Shrimp Cocktail

 You may poach the shrimp or bake them. I love the easy baked option. 

Poaching Liquid: 

    3 qt cold water

    1/4 onion, cliced

    1/2 lemon

    2 cloves garlic, peeled & bruised

    2 sprigs fresh tarragon

    1 Tab seafood seasoning (Old Bay)

    1 teas whole black peppercorns

    1 bay leaf

Stir together & simmer for 15 minutes. Then bring to boil & add 2 lbs shrimp until they are bright pink on the outside & meat is no longer transparent in the center, about 5 minutes. Transfer shrimp to a bowl of ice water & immerse in ice water until cold; drain. 

Baked Option: 

Clean shrimp well. Place in bowl & sprinkle with 

    Lemon infused olive oil

    kosher salt

    ground black pepper

    garlic powder

    Old Bay seasoning 

Allow to sit while oven heats to 325*

Line shrimp on cookie sheet lined with foil or parchment paper. 

Bake for 8 minutes, take them out & chill. May be baked the day before. The texture is perfect. 

NOTE: if the shrimp take the shape of "C" they are cooked. If they become the letter "O" you have overcooked them. 

Cocktail Sauce: 

    1/2 c ketchup

    1/4 c chili sauce (in short red jar, not Asian sweet chili sauce)

    1/4 c prepared horseradish or less as this was mighty spicey

    1 teas lemon juice

    1 teas Worcestershire sauce

    3 drops hot sauce

    1 pinch salt

Shrimp:

    2 pounds shelled with tail on deveined jumbo shrimp

Cheesecake - Kara Helland

Crust - Press into 9x13 or cheesecake pan

    8 Tab butter melted

    1/3 c sugar

    1 teas cinnamon

    18 graham crackers- crushed

Filling -  

    1 Tab sour cream

    3 -8oz cream cheese - room temp

    1 c sugar

    3 eggs

    1 teas vanilla

Beat until very smooth & pour over crust.

Bake 350* for 25-30 min

Topping

    1 pint sour cream

    6-8 Tab sugar

Mix & spoon over top of hot cheesecake. 

Bake 10-15 more. 

  

Cashew Shrimp Recipe over rice. So yummy!

 

Yield: 4 servings

 

Prep Time: 15minutes mins

Cook Time: 5minutes mins

Total Time: 20minutes mins

Cashew shrimp is a sweet, sticky, and totally delicious recipe. Skip the takeout and make this easy dinner at home instead! Ingredients

Cashew Shrimp

• 1 ½ lb medium-sized shelled shrimp
• ¼ cup tapioca starch, can sub cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons oil, we like avocado oil
• ¾ cup cashews, toasted (see notes)
• Sesame seeds and minced cilantro, to serve

Cashew Shrimp Sauce

• 1 teaspoon tapioca starch
• ¾ cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
• ⅓ cup hoisin sauce, gluten-free, if needed. homemade for refined sugar-free
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce, gluten-free or coco aminos, as needed
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, can sub white vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon finely minced ginger

Instructions 

• Place the shrimp and starch in a medium-sized bowl and toss to combine.
  1 ½ lb medium-sized shelled shrimp,¼ cup tapioca starch
• Make the sauce next. In another bowl or large measuring cup, combine the tapioca starch with a small splash of the stock. Mix well then add all the remaining sauce ingredients.
  1 teaspoon tapioca starch,¾ cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock,⅓ cup hoisin sauce,2 tablespoons honey,1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce,1 tablespoon rice vinegar,2 cloves garlic,1 teaspoon finely minced ginger
• Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp to the pan in a single layer. Work in 2 batches, if needed. Cook the shrimp for 1 minute then flip it over and cook for 1 minute more.
  2 tablespoons oil
• Pour the sauce into the pan and stir until it has thickened, about 1 minute. Stir in the cashews and serve with some sesame seeds and minced cilantro over the top.
  ¾ cup cashews,Sesame seeds and minced cilantro

Notes

If you have raw cashews on hand you can toast them for 7-8 minutes in a 350-degree oven. Remove them once they are golden and smell fragrant.

Oven Baked Chicken Breast

  My tips for a truly juicy, Oven Baked Chicken Breast: a touch of brown sugar in the seasoning which makes the chicken sweat while it bakes so it creates a semi "sauce", and cooking fast on a high temp! Go by the colour of the crust to know when it's cooked through. 

