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.

Rocky Mountain Beef Brisket with Barbecue Sauce

Adapted from Don’t Panic… It’s In The Freezer

Yield: 12-14 servings

Rub:

•  1 Tablespoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon pepper
• 2 teaspoons crushed bay leaves
• 1/4 cup Liquid Smoke
• 8 pounds beef brisket

 Barbecue Sauce:

• 6 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 - 14 ounce bottles catsup
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup Liquid Smoke
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tablespoons dry mustard
• 4 teaspoons celery seed
• 1 1/2 sticks butter
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1) Combine salt, pepper, chili powder and bay leaves.  Rub meat completely with Liquid Smoke.  Place meat, fat side up, in a large roasting pan.  Sprinkle dry seasoning mixture on top.  Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.

2) Bake, covered, at 300 for about five hours.  Scrape seasoning and fat off meat and cut in very thin slices across the grain or shred with 2 forks.

3)  Combine all the sauce ingredients.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Cook for 10 minutes.  Pour sauce over meat and mix well to distribute sauce evenly.  

Serve sliced brisket by itself or on hamburger buns.  Leftovers freeze really well.

Suggested side dishes:  Chili Corn Bread Salad, Southwestern Black Bean and Rice Salad, or Roasted New Potato Salad.

Grilled Margarita Fajitas

The marinade for this fajita meat is a cinch to make and so, so good.

Also? 

It gives you an excuse to have tequila in your house.

• 1 1/2 pounds round steak or boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (2 limes)
• 1/4 cup tequila
• 3-4 minced garlic cloves
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1 small onion thinly sliced
• 1 green bell pepper seeded and sliced into strips.

1) Place meat in freezer bags with the marinade ingredients.  Close bag securely and let stand overnight OR you can stick it in the freezer for another day.

2) Remove meat from bag and discard marinade.  Grill over medium heat until beef has reached desired temp (I like medium - about 7 minutes on each side) or chicken is cooked through.  Remove from grill and let stand a few minutes.

3) Meanwhile, cook onion and peppers in a little oil in a skillet until soft and a little browned.

4) Slice meat against the grain into strips, and serve with grilled onions and peppers on flour tortillas.  Other toppings that are great: cheese, sour cream, avocado, tomato or salsa.

Marinade for Grilled Pork Chops

I found this recipe for baked pork chops, spiced it up and adapted it for the grill.  The results were so good but I think that was partly due to the cut of chop I used.  I recommend a bone in chop about an inch thick.  The boneless varieties just get too dry on the grill.

• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
• 4 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 4 Tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 4 garlic cloves, minced

1) Mix marinade ingredients together and pour over four bone-in pork chops (about 1 inch thick) in a reasealable gallon size bag.  Marinate in refrigerator overnight, turning occasionally.

2) Preheat grill to about 300-350 degrees (medium heat).  Remove chops from bag and place on grill.  Close the cover and grill for 10 minutes.

3) Meanwhile, pour marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Boil for five minutes.

4) Flip the pork shop and brush boiled marinade over the cooked side.  Close the cover and grill for 7-8 minutes or until chop is no longer pink in the middle.

5) Flip again and brush the other side with marinade.  Cook for 1-2 minutes then remove from grill.