to be hung, I was waiting on the shelves to do it...Shooter's waiting on us to get a new TV. I'm hoping that regardless, I'll have it all up by the end of the year. ;-)

I did some grocery shopping and made dinner. I was so industrious. :-)

I made beef strogonoff last night for dinner. It was heavenly and absolutely called for with the cold weather that has come in. Well, okay....it's cold for us!!! Here's the recipe, I don't have any pictures unfortunately.

Beef Strogonoff

1.5 lbs stew meat
4-5 tbs flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 can beef consomme
3/4 can water
1 can cream of mushroom soup
8 oz sour cream
2 small cans sliced mushrooms
egg noodles, cooked

I usually take my stew meat and go through it, discarding the tougher looking pieces. I'll also cut the big chunks into smaller pieces so all the cubes are about the same size. Toss the meat with the flour, salt and pepper and coat the meat well. In a heavy bottom pot, I use a cast iron dutch oven, add a couple of tablespoons of oil to the very hot pot. Add one layer of meat, be careful not to crowd it too much - you want the meat to get good and brown. Turn the meat over to brown on the other side, should take about two min per side. Repeat in batches until you have all the meat browned (not cooked through, just browned). Return all meat to the pot and then add the beef consomme and then 3/4 of the soup can of water. That should just about cover the meat. Cover and simmer for 1.5-2 hours. After you've let it simmer, add in the cream of mushroom soup, sour cream and mushrooms. Watch this carefully, you do not want it to boil - simmer is okay. Mine was a little runnier than I wanted so if this happens to you, take some of the sauce and add in a couple tablespoons of flour, stir it well and then add to the pot. Stir everything up nicely and let it come to a simmer. That should make a good thick gravy for your egg noddles.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Oh...and Morey's doing much better. We fed them last night and both pups did okay. They're do for their annual checkups here soon, so I guess we'll have the vet give him a good once over.