Prep Time5minutes mins

Cook Time18minutes mins

Total Time23minutes mins

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts , 150 - 180g / 5 - 6 oz each (Note 1)
• 2 tsp olive oil

Seasoning:

• 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano or thyme , or other herb of choice
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp lemon pepper mix 

Garnish, optional:

• Finely chopped parsley

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425°F/220°C (200°C fan).
• Pound chicken to 1.5cm / 0.6" at the thickest part - using a rolling pin, meat mallet or even your fist (key tip for even cooking + tender chicken).
• Mix Seasoning.
• Line tray with foil and baking / parchment paper. Place chicken upside down on tray. Drizzle chicken with about 1 tsp oil. Rub over with fingers. Sprinkle with Seasoning.
• Flip chicken. Drizzle with 1 tsp oil, rub with fingers, sprinkle with Seasoning, covering as much of the surface area as you can.
• Bake 18 minutes, or until surface is golden per photos and video, or internal temperature is 165°F/75°C using a meat thermometer.
• Remove from oven and immediately transfer chicken to serving plates.
• Wait 3 - 5 minutes before serving, garnished with freshly chopped parsley if desired. Pictured with a side of Garlic Butter Rice with Kale.

Notes

1. If your breast is quite large eg 250g / 8oz+ each, cut them in half horizontally to form 2 thin steaks and skip the pounding. Make sure they are no thicker than 1.5cm / 0.6" thick at the thickest point - if they are, pound using fist.

This can also be made with thigh fillets (boneless, skinless). Follow the recipe but cook for 25 minutes for small / medium thighs and 30 minutes for larger ones.

Yummy Creamy Beans

These creamy beans are delicious.

2 cups dried beans rinsed and sorted. I like the Mayocoba beans

Soak in water with a 1/2 lemon or lime juice for 20 min.  Drain

Put olive oil in bottom of instapot & 3-4 minced garlic cloves. Fry until tender.

Add beans to garlic. 

Then add:

 1 whole potato

1 whole tomato 

1 whole onion

2 bay leaves

Cover with water and cook in instapot for 30-50 minutes until tender. 

Remove onion, potato, tomato & a few beans to blender and blend until smooth. 

Return to bean pot and squeeze 1/2 orange into pot. 

Add salt 

Serve

Reeses Peanut Butter bites

 

These taste just like Reeses Peanut Butter Cups AND they are SO EASY!!! 

Peanut Butter Bars

Prep Time: 30minutes mins

Chilling Time: 8hours hrs

Total Time: 8hours hrs 30minutes mins

Serves 16

These no-bake chocolate peanut butter bars taste even better than peanut butter cups! Made with just 5 ingredients, they're an easy, delicious treat.

Ingredients

• 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs, 6 ounces, from about 8 full graham cracker sheets
• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
• ½ cup salted butter, 1 stick, melted, plus more for the pan
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter, plus 2 tablespoons for the chocolate layer
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

• Grease an 8x8-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs and powdered sugar. Add the melted butter and 1 cup peanut butter and mix until well combined.
• Use your hands to evenly press the peanut butter mixture into the prepared pan.
• In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips and the remaining 2 tablespoons peanut butter. Microwave on high, stirring every 20 seconds, until the mixture is smooth. Evenly spread over the peanut butter layer.
• Refrigerate the bars overnight, or until the chocolate is firm and the peanut butter layer is fully set. The chocolate will set up sooner, but the peanut butter layer requires a full overnight chill. Slice and serve.

Notes

Store leftover bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

NYT Slow Cooker Chipotle-Honey Chicken Tacos

 https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019693-slow-cooker-chipotle-honey-chicken-tacos

INGREDIENTS

Yield: 4 servings

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs

3 Tab honey

1 teas onion powder

1 teas garlic powder

1/2 teas ground cumin

1 teas kosher salt

1-4 chipotles from a can of chipotles in adobo, finely choppped plus 2 Tab adobo sauce

1 15oz can black beans, rinsed & drained

Juice of 1 lime

Warmed tortillas for serving

Pickled onion for serving

Sliced or cubed avocado for serving

______________________

PREPARATION

Combine chicken, honey, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt & chipotle chiles & adobo sauce in slow cooker. Stir well. Copopk for at least 3 -5 hours on low. 

Shred chicken with forks. Stir in the black beans & lime juice. Cover and let the beans warm through for about 5 minutes. Taste and add more salt or lime juice if necessary.  Serve in tortillas with pickled onion & avocado. 

** This chicken is a great meat for Cafe Rio style meal buffet. 

TIP

Pickled onions

Thinly slice a red onion & put into container. Boil 1 1/2 c cider or white vinegar. Add 3 heaping spoonfuls of sugar and a big pinch of salt. Stir to dissolve. (Optional pinch of red-pepper flakes, a bay leaf or some dried oregano. )

Pour hot vinegar over the onions & let cool.  They are ready to serve & will last 2 weeks in the fridge.