Super Shrimp

As far as I'm concerned shrimp is about the best thing on this earth food wise, I'd eat it for every meal if I could afford it.  Growing up I thought you could only eat it battered and fried, I love that method but as I've grown I've learned you can prepare shrimp just about any way you can imagine.  Here is one of my favorite recipes for quick, easy, tasty shrimp!

Ingredients:

1 lb raw shrimp - headed, de-veined and peeled (pre-cooked shrimp is horribly loaded with sodium, avoid it at all costs!)

1 small onion - chopped

2 cloves garlic - diced

1 small bell pepper - chopped

2 medium tomatoes - chopped

1 hot pepper (I use chile) - seeded and finely diced

6-7 white mushrooms - washed and chopped

olive oil

1Tbsp dark chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp basil

Directions:

add olive oil to large skillet (I use a wok skillet) the cook onion till it starts to soften, add bell pepper then garlic and cook till browned but not burned.  Add tomatoes (juice and all), mushrooms, pepper and seasonings and cook till mushrooms begin to darken.  Add shrimp and cook till shrimp begins to curl and turn opaque, remove from heat immediately - nothing it worse than over cooked shrimp.  Can be served alone or over rice/pasta/starch of your choice, personally I think it's best all by it's self!

Hhomemade Creamed Corn and Corn Pudding

Ingredients:

10-16 oz of corn (I use fresh corn that I roast and then cut off the cob, but frozen will work.  If using frozen, cook corn first.  If you have to use canned it will work as well, but I generally try to avoid canned anything due to the sodium content)

3 tablespoons butter (you can use margarine, but I'm kinda old school and prefer to cook with real butter)

3 tablespoons flour (to make this gluten free I suggest using coconut flour which works well for thickening)

2 cups milk (I use 1 large can of evaporated pet) milk, which is apx 1 1/2 cups and then a half cup of regualr milk to make the sauce extra thick - you can get evaporated milk in both 2% and fat free, both work and still taste just as good)

1/2 teaspoon sugar (you can use more, but I don't like it too sweet till the next day when I make it into pudding)

salt and pepper to taste (I use a little black and a little red, but I like a little more tang than most) 

Directions:

1.  Melt butter in saucepan, stir in flour and blend well.
2.  Add milk, about 1/2 cup at a time, and blend with whisk.
3.  Cook over medium heat until thickened.
4.  Stir in sugar, salt and pepper.
5.  Add cooked, drained corn.
6.  Stir together and let cool before serving.

Corn Pudding:

To make corn pudding for breakfast from the left overs the night before simply add a bit of brown sugar (light or dark, whichever you prefer), ground cinnamon and a dash of ground cloves, a dash of nutmeg - the nutmeg really brings out the flavors IMO.  There isn't really a recipie for this, you just add as much as you like for your taste, be warned tho that a little bit of clove goes a looooong way!  Heat until sugar has melted and all spices are well blended, serve and enjoy =)

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1-2 teaspoons lime juice
1-2 tablespoons onion powder (more if you like more)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon Tone's chicken base (or chicken bullion cube)
2 cans tomatoes and green chile (I prefer Red Gold, but Ro-Tel works just as well)
1 box reduced sodium chicken broth and equal amount of water
1 cup whole corn kernels, cooked
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (you can use cilantro, but I think it tastes like soap and refuse to use it)
2 boneless chicken breast halves,cut into bite size cubes
crushed tortilla chips
lime wedges
sliced avocado
shredded mexican style cheese
chopped green onions and/or sour cream for garnish

Directions:
In large stock pot add broth, water and chicken - bring to boil for 10 minutes

In separate skillet saute onion and garlic (add garlic after onion has been cooking for about 2 minutes) in oil until soft, add to pot and reduce heat to about half way. Add tomato, chili powder, chicken base, cumin, garlic powder and onion powder let simmer about 10 minutes then add diced parsley (or cilantro), black beans and corn and let simmer another 10 minutes.

Place lime wedge and cubed avocado in bottom of bowl before adding soup, top with shredded cheese, crumbled tortilla chips, green onions and a small dollop of sour cream

**EDIT**
this is one of my old recipes and since I'm cheap and a bit more health conscious I don't use bullion or boxed/canned broth or veggies so I make my own chicken stock (I find that for the best stock you need to use at least half dark meat chicken, I usually get a family pack of thighs or legs and use those - cheaper and great for flavor) and use the chicken from that for this and I use fresh tomato and peppers (in season) or ones I've canned out of season - you can use either. Not all canned things are horrible for you, read the labels to make informed purchases. Always remember that recipes are only ideas, not rules that are set in stone and when you play around with them you find the perfect way for you and yours to get the most enjoyment out of a dish. Happy eating! =)

Denise

I really hope my favorite nurse (well, my favorite one here in MO anyways) actually does hop over here and take a look at my recipe blog and I really hope she leaves me a comment to let me know she stopped by! (hint, hint)  Everyone should be lucky enough to meet a lady like Denise who manages to make me feel better, no matter how icky I'm feeling, every time I get the pleasure of having her for my nurse!  Not only does she make me feel important and not just like an animal being herded through the clinic, but she also ALWAYS has a compliment for me and never fails to tell me how beautiful she thinks I am. An all around wonderful care giver and an amazing person to boot - she's the whole package. ♥

