Grilled Pesto Shrimp

So I was in super grill mode on Sunday and decided to make a week's worth of leftovers for lunch in one day.  One of the things I'd been wanting to try is Pesto Shrimp.  I found a recipe from the Skinny Taste blog and decided to give it a whirl.  The link to the orginal recipe is here.

Trying to find basil in the store was a challenge.  No basil at all in the little packages.  But I found a basil plant for $1.99 that I bought.  Worked out great.  I picked what I needed and its still in the window and growing more!

These turned out great.  The orignial recipe called for skewers but I just did it in a grill basket and that worked out fine.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1 clove garlic (I used the minced garlic in the jar)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 lbs jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
•  salt and fresh pepper to taste

Directions:

In a food processor pulse basil, garlic, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper until smooth. Slowly add the olive oil while pulsing.  I used the mini food processor from Cuisinart.  This little thing is nothing short of amazing.  Its tiny, easy to clean and gets the job done for small projects.  It was also only $20 on Ebay.

Combine raw shrimp with pesto and marinate a few hours in a bowl.

Heat grill to 350 degrees.  Place shrimp in grill basket and grill until they are pink and cooked.  Do not burn.

Copycat Chick-Fil-A Chicken Nuggets

Found this recipe on Six Sisters Blog here.

These tasted great and just like Chick-Fil-A.  I ate the entire tray of nuggets.  At some point I think I actually wrestled it off my 5 year old daughter too.  I'm going to counseling :-)

Anyways...they were very delicious.

Ingredients:

• 1 lg egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1 lb. skinless and boneless chicken breasts
• 1-1/4 cup flour
• 2 Tbsp powdered sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• canola oil for frying (I used extra virgin olive oil because its what I had)

Directions:

In a large bowl whisk milk and egg together.  Place chicken on counter and cut into cubed bite size pieces; trim any fat that you may see

Put the chicken in the milk mixture and mix so that all is coated and place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (I did for an hour because I had to run errands and it turned out fine)

In another large bowl combine the dry ingredients listed above and stir
In cast iron pot or sauce pan pour in oil so that its at least an inch deep on med/high heat  (I did 1/2 inch in a smaller frying pan because my cubes were tiny and it turned out)

Remove the chicken from refrigerator and place about a handful of pieces in milk mixture and then into the flour mixture

Make sure all the chicken is coated with the flour and then place into the hot oil
Cook each side for at least 2-3 minutes or until golden brown (You want to make sure that chicken is no longer pink so you can cut one piece to test it out)

Place the chicken on some paper towels to soak up any oil

Repeat the same steps with the rest of the chicken and serve

Maryland Crab Pretzel

There are a ton of restaurants around the Baltimore area that serve crab pretzels.  But at about $10 a pop they are pretty expensive for an appetizer.  Shop Rite had a sale on lump crab meat this week for $9.99 for a pound so I thought why not try it myself.  Also the frozen soft pretzels were $1.99 for a pack of 6.

These turned out awesome!

Ingredients:

• Ingredients for the hot crab dip
• Box of Frozen Soft Pretzels
• Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Cook hot crap dip as the previous post from May 2012 says.  Let cool for 15-20 mins so it doesn't run off the pretzels.

Microwave pretzels for about a minute.

Set the oven to broil.  On a cookie sheet lay down the pretzels.  Top with crab dip.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Broil until the cheese is bubbly.  Done!

Maryland Crab and Zucchini Balls

I'm always looking for ways to trick my kids into eating veggies and with the surplus of zucchinis and my zucchini challenge I've started it was the perfect time to try this idea. 

I've been making crab cakes for years.  I live in Maryland and its what we do :-)

This is a twist on the traditional Maryland crab balls.

Ingredients:

• Dash of salt
• Dash of pepper
• Packet of Old Bay Crab Classic mix
• Sprinkle of Old Bay
• 1 tsp of yellow mustard
• Dash of worchester sauce
• 1 cup of zucchini (shredded)
• 1 lb of lump crab meat
• 1 tbsp of Mayo
• Sprinkle of panko bread crumbs

Directions:

Dump crab meat in bowl and pick out shells.

Dump in other ingredients and mix delicately with your hands.

Take a scooper (I used the pampered chef one) and scoop out crab mix and scoop on cookie sheet in ball shape.

Cook under the broiler of the oven on High for approx 5 mins or until the tops brown slightly.

Barbeque Chicken Wings (in the Slow Cooker)

I've made these wings several times but always in the oven and/or grill.  This time it was 100 degrees outside and I said screw it I'm not going outside or turning on the oven for 2 hours.  I don't know where I saw these done.  I think I was watching a grilling special on TV and saw someone make it. 

These are always a hit and turned out great in the slow cooker!

