Sweet and spicy Kabobs

I took 2 skinless chicken breasts and pounded them down to about 1/2" thick. Then I cut them into 1" pieces. I also took 10-12 large shrimp(deveined and shells off).

Place the proteins in a large bowl and add a season all salt, lemon pepper and a touch of Cayenne pepper. Mix well.

In the meantime I cut up 5 mini peppers(or 1 1/2 large sweet peppers), 1/2 of red onion (all in 1" slices) and 1 pkg. of mushrooms.

Place the proteins as well as the vegetables in a large ziploc bag with 1/3 cup of pineapple juice(from a can), 1/4 cup of olive or grapeseed oil, 2 tablespoons of lime juice and red pepper to taste(as much as you like).

Mix well and place in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours.

Place on wooded skewers alternating veggies and meat. I put the chicken and shrimp on separate skewers due to the fact that the shrimp will cook faster than the chicken.

I than wrapped a few of the skewers with turkey bacon. 2 Slices per skewer and keep in place with toothpicks.

Then place on a hot grill for 15-20 min. turning ever 3-5 min. Take off of the grill and take the food off of the skewers and place on a plate.

Serve with your favorite sides and waaallllaaahhhhaaa! Happy eating y'all!

Pan seared tilapia w/ shrimp, scallops and veggies!

This was a very healthy meal that I literally just threw together. I keep fresh veggies as a staple in my home and I keep all of my meat in the freezer until the day that I am ready to cook(this way the meat does not go bad). So, I saw that I had some great seafood in the freezer and decided to make a seafood "stir fry" if you will. It really was delicious and very healthy!

I started off by taking about 1/2lb- 3/4 lb. of large gulf shrimp and 1 4 oz. pkg of baby scallops, and placed them in a bowl. Seasoned with a about a teaspoon of fish oil, season salt, pepper, garlic salt and crushed red pepper(optional).  I let that marinate while I prepared the rest of the meal. About 20-30 min.

While the seafood is marinating, I cup up my veggies. You can use whatever that you have in the refrigerator. I cut up 3 whole mushrooms, 1/4 sweet red pepper, 1 stalk of celery, 2 small asparagus stalks, 1 parsnip(or carrot), 1 jalapeno(optional), 1/2 sweet onion, 1/2 cup of red cabbage and about 1 cup of broccoli florets.

I know that sounds like a lot of vegetables! That is why I suggest that you just go through what you have instead of buying just for this recipe. That could get expensive! I honestly just chopped up what I had!

I then seasoned those veggies with 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, 2 tablespoon's of lite Caesar dressing, some salt and pepper. I also cut up (2) slices of turkey bacon and mixed well...

I took my slices of tilapia and seasoned with the dry ingredients that I placed on the seafood. Then I heated one pan with cooking spray(i used cast iron, but it is not necessary) for the tilapia and heated a wok for the veggies and the seafood. The reason that I used a wok is b.c that is a lot of food, but if you don't have a wok, I would just use 2 separate pans. One for the veggie mix and another for the seafood mix. So you would have 3 pans going at one time.

If you are using a wok, place the seafood in first. For about 3 min. or until it turns pink. Then add the veggies and stir fry for another 7 min.

For the tilapia.... On med-high heat cook each side for 5 min.(or until flaky).

Place your veggie/seafood mixture on a plate and add the pan seared tilapia and Waaalllaahhh... you have a healthy, delicious meal! Happy eating Y'all!

Shrimp Pad Thai

I got this recipe from cooking light magazine. My husband LOVES pad thai so I just had to try it. I turned out so good!

the ingredients...

6 oz. uncooked thick rice noodles
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp.
2 tbsp. fish sauce or additional soy sauce
1 tbsp. lime juice
2 tsp. chili sauce
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
STIR FRY:
1 lb. uncooked med-large shrimp
3 tsp. sesame oil, divided
2 cups of fresh snow peas( I used edamame..soy beans)
2 med. carrots grated
2 cloves of minced garlic
2 eggs lightly beaten
2 cups of bean sprouts
2 green onions, chopped
 1/4 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts ( I did not use)
Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, chili sauce, oil and pepper flakes until blended, set aside

In a large non-skillet or wok, stir-fry shrimp in 2 tbsp. oil until shrimp turn pink; remove and keep warm. Stir fry snow peas and carrots in remaining oil for 1-2 min. Add garlic, cook 1 min. longer or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add the eggs; cook and stir until set.
Drain noodles; add to shrimp mixture. Stir vinegar mixture and add to the skillet. Bring to a boil. Add shrimp, bean spouts and green onions; heat through. Sprinkle with cilantro and peanuts.

Fish and shrimp tacos

I started out with large shrimp(16-20 count), and some tilapia. You can use any firm fleshed fish. Cut the fish into bite size pieces and then place them in a large ziploc bag with a generous portion of flour(I like to use wondera instant flour) and cornmeal. I used equal portions of each and I just placed enough in the bag to coat all of the meat. Then close the bag and shake vigorously.

I personally don't like to deep fry but, you could if you would like. I think that it takes so much oil and I tell myself that it is healthier if I just pan fry(whatever makes one feel better about their choices. Right?? LOL). So I took a cast iron skillet and covered the pan with about 1" of oil. I use grapeseed oil because it has a lot of nutrients and works great on both high and low heat. Once the oil starts to bubble a little bit, I start to add the meat. I do it in batches b.c you only want a single layer of meat on the pan. And, since you are pan frying, you will need to flip the meat. I let cook about 4-5 min. per side. Once cooked I placed on a towel for any excess oil to drain.

