Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta

Another great recipe adapted from Cooking Light.  I recommend getting your lemon zest and juice ready and mincing your garlic before you start anything else.  Also mix together the corn starch and water and have it handy so you can just throw them in when it’s time without stopping the whole process.

• 8 ounces uncooked Farfalle pasta
• 12 ounce bag frozen baby broccoli florets
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (I like to take the tails off too)
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 10 garlic cloves, minced
• 2/4 cup chicken stock
• 1 Tablespoon water
• 2 teaspoons corn starch
• Grated rind of one lemon
• 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (NOT the powdery stuff!!)

1.  Cook pasta according to package directions.  While it’s cooking, microwave broccoli according to package directions.  Drain both and toss together.

2.  Heat a large, non-stick skillet over high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Add shrimp; cook 2 minutes on each side.  Remove shrimp from pan. 

3.  Heat the same pan over medium-low heat.  Add butter and oil; swirl to coat.  Add garlic; saute 1 minute.  Add stock; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.  Combine 1 tablespoon water and cornstarch in a small bowl.  Stir cornstarch mixture into stock mixture; cook 1 minutes, tossing to coat.  Stir in lemon juice.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and lemon zest.

Makes 4 servings.

Proscuitto Stuffed Chicken with Polenta

The original version of this recipe come from Cooking Light.  I made modifications because it’s the dead of winter in Nebraska and I do not have fresh herbs.  I also subbed onion for the shallots the recipe called for because that’s what I had.  As for the polenta:  I looked high and low through my grocery story and couldn’t find any so I googled it and found an article that said corn meal is the same thing and I already had plenty of that, so yay me!

This was so, so good.  Good enough that we were half way through dinner before I thought to take a picture so I’m borrowing this one from Cooking Light until the next time I make it - which will be soon!

• Chicken and gravy:
• 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 very thin prosciutto slices (about 1/2 ounce), halved
• 4 (2/3-ounce) slices reduced-fat provolone cheese
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons finely diced onion
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson), divided
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
• Polenta:
• 2 cups 1% low-fat milk 
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 cup corn meal
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1. 1. To prepare chicken, cut each breast horizontally to, but not through, the other side to create a pocket. Lift top flap of chicken pocket; arrange 1/2 prosciutto slice in each pocket. Top each prosciutto slice with 1 cheese slice; press top flap of pocket down over filling. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Sprinkle chicken with pepper. Add chicken to pan, top side down; sauté 5 minutes or until deeply browned. Turn and cook 4 minutes or until done.   (At this point, my chicken breasts were still pink in the middle, so I put them in a 400 degree oven while I made the rest of dinner (about 10 minutes) and that was perfect.)  Remove from pan; keep warm.
2. Add diced onion and thyme to pan; sauté 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Combine 2 tablespoons stock and flour in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture and remaining stock to pan. Bring to a boil; cook 3 minutes or until reduced to 3/4 cup, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Remove from heat; stir in butter, parsley, and ttarragon.
3. To prepare polenta, bring milk and 1/3 cup water to a simmer. Gradually add corn meal, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook 3 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt. Serve polenta with chicken and gravy.

Campfire Scones

I do not have any musical gifts, but I’ve been wanting to participate in the worship ministry at our church that Rich loves so much.  One of the things I do do well is baking, so the last couple of times Rich has played I’ve made pastries for him to take to feed the team on Sunday morning.  When I saw this recipe in the paper the other day I knew it would be perfect.  YUM-MY!  The whole wheat flour and cinnamon give a graham flavor that make this a great interpretation of s’mores.

One note:  you really, really want to line your baking sheet with parchment paper or the melted marshmallows will make an impossible mess on your pan.

Time: 1 hour, plus overnight freezing time for the dough. Makes 10 to 12 scones

• 3 1/3 cups (14.1 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup (1.4 ounces) whole wheat flour
• 4 teaspoons (.7 ounces) baking powder
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ cup (1.75 ounces) sugar
• Pinch of salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into cubes
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1½ cups whole milk, plus ¼ cup for brushing, divided 
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1 cup mini marshmallows, plus extra for dotting the tops of the scones, if desired
• Cinnamon sugar, for sprinkling

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat together the all-purpose and wheat flours, cinnamon, sugar and salt. Add the cold butter and mix at the lowest speed until the butter is reduced to the size of peas.

