1-2-3 Shrimp Scampi!

This year I've become more adventurous in what I make on Fridays during Lent.  This week I wasn't quite in the mood for fish, and one can only eat so much pasta, so I decided to branch out and cook a shrimp dish.  This was seriously the easiest thing I've ever made, and it was DELICIOUS!  Serve over rice, pasta, roasted potatoes, whatever your favorite starch is!  We served this over wild rice because we had it on hand.

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup lemon juice (fresh squeezed is the best, it's juice for approximately 3 lemons; but you could probably use lemon juice concentrate, such as Real Lemon)

 
Eoin helped me hand-squeeze the lemons!

• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tbsp and 1 tsp of minced garlic
• 2 lbs of medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• ground black pepper, to taste
• crushed red pepper, to taste

Directions:

• In a large bowl, take the olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, garlic, black and red pepper and whisk together. Add cleaned shrimp to the mixture and toss to coat.  Put in the refrigerator and let marinate for at least a half hour.

• When mixture is done marinating, add to a skillet over high heat.  Cook until the liquid boils and the shrimp turn opaque.  

Spinach, Scallion and Provolone Quiche

I haven't posted a breakfast recipe in awhile.  Usually we either have fried or scrambled eggs with corned beef hash or bacon.  Last week I bought a container of cottage cheese, and fully intended to eat it.  Well that was until Friday came around, and I came to the realization that it was just going to go to waste.  I decided instead of wasting it, I would make a quiche for breakfast one day over the weekend.  The joy of making quiche is that you can use whatever you have in your fridge!  I added spinach, scallions (green onions), garlic and provolone to mine.  This very may well be the only way I get my son to eat spinach at the moment!  Since it was on a whim, it was also crust-less.  I am intrigued about all the future flavor combinations that I can try, and will definitely be adding them to this post as I try them!

Makes about 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 (16 oz) container of cottage cheese, I used small curd but you can use whatever fat content and curd size you prefer
• 1 (10 oz) package of frozen, chopped spinach; thawed and liquid squeezed out
• 1 bunch of scallions (green onions), white parts only, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon of jarred minced garlic
• 1/4-1/3 lb of slicing provolone, ripped into bite-sized pieces

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325ºF.  Spray baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, beat eggs.  Then using a large spoon, add and mix each ingredient to the bowl.  Pour into prepared baking dish.

• Bake uncovered for about 35-40 minutes.  Mixture will rise slightly and start to brown.  Let stand about 5 minutes, serve.

Homemade Baked Tortilla Chips

Homemade tortilla chips are seriously THE EASIEST thing to make! You can fry them, but for a healthier version, I bake mine. You can season them however you want, toss them in a splash of lime juice, salt them; whatever your heart desires! All you do is take a large tortilla (you can use corn, whole grain or whole wheat); cut the tortilla into eight pieces (cut in half, stack, in half, stack, and in half). Put the tortilla wedges into a bowl and season with a drop of olive oil and whatever seasonings you like. I used salt and chili powder. Then spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 350ºF for 5-10 minutes, until you get your desired crispiness. Serve as a side to homemade salsa or guacamole! If you use a whole pack of 10 tortillas (most large tortillas come in pack of 10-12), you'll get 80 chips!