Chicken and Shrimp Pad Thai

A couple years ago, my husband insisted I should try Pad Thai.

I was more willing at this point to try new foods, so I did.

And I loved it.

Unfortunately, that same man who invited me to try it found out that he and Pad Thai did not agree with one another...namely the spices involved.

So that was basically the end of my pad thai days.

I have been craving it for some time now.

Not long ago I found a recipe on Pinterest (of course) for "pad thai". 

I perused the recipe and saw that it was simple and fairly easy to make.  And best of all, no wild spices.

Let me preface the recipe by saying that I know this is not true Pad Thai.

No fish sauce.  No tamarind.  Not even bean sprouts.

Just standard ingredients in my house.

Which I was fine with.

I will admit, my family all looked nervous as I threw it together.

Then we tasted it.

Oh yum.

It was delicious.

A definite "pad thai" taste but all with basic ingredients we could all eat.

And eat we did.

This will DEFINITELY be going into my cycle of recipes.

And next time I am craving pad thai, I will not have to be sad that we aren't having a thai date.

I will just hop into the kitchen and throw it together.

Yum.

Ingredients:
1 box rice noodles (I used brown rice noodles, Annie Chun's pad thai)

Shrimp and chicken, thawed and cleaned (I cut chicken tenderloins into little chunks) and sprinkled with soy sauce

2 Tbsp brown sugar (I actually doubled this)

2 Tbsp lime juice (I just used the juice from a medium lime), lime slices for garnishing

3-4 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp vegetable oil (I actually used toasted sesame oil...LOVE that stuff)

Onions (The original recipe called for scallions separated by white and green parts...I forgot to get some at the store so I just used some regular chopped onion)

1 garlic clove minced (I used two; I LOVE garlic)

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup chopped roasted, salted peanuts

Directions:

The original recipe called for soaking the noodles in hot water. After reading some comments, I felt like boiling was a better way to go.  So I boiled them according to directions. They don't take long to boil at all.  Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile in a bowl, mix the brown sugar, lime juice, and soy sauce.  You can also add a squirt of Sriracha.  I chose not to.  Set aside.

In a large skilled, heat the oil and add the garlic/white onion.  Cook over medium heat.

Once tender, pour the beaten eggs into the skillet, stirring often until the eggs are cooked.  Remove the eggs.  I just kept the garlic/white onion separate in the skillet.

Add a little more sesame oil if needed.  Cook chicken and shrimp (these are both optional...the original recipe doesn't use either of these) until they are cooked through.

Add the noodles, the sauce, and the green parts of the onions (if you remember to get them :) to the skillet.  Stir together with the chicken, shrimp, and the onions/garlic.  Add the eggs back in.  Stir thoroughly. 

Sprinkle the cilantro and peanuts over the top.

Garnish with lime slices if you prefer.  (We didn't eat them but they added a nice touch and that little bit of extra lime flavor)

Enjoy!

We just ate ours with a side salad.  It was a complete meal (other than the salad) in one skillet.

Like I said, we all enjoyed it.  Those who didn't care for shrimp just picked those out.  There were others of us more than willing to eat the extras. :)

Happy cooking!

Reba

PS My husband said this would be a good "beach" meal.  The limes gave it that "beachy" flavor. :)

Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp in a Cream Sauce

I have been in the mood for some shrimp. And angel hair pasta.  So when I perused Pinterest, this recipe caught my attention.  As a bonus, it has a cream sauce.  Seriously, how can you go wrong with cream, shrimp, and pasta?  (Well, unless you don't like shrimp...then you may want to skip this one :)

One thing I love about shrimp is that it cooks quickly. That and I love the taste.  The one thing I don't like about shrimp is the peeling and cleaning.  I mean, mine does come "easy peel" and has basically been de-veined but I still have to clean them up.  In the end, the anticipation wins me over and I just suck it up and clean away.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup chicken stock (I didn't have stock; I just used chicken broth)
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 package angel hair pasta
1or 2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
 1/2 cup chopped parsley (I didn't use quite that much...I just chopped a handful)
1/4 cup chopped chives (honestly, I didn't use any :)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
zest of a lemon (totally forgot that...I even had a lemon for it!)
salt and pepper to taste

I also added a couple of minced cloves of garlic, mainly because I love garlic.


