Garlic Shrimp Alfredo Pizza

Grocery shopping. I’m convinced you either love it or hate it. It’s either a necessary, but shoot-me-now chore, or you relish the hunt for the best bargains each week and sticking to your list and get off on coming in below budget. I’m one of those who falls firmly into the love it category. That being said, we make the big trek to Costco, followed by every store with a circular in a 5 mile radius, once a month and it takes pretty much all day. And that’s exhausting, considering kids are dragging there heels after store # 1, whining the whole way, and begging for this that and the other. We’re all tired and cranky by the end, and cooking dinner is the last thing I want to do at the end of that day.

So, yes, on grocery day we order pizza for dinner. The irony, I know. But sometimes the son who works at a local pizzeria decides to take pity on his poor, old Mom, and mix together and toss a fresh crust, and come up with a pizza that will blow our tastebuds away, from scratch. (Really he will jump at any excuse to show off his growing pie-slinging skills). And that’s how we ended up not doing delivery, but some home made gourmet. Mmmmmm….

Hand tossed pizza crust smoothed over with a base of creamy Alfredo sauce, studded with creole seasoned shrimp, sautéed onions, and garlic, then topped off with generous handfuls of melted Colby Jack and Provolone cheeses, and finally sprinkled with crispy, crumbled pieces of bacon.

Wowza! Now THAT is a slice of gourmet pizza.

Garlic Shrimp Alfredo Pizza

pizza dough, or prepared store bought crust (whatever works/is convenient for you)

2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, mined
¼ onion, finely chopped
1 lb small shrimp, tossed with 1 tsp creole seasoning
1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
juice of ½ a lemon
6-7 tbsp of alfredo sauce
1 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese
5-6 provolone slices, sliced into thin strips
3 slices bacon, cooked and chopped

Directions

1. Spread dough onto pizza pan flattening and stretching it out to edges. Use a fork to liberally poke holes in it. Partially bake the crust for 7 minutes before adding topping. Or if using a pre add, store bought crust, follow the package directions before topping.
   2. Melt the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in the garlic and onion and saute together, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
   3. Stir in the seasoned shrimp and cook for about 3-4 more minutes.
   4. Turn off heat and stir in the lemon juice and parsley.
   5. Use the back of a spoon to spread the alfredo sauce out onto the prepared crust. Top it evenly with the shrimp mixture. Next, evenly distribute the provolone slices, shredded Colby Jack, and bacon.
   6. Bake the pizza at 450 degrees for 7-10 more minutes. Let cool slightly before cutting so the cheese doesn’t pull off.

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Sweet & Spicy Honey Sriracha Salmon

There’s a bit of recipe magic going on here. The flavors of the soy sauce, the sweetness of the honey, the spice from the Sriracha, the punch of fresh ginger, and the peppering of minced garlic meld to create a perfect marinade for the salmon. The flavors meld and each bite will transport you to your favorite seat, or corner booth in our case, and your favorite fine-dining restaurant.

Sweet & Spicy Honey Sriracha Salmon

1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp Sriracha sauce (or more or less, to taste)
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger, or 1 scant tsp ginger powder
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 lb (skin-off) salmon fillet, cut into 4 (4-ounce) pieces
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp thinly sliced green onions, for garnish

Directions

1. In a 1-gallon zip-top plastic bag, combine the soy sauce, honey, vinegar, Sriracha, ginger, and garlic. Add the salmon, toss to coat evenly, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 8 hours, turning the fish once.
2. Remove the salmon from the bag, reserving the marinade. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat ad add the sesame oil. Rotate the pan to coat the bottom evenly and add the salmon. Cook until one side of the fish is browned, about 2 minutes. Flip the salmon and cook until the other side browns, 2 more minutes. Reduce the heat to low and pour in the reserved marinade. Cover and cook until the fish is cooked through, 4-5 minutes.
3. Place a piece of salmon onto a bed of rice and sprinkle with the green onions before serving.