Green Tomato Soup

Do you love the taste of fried green tomatoes but hate the grease, or don't have time to make them, or are just lazy (like me) sometimes but really want that taste?  This is the soup for you then!  It takes almost no time to prepare and freezes amazingly, I always make several pots toward the end of the season and freeze so I can enjoy it year round =)

GREEN TOMATO SOUP

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

4 to 6 ounces country ham or smoked ham, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced (I use like 5-6, but I LOVE garlic)
4 cups chicken broth (less if you want it thicker, I use about 3)
8 medium green tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 medium red tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds and stem removed, minced (any hot pepper will work, I've used habenaro, jalapeno, serrano and chili - whatever I've got on hand and I make this at LEAST once a week when I've got green tomatoes available)
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
dash Tabasco sauce, optional
salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:

Heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat; add ham, onion, and garlic. Sauté, stirring, until onion is tender. Add chicken broth, chopped green and red tomatoes, and minced  pepper (I forget to add the peppers about half the time, it's awesome with or without). Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.

If desired you can pulse in blender or food processor at this point till almost smooth, personally I like it chunky but some people don't. Add salt/pepper/tobasco/whatever to fit your tastes and enjoy. Pairs awesome with some GF cornbread =)

Granola Bars

These can be either crunchy or not so crunchy depending on your baking time, with my oven just 1-2 minutes is the difference between soft like a chewy oatmeal cookie and crunchy like those Nature Valley ones - either way it's been a hit here in our house.

Ingredients:

--3 cups oats, toasted (I've use both gluten-free oats or the cheapo Great Value ones, both worked equally well for this recipe. I have not tried steel cut oats because I think they would be too hard, but one day I'm sure I'll try tossing some in just to see.)
--1 to 1.5 cups nuts/seeds (I use a mix of sunflower seed kernels, almonds and walnuts)
--1 cup dried fruit (I use dried cherries and dried cranberries - next batch I'm planning on using blueberries, I bet Crasins would be awesome)
--1/2 cup dark brown sugar
--1/3 cup peanut butter, melted
--1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
--1/3 cup honey (local honey is always better IMO)
--1 egg
--1 teaspoon Saigon cinnamon (you can use regular, I'm just partial to the Saigon cinnamon)
--1/2 teaspoon PURE vanilla or almond extract (yes, it costs more but ALWAYS use pure extracts! Imitations are just icky)
--1/2 teaspoon sea salt (they're trendy and a touch pretentious but if I'm going to use salt in something I prefer my "hoity-toity" sea salt, Black Lava Salt or Alaea Sea Salt are my favorites for this)

• 
  
  

  Directions:

  1. 1
     To toast oats spread them on an ungreased cookie sheet or jelly roll pan and bake at 350F for 10-15 minutes or until just golden.
  2. 2
     While oats are toasting mix peanut butter, butter and honey in small pot and melt together on low. While waiting for that to heat mix dry ingredients in large bowl (only metal or glass, never use plastic for food prep).  When oats finish toasting add oats to dry ingredients then pour melted ingredients over top, add egg and mix together.  DON'T FORGET THE EGG!!  I've had to take it out of the pan just before I put it in the oven more than once because I forgot the egg!
  3. 3
     Firmly press into a cookie sheet or jellyroll pan lined with parchment paper. Don't forger the paper or you'll have one hell of a mess to try and get out of your pan!
  4. 4
     Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes. 16 minutes gives us a nice chewy treat that doesn't cut easily into bars but still tastes amazing, 18 makes a crunchy, easily cut bar.
  5. 5
     Cool completely and cut. Good luck on the waiting part, we're all picking at it the instant it's out of the oven and it makes the house smell amazing while it's baking!

This recipe has a lot of wiggle room. Alternate crunchy for creamy peanut butter or try different nut butter such as cashew, almond or sunflower butter. Adding a bit of PB2 to the dry mix will really enhance the peanut butter flavor, too, and I absolutely love the hint of peanut butter flavor in this recipe. Add some coconut or you could leave the fruits out completely. Substitute some of the oats or nuts for crunchy chow mein noodles, rice crispies, pretzels, grape nuts, chex or cheerios for something different - just remember to keep the amounts even or the binding sauce won't be enough. If using something salted, like pretzels, you may need to adjust the amount of salt in the mixture. It's very easy to over salt something and can be difficult to get rid of the salt once it's there. Personally I don't like salt much and never use the full amount called for in a recipe anyway. Whatever combination you go with just make sure you've enough ingredients to make another batch on hand because if your're anything like us the first batch will go FAST and you'll be wanting more!

Tomatoes and Cabbage over Rice

Ingredients
1lb ground meat (beef, chicken or pork work equally well, chicken is used in the picture)
2-4 ripe,chopped tomatoes - all depends on size and how much you want in there (you can use a can of diced tomatoes)
1 head of cabbage, cut in 1/4 - 1/2 inch wide strips
1/2 diced onion
3-4 cloves diced garlic
1/4-1/2 cup veggie or meat stock
1/4 tsp red pepper
salt to your tastes


Directions
Brown meat in large deep skillet or medium dutch oven or pot, whichever you have, when meat is about half browned add onions, wait till meat is almost done and onions are beginning to clarify to add garlic to prevent burning.


Add tomatoes, cabbage, stock and seasonings - you can toss in any seasoning you want these are just the base ones.  The red pepper flakes are much better than plain black pepper, red pepper compliments green veggies much better in my opinion. Cover and let cook till cabbage is tender but not mushy, 5-15 minutes.


Can be served over rice or eaten as is.