Directions:
Heat the cream, chicken stock/broth, and lemon juice to a low simmer.  Simmer for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil the angel hair pasta in salted water according to package directions.

Add the shrimp to the simmering cream sauce.  Salt and pepper (lightly).  Cook the shrimp about 5 minutes (until it is a cooked pink).

Add the herbs and garlic to the sauce.  Add in the Parmesan cheese. 

Let simmer about 1 minute.

Remove from heat.

I did not mix the angel hair pasta (drained at this point :) with the sauce because not all of my kids are shrimp eaters.  Some prefer just the plain pasta.

Those who desired topped the pasta with the shrimp/sauce and added additional Parmesan...mainly because you can NEVER have too much Parmesan. :)

We ate this with a garlic and cheese breadstick and a salad.

And I loved every bite.

Reba

Garlic and Herb Grilled Shrimp

On Labor Day, I decided to try several grilling recipes I had found via Pinterest.  So we had a grilled food smorgasbord...steak, chicken, and two versions of grilled shrimp.  All were good, so I have a few recipes to share.  If only I had the energy to share them all tonight!

Instead, I will start with one and slowly work my way through the others in the next week or so.

One shrimp recipe I tried is "grilled garlic and herb shrimp".

I am sure you have figured out, I have yet to meet a shrimp I didn't like.

So if you aren't a shrimp lover, come back in a few days. I will share something new.

But if you like shrimp, this is a recipe you will probably want to try.

Yum.

Of course, we grilled it (since it was "grilled" shrimp and all but I am thinking baking it in the fall/winter wouldn't be a bad thing either.  I may have to try that and let you know.

Ingredients:
2 lbs large shrimp (peeled and deveined)
2 tsp paprika
2 Tbsp freshly minced garlic (I just minced a couple cloves)
2 tsp Italian seasoning (I like the kind you can actually grind)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (or if you are like me, bottled lemon juice because I forgot to buy a lemon...)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp dried basil
2 tbsp brown sugar

Directions: 
Whisk all of the ingredients (except for the shrimp) in a bowl. Or in my case, a Ziplock bag. 

Add in the shrimp.

Toss evenly to coat.

Refrigerate for at least two hours, turning once.

Preheat grill to medium heat.

The original directions recommended oiling the grill grate. I am pretty sure my husband didn't do that. 

Grill shrimp (discard the marinade) for 5-6 minutes or until shrimp is opaque in the center. (We skewered ours)

Enjoy!

Roasted Lemon Garlic Shrimp

I have been trying to incorporate fish or shrimp at least once a week. I just wish shrimp were a bit cheaper.  Most of us eat it and it is just good food (to me :).  And it is fairly healthy (low cal, low fat).  It is just that darn sodium level that keeps it from getting a gold star.

Anyway, I had a recipe pinned that looked promising so I decided to give it a try.  I was a little hesitant with all of the lemon in it but after one taste, I was hooked.  Oh, yum.

And it was easy. And quick. 

Definitely yummy for my tummy.

I know not everybody is a shrimp eater, but if you are, I highly recommend this recipe!

Ingredients:
1/3 cup olive oil

1 lemon

3-4 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves removed (okay, I don't know if it is unhealthy but I just used the whole sprig...)

sea salt and freshly ground peppercorn

2 tbsp butter (I used light margarine)

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined (the original recipe calls for fresh; that is hard to get around here...I did use about 2 pounds)

5 cloves of garlic, minced

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Zest the lemon (I had never done this. I used a vegetable peeler and just carefully peeled off bits of the peel, trying to not dig in too much).  Then halve it.  Cut one half into thin slices. Save the other half for later use, though I didn't ever use the second half.

Pour olive oil in a baking dish. The original recipe called for an 8 x 8 dish. Since I had so much shrimp, I used a 13 x 9.  There was still plenty of olive oil to cover the bottom of the dish. 

