Recipe Review from 3/4/13

This little guy had his 1st Birthday!  Congratulations to his parents for surviving the first year of parenthood.

That was the most exciting bit about the week.  It got warm, it snowed - luckily not as much as many other places, but enough to have to pull out the snowblower.  Then it got warm.  Too warm and we got sleet.  Welcome to March Madness, and I'm not referring to basketball.... Add in the husband being crazy busy with military stuff this week and me not getting to the grocery story until Tuesday, meals ended up being super easy and quick.

Shrimp and Grits  (March 2013 Ckng Lght)  GF if find flour alternate
This calls for quick-cooking grits, but I only buy regular.  They still get done in about 15 minutes rather than 5, so not a biggie.  I bought my shrimp pre-cooked so all they needed was a quick toss with the rest of the ingredients to warm them up and infuse with flavor.  I omitted the bacon; one, it was frozen, and two, the bacon I buy is not quick to cook, even on the stove.  I do think the flavor would have been a nice addition tho.  I'll have to remember next time I bake some bacon to set aside some of the rendered fat for things like this.

photo from cookinglight.com

• 3 cups water 
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3/4 cup uncooked quick-cooking grits
• 2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup)
• 5/8 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided 
• 2 center-cut bacon slices, chopped 
• 1 cup chopped white onion
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms 
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 cup half-and-half  I used goat milk
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 
• 3/4 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth 
• 1/3 cup chopped green onions 

Preparation

1. Bring 3 cups water and butter to a boil in a small saucepan. Whisk in grits; cover and cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; cover. Keep warm.
2. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. [Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large pan]  Add white onion, garlic, and mushrooms to pan; cook 8 minutes or until mushrooms begin to brown and give off liquid, stirring frequently. Add shrimp and red pepper; cook 3 minutes. 
3. Combine half-and-half and flour in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Add broth, flour mixture, remaining 3/8 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon black pepper to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Top with green onions. Serve shrimp mixture with grits.

Mary Drennen, Cooking Light

Shrimp Linguine with Ricotta, Fennel and Spinach (Ckng Lght, March 2013) 

I went out on a limb a bit with this recipe - we are not fans of fennel.  Neither one of us likes the taste of anise or black licorice.  Odd, I know!  But, I've heard of you cook fennel a bit it's not so bad so I thought I would give it another try.  If I made the fennel chunks large enough, and we don't like them, we can pick them out. 

photo from cookinglight.com

• 9 ounces fresh linguine 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 8 ounces medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 cup vertically sliced fennel bulb
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 2 ounces grated fresh Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup) 
• 1/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add shrimp, fennel, and shallots; sauté 3 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add spinach; cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts.
3. Stir in rind and next 3 ingredients (through salt). Stir in reserved cooking liquid; cook 1 minute or until slightly thickened. Add pasta and Parmesan cheese; toss to coat. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon ricotta.

Ivy Manning, Cooking Light