Ingredients:

• Famous Dave's Rib Rub
• Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
• Fresh Chicken Wings
• Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce

Directions:

Preheat slow cooker on High.

Cut off strips of aluminum foil to make pockets.  Take 2-3 chicken wings at a time and coat with ranch dressing then sprinkle with rub.  Place in the aluminum pocket and seal.  Place in slow cooker.

Repeat until crock pot is filled with chicken wing pockets.

Cook on High for approximately 2 hours.

Take a tray and place wings on the tray meaty side up. 

Brush with BBQ sauce (I used my Bobby Flay basting brush!).  Stick under the broiler in the oven on High for aprox 5 mins.

Enjoy!

Pepperoni Pizza Pull Apart Monkey Bread

This is another recipe from Six Sisters.  The link is here.

I made this on a whim this morning.  I had two cans of biscuits that were going to expire on July 1st and I happened to have all the other ingredients.

The only difference is that I used 2 cans instead of 3.  That's all I had so I made due.

Ingredients:-3 cans refrigerated biscuits (each cans should have 10 biscuits)
-1 (24-26 oz) jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (we love Prego Traditional)
-1 (6-8 oz) package of pepperoni
-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
-1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
-Other favorite pizza toppings: green peppers, olives, onions, cooked ham, cooked sausage, etc

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Open canned biscuits and cut into quarters and place into a large bowl.

Pour spaghetti sauce on top of biscuit pieces and add Italian seasoning. Mix all together.

Then add about 3/4 of the pepperoni pieces (reserving 1/4 to put on top) and 1 cup of cheese and stir well.

Pour the pizza pieces into a greased 9x13" baking dish (check out my cute helper! She did the stirring and the dumping into the bowl).

Sprinkle remaining cheese, pepperoni, and other toppings on the top of pizza. Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the biscuits are fully cooked. They will be slightly firm when you press down on them.

Slow Cooker French Onion Meatballs

The final recipe from Father's Day weekend was the meatballs.  This was so easy and so good.  Anything in a crock pot or slow cooker is the best because I can throw it in without a lot of fuss.

I got the recipe from the Six Sisters Blog Site ... link is here.

But again the picture sucks.

Ingredients:
1 (24 oz) package of frozen meatballs (I bought Italian style, but plain are fine too)
2 (10.5 oz) cans of condensed French onion soup

Directions:
Spray your slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Dump in the package of meatballs and dump the soup on top. Cook on LOW for 4 hours OR on HIGH for 2 hours.

Philly Cheese Steak Dip (in the Slow Cooker)

There's only one word to describe this dip...AMAZING!!!  This was the last one I did in the triple dipper for father's day and everyone who tried it loved it.

I got the original recipe from Better Homes and Gardens...link is here.

Horrible picture again of this dip but oh well it was awesome so I don't care :-)

Ingredients

• 1 17 ouncepackage beef roast au jus
• 1 cupchopped onion (1 large)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoonolive oil
• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1 15 ouncejarprocess cheese dip
• 3/4 cup chopped red sweet pepper (1 medium) Skipped this
• 3/4cupchopped green sweet pepper (1 medium) -- Skipped this
• 1 4 ouncecan (drained weight)sliced mushrooms, drained
• 1/3cuppepperoncini salad peppers, stemmed and chopped
• 1 tblespoonWorcestershire sauce
• 1/4teaspoonground black pepper
• Hoagie Planks

Directions

1. Remove cover from beef roast package and cook beef in the microwave on 100 percent power (high) for 1 minute. Remove beef roast from package; reserve 1/3 cup of the au jus. Cut beef roast into chunks. Using two forks, pull beef into shreds; set aside. In a large skillet, cook onion and garlic in hot oil over medium-high heat until tender. Stir in beef.

2. Lightly coat the inside of a 3 1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Add beef mixture to cooker. Stir in the reserved 1/3 cup au jus, cheese dip, sweet peppers, mushrooms, pepperoncini, Worcestershire sauce, and black pepper.

3. Cover and cook on high-heat setting for 1 to 2 hours. Serve immediately or keep warm, covered, on warm setting or low-heat setting for up to 2 hours. Serve with Hoagie Planks.

4. Hoagie Planks: Preheat broiler. Split 5 hoagie buns and place, cut sides up, on a baking sheet. Spread with about 1/4 cup softened butter and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, crushed. Broil 4 to 5 inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until lightly toasted. To serve, cut bun halves diagonally into pieces.

