LINGUINE

Smoke and a pancake? Sausage and linguine? YES! I love shrimp and I love chicken sausage. This is a dish I whipped up fast because Billy and I were hungarryy and it was getting late that evening.

Ingredients:

1 frozen bag of uncooked deveined shrimp
2 chicken sausage links, sliced (I used Johnsonville's cajun style).
1 package of linguine ( I used barilla's whole wheat)
1 very big garlic clover or 2 small cloves, chopped
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2-3 tbsp butter (I did use real butter)
handful of spinach
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook linguine according to package. Meanwhile in a saute pan on medium-high heat toss in butter and garlic for about a minute. Add in sausage and crushed red pepper flakes. Once sausage gets some brown edges and it smells FANTASTIC in your kitchen, throw in the shrimp. Cook shrimp until almost pink and throw in the remaining ingredients. It should be just about the right time that your pasta is done. Drain the pasta, DO NOT RINSE! Rinsing your pasta removes the starch so your buttery sauce won't stick. DUH! Toss the pasta right into your saute pan with the sausage and shrimp. I added a little butter at the very end, I'm so bad! Serve immediately with some shredded cheese or have it as is. I have to say I had the hiccups so bad after eating this because I didn't come up for air when eating it. So DELICIOUS!

ALMOND JOY

My coworker Jodi told me once she breaded her chicken with almonds. I was immediately intrigued because I love almonds. Billy and I had some Blue Almond Rosemary and Black Pepper almonds at home and thought they'd be great with chicken. Well low and behold it was AMAZING! I didn't need to season the chicken at all and this was extremely flavorful the second day.  I served the chicken with roasted red/white potatoes and Marsala seasoned zucchini. Billy told me "we have to use this breading again."

Ingredients:

flour (whole wheat if you have it)
1 lb of chicken breasts sliced in half
1 egg
 1/2 Blue Almond Rosemary and Black Pepper seasoned almonds

Directions:

Begin by slicing your chicken in half, I do this because the cooking time is shorter. I put the almonds in the food processor until I liked the consistency.  Mix the egg with a little water and set in shallow dish. I mixed a little flour in with my almonds because I didn't have a lot of the almonds left. You want to dip the chicken in the flour first, then egg mixture, and lastly the almond mixture. Bake at *375 for roughly 25 minutes. It's salty, crunchy, and DELICIOUS!

OLD BAY

I know pinterest is popular to look for recipes but I simply google for ideas. I had some leftover chopped grilled chicken, that Billy grilled with salt and pepper. Some shrimp and Penne pasta. I googled chicken and shrimp penne and this recipe popped up. I just recently bought Old Bay seasoning and thought I'd try it. I also chopped up some kale and baby spinach and sautéed them when the recipe instructed to add the shrimp. The recipe said broccoli florets and peas would work too. This dish will definitely make your belly's full and happy. Some times you can't avoid dairy it makes pasta so creamy.

Ingredients:

8 ounces penne pasta (I used whole wheat)
1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in 1/2-inch strips
4 teaspoons OLD BAY® Seasoning
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup heavy cream
3 green onions, sliced
1 cup packed chopped Kale
1 cup packed baby spinach
Grated asiago cheese

Directions:

Cook pasta as directed on package.

Coat chicken with 1 teaspoon of OLD BAY. In a large nonstick skillet, melt butter on medium heat. Add chicken. Cook 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Coat shrimp with 2 teaspoons of OLD BAY. Add shrimp to chicken. Cook while stirring 2 to 3 minutes or until shrimp turn pink.

Mix remaining 1 teaspoon OLD BAY and heavy cream. Stir into skillet with cooked pasta and green onions. Simmer 5 minutes or until sauce thickens and pasta is heated through.

Grate some asiago cheese on top to make it extra creamy! Add a little crushed red pepper to make it SPICY!

Tip:
Grate cheese on top of the cooked pasta to let the cheese stick to the Penne.

Cowboys meal

I had some stew meat in the freezer that needed to be cooked with soon. I also had roasted some green chilies in my toaster oven at *350 for about half an hour and chopped them up after they were cooled. Billy loves chili over rice so I thought they would be great together!

Ingredients:

1lb frozen stew meat
28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 can el pato sauce (any flavor)
16oz can black beans (rinsed)
16oz can kidney beans
1/2 chopped red onion
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp gralic salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp southwest chili blend
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4c chopped green chillies
Salt and pepper to taste
Splash of tobasco

Instructions:

Throw everything in your slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Once it's done throw some fresh chopped cilantro and parsley. I served the chili over brown rice and garnished with green onion. It was so good I was actually sad having my last bite. I'm so happy we have leftovers!!! It's been so cold here in the desert, this is a prefect dinner to keep you warm.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

I found this recipe in the Real Simple magazine. That it is! The chicken thighs cook all day in the crock pot. All you need to do is cook the rice once you're ready to eat. You will need Garam Masala (Indian spice blend). You can get this at any Asian grocery store.

Instructions:

1 15oz can crushed tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons garam masala
salt and pepper
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 8)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup basmati rice

Combine all ingredients other than cream in a 4-6 quart slow cooker. Place the chicken thighs on top of tomato and vegetable mixture. Cook on low 7-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Just before serving stir in the heavy cream. Cook your basmati rice according to package. Serve over rice with a cucuber relish.

CUCUMBER RELISH
1 english cucumber halved and thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Toss all ingredients with salt and pepper.
This dish is so delicious, everyone will think you ordered take out. I have also substituted this dish with chicken breasts and coconut milk instead of cream.

Roasted Swai and Vegetables over Quinoa

Billy asks for this dish all the time. I found it on my whole foods app. It's so easy to prepare and packed full of flavor. I've even used different veggies and different nut/fresh herb combos.

Instructions:
2 carrots, cut into 2-inch sticks
1 large yellow bell pepper, cut into strips
1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes
1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, divided
4 (3-ounce) pieces mild white fish fillet such as tilapia, swai, or sole
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1c quinoa, cooked according to package
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
3 tablespoons pine nuts

Preheat oven to 400°F and line a 9- x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Place carrots, bell pepper, tomatoes, onion, garlic and ⅛ teaspoon salt in the pan and toss. Bake in the top third of the oven until vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes.

Stir vegetables, arrange fish on top and sprinkle with remaining ⅛ teaspoon salt, lemon zest and juice and bake until fish is just cooked through, 15 to 20 more minutes. Transfer fish and vegetables to plates or a platter along with the quinoa and sprinkle with cilantro and pine nuts.

Loco Moco

1c white rice
shredded cabbage
1lb ground beef
eggs
brown gravy
green onion to garnish

Loco Moco is a Hawaiian dish. You may have even heard of a Spam Moco made with Spam instead of the beef. I've never had Spam so I wasn't game. Billy had told me about the dish once and said he loved it. I couldn't have agreed more! It's comfort food that just makes you feel good after eating it.

Instructions:
Cook your white rice as directed. I used a package of instant gravy as well.
Meanwhile make hamburger patties out of your ground beef. I didn't use Any seasoning other then salt and pepper. No need to use an egg to bind meat either. It's that easy! In a sauté pan cook your patties until they're cooked to your liking. I like mine medium well, Billy prefers medium rare. Once those are done it's time to plate. Place some shredded cabbage down on the plate, a scoop of the rice, hamburger patty, a fried egg, and top it off with the brown gravy. I added green onions for garnish and a little onion flavor. Add some Siracha and you have a party in your mouth!