**I am leery of cutting in butter with a mixer so I did this by hand with a pastry cutter and then blended in the rest by hand with a fat, curved silicone spatula.  I’m leaving the original instructions in case you are braver than I.

Combine the honey and 1½ cups heavy cream and, with the mixer on low speed, slowly pour into the flour and butter mixture. Mix until just blended. The dough will look lumpy, and there should still be bits of butter visible in the dough. Combine the chocolate chips and marshmallows, add to the dough, and mix on low speed just until incorporated.

Place the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead it into a ball.   Using your hand or a rolling pin, pat the dough into a rectangle, 3/4 thick. You should see small bits of butter in the dough. Cut the rectangle into 12 squares.

Place the scones on a baking pan lined with parchment paper.  Freeze the dough overnight after they’re cut; the scones can be prepared up to this point and frozen for up to 2 weeks before baking (wrap the scones well if freezing for an extended period of time to prevent freezer burn).

Heat the oven to 375 F. Brush the frozen scones with the remaining milk and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake until puffed and set and the tops are a rich golden brown, 25 to 35 minutes. If adding extra marshmallows to the top, sprinkle them over the scones halfway to two-thirds of the way as they bake so the marshmallows brown slightly (the extra marshmallows may deflate a bit once they come out of the oven).

Cool the scones on a rack before serving.

Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake with Lemon Glaze

The other day I tweaked the recipe for my favorite pound cake to include lemon and blueberries.  It was so, so good.  I was afraid to add lemon juice directly to the batter because I was afraid the acid would screw up the chemistry of the cake.  The zest and extract give the cake a subtle lemon flavor and the juice in the glaze makes it about perfect in my book.
2 cups unsalted butter, softened

(Do not even THINK about using margarine here.  I cannot be responsible for the results if you do!)

3 cups white sugar

6 eggs

Grated zest of 2 lemons

1/2-3/4 teaspoon lemon extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream

2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

Lemon Glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

3 1/2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan or 9 inch tube pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and white sugar until smooth.  I really take a long time at this stage.  Just let the mixer go for a while.  You’ll be glad you did.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each then stir in the lemon zest, lemon extract and vanilla. 
4. Combine the flour baking soda,  and salt.  Mix into the batter just until smooth.  Stir in sour cream and then fold in the blueberries
5. Spoon batter into the prepared pan, and spread evenly.
6. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until the cake starts to pull away from the sides and toothpick comes out clean.  Cool in pan for at least 10 minutes before inverting onto cooling rack.
7. When cool, combine powdered sugar and lemon juice to make a glaze.  
8. Set cake on cooling rack over a large plate.  Slowly spoon glaze over cake.  Excess will drip onto the plate.  
9. Pour excess glaze back into bowl and repeat until you don’t have enough to scrape back into the bowl.

Refried Beans in a Slow Cooker

You’ll need a 6 quart slow cooker (Crock Pot) for this recipe, or cut it in half for a smaller pot.  If you’d like fat free refried beans, leave out the lard.  Just throw the raw onion pepper and garlic in the pot with the beans and cook as directed.  The result won’t be quite as creamy, but will taste just as good.

• 8 cloves Fresh Garlic, minced
• 2 medium Onion, chopped
• 2 Jalapeno, seeded and chopped
• 4 tablespoons Lard
• 6 cups Dried Pinto Beans
• 1/2 teaspoon Cumin
• 1 Tablespoon black pepper
• 4 teaspoons Kosher Salt
• Water

1)  In a 10 inch skillet heat 4 tablespoons of lard on medium heat. Once hot add the chopped onion, jalapeno. Sauté for about 8 to 10 minutes until soft. Add minced garlic and cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat.

2) Rinse the dried pinto beans sort through them to remove anything suspicious looking. Add the beans, cumin, salt, pepper and sautéed vegetables to your slow cooker. Pour in enough water to reach about 1/2 inch from the top of the pot.  Cover and cook on High for 8 hours, undisturbed.

3) After the 8 hours, (I cook mine on high for 6 hours and then turn it to low for the last two) remove and drain the beans with their liquid into a colander set into a large bowl. Transfer the beans to a clean bowl and use a potato masher to mash.  If you like a creamier beans, you can use an immersion blender but I don’t have one and prefer the “rustic” product anyway.  As you’re mashing, you can add in some of the cooking liquid until you get the desired consistency.

These freeze well!