Nutrition Facts (Philly Cheese Steak Dip)

• Servings Per Recipe 20,
• Calories 193,
• Protein (gm) 9,
• Carbohydrate (gm) 18,
• Fat, total (gm) 11,
• Cholesterol (mg) 38,
• Saturated fat (gm) 6,
• Monosaturated fat (gm) 1,
• Dietary Fiber, total (gm) 1,
• Sugar, total (gm) 5,
• Vitamin A (IU) 389,
• Vitamin C (mg) 12,
• Sodium (mg) 604,
• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Hormel Chili Cheese Dip (in the Slow Cooker)

Another one from the triple dipper experiments on Father's Day.  It was yummy and tasted similar to Chili's Con Queso Dip.  The link to the orginal recipe is here.

Again this picture sucks and does the end product no justice but its all I could do on that day.

Main Ingredients:

This recipe is recomended for 12 servings

• 1 (15-ounce) can Hormel® Chili No Beans
• 1 (1-pound) package pasteurized prepared cheese product, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Instructions

1. In medium microwave-safe bowl, stir together chili and cheese product; cover. Microwave on HIGH (100%), stirring once, 4 1/2 to 5 minutes or until hot and cheese is melted. Serve with corn chips, if desired.  I actually put this in the Triple Dipper to cook and it was fine.

Hormel Easy Pepperoni Pizza Dip (in the Slow Cooker)

For Father's Day Dinner I wanted to use the Triple Dipper again but I wanted to try some different dips.  I cruised around the recipe websites and found one on hormel.com.  The link to the recipe is here.

This one was good.  Everyone liked it a lot.  I just wish I would have gotten a better picture of it.  Maybe next time.

Main Ingredients:

This recipe is recomended for 16 servings

• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese
• 1 (15-ounce) can or bottle pizza sauce
• 1 package Hormel® Pepperoni Minis
• 1 cup shredded pizza cheese blend
• Crackers and breadsticks

Instructions

1. In 2-quart slow cooker, place cream cheese
2. In bowl, combine pizza sauce and pepperoni minis; pour over cream cheese. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. 
3. Cover slow cooker; cook on LOW setting 2 hours or until cheese is melted. Stir before serving. Serve with crackers and breadsticks.

Copycat Baja Fresh Guacamole

Recently the Baja Fresh down the street closed.  I love their guacamole so I was so sad when they closed.  Now I didn't always love guacamole.  Until I got pregnant with my daughter I hated it.  All of sudden I'm pregnant and .... BAM... I love that and spinach.  I'm surprised she didn't come out green :-)

I found a recipe on Food Network courtesy of Alton Brown and it tastes pretty darn close to the real thing!  Even my mother in law who is as picky as they come when it comes to food loved it.  The link to the original recipe is here.

Ingredients

• 3 Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled (I used generic avocados and it worked)
• 1 lime, juiced (I used the bottle type Lime juice)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 medium onion, diced (I left this out and used minced onions)
• 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Directions

In a large bowl place the scooped avocado pulp and lime juice, toss to coat. Drain, and reserve the lime juice, after all of the avocados have been coated. Using a potato masher add the salt, cumin, and cayenne and mash. Then, fold in the onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved lime juice. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour and then serve.

Copycat PF Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Love PF Chang's food but the closest one is 20-25 minutes away.  There are also some folks in the tailgate that are on the Atkin's Diet so I was looking for a recipe that didn't have a lot of carbs.

Found this recipe on the web when I did a google search for "Lettuce Wraps from PF Changs".  Thought I would give this a shot.  I modified the original recipe that I found.

I've got to say its similar to PF Chang's but not exactly the same.  But it was really really good.

Ingredients:

Marinade

• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 2 tsps red wine
• 2 tsps water
• 2 tsps soy sauce

Filling Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced small
• 5 tbsp of vegetable oil
• 1 tsp of ground ginger
• 2 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 cup of shittake mushrooms
• Few shakes of minced onions
• 1/2 can of bean sprouts (drained)
• 1 can (8oz) of water chesnuts (drained)

Cooking Sauce

• 1 tbsp hoison sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp red wine
• 2 tbsps oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsps cornstarch

Lettuce leaves (washed)

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients for "cooking sauce" and set aside.

In bowl, combine marinade ingredients and mix well.  Add chicken and stir to coat.  Stir in 1 tsp of oil and set sit for 15 mins.

Heat wok or frying pan over medium-high heat.  Add 3 tsp of oil.  Add chicken and stir fry for 3-4 mins.  Set aside.

Add 2 tsp of oil to the pan.  Add ginger, garlic and minced onions. for a minute or so.  Add mushrooms, bean sprouts, and water chesnuts.  Stir and cook for 2 mins.

Return chicken to the pan.  Add cooking sauce to the pan.  Cook until thickened and hot.

To serve, pour the mixture into a lettuce leaf and eat like a burrito.  (NOTE:  make sure that the mixture is drained a little before putting in the lettuce leaf or it will get soggy)