Citrus Garlic Shrimp Linguini

This is one of my mother-in-law's recipes. It's so delish! I got the recipe after the first time we had it. It is  a Curfew family favorite, and especially in our home, too! I now keep frozen (raw) shrimp from Costco in the freezer, and use them for this fancy and easy meal. It only takes about 30-40 minutes to make from start to table. Here is the recipe...

Citrus Garlic Shrimp Linguini

1 pkg linguini

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup (fresh squeezed) orange juice
1/3 cup lemon juice
3 to 4 garlic cloves, peeled
3 tsp grated lemon peel
2 tsp grated orange peel
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
shredded parm cheese - lots and lots!!!
minced fresh parsley

1. cook linguini according to pkg directions. meanwhile in a blender or food processor, combine the next eight ingredients; cover and process until blended.
2. pour into a large skillet. heat through. add shrimp. cook for 5 minutes or until shrimp turn pink. drain linguini. toss with shrimp mixture. sprinkle with cheese and parsley.

{Spicy} Orange Beef Stir Fry with Fried Rice

I got this recipe combo from my allrecipes.com cookbook. It was paired together and labeled "better than chinese take-out dinner". We both really liked this, and I've made it twice already. I added red bell peppers (in additional to original recipe). It has a nice orangey flavor and can be spicy with red pepper flakes. If you don't like spicy, you can just leave that out.


SPICY ORANGE BEEF
(Adapted from allrecipes.com)
Servings: 4

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound round steak, cut into thin strips on the diagonal
1 red bell pepper, sliced in strips
1/8- 1/4 cup orange zest
1-2 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (I like to substitute 1 tsp fresh ginger grated if I have it)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup orange marmalade (don't leave this out!)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (use less if you don't like spicy!!)

1. In a wok or skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add beef strips 1/3 at a time. Stir-fry for 3 minutes or until browned, removing the done pieces to a plate lined with paper towels.
2. Return all the beef to the wok. Stir in red bell pepper strips, orange zest, garlic, and ginger; stir-fry 1 minute.
3. In a medium bowl, combine cornstarch, broth, soy sauce, marmalade, and red pepper. Pour this mixture into the beef, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook for 1 minute. Serve hot.

FRIED RICE
(Adapted from allrecipes.com)
Servings: 4


In the cookbook it was paired with "Fried Rice". I love it when side dishes are suggested...leaves me from using my brain too much. I think this was an easy and yummy recipe. I followed direction almost completely.

2 2/3 cups water
1 1/3 cups uncooked white rice
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 (10 ounce) package frozen green peas, thawed
2 green onions, chopped

1. In a saucepan bring water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, season eggs with salt and pepper.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in small frying pan, pour in eggs. Coat the bottom of the pan with the eggs, in order to cook them evenly; cook for about 3 minutes. Flip the eggs, cook one minute more and remove them to a cool surface. Let them cool, then cut them into thin slices. Set aside.
3. Place rice in skillet; break up any clumps and toss to coat with oil. Stir in soy sauce, peas, eggs and green onions. Stir and cook until heated through, approximately 3 minutes.

PW's Meatloaf

We are super lucky and have an awesome Meat Market in town (Owen's Meat). They have THE BEST ground beef ever!!! It's made completely from ground Roast, and has the best flavor and is so juicy delicious. We've made hamburgers with it several times and they are a perfect ten. So... I figured if meatloaf was ever going to taste good it was with this awesome Owen's ground beef. Plus, I think the Pioneer Woman's recipe is great to begin with it. I made it exactly like her recipe found here, BUT did NOT use BACON. I figured it wasn't necessary-b/c I wanted to taste the beef flavor more than bacon. Jeremy loved this, too, and we made sandwiches the next day with leftovers. seriously, good stuff. Will definitely make this again!

Meatloaf:
1 cup Milk
6 slices White Bread
2 pounds Ground Beef ( I recommend getting the BEST ground beef possible)
1 cup (heaping) Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
¼ teaspoons Seasoned Salt
¾ teaspoons Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
⅓ cups Minced Flat-leaf Parsley
4 whole Eggs Beaten

Ketchup Sauce:
1½ cup Ketchup
⅓ cups Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
Crystal Hot Sauce To Taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour milk over the bread slices. Allow it to soak in for several minutes.
2. Place the ground beef, milk-soaked bread, Parmesan, seasoned salt, salt, black pepper, and parsley in a large mixing bowl. Pour in beaten eggs.
3. With clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined. Form the mixture into a loaf shape on a broiler pan, which will allow the fat to drain. (Line the bottom of the pan with foil to avoid a big mess!)
4. Make the sauce: add ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and hot sauce in a mixing bowl. Stir together.
5. Pour 1/3 of the mixture over the top of the bacon. Spread with a spoon.
6. Bake for 45 minutes, then pour another 1/3 of the sauce over the top. Bake for another 15 -30 minutes.
7. Slice and serve with remaining sauce.

Serve with mashed potatoes. Yummy!

Chocolate Crackle Cookies (Lion House)

Whenever we have houseguest staying the night, it gives me a great excuse to bake! Jenny, Jeremy's sister, is a big chocolate fan, so I wanted to make these Chocolate Crinkle cookies I had flagged in my Lion House dessert cookbook a while ago. Come to find out, these are her favorite cookies! Score! I loved these. However, in the recipe it said to line cookie sheets with wax paper--this was a BIG no-no! The oven started to smoke with the first batch, and the cookies kinda became "glued" to the paper, if you will, and we had to scrape off. So the first batch was not the best, but we used parchment paper for the remaining two batches, and they turned out wonderful!! These are a great cookie to make, giving the classic (and loved) chocolate chip cookie a break.

