Shrimp Spring Rolls

We first made these at the beach a few years ago with Clay's parents, and since then, they've become one of our "go-to" quick meals. They are tasty, healthy, and really easy to make!

 

      Ingredients:
      Rice Paper
      Cooked Shrimp, peeled
      Cucumber
      Red or Orange Pepper
      Carrots
      Lettuce
      Sweet Red Chile Sauce (for dipping)

*The amounts of each ingredient can vary depending on how many spring rolls you want to make, and can be adjusted to your liking.

Chop all veggie ingredients matchstick style, and roughly chop shrimp. Lay out all of these ingredients so they are easily accessible.

Fill a dish large enough to fit the rice paper sheets with about 1/2 inch water (I used a pie dish). Set up water dish, clean cutting board, and veggies/shrimp in a line so you can easily move from one step to the next.

Immerse and soak one sheet of the rice paper in the water, for about 2 seconds. The rice paper is very fragile, so remove it carefully and lay flat on the clean cutting board. 

Arrange shrimp and veggies in the middle of the rice paper, and fold in half. Then fold in sides, make sure everything is tightly wrapped, and roll up.

 

Cut each spring roll in half, if desired. Arrange on a plate and serve with Sweet Red Chile Sauce. Peanut sauce is also really good with these!

Reese's Ice Cream Cake

When my sister Kristen told me she was going to have a get-together for her boyfriend Scott's birthday, my first question was "what can I bring?" She mentioned dessert, and that Scott's favorite was anything with peanut butter and chocolate. Right away, ice cream cake popped into my mind. I started researching different recipes for frozen peanut butter and chocolate treats. The result was a combination of several different ideas I found online and a few ideas of my own....and it was tasty!

Ingredients:
1 box plain brownie mix (plus necessary ingredients)
I container Reese's Peanut Butter Cup ice cream
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup powdered sugar
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Minis
Reese's Pieces

To start, mix the brownie ingredients and bake according to the package instructions. I used a 9-inch spring form pan to make the circular cake. Once you remove it from the oven, let it cool completely, and then place in the freezer for at least two hours. You want the brownie to be nice and cold when you add the ice cream to keep it from melting too fast.

When the brownie is frozen, remove from freezer, and remove outer piece of spring form pan so you are left with just the brownie on the base. Cut a piece of wax paper long enough to go entirely around the cake.Wrap it tightly around the cake, and secure with a piece of tape.

Microwave the ice cream in 15-second time increments to soften it and make it easy to spread. Spread over brownie within your wax paper wall. Smooth out as best you can. I then cut the wax paper down to make it easier to fit in the freezer (next time I would do this before adding the ice cream to make it easier to spread). Place back in the freezer, again for at least two hours to ensure the ice cream is completely refrozen.

When you are ready to add the icing, mix the whipping cream, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar using an electric mixer until mixture forms stiff peaks.

Take the cake out of the freezer and remove the wax paper. Remove the cake from the spring form pan base, and place on a cutting board/plate that will fit in your freezer. Ice the cake completely, beginning with the edges. Try to do it as quickly as you can to minimize the melting of the ice cream. Once you've iced the cake, place it back in the freezer for at least (you guessed it) two more hours. I left it in overnight. (The best things are worth waiting for, right?)

Once the icing is frozen, remove the cake from the freezer. Begin to decorate by adding the mini peanut butter cups around the edge of the top of the cake.

Fill in the center with the Reese's Pieces. And you're done!

YUM!

A Classic Fresh Sandwich

I was recently reminded how much I love a good Caprese sandwich. I don't eat them often, and every time I do, I wonder why that is, because they are so delicious, and so easy to make!

Traditionally, the ingredients include:
Fococcia
Fresh tomatoes, sliced
Fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
Fresh basil
Balsamic vinaigrette


To spruce it up a bit, I also added:
Minced bottled garlic
Fresh rosemary

To make the sandwich,

1. Spread a little bit of the bottled minced garlic on each slice of bread.

2. Slice tomato and arrange on the bread

3. Arrange the basil over the tomato slices

4. Arrange the mozzarella over the basil and tomatoes


5. I added rosemary on top of the mozzarella, but this step can be left out if you'd like.

6. Drizzle balsamic vinaigrette over the sandwich and top sandwich with other half of bread.

7. If you have one, place the sandwich in a panini press. If you don't have a panini press you can toast it open-faced in the oven or toaster oven to melt the cheese. Keep in panini press/oven until cheese is melted. Slice sandwich in half, and enjoy!

Even Chance wanted a bite!

Chili Shrimp and Coconut Risotto

This tasty dish was adapted from a Real Simple recipe (found here). I made a few changes to the original recipe though, adding and changing some ingredients, as well as making only two servings instead of four (though I didn't cut all ingredients in half). This one is YUMMY.

