Easy Shrimp Scampi with Pasta

I had a goal to post more recipes this month than last month. But it's almost the end of May, and this is only my second posting for the month (and my first one wasn't even a recipe, it was a recipe round-up). I ended up having a lot going on in the beginning of the month. I had to finish all of my student teaching assignments and complete an online portfolio with artifacts that demonstrate my knowledge on certain teaching standards, with reflections. Then I had to prepare for an exit conference with my supervisor, mentor teacher, and the director of the education program I am enrolled in. Sounds intimidating, right? Well, I was super worried and stressed about it, but it went very smoothly. I am so happy to have it over with, and I'm also really happy that my summer vacation is just around the corner. Greg and I were talking the other day about comfort foods. He said that there are so many comfort foods we eat during the cooler weather, like hearty soups, but not many foods that are good for the soul in the spring and summer. I told him maybe shrimp scampi was a warmer weather comfort food, and he asked me to make some. I realized I had actually never made shrimp scampi before, and I was excited to find out that all the recipes looked super easy (so it is kind of funny that I call this easy shrimp scampi, because I'm not sure there are any tricky shrimp scampi recipes out there). This meal was made in less than 15 minutes and tasted great. I loved it because I have been really cutting the carbs out of my diet recently, so I just had the shrimp with a sprinkle of Panko bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese, and Greg enjoyed the shrimp and pasta. It was a nice change from all the grilled chicken I have been eating lately. If you are looking for an easy meal that is refreshing and satisfying, try this easy shrimp scampi over pasta! Enjoy.

Recipe for Easy Shrimp Scampi with Pasta

INGREDIENTS:
8 ounces of uncooked linguine or spaghetti noodles (I used Dreamfields pasta)
3 Tbsp. of unsalted butter
1 pound of frozen medium shrimp, thawed, deveined, and peeled
1/2 - 3/4 tsp. of crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup of dry white wine or chicken stock
Zest of one lemon 
1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice (about one lemon)
A pinch or two of kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. of chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Panko bread crumbs, if desired

DIRECTIONS: 
Cook the pasta according to package directions. When it is finished cooking, drain in a colander.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the shrimp scampi. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-heat. Once it is melted, add in the shrimp, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the shrimp is pink (about 3 minutes). Then add in the wine or chicken stock and the lemon juice. Sprinkle on the salt and pepper. Give it a stir, then adjust the heat to medium-low and bring to a simmer. Once it comes to a simmer, remove from heat. Carefully add in the drained pasta, lemon zest, and parsley and toss.

Serve immediately. Top each serving with Parmesan cheese and Panko bread crumbs, if desired.

Makes approximately 4 servings. 

Recipe Adapted from: Damn Delicious, originally from Closet Cooking

Baby Arugula Salad with a Lemon Honey Dressing

Spring is finally here! I no longer crave soups or other hearty foods. I am happy eating salads, fruits, and lots of veggies. My favorite snack the past few days has been toasted bread with homemade truffle butter (butter is so easy to make - put heavy cream in the food processor for several minutes and you have your own butter) topped with sliced radishes and fresh thyme. So yummy! I paired the open-faced sandwich with this tasty salad. This salad taste like spring time. It is crisp, sweet, and refreshing. I truly felt feelings of euphoria come over me as I ate it. Is that weird? Maybe it is, but it is true. Greg was pretty impressed with this salad too. I originally was going to use dried figs on it, but since I could find them, I chose to use a little bit of chopped radish instead. It was the perfect amount of crisp and the flavor paired nicely with the arugula. I also topped the salad with the yummy cinnamon spiced almonds (that are made without any egg white) and goat cheese. I was going to use blue cheese but Greg seriously despises blue cheese, so I went with the goat. I think it worked well. If you are looking for a pretty good brand of goat cheese that doesn't cost too much money, I'd recommend the Vermont Creamery brand. I used radishes from Wegman's that were already washed and prepared, which made things much easier. For the dressing, I just mixed up some lemon juice, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper. So simple and so delicious.

If you want a yummy salad for lunch or just looking for a tasty salad to compliment a meal, try this baby arugula salad with lemon honey dressing. Enjoy!

Recipe for Baby Arugula Salad with a Lemon Honey Dressing

INGREDIENTS: 
3 cups of baby arugula leaves
About 20 cinnamon spiced almonds
Thinly sliced radishes cut into quarters (about one radish)
2 ounces of crumbled goat cheese (I used the Vermont Creamery brand)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 Tbsp. of extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. of honey
A couple grinds of sea salt
Several grinds of freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Divide the baby arugula leaves amongst two plates. Then top each with the almonds, radishes, and goat cheese.

Prepare the dressing. Put the lemon juice, olive oil, and honey into a smallish bowl. Stir well until the honey is no longer thick and well incorporated. Sprinkle in the salt and pepper. Taste and adjust as desired. Spoon half the dressing over one salad and half over the other.

-Original Recipe-
Recipe makes 2 salads.

