Spicy Grilled Shrimp

     Since my chopping hand has been on the fritz, Hubby has been making most of our meals. I'm down with that, especially since he's a really good cook and has become quite proficient with his newest obsession  preferred method of cooking. 

     He has made these shrimp several times, and they disappear as soon as they come off the grill. They're great for an appetizer, but they'd also be fabulous on a summer salad or with pasta. They have the perfect amount of heat for me just the way they are, but if you're a fan of hot and spicy you may want to "kick it up" with a little extra cayenne!

     I hope to share more of Hubby's grilling adventures with you soon! My cast comes off in three weeks, but I'm sure my hand will need at least a little more time to recover. I know when I've got it good. :)
 

Spicy Grilled Shrimp
Mark Bittman, from Fish, The Complete Guide to Buying and Cooking

Ingredients
2 lbs. large shrimp (raw), peeled and de-veined, rinsed and dried
1 large clove garlic
1 Tablespoon coarse salt (I use only about a teaspoon and it's plenty for us)
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. paprika
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 tsp. lemon juice

Instructions
Finely mince garlic and mix with salt. Use the flat blade of your knife  or a mortar and pestle to make a paste with the garlic and salt. Mix in cayenne, paprika, olive oil and lemon juice. Combine with shrimp until  the shrimp is evenly covered with the spice mixture.
Grill or broil shrimp (hot fire) 2-3 minutes per side, or until done. Serve immediately or at room temperature, with lemon wedges if desired.

Paula's Meatless (but you'd never know it) Chili

     Did you know that your heart beats about 100,000 times a day? That's about 35 million beats a year, and over two and a half billion beats in the average lifetime. Did you know that even at rest, your heart muscles work hard? Twice as hard as the leg muscles of a person sprinting! In one day, your heart pumps your blood a total of 12,000 miles- four times the distance across the US from coast to coast. That makes me tired just thinking about all of the work my heart is doing! (Heart facts from NOVA online.)

      This month, National Heart Month, is a good time to take a look at what you're doing to keep your hard working heart happy. One way to show your heart some love for all it does for you is to eat a heart healthy diet. According to the Mayo Clinic, a heart healthy diet limits unhealthy fats and sodium, includes low fat protein sources and is rich in vegetables, fruits and whole grains. This has been near and dear to me ever since hubby's heart attack and bypass surgery-  I'm always on the lookout for tasty recipes that fit the bill.

     Standing in the grocery checkout line, I saw this crockpot chili on the cover of a recent Woman's Day magazine. I had to have it. I even went back into the store and bought the ingredients I needed for it. I made it the first chance I had, and I have to say that it's a keeper. It's a low fat, meatless chili, full of beans, flavorful veggies and whole grains- wheat berries. I reduced the salt from the original recipe to make it even more heart friendly, and topped it with avocado.    

   This is the perfect vegetarian chili for a "dyed in the wool" meat eater. The wheat berries give it a toothsome texture, and if you didn't know better, you might even argue that a bit of burger was in there. Your heart will know it's not, though. The corn adds a little sweetness and a little pop of color, and the chipotle adds a smoky element.  Avocado is a great topper too, with healthy fats your heart will love.

     With the exception of soaking the wheat berries overnight, all you have to do is throw all of the ingredients into your crock pot, turn it on, and go about your business of the day. When dinner time rolls around, the intoxicating aroma of hearty chili welcomes you to sit down to a bowl of spicy goodness.You can heat it up as much as you want with extra hot sauce or even a couple of chopped chipotle peppers in adobo. I hope you get the chance to try this one- your heart will thank you!

You can find the recipe at the link below:
Paula's Meatless (but you'd never know it) Chili
Recipe from Paula Zsiray, Woman's Day magazine, February 2012
I made it mostly as written, but made the following changes:

• used fresh oregano instead of dried (because that's what I had!)
• used low/no sodium canned tomatoes and beans
• used diced tomatoes instead of puree (because that's what I had!)
• did not add any additional salt
• added a chopped chipotle pepper
• garnished with avocado

The recipe also says to wait until five minutes before serving to add in the beans, corn, pepper and hot sauce. I added everything in at the beginning and it turned out just fine. :)
I will definitely make this again!
Each serving has 360 calories, 2 grams of fat and 18 grams of protein.

Come join SoupaPalooza at TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored by KitchenAid, Red Star Yeast and Le Creuset

Black Bean Enchiladas with Salsa Verde and Sweet Corn Salsa

     Ole! Can you pretend it's Cinco de Mayo? I can if these tasty enchiladas are concerned. They're filled with creamy cheese and black beans, and spiced up with chipotle chiles in adobo sauce. Nestled in homemade salsa verde made from roast poblanos and tomatillos, they're baked with queso fresco and then topped with sweet corn salsa.

     Full of fresh flavor, these enchiladas are simple enough for a family dinner, but impressive enough for company. Pair them with a nice salad and some chips for dipping into either of the two fresh salsas, and you have a feast. Or should I say fiesta?

