Recipe Review from 5/25/2015

A bit of a whirlwind week - Sister and family came up for a visit, so there was a bit of room shuffling at the parents house to accommodate her family of four (parents and kiddos) and my little family of four (parents and furry four-legged children).  As a courtesy to allergies, a 3 year old and a 1 year old, my little family moved out into the camping trailer.  Poor dogs were so confused! 

And we also did the Inflatable Insane 5k over the weekend.  Were we insane to sign up for this?  Totally!  But hey, good to do something outside of one comfort level and how many times as an adult do you get to go play on BIG bouncy houses? Not very often I bet. It was an absolute blast!  We were part of Team Vinyl Burn.   Check out our day of fun:

I also fit in a couple of new recipes: 

Shrimp Arrabbiata (Ckng Lght May 2015) gluten free option
I have to admit I made this recipe pretty much as written.  I did substitute a can of stewed tomatoes for the 2 cups crushed and it worked out fine.  I liked the chunkier tomatoes in fact.  This was well received for dinner - but in our house tomatoes and pasta is always a winner.  Add in shrimp?  Oh yeah...   Drop the crushed red pepper completely for small or sensitive tastebuds.  Bump it up if you have any hot heads.  I used a heaping 1/4 tsp and it was about perfect for this group.  This made enough for four adults.  Recommended. 

photo from cookinglight.com

8 ounces uncooked campanelle (bell flower-shaped pasta) or rigatoni

12 ounces peeled and deveined extra-large shrimp

3/8 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, thinly sliced 

1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced 

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/3 cup dry white wine

2 cups canned crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoons grated pecorino Romano cheese

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 

1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add pasta. Cook according to package directions; drain.
2. Sprinkle shrimp with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp; cook 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on each side or until done. Transfer shrimp to a plate.
3. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, and crushed red pepper; cook 3 minutes or until vegetables are slightly softened, stirring occasionally. Add wine; cook 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook 5 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Stir in shrimp and cheese; cook 30 seconds or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat; stir in basil and lemon juice. Place about 1 cup pasta in each of 4 bowls; divide shrimp mixture evenly over pasta.

Egg and Avocado Open Faced Sandwiches (Ckng Lght June 2015)
To say this was easy is an understatement.  To quote Homer Simson, "Doh!" Why didn't I think of this?    Eggs would be good poached, fried or scrambled.  Would be good with salsa or siracha as a sauce, or leave it off.  In other words, this was just good. Very well received. Recommended if you need a quick and light meal.

4 eggs
4 slices multi-grain bread (softer variety is better)
1 avocado, mashed (I added a splash of lime)
1 small pkg alfalfa sprouts
salsa of choice

Fry eggs to desired doneness.  Toast toast.  Spread mashed avocado on toast, top with sprouts, egg and salsa.  EAT!