Posts Tagged ‘shrimp’

So I’m on day three of my diet and I think I might be starving to death.  This morning when I walked into work there were about 4 dozen chick fil a chicken mini’s in the kitchen and the amazing smell of butter and fried chicken almost knocked me to the floor.  I held strong though.  With my smoothie in hand I walked right out of that evil kitchen. 

Not two hours later another 4 dozen chicken mini’s were dropped off at my office.  I headed to the kitchen to get some water thinking “I’m so glad those little suckers are gone” only to be accosted by the warm aroma of a new batch.  I seriously stopped dead in my tracks and started to contemplate how bad one little mini could possibly be??  I mean, what if I picked all the breading off of the chicken and ate only that?  I’m allowed to have butter on this diet so I could technically lick the butter off of the roll and then throw the roll away right??

But deep down inside I knew that if I even so much as opened the lid that all chicken mini chaos would break loose.  My coworkers would find me hiding in an empty cube on the abandoned side of the office gorging myself on all 4 dozen mini’s.                                                  

It is only day three out of 21 days and I’m not sure I’m gonna make it.  Who knew I was such a weakling??

To make matters worse I have dinner plans tonight with some friends at the best pizza place ever.  I just looked up the menu and I’m going to have to order a salad with all the good stuff taken off and dressing on the side, while they eat a cheesy yummy pizza with fresh tomatoes and fresh basil….  I mean, I normally make fun of girls who order dressing on the side.  

Maybe skinny knees are over rated?

Here is my answer to greasy Italian food.  An easy Spinach and Shrimp saute that is uber healthy and just as tasty.  I ate mine without the pasta and I was actually very satisfied.  I served Michael’s spinach over whole wheat pasta.  He thought it was amazing too!

 

Spinach and Shrimp Saute:

1 lb of shrimp cleaned and peeled (1/4 lb per person)

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tbls  + 1 tsp of Garlic

2 tbls of olive oil total

about 1 tsp of chili powder

1 pint of cherry tomatoes

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

10 oz baby Spinach

Marinate the shrimp in the lemon juice for about 30 minutes.

Heat a large skillet to medium with the olive oil until the oil is hot in the pan.  Add in the garlic.  (the garlic should crackle but not burn and pop out of the pan)  If you burn the garlic throw it out and start over.  Burnt garlic is bitter – yuck!

Stir everything around and then add in the tomatoes, vinegar, sea salt and pepper.  Allow the tomatoes to cook until they pop open and you have a nice thin sauce.  This should only take about 5-8 minutes.

While the tomatoes are cooking heat a smaller skillet with the other tbls of olive oil.  Add in 1 tsp of garlic. 

Drop in the shrimp so that the shrimp is not too crowded.  Dust each shrimp with a little bit of the chili powder.  Sear each shrimp and then flip them all over to sear the other side.  Dust the opposite side of the shrimp with the chili powder.  Don’t over cook the shrimp!  You want them just seared, not tough.

Add the shrimp back into the tomato mixture and then add the spinach on top.  The heat will start to wilt the spinach.  Slowly, stir the spinach to incorporate it.  Let the spinach wilt just slightly so that it darkens in color.

Serve and enjoy! 

 

 

 

 

 

Recipe Card

I’m really excited about this little dinner Valentines Day dinner party I have been planning.  I’m trying not to go overboard with it but it is really hard!!  I have been trying to plan this meal so that I’m not in the kitchen the entire time which has not been that easy.  This week ya’ll are getting the salad and the invite, next week you will get another portion of the meal.  I don’t know what portion that is yet because I’m still planning this little shin dig. 

I found this glaze in my Reata cookbook and I have been dying to try it because it looked so amazing.  After whipping up a batch of it I have decided I’m pouring this over all meat and vegetable products until the end of time.  It is really that good.  If you swing by our store page you can buy the cookbook: Reata – Legendary Texas Cooking by Mike Micallef.  This is by far one of my all time favorite cook books.

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup dark corn syrup

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Pour all the ingredients in  a small pot and heat on the stove until the mixture is simmering.  Stirring occasionally.  You want the glaze to reduce down slightly so that it is nice and thick.  Wait until it coats the back of a spoon nicely.  Gently poor it over everything for a sweet and savory kick!!  Warm it back up to use again if you have extra.

Emily’s Sour Vinaigrette Dressing:

4 tbs olive oil

1 tbs balsalmic vinegar

1/4 tsp crushed garlic

pepper to taste

1 tsp chili powder

1tsp worcestershire sauce

Combine and whisk well.

Salad: (4 Servings)

Lettuce of your choice – enough for 4 people

1 chopped avocado

3 strips of pepper bacon cooked and crumbled

1 large tomato chopped

2 tbs olive oil

4 jalapenos diced and de-seeded

3 large shallots

1 tsp crushed garlic

1 tbs worcestershire sauce

1 lb medium sized shrimp peeled

Asiago Cheese for sprinkling

Saute the shrimp, garlic, worcestershire sauce, jalapenos and shallots in a pan with the olive oil.  While the shrimp is cooking chop and prep all the other ingredients.

Toss the vegetables and the bacon with the vinaigrette and plate.

I did a double dressing/glaze on this salad which gives this salad some complex flavors.  Next, I topped the salad with the sauteed shrimp, shallots, and jalapenos finishing with the glaze.  Sprinkle the salad with some Asiago cheese and TA DA!  You’re done!

For the party I will most likely leave out the shrimp to help keep it less filling but I will do the glaze!

I’m asking all of my guests to send me pictures of them as well as to tell me their wedding songs. I plan to have the pictures popping up on the TV the entire time and I want to add the wedding songs to my music play list for the evening.  This way there is a simple personal touch for each couple to enjoy.  I also plan to ask each couple to talk about the first time they met or how they got engaged.

This is an a great little dish that is fairly easy to whip up and your friends or family will love the homemade sauce.  It has a nice little hint of spice and the flavors are really incredible.  I like to make sure when I’m creating a recipe I make sure there is good color balance.  When your plate is all the same color I tend to turn my nose up at it.  Yes, I’m a snob I’ll admit it.  In my opinion food needs to look like it tastes good.  So when you are creating a meal think about the end result and how appetizing it appears to be!  I guess it is the designer in me but I hate seeing a sea of white pasta floating in a white mass of sauce.  The red peppers not only add good flavor to this dish but a pop of color too.

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