Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Roasted Tomatoes, Shrimp, and Feta



Thank you, Real Simple! 
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/roasted-tomatoes-shrimp-feta-10000000780294/index.html

This was seriously delicious.
The combination of juicy roasted tomatoes, herbs, feta, lemon, and shrimp was just divine. 
I think it's a perfect dish to make for company. 
Seems really nice, but it only takes about 20 minutes
 of prep time and the oven does the rest. 

You can take a look at the link or keep reading...

Ingredients: 
5 tomatoes, cut into eighths
3 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
s&p
1.5 lbs shrimp, peeled
1/2 c chopped fresh parsley (or cilantro. i did a combination of both)
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 c reduced fat feta

Directions:
Heat oven to 450. Place tomatoes in a large baking dish. Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil, top with garlic  and 3/4 t each salt and pepper. Toss and roast for 20 minutes.

Remove baking dish from oven. Stir in shrimp, herbs, and lemon juice. Sprinkle with the feta. 

Return to oven for 10-15 minutes, until shrimp are cooked through. 

I served over quinoa with roasted green beans.
 Next time, I'll definitely have crusty bread with it. 

enjoy :) 











Sunday, October 21, 2012

Crockpot Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup



Growing up, my mom never cooked in a crockpot. Ever. 
Mom, do you own a crockpot??
I've been told many times that "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" 
when it comes to being like my mama. 
 Because of a busier work schedule this year, I've veered from "the tree" 
and started resorting to my crockpot. a lot! 
Life saver!
(thank you, Tom & Camille for my wonderful crockpot!)

In the original directions, this soup has a lot of fuss and hoop-la and 
stuff you're supposed to do before adding it to the crockpot. 
To me, that defeats the purpose of using a crockpot.
It's already hard enough to crawl
 into the back of my cabinet to lug the thing out....
So I decided to just dump all the ingredients in at once and voila.
Delicious. 

Ingredients: 
3 cans diced tomatoes, with juice (low sodium if possible)
1 can tomato sauce
1 cup diced celery
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped onion
1 T dried oregano
1 T chili powder
1/2 t cayenne pepper
4 c broth
1 bay leaf
1 c shredded parmesan cheese
2 T butter, optional
2 c skim milk (or fat free half and half)
1/2 cup fresh basil
1 t salt
1 t pepper

Directions: 
Add all ingredients to the crockpot
EXCEPT the fresh basil and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.

Cook on low for 5-7 hours.

Add basil and reserved parmesan for last 30 minutes of cooking time.


enjoy :)