I made both corn and flour tortillas. For the corn tortillas I placed them in the same hot pan(most of the oil is gone by now) and warmed them for about 2 min. per side.
Next I shredded up about 1/3rd of a head of red cabbage, placed in a bowl with salt, pepper, and believe it or not.... (here is a great secret ingredient) Light Cesar's dressing(I like Ken's brand). Just enough to coat the cabbage. It really gives a punch to the tacos!

I also made a copy cat sauce chipolte sauce from a tex mex restaurant called Taco Bueno. I took 1 tub of greek yogurt, 3 tablespoons of Mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons of lime juice, 1 tablespoon of canned chipolte chiles, 2 cloves of minced garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder. Mix well.

Now its time to make the tacos!!!!
Take a tortilla and top with shredded cheese

Top with your fish and shrimp..

Chipolte sauce...
Cabbage...
Serve with a side of beans or rice and guacamole...
And waaalllaaahhhhhaaa. Happy eating y'all!

Part 2 of my romantic breakfast!

This is my Breakfast shrimp puffs!

Take 3 frozen Pillsbury grands biscuits, let thaw about 1/2 way. Slice through the center lengthwise, then again across the middle. Making 4 pieces out of one biscuit. In a muffin tin place 6 "cupcake" baking cups and place 1 of the quarter pieces of biscuit in each cup. Top with one large shrimp (de-veined and tail off),your choice of shredded cheese, ranch mix(see below), ad the other part of the bisuit. Bake for 20-25 min. or until the biscuits are golden. Serve with a side of white gravy!

Ranch mix: 2 tblspns. ranch dressing, and a pinch of the following; garlic powder, dill, cayenne pepper, tabasco(optional), and ground mustard.

And waaallllaaahhhh!!! Happy, romantic eating y'all!

Chicken, Scallops and saffron rice!!!

This was such an easy dish to make! It was also healthy, hearty and delicious!

I started with taking a can(or 2 cups of water with one chicken bouillon cube) of  chicken stock and placing in my rice cooker(you can use a pot as well) I then added one cup of saffron rice.

Let cook for about 30-35 min. or until almost done (once the liquid has almost dissolved) and add one cup of frozen veggies. I used peas, corn and carrots. let sit in the rice for about 5 min. and that is done.

while you are cooking the rice, take 3/4 lb. of large shrimp(de-veined and tails off ) and 1/2 lb. of scallops(I got the small scallops on sale for 1.99, but I would have used larger ones otherwise) and season. I used a season salt, pepper, paprika, chipolte powder and onion powder. Once seasoned heat up 2 tblspns. of oil in a pan and let get hot. I used grape seed oil(see below).

Then I sauteed the shrimp and scallops for about 5-8 , min. (or until done) topped with the juice of 1/2 a lime as well as the zest, placed on top of the rice and waaaallllaaaahhhhh! So delicious and super easy! Happy eating y'all!

chicken, shrimp, veggies and rice

If you are trying to eat healthy for the new year, this is for you!

This is so easy and so delicious!

I took 1/2 lb.of shrimp and 1 chicken breast. I cut up the chicken breast and placed both of the meats in a plastic bag. I then added enough Wondera flour(you could use cornmeal as well) to coat all of the meat(about 1/2 cup). I also added a bunch of my favorite seasonings. I then shook the meat in the bag to get an even coating.
Take a cast iron skillet and coat with whatever oil you choose(I used grape seed oil). You only need about 2 teaspoons b/c you are not deep frying, you are just cooking on the skillet. Cook the meat until browned(about 5 min. per side).
While cooking the meat I cooked 1 cup of brown rice in a rice cooker. If you do not have a rice cooker, take a large pot and use 2 cups of liquid per 1 cup of rice. I like to use chicken broth for the flavor, but you can use water.
At the same time I steamed some of my favorite veggies.
Put them all together and waaaallllaaaahhh! Healthy, delicious meal! And it only took about 20 min.!!! Happy eating y'all!

shrimp, steamed veggies and garlic pasta???!!!! Oh my!!!!!!!

I have had such a busy day! I really did not make a menu. So, what does a girl do??? Well, I took out some large frozen gulf shrimp(that is already de-veined and tails off) out of the freezer and let de-thaw(1/2 lb.). Then I placed in a ziploc bag.. added 1 tblsp. of rice vinegar and oil with a pkg. of this.....

While marinating... I cut up 1/2 an onion, 1/2 head of broccoli, 1/3 head of cauliflower,1 zucchini and 1 sweet pepper. Then, I steamed all of the veggies. While steaming the veggies, I cooked 1/3 of a box of 100% whole grain linguine in a pot and placed the shrimp in my wok w/ some grape seed oil(my new fav.!). Once the shrimp was about 1/2 way done, I added a can of cooked chicken(drained). Then add the steamed veggies. While you stir fry all of these ingredients together for 3-5 min. Take the aldente pasta(cooks for 8-10 min.) and add 2 tblsps. of I can't believe its not butter and 2 tblspns. of minced garlic. Then add to the stir-fry.. Mix for 2 min. and waaaalllaaaaa! Hearty, healthy, fast(took less than 30 min.), and so delicious! Happy eating Y'all!