Lemon Basil Sorbet

Last week I broke out my ice cream maker, which I haven't used since last Fall. The last time I made ice cream was when I made pumpkin ice cream during the warmer days in October. I made strawberry ice cream last week, and since I made it, I've been dreaming up other fun ice cream recipes. When Greg and I went to St. Michaels this past weekend, we dined at a restaurant called 208 Talbot. The food we ate there was amazing! We must have been seated just around the same time as the tables next to us, because I practically had the dinner and dessert specials memorized. One dessert menu item was mojito sorbet, which peaked my interest. The server said it had no alcohol, it cleansed the palate, and that it was very refreshing. Although we didn't order any dessert, I couldn't stop thinking about that sorbet. I wanted to make a refreshing sorbet! Well, since I had an abundance of lemons for once and since we have basil growing in the garden, I made a lemon basil sorbet. I based the recipe on the bubbly basil lemonade that I made for the first time last summer. It was super delicious, and it was refreshing! It's tart and sweet and a little creamy and pretty incredible. I made it Wednesday afternoon and my friend, Greg, and I ate it so quickly that I had to make another batch again yesterday. I'm excited to share this recipe & I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. And I definitely will be trying to create a mojito sorbet recipe too in the coming weeks!

Recipe for Lemon Basil Sorbet

INGREDIENTS:

Basil Simple Syrup (recipe to follow)

10 ounces of freshly squeezed lemon juice (use a citrus squeezer)

1/3 cup of heavy cream

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, mix together the lemon juice, basil simple syrup, and heavy cream. Mix well. Cover the bowl with a lid in put into the fridge for 30 - 45 minutes. 

Once mixture is cold, add it into an ice cream maker and make according to ice cream maker manufacturer directions (it should take about 20 - 25 minutes). For a softer sorbet, serve immediately. If you prefer a more frozen sorbet, put in an airtight container and store in freezer for a couple hours before serving. 

For the Basil Simple Syrup:

Add 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, and 3/4 cup of fresh basil leaves (washed and stems removed) to a small saucepan. Put the saucepan over medium high heat. Stir mixture almost constantly until all the sugar is dissolved and bring to a heavy simmer. Allow it to simmer for about a minute, continuing to stir. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. When cool enough to handle, pour over a container into a fine mesh sieve. Press down on the basil leaves to try to extract the most flavor and then discard the basil leaves. Put lid on container and store in fridge for at least an hour before you make the sorbet.

Makes 4 - 6 servings

And remember, I'm also running a GIVEAWAY to celebrate my Blogiversary. Click here for your chance to win! 

Lemon Bar Blondies

I ate this lemon bar blondie for dinner last night, and I am totally okay with it. Do you support "dessert for dinner?" I know I totally do! It was a pretty low calorie dinner too, since each lemon bar is only 200 - 250 calories (depending on whether or not you cut 9 or 12 squares). I think I'm going to eat dessert for dinner more often. Oh yeah, and it's healthy, because lemons have Vitamin C, Vitamin A, and Vitamin B5!

I made these lemon bar blondies last weekend. My parents came down for dinner (well actually, my mom made dinner and brought it to my house), and I wanted to make a dessert for my dad's birthday. At first I thought I'd make a cheesecake, but then I realized I didn't have anything for a crust. Then I decided that I wanted to make lemon bars...but that also required a crust that I couldn't make. What was I to do? I searched the web for easy lemony desserts, and I came across this tasty and delicious recipe.

The combination of zesty and sweet in this dessert is awesome. The lemon bar blondies are the perfect dessert (or dinner) - they aren't too rich or sinful but they definitely hit the spot. Enjoy!

Recipe for Lemon Bar Blondies 

INGREDIENTS:
1 stick of butter, softened at room temperature

3/4 cup of granulated sugar
2 eggs

2 Tbsp. of freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup of flour, sifted
2 tsp. of cream
1 1/2 tsp. of lemon zest

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter the bottom and sides of an 8 x 8 baking pan. Put the butter and sugar in a large bowl and use an electric hand mixer to beat on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy (about 3 minutes). Add in the eggs and mix well. Add in the 2 Tbsp. of lemon juice and mix. Stir in the flour and set the hand mixer on low speed to mix the flour in until it is fully incorporated. Use a spoon to stir in the lemon zest and cream. Carefully pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread so it is evenly distributed. Place in the oven and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the edges are slightly browned. Once they are finished cooking, remove from oven and cool completely.

For the lemon glaze
INGREDIENTS:
2 Tbsp. of butter
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. of freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon

DIRECTIONS:
Put the butter into a small saucepan and set it over medium-low heat. Once the butter is completely melted, take off heat and immediately stir in the powdered sugar. Stir quickly, then pour in the lemon juice. Stir until it is completely smooth, adding more lemon juice if needed. Pour the hot glaze over the completely cooled lemon bars. While the glaze is still warm, zest 1 lemon over it, allowing the lemon zest to fall on top of the glaze. Cover the pan with foil and place in the fridge until the glaze hardens. Once the glaze has hardened, the lemon bars can be cut into 9 or 12 squares.

Recipe Adapted from: Ashely Marie's Kitchen
Each lemon bar blondie has approximately 200 - 250 calories.