Add the lemon zest and thyme to the oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake in oven for 10 minutes or so, checking to not burn the zest (which I did because I was peeling shrimp).

Remove pan from oven.  Add butter and stir to melt in oil.  Toss in the shrimp and garlic.  Stir to coat.

Bake for 8-10 minutes (watch carefully) until shrimp is pink.

We ate ours over angel hair pasta with garlic bread and a salad. Oh, and I added a little freshly shredded Parmesan because Parmesan goes with everything. :)

And I enjoyed every single bite.

Reba

Shrimp Dip

The other day we had a little "potluck" of appetizers and snacks at school for our Literacy Day.  My grade level was assigned "appetizers".  I already planned on making the apples and peanut butter dip (mainly because I have been craving it :). But one of my dear co-workers asked me if I would make shrimp dip.  I was a little (okay, a lot) flattered that she even remembered it.  I haven't made it in quite a while.  So I decided to make both.  :)

I had forgotten how easy the shrimp dip is to make. 

And apparently it is pretty good. Well, I already thought it was, but apparently others think so too.

There was none left by the end of the day.

Ingredients:
1 small package of salad shrimp (by the way, this is CHEAP, find it in the freezer section!)
1 cup mayonnaise
6 oz shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp garlic salt (I used freshly ground :)
1 tsp grated onion (I just used dried chopped onion)

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together (and yes, I just stick the shrimp in frozen) and refrigerate overnight to let flavors blend.

Serve with crackers.  (I buy the combo pack of Toasteds)

Yes, that is it. 

Easy, fairly cheap, and quick.

And good.

Enjoy!

Reba

Grilled Shrimp Boil Kabobs

Yet another recipe I discovered via Pinterest.

Shrimp Boil Kabobs.

I mean, shrimp, sausage, potatoes.  What more could I want?

I am not a huge corn eater but I figured someone in our house would.  They make the kabobs so pretty...

This was easy to throw together.  Peeling the shrimp took the longest time.

Just thread on a skewer, baste and grill, and then eat.

Simple.

And delicious.

My "directions" will be fairly vague since amount would depend upon the size of your family.

Ingredients:
Corn cobs (cut into thirds)

Shrimp, peeled and deveined (1/2 to 1 pound)

small new potatoes

andouille sausage (cut into small "rounds")

Scallops (optional)

1/2 stick butter

2 tbsp Old Bay seasoning

Directions:
Boil the new potatoes in lightly salted water for about 12-20 minutes.

Thread items onto skewer.

Grill on medium high heat for about 8 minutes.

Take melted butter and Old Bays out to the grill and baste the foods throughout the cooking process (the shrimp should be pink).

Oh, the original recipe used a little Tabasco but my family would have balked at that...

Reba

Enjoy!

Reba

Key West Shrimp and Chicken Kabobs

Yes, another Pinterest recipe.

Can you tell how visual I am?

I see pictures of food, read their description, and my mouth starts watering.

And some foods, some pictures, for whatever reason, get stuck in my mind. In my taste buds. In my dreams. And I just must make them.

This was one of those foods.

I saw the recipe on Pinterest not long ago, and I have just been waiting for a good day to grill.

Today seemed like that day.

At least until it started raining.

But apparently that didn't affect the food a whole lot.

There were only 2 shrimp left. And NO chicken.

I followed the recipe very closely, as well as the directions. There are only a couple minor changes I would make, and those are mainly in the preparation.

Overall, this was a winner. We WILL make it again!

Ingredients:
Chicken tenderloins (cut into small chunks) and/or peeled shrimp...I used about 5 tenderloins and 1 1/2 pounds shrimp. The shrimp was just right, size wise. I wish I had prepared more chicken and will know for next time.

2 tbsp honey

3 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp minced garlic (I just minced a garlic clove)

minced fresh cilantro (optional in the original recipe, but I think personally is a MUST :)

juice of a lime

Since I used both chicken and shrimp, I doubled the ingredients for the marinade.

Directions:
Mix the honey, soy sauce, vegetable oil, and garlic together. Add cilantro.