Black Bean Enchiladas with Salsa Verde and Sweet Corn Salsa
slightly adapted from Cuisine at Home, April 2004
2 cans (15 oz. each) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped onion
1 Tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano (use fresh if you have it)
1 chipotle pepper, in adobo sauce
1 Tablespoon adobo sauce
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 cup chicken broth (I used vegetable broth)
1/2 cup asadero or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
8 six-inch corn tortillas
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 cups Salsa Verde (recipe follows)
1/2 cup queso fresco or feta cheese, crumbled

• Preheat oven to 400F. Saute onion for 3 minutes. Add garlic and oregano and saute one minute more. 
• Puree half of the beans, the chipotle, the adobo sauce and the salt in a food processor. 
• Combine the onion mixture, the remaining whole beans, the broth and shredded cheese with the bean puree.
• Assemble enchiladas: Put one cup of Salsa Verde in the bottom of a casserole dish. Fry tortillas in oil until flexible. Dip one side of each tortilla into the sauce in the bottom of the dish. Fill tortilla (un-dipped side) with a generous 1/3 cup of bean mixture, roll up and place into casserole dish seam side down. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas. 
• Top filled tortillas with an additional cup of Salsa Verde and the crumbled cheese. Bake for 10 minutes. Serve with Sweet Corn Salsa (recipe follows.)

Salsa Verde (This is also great with chips!)
1 lb. tomatillos, husked and halved
2 poblano chiles, halved and seeded
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup chicken broth (I used vegetable broth.)
Place prepared poblano chiles and tomatillos on baking sheet. Broil for 10 minutes. The skin of the peppers will blister and blacken. Remove the peppers to a resealable plastic bag immediately after broiling. Let them steam in the bag for 10 minutes. Remove peppers from the bag and peel off the skin.
Meanwhile, saute onions in olive oil for three minutes. Add garlic and cook an additional minute.
Place tomatillos, peeled poblanos, sauteed onions and garlic into food processor and pulse until chopped. Add herbs, lime juice and salt. Gradually add broth and process until smooth.

Sweet Corn Salsa
1 cup sweet corn kernels (canned, frozen will work fine)
1 avocado, diced
1 tomato, diced
1/4 cup red onion, diced
2 tsp. jalapeno pepper, minced (Use less if you don't like your salsa spicy!)
1small handful of cilantro leaves, chopped
Juice of 1/2 lime
Mix all ingredients, and serve with black bean enchiladas. (It's great with chips too!)




This post is linked to Savory Sunday at Eating in Winnipeg.

Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta

     Need a quick and easy weeknight meal? This baked shrimp dish fits the bill. Looking for a quick dinner using ingredients I already had, I found this recipe in Ellie Kreiger's book The Food You Crave.  The only change I made to the recipe was to use Thai basil in place of parsley, which gave it a little different flavor than the parsley would have. I think the next time I make this I'll add some crushed red pepper to spice it up just a bit. Orzo and a nice salad rounded out this healthful meal quite nicely!

Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta
Recipe from Ellie Krieger 
(my changes noted)
Ingredients
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 (14.5 oz.) cans diced no-salt-added tomatoes with juice
1/4 cup finely minced flat leaf parsley ( I used Thai basil instead)
1 Tablespoon finely minced fresh dill
1 1/4 lbs. medium shrimp, peeled and de-veined (I used frozen shrimp, uncooked.)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup crumbled feta (about 3 oz.)

Cooking Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Heat oil in an ovenproof skillet. Saute onion until soft, about three minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute, taking care not to brown the garlic. 
• Add tomatoes with juice. (I thought this was a little too watery, so when I make this again I'll leave out some of the juice.)  Reduce heat and simmer about five minutes, until mixture has thickened a bit.
• Remove from heat and stir in parsley (or basil), dill, shrimp, salt and pepper. 
• Crumble feta on top of all.Bake for about 12 minutes, or until shrimp are done and cheese is melted. Serve with brown rice or orzo.

Garlic Scape Butter

Support your local Farmer's Market! Our local market opened last weekend, but I didn't get a chance to check it out until today. I came home with duck eggs, heirloom tomato plants, a loaf of artisan bread and a bag full of these green twisted beauties. They're garlic scapes-the bright green, curled, twisted tops of garlic that must be cut in the spring to keep garlic bulbs growing until harvest time in the fall. I've never used them before, but I love garlic and they looked too fresh and green to pass up. (Especially since my purchase included a recipe for garlic scape butter which looked simple enough to make on a lazy Saturday afternoon.)

The recipe is simple. You'll need to let a stick of butter sit out on the counter for a while until it softens. Finely chop -either by hand or in a food processor- 6 (or more) garlic scapes. I only used six this time, but next time I'll probably use a bit more. Put a little of the butter into a saute pan with the garlic scapes, a grind or two of pepper and about 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt. Gently saute until the scapes are tender and aromatic, about 5 minutes. Let this mixture cool a bit and then mix it into the rest of the softened butter. The original recipe called for chopped parsley as well, but I opted out this time around.

I used some of this tonight on pasta (with pecorino romano and pine nuts) and it was perfect (and alliterative). It added a subtle garlic flavor without being overpowering at all. I'm looking forward to finding more ways to use what's left. Spread on some of my artisan loaf and gently toasted in the oven? Or maybe tomorrow morning to scramble with my duck eggs? Don't worry- it won't go begging!