Here's how I made it:

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 lb large shrimp, peeled & deveined (next time I'll probably use 3/4 lb)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped mushrooms

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce (use a little less if you're not a big fan of spicy food)

1 14-oz can coconut milk (I used low fat)

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup dry arborio rice

1/2 cup bean sprouts

1 scallion, thinly sliced

1/2 tablespoon lime juice

Fresh basil leaves

Chili Powder

 Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, shrimp, onion, mushrooms, and salt. Cook until the shrimp is cooked through and the onions are soft. Remove the shrimp mixture from the pan and set aside. I cooked these separately, mainly because I decided to add the mushrooms and onions after I had already cooked the shrimp, but I think it would be fine to cook them together.

 Add the chili garlic sauce and coconut milk to the pan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, and reduced by half (about 5 minutes). Pour into a liquid measuring cup (with a pour spout - should yield about 1 1/2 cups).

Add arborio rice and 1/2 cup chicken broth to the pan. Stir rice and broth until liquid is absorbed, and then continue to add liquid in 1/2 cup increments, alternating between the coconut milk mixture and the broth.

** Tip: You may not end up needing the last 1/2 cup of the coconut mixture. I used all of it and it tasted good, but was very rich. Give it a quick taste before adding the last half cup just to be sure. Also, even the low fat coconut milk is still somewhat high in fat, so if you're trying to keep the recipe lower fat, you may want to leave the last half cup out. If the rice isn't all the way done, you can always add more chicken broth.

When the rice is almost done, add in the bean sprouts, scallion, lime juice, and shrimp/onion/mush-room mixture. Cook until heated through (a few minutes).

Lastly, sprinkle a little bit of chili powder on top and garnish with basil leaves. I actually put a few in with the mixture as well. 

Peach and Brie Quesadillas

I saw this recipe online (here) and it caught my eye. It was a little bit different than the types of recipes I would usually be drawn to, but it was definitely worth stepping out of the box - delicious!

There are only a few ingredients, so it was really easy and fast to prepare. I followed the recipe exactly and have just a few comments:

1. Try to find peaches that haven't quite reached their peak ripeness yet to avoid having them get a little mushy.
2. Put about twice as much of the peach mixture and a little bit more brie inside of each quesadilla to make sure each bite includes all of the flavors.
3. These were great as I made them, but would also probably be good with grilled chicken or shrimp.
4. The Honey Lime dipping sauce really does bring the whole dish together; a great combination of sweet and savory.

All in all, I will definitely be making these again!

Cake Balls

I had never heard of these until several months ago when a friend made them for a weekend trip, but it seems that they have become quite popular recently. They are super yummy, and so easy to make. If you google "cake balls recipe," you will probably find pages and pages of recipes. Some may vary slightly, but they all have three staple ingredients:

Cake Mix
One container pre-made frosting
Candy Melts

I bought the candy melts at Michael's in their cake decorating section. They come in lots of different colors and several flavors. I bought the plain "candy" flavor, and mint chocolate, because I just couldn't resist.

To make them, bake the cake according to the cake mix directions. I just used a plain yellow cake. After it has cooled, break it up into small pieces in a big bowl.

 Then, mix in the frosting. (I used chocolate.) After mixing in the frosting, I put the mixture in the fridge for a few hours to harden it up a little bit to make it easier to mold.






Form the cake and frosting mixture into about 1-inch balls.









Melt the candy melts in a bowl in the microwave, according to the package directions. Dip the cake balls into the melted candy coating and place them on a sheet of wax paper. (I used two toothpicks to help remove the cake from the bowl to minimize imperfections in the coating, then just covered up the any small marks left by the toothpicks.)

Let them cool completely. And voila! Delicious bite-sized treats at your fingertips! (Beware...these are dangerous!)



Now that I have the basics down, next time I make these I'll probably play around with the flavors a little bit more. You can make them in so many different ways - flavor combinations, colors, themes for holidays, events, etc. The possibilities are endless!

Green Bean Bundles

This past weekend, Clay returned home after being in Florida for a month for work. Living out of a hotel room doesn't exactly lend itself to gourmet meals, so I wanted to make him a delicious dinner to celebrate his homecoming. On the menu was: filet mignon with a garlic and herb rub, brie mashed potatoes, and green bean bundles.

Green bean bundles have been a favorite in my family for years. They are really easy to make, and always a crowd pleaser!

 Ingredients:

3 lbs fresh green beans

8 strips of bacon, cut in half

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Steam green beans until crisp-tender. Gather about 8 or so beans together in a bundle, and wrap with a piece of bacon. Place bundle in a baking dish, and repeat with remaining beans and bacon (should make about 16 bundles)

 

 Mix brown sugar, butter, soy sauce, and garlic powder. Pour over bundles.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Serve two bundles per person.

Here we go...

I've decided to start a blog... 

This is probably one of the last statements I ever thought would be coming from me. While I've always loved cooking and sharing recipe finds with family and friends, the thought of starting a blog never crossed my mind...until recently. I'll be the first to admit that I'm by no means a professional chef or recipe creator. What I am is just a regular girl who loves to have fun in the kitchen trying new recipes (and of course indulging in old favorites from time to time), sometimes adding my own little twists to make them even more yummy. Lucky for me, my wonderful husband also enjoys cooking, so I'm sure we'll be sharing some of our joint kitchen adventures too!

So here we go...I'm giving this blog thing a whirl. Hope you enjoy it!