Place the mixture in a bowl or a gallon size ziplock. Then add chicken/shrimp to mixture.

Marinate the chicken/shrimp for 30 minutes (I do that in the fridge...I am terrified of food poisoning :).

Soak the skewers in water for at least five minutes.

At the end of 30 minutes (or longer), "thread" shrimp and chicken onto the skewers. I separated the food on the skewers since the chicken takes a little longer to cook than the shrimp does.  Makes it easier to regulate and not burn the shrimp.

Grill for 6-8 minutes per side for chicken, 2-4 minutes for shrimp.

Enjoy!

We had ours over the almond rice pilaf along with cheese filled breadsticks and carrots/Ranch.

Because I was running behind from my errands/outings, we didn't get to marinate the full amount of time. We will next time.

Like I said, it didn't stop us from eating it.

Two shrimps. That was all that was left...

Reba

Note:  Just made this for the second time.  Nothing left, and I even added more chicken this time!  I also made an extra batch of marinade right before grilling (minus the cilantro and lime juice) since it is so easy to make and hubby brushed it on the skewers while grilling.  It made the meat a little more moist and tasty. :)

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

Not long ago, our oldest son said he really wanted some jambalaya. I have never made that so I am not sure where the request came from. However, if you knew this son and his eating habits, that request would have surprised you. Even a year again, he likely wouldn't have touched rice, shrimp, or tomatoes. Jambalaya (our version) has all three!

Not long after the request was made, a slow cooker jambalaya recipe appeared on Pinterest. I was intrigued; the picture of it made it look delicious.

So knowing it was going to be quite a bit cooler today, I planned to make it. I ran home at lunch, threw the ingredients in the slow cooker, and came home several hours later to a most wonderful smell. Jambalaya.

Here is the link to the original recipe. I stuck fairly close to it since this was my first time to make it, though I had to alter a couple things due to lack of supplies...

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken breasts cut into 1 inch cubes. When I say chicken breasts, I always mean skinless and boneless unless I specify otherwise. Oh, and I really haven't figured out how to cute it into cubes. I just use scissors and cut it into small chunks. :)
1 lb smoked turkey sausage, sliced
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes with juice (don't drain). Confession: I didn't check to see if I had enough diced tomatoes. I didn't. Luckily I had a can of mild Rotel which is mostly tomatoes. I used it too.
2 tbsp dried minced onion flakes
1 cup chicken broth (Note: I really used closer to 2 since that was the container it was in; I hated to waste any.)
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried parsley
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme

Optional: shrimp. I really wanted shrimp in mine. However, I accidentally grabbed a bag of the frozen COOKED shrimp when I meant to get the frozen RAW shrimp. The cooked shrimp worked okay but I would have preferred the raw to let it "cook" in the seasonings.

white rice or instant rice (I used white long grain enriched; I believe I made 6 servings)
Note: The directions on the original call say to add celery which was not in the ingredients list, so I have no idea how much. However, my family would shun them anyway, so I did not add any.

Directions:
In a slow cooker (and of course, I used a liner), mix the chicken, sausage, tomatoes with juice, onion, garlic, and broth. Season with oregano, parsley, Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and thyme.

Cover and cook 7-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on High.

If you are adding shrimp, add it about 30 minutes before eating. Shrimp cooks quickly.

Mix in cooked rice for about 15 minutes to warm through.

Enjoy! (We had cornbread muffins with it)

Garlicky Baked Shrimp

Yes, this is another Pinterest recipe.

As soon as I saw the picture and read the ingredients (garlic and shrimp and butter...yum!), I thought, "I need to make this." I knew going into it that it would likely just be hubby and I eating it but I was okay with that. Once in a while, that doesn't hurt. (I served side dishes I knew the kids would eat)

I had planned on making this on Thursday but when I looked at the schedule of events, tonight was the perfect night. And it was.

Here is the original recipe. I really didn't change much about it...no need to!