Beer-Battered Fish Tacos with Cilantro Slaw

Who here loves a good taco? We sure do. Usually they’re filled with seasoned ground beef. We’ve even gone as far as filling them with shredded pork, carnita-style, sloppy joe filling, and chicken and ranch. All mmm-mmm good, totally tasty ideas.

When I first heard about fish tacos though, I was a bit skeptical. I just couldn’t picture it being nearly as good as anything we’d previously tried. I mean it’s fish, on a taco, right? That doesn’t even sound appealing.

But then it transformed into crisp beer-battered fish, like from our much loved fish and chips, topped with the perfect tex-mex coleslaw, and I knew we were headed in the best possible direction.

Crispy fish, crunchy slaw, all on a fresh warm corn tortilla. What’s not to love?

Beer-Battered Fish Tacos with Cilantro Slaw

For the Beer Batter:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup beer
1 egg
For the Fish:
2 lbs fresh or frozen firm flesh white fish fillets, such as cod or catfish, cut into bite size strips
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
salt and pepper
12 corn tortillas
For the Coleslaw Salad Topping:
4 cups prepackaged coleslaw mix, or 4 cups shredded cabbage and carrot
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Directions

For the Beer Batter:
1. In a bowl combine the flour, cornstarch, paprika and baking powder.
2. Add the beer and egg, and stir until the batter is evenly combined but still slightly lumpy.
For the Fish:
3. If using frozen fillets, Thaw out the fish. Pat the fillets dry using paper towels.
4. Sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper.
5. In a large skillet heat about 1-inch of oil, over medium heat.
6. Pour the other 3/4 cup of flour into a shallow dish or onto a plate. Working one peace at a time, put the fish pieces into the flour, turning to coat, and then shaking off any excess.
7. Dip the flour-coated fillets into the batter.
8. Fry the battered fish, about four pieces at a time, in the hot oil for 2 to 4 minutes or until crispy and golden, turning once halfway through frying time.
9. Transfer the fried fish onto a layer of paper towels to drain.
10. Keep the fried fish warm in the oven, on warm, while frying remaining fish.
11. Place the cooked fish into/onto heated corn tortillas.
For the Cilantro Slaw:
12. Combine the cabbage mix, green onions, cilantro, vinegar, oil, sugar and salt in a bowl and toss to evenly coat/combine.
13. Cover and chill until ready to serve, or serve immediately topping each ‘taco’ with the preferred amount of slaw.

recipe adapted from Lady Behind The Curtain

Shrimp Salad

Nows when I’m gonna need to call all my other bargain shoppers to the table. I’m sure there’s a fair number of you who ( like I did for w a y too long ) think seafood, or at least quality seafood is out of your budget. Well let me just tell ha that that ain’t the case, at least it’s not the case if you’re willing to bide your time, wait for a good sale, and then stock up. Even then though, I can’t always swing the grocery money enough to actually stock up. That being said, I do keep my eyes peeled for when my local grocery’s brand of salad shrimp go on a great sale. For just a few bucks I can grab a few bags and almost never feel guilty about it.

 

Now salad shrimp are a bit smaller, ok — A LOT smaller than their often more expensive, uncooked counterparts, But they’re absolutely perfect for recipes/meals like this shrimp salad. What can I say? We all love us some shrimps, so even if there’s no fancy shrimp cocktail for us I’m all about finding the wiggle room between fancy and none.

This is salad makes a perfect sandwich ‘meal’. Even better? If I make it for lunch the sons think we’re oh-so fancy, and they have no idea just how simple it really is.

Shrimp Salad

1 lb cooked shrimp, peeled and de-veined 1⁄2 cup mayonnaise 1⁄3 cup chopped celery 1⁄4 cup finely diced onion 2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning 2 teaspoons lemon juice 1⁄4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. Cut shrimp in half, or just break them up a bit later on when you stir everything together. In a medium sized bowl, combine the shrimp with the remaining ingredients. Stir just until everything’s evenly incorporated. Chill for an hour. Serve the prepared, chilled shrimp salad on bed of lettuce as a sandwich on toasted bread.