(from the Lion House Desserts cookbook)

1/4 cup shortening (melted)
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup oil
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 to 1 cup powdered sugar
(I thought I'd also mention that in the Lion House recipe it mentions 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and/or 1/2 cup chocolate chips as optional- but I left it out.)

In a large mixing bowl, cream together shortening, cocoa, oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until well mixed. Add flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix well. Dough will be very sticky and almost runny. Refrigerate dough for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Drop and gently roll dough by tablespoonfuls in powdered sugar, being careful not to overhandle dough. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 9-10 minutes. Do not overbake.  : -)

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Louisiana Chicken Pasta with creamy cajun sauce

Chicken:
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons flour

Cajun Sauce:
1 tablespoon butter
1 small yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
3/4 small red onion, chopped
3 whole garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 1/4 pints whipping cream
1 cup low-salt chicken broth
4 tablespoons fresh basil, thinly sliced
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 package bow-tie pasta
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
salt and peper

Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add yellow and red bell peppers, mushrooms, and onion to same skillet and saute until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes.

Add minced garlic and crushed red pepper to skillet and saute 2 or 3 minutes.

Add whipping cream and chicken stock. Simmer until sauce re-heats and thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.

Add basil and 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese to sauce, stirring to incorporate. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low, simmer. Sauce will reduce and thicken.

Cook chicken:
Wash and drain chicken breasts. Pound until very thin, as thin or thinner then 1/4-inch thick (the thinner the chicken breasts the better).

Mix breadcrumbs, flour, and Parmesan cheese together. Place milk in dish for dipping.

Dip chicken in breadcrumb mixture and then in milk and then back in breadcrumbs.

Place in fry pan that the oil has been heated and fry at medium high temperature until golden, crisp, and cooked through. Add more oil as needed. Remove and drain chicken. Keep warm.

Meanwhile, cook bow-tie pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain and return to pot. Add sauce and toss to coat.

Place pasta with sauce on plate, and top with chicken breast. Serve, passing additional Parmesan separately.

(recipe found here. Servings: 6)

chicken tortilla soup with lots of veggies

Chicken Tortilla Soup (Similar to Cafe Rio)
This recipe is a cross between one in my Huntington Beach ward cookbook and "Our Best Bites"

2 cooked and cubed chicken breasts
3 T. olive oil
1 large sweet onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 stalks celery diced
2 or 3 handfuls of diced carrots
4-6 garlic cloves minced or pressed
48 ounce giant box of chicken broth
1 15-oz. can chopped or diced tomatoes
2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped (and seeded)
2-3 limes freshly juiced
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
dash of cumin
dash of red chili powder
dash of cayenne
2 flour tortillas, cut in small strips

TOPPINGS:
2-3 flour tortillas, plus oil for pan frying
Avocado
Grated Monterrey cheese
chopped cilantro
a few more slices of lime for individual squeezing :-)

While the chicken breast were boiling, that's when I chopped all the veggies.

In a large stockpot, heat some olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, bell pepper, celery, and carrot and saute 4 minutes. Add garlic and jalapeno and cook a few minutes more until pepper is softened and garlic is fragrant. Add chicken broth,  tomatoes, and seasonings and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for one hour.

While soup is simmering, juice the limes and set aside. Start preparing the toppings: grate the cheese, chop the cilantro, cut up avocado and fry tortillas.  Right before serving, add lime juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Ladle soup into the bowls and add desired toppings.

white chocolate peppermint fudge

My sister Jessica is pretty brilliant. For many reasons, but for the purpose of this post, because she created a spin-off of my late Great Aunt Lil's fudge that has been passed throughout my {Cajun} family for many, many years. Tradition in our family was to have this fudge every Christmas time {and also while watching/judging every Miss America/USA/Universe/etc pageant with my mom and sisters all growing up}. It's delicious, and it is my favorite. It has marshmallow cream, cream cheese, choc chips, peanut butter - and sugar & butter, too, of course! You can find the original recipe on my sister's blog in the middle of this post.

We were all together for Thanksgiving a few years ago and Jessica decided to experiment with the "base" of this fudge, and substitute the semi-sweet chocolate chips for white chocolate chips... and eliminate the peanut butter and instead add crushed candy canes and peppermint extract!! And this is what I'm talkin' 'bout!!! soooooo creamy good... and FESTIVE, too!!

Jessica's White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge

2 sticks of butter
12 oz. PET brand evaporated milk
4 cups sugar
7 oz. jar of marshmallow crème
8 oz. white chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli)
2 oz. Philadelphia cream cheese
1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
6 or so crushed/chunky candy canes

1. Cut and place parchment paper in pan and then butter.

2. Combine butter, evaporated milk, and sugar over high heat in a heavy-bottomed pot, stirring constantly, until it begins to boil. Lower the heat to medium and cook until the soft ball stage (its easiest to use a candy thermometer. Also I like to continue to stir during this part so that the bottom doesn't burn). In a large bowl, combine the marshmallow cream, chocolate chips and cream cheese and microwave for about a minute. Stir a few strokes by hand until slightly mixed together.

3. When the candy mixture reaches the soft ball stage, remove from heat and add the vanilla and also add the bowl’s contents to the pot and begin to beat with a mixer on high. Pour in the peppermint extract after a few seconds of mixing all the ingredients and then continue to beat until thick and creamy and it begins to lose its gloss. You can add some of the crushed candy canes into the mix or just save it for on top only. Pour into a buttered pan and then sprinkle the crushed candy cane on top immediately and let cool. After its completely cool you can cut into squares and get ready to serve. A pizza cutter actually works really well to cut the fudge. Enjoy!