Ingredients:
1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 cloves of garlic, minced (I am not a good mincer...mine was probably a step up from minced :)
2 tbsp white wine (I just used white cooking wine)
salt and pepper to taste (I used freshly ground sea salt and ground peppercorn)
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs (I used plain. This was my first time to use Panko...OH YUM!)
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (I just used scissors and cut off a fair amount...didn't really measure) I also threw in a little cilantro but it wasn't fresh
half a lemon-optional (I just sprinkled with lemon juice)

Note:  I didn't use white cooking wine recently due to some diet changes in the family. Instead I substituted brown rice vinegar.  We REALLY liked it.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425.

In a bowl, combine the shrimp, white wine, and the garlic. Pour into a baking dish. (Okay, I confess, I combined all this into one step. After peeling the shrimp, I spread them straight onto a 9 x 12 glass baking dish, then I poured the wine and garlic over the top. Next time I will use a slightly smaller dish. I also added a bit more of the cooking wine.)

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

In another bowl, mix the butter, Panko crumbs, and parsley. Spoon evenly over the top of the shrimp.

I wasn't sure where to add the lemon juice...I just sprinkled a little bit on before sticking the dish in the oven.

Bake 15-18 minutes until the shrimp is pink/opaque.

It reminds me a lot of shrimp scampi.

So yummy.

Hubby said he wanted a little sauce, but I wasn't sure what kind of sauce...maybe more butter?

I served this over angel hair pasta and topped it with some Parmesan. The kids LOVED the angel hair pasta. I also served an Italian herb bread and a salad.

Personally, I could have eaten the whole thing myself.

I won't make it often just because of the kids, but this WILL be on my table again.

Reba

Spicy Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

A sign of warmer weather: We move from having soup in the crockpot to food on the grill.

One of my favorite grilled food (other than flank steak) is bacon wrapped shrimp. One summer Mark's aunt and uncle had a shrimp feast (they live on the coast) for us. One of the dishes was bacon wrapped shrimp. For some reason, this combination had never occurred to me. After that night, it was all I could think of. That was before Internet was a big deal, so getting the recipe after the fact took a while. Finally one day I was coasting the Web and came upon a recipe for something similar. It is a favorite now.

I realize this meal will only appeal to a small percentage of the population which is even smaller when you consider number of readers. :) But it is a regular here during the summer. Most of the kids won't touch them, though one has recently come around. We just throw a few chicken breasts on the grill for them.

Oh, and don't let the "spicy" part fool you. It does have a little bite to it but it isn't spicy enough to bring tears to my eyes.

Spicy Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tbsp olive or vegetable oil (I always go with olive when given a choice :)
4 tsp paprika
1 tsp each: salt, pepper, curry powder, ground cumin and ground coriander
1/2 to 1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 or 2 packages of large shrimp, easy peel, raw
1 package bacon

Peel/clean shrimp. This is the longest part of the process to me and probably keeps us from eating this more often. That and the whole cost thing...

In a bowl, combine the sugar, lemon juice, oil, and seasonings. Mix well.

Now, the real recipe says to pour 1/4 cup marinade into a large resealable (ziplock type) bag, then to save the rest for basting.

Honestly, I pour ALL of the marinade into the bag over the shrimp. In fact, I don't even mix it in the bowl first. I just pour the ingredients into the ziplock bag as I go.

Seal the bag.

Refrigerate for 30-60 minutes, though I typically do this a few hours before.

The original recipe also calls for cooking bacon over medium heat in a skillet until cooked.

Confession: I never pre-cook the bacon.

When ready to cook, remove the shrimp from the marinate and discard the marinade. Wrap the shrimp with bacon and secure with a toothpick. I typically cut each slice of bacon into thirds which is just the right size. I have also done this with skewers.

If I run out of bacon, we just throw the rest of the shrimp into the basket on the grill.

Grill shrimp, uncovered, over medium heat for 7-10 minutes or until shrimp turns pink.


I usually serve with potatoes in white sauce which seems to balance well with the spicy shrimp. (Recipe for the potatoes/sauce soon) and bread. I also put some carrots and Ranch on the table and had a lot more eaten than I expected.

If you are not a shrimp lover, you are probably gagging. However, if you ARE, this is a recipe you should try!

Happy cooking!
Reba