Lemon Cream Pasta

Perfect Pairing: Grilled Shrimp

I just got back from a wonderful vacation in Mexico.  While I was there I soaked up a lot of sunshine and enjoyed some gorgeous views.  I had a fabulous time and met some great new friends, but it is nice to be home.  

News flash... it still very cold in Chicago.  That apparently did not change while I was out of the country.  It is a good day to be cozy inside!  Which is exactly what I am doing with my boyfriend today. 

Oh goodness, this pasta.  My cousin made this for me a couple of times before I tried it myself.  It is decadent and amazing.  You can always count on the Barefoot Contessa to have fantastic recipes. I am actually making it for my boyfriend for dinner tonight.

The pasta is tossed with slightly crisp broccoli, tomatoes, and greens and coated in a lemony cream sauce.  I followed this recipe with a couple of minor changes.  I substituted half of the cream for half and half, and used mache instead of arugula.  It is truly mouth watering.  We didn’t have any leftovers, but my cousin told me that if you do plan on having some leftover skip adding the whole pieces of lemon at the end.  They tend to make the dish bitter after it sits.

The pasta is fabulous on its own, but I loved the addition of grilled shrimp.  I used my favorite marinade, which is 2 parts Italian dressing to 1 part honey.  Just whisk it up and let the shrimp marinate it in for about 1 hour.  You can brush on the remaining marinade while you grill up the shrimp. 

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Un-Recipe Files - Baked Potato Bar

Can you have too many versions of a stuffed baked potato?  I don’t think so, as referenced here and here.  I clearly have a thing for them right now.

I set out a baked potato bar over the Christmas holiday for my family.  Nothing was specifically purchased for this meal, we had everything on hand, and it was probably one of my favorite meals of the holiday.  The potatoes were baked using my favorite method, found here.

The cheese drawer was overflowing, so why not have a trio of cheese?  We had a couple packages of Green Giant broccoli and cheese sauce in the freezer.  I knew that would be a perfect pairing.  The stars of the bar were the random leftovers from the fridge.  You have to get creative!  The previous day we had made stuffed mushrooms and ran out of mushrooms so we were left with a mixture of sausage, cream cheese, parmesan, parsley, bread crumbs, and garlic.  I had no idea what was going to happen to that stuffing when I put it in the fridge, but I just couldn’t throw it away.  It was crazy good on potatoes.  Also leftover was some Asian Balsamic Beef Roast (that recipe will be on here soon, a winner) from the slow cooker.   Of course you have to include the basics like sour cream, bacon, and green onions.

Taking pictures was a challenge, lots of hands reaching into the shot.  DAD!  Out.

He was a bad example.

Ok, that is just too cute.  She can have whatever she wants.

Same with this little one, whatever she wants.  The curls… they slay me.

I loved seeing everyone’s creations! 

Meat and potatoes kind of guy.

Blueberries go with bacon and cheese, right?  Again, the curls.

Two very distinct versions on one plate.  I don’t agree with this potato-cutting style, but no one asked me.

Now that is a good looking potato. 

Keeping it simple and vegetarian.  I like the melted cheese.

What can be wrong with this?  Cheese… good, bacon… good

This is mine.  I can’t make up my mind on things, I want to try everything, but not all together. 

I get it from my mom.

Oh dad, that is just a mess.  Is that…. butter?  Let’s go with cheese, that’s better, right?

Baked potato bars are delicious, a great way to get rid of leftovers, and everyone gets to express themselves.  You really can’t ask for more than that from a meal.

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Un-Recipe Files - Thai Broccoli Slaw Salad

I will be making this salad a lot this summer at the lake.  It is ridiculously simple and it tastes pretty awesome.  It is also easy to have all of the ingredients on hand.

 My mom had this salad at a birthday party and saught out the host to get the recipe.  It could not be easier!  There are just three ingredients:  broccoli slaw, store bought peanut sauce, and honey roasted peanuts.

Just toss the slaw with the desired amount of sauce (I used about ¼ of the jar for one bag of slaw mix) and top it off with chopped honey roasted peanuts.   You could also add chopped cilantro and/or sliced green onions.  Serve the salad right away, because the sauce will pull water out of the slaw and make the dressing a little runny.

You could even make a meal out of this by adding grilled chicken.  Love it!

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Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Perfect Pairing:  Rotisserie Chicken and Ready Rice

While I am not a huge fan of casseroles, there are times where they definitely fit the bill.  Usually that is when you need a one-dish meal of comfort food.  One of my all-time favorite recipes, which is famous in my family, is corn casserole.  We literally have it at every family function.  It is ridiculously easy and delicious.  I can’t believe I have not posted about it yet.  It is on my to-do list…

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I had a hankering for a good ole’ casserole.  I didn’t really consult a recipe because I was pretty sure I knew that I wanted it to include chicken, broccoli, rice, and mushrooms.  So, I just went to the store, got all of those tasty items and took it from there.

I was so pleased with this recipe.  It was absolutely delicious and comforting.  I made the sauce from scratch using a basic white sauce with seasonings and sharp cheddar cheese.  It took just moments and was a lot healthier than using a can of soup, and it tasted great.

So to recap we have a healthy base of chicken, whole grain brown rice, broccoli, mushrooms, and a from-scratch sauce made with skim milk.  Health food, right?  Well, so far.  Now add a sleeve of Ritz crackers to the top.  I’m going with the 80/20 rule here.  These little suckers are what make this casserole really good.  You could definitely use breadcrumbs or Panko, if desired.  I added some poppy seeds for a little visual appeal and texture.

The Perfect Pairing for this recipe is rotisserie chicken and Ready Rice.   When I need to use chicken in a recipe like this I almost always buy the rotisserie variety at my grocery store.  It is perfectly cooked and juicy, and most importantly, a huge time saver.  The Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice is a fantastic invention.  Don’t get me wrong, cooking rice is easy, but when you are trying to get dinner on the table after a long day at work any shortcut is appreciated.  I used the Whole Grain Brown Rice variety and it was perfect in this recipe.

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Broccoli and Mushroom Sauté

Perfect Pairing:  Chicken base

I am always looking for side dish recipes that are healthy, tasty, and quick.  Does anyone remember the Uncle Ben magazine ad that showed a beautifully prepared main dish served alongside some store-bought chips? Basically it was alluding to the fact that so many people spend all of their time creating lovely entrées and neglect what else is on the plate.  I thought it was pretty brilliant. 

This broccoli and mushroom sauté is really simple but the addition of sherry, shallots and garlic adds a lot of flavor without adding many calories.  It pairs nicely with grilled chicken or fish.  I think it would also be tasty on top of whole wheat pasta with freshly grated parmesan cheese and lots of black pepper. 

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