Fiesta Tuna Salad Sliders

So one day I reeeeeaaaaallllllly wanted Mexican food. Of the oh-so good tasting, but so-oh not good for your waist-line variety. Like an endless basket of tortilla chips with some of that authentic creamy, white queso for dipping, and maybe even some sour cream and quac on the side. (We want guac. We want guac. Thank you, Elmo for that little ditty that’s now stuck in my head) But that wasn’t on the menu. Going out to eat wasn’t in the cards, and clearly my pantry and fridge were letting me down. (Again, I griped about having no known Mexican restaurants that deliver in my vicinity. Because, well because… how is this not a thing already?!)

Then I remembered this fancy, schmancy recipe (except it’s totally not, but if tasty-ness was currency, it’d be golden). Fiesta tuna salad sandwiches may not have been sinfully delicious chips dipped in warm, gooey queso, but as my Mama always said, “Beggars can’t be choosers.” And it was Mexican food. Good Mexican-style food. Good for you too, to top it all off. My how my day had changed. While I got down to chopping the veggies I’d need, my mood gradually changed from “deprived of tortilla chips” and being lulled to “problem craving coming to it’s conclusion”. Mean Mami Mexican food crisis averted. At least for today. Seriously, you don’t want to get in my way when I’m craving Mexican food. It could escalate quickly and then we’d be in a full-on nuclear melt-down and that just isn’t gonna work for me. Now that I had a new idea, and some direction to go in other than to Old El Paso, I snagged some supporting ingredients from the pantry and salsa-ed my way through the rest of the recipe.  Olé!

Now I’m going to enjoy another delicious sandwich with this spread for lunch tomorrow too, but this time as a tuna melt! Gotta keep those taste buds on their toes. Trying to go light? This makes a great dip with either tortilla chips or crackers. (Hello, my next tailgating party!)

Fiesta Tuna Salad Sliders

 

recipe adapted from Taste of Home

6 cans, 5 oz each, water-packed white tuna or albacore, drained and flaked
1 large red onion, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
2/3 cup reduced fat mayo
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely diced (optional)
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1 tsp black pepper
12 ciabatta sized slider buns, or more depending on how ‘stuffed’ your buns are
12 slices of pepper jack cheese
lettuce leaves

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the first nine ingredients. Set the tuna salad in the refrigerator to ‘chill’.

2. Once the tuna salad is cold, spread it over the bun bottoms. Top each with a slice of cheese and some lettuce.

3. Put the tops back on, and serve!

Creamy Tuna Noodle Casserole–Served Hot or Cold!

Every now and then I’m looking for a change from our typical chicken or beef-based meals. A lot of times I will just go meatless, but last week I was still craving something meaty. This hot tuna noodle casserole hit the spot at dinner time. Everyone liked it so much that we made it again, over the weekend, as a cold pasta salad for lunch.

I know everyone has their brands they prefer and remain loyal too, but tuna is one of those things where I will pay for quality. This meal deserves a quality tuna. I go with Costco’s solid white albacore. Less fishy flavor, more actual tuna meat, no oil or grease, and I haven’t come across a bone yet.

Creamy Tuna Noodle Casserole

 

recipe adapted from Sugar Dish Me

12 ounces whole wheat egg noodles, cooked according to package instructions
1 cup red onion, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
12 ounces canned tuna, drained and flaked (tuna packed in water works best)
1/2 of a lemon, juiced
salt & black pepper to taste
1 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (use your favorite! I go with a sharp low fat white Cheddar)
2 teaspoons spicy mustard
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 tsp lemon pepper
1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the cooked pasta, onion, celery, peas, and tuna. Squeeze the lemon juice over the contents of the bowl (being careful not to drop seeds in). Sprinkle with the salt and pepper, to taste.
2. In a smaller bowl, mix together the Greek yogurt, Cheddar cheese, spicy mustard, red wine vinegar, parsley, and lemon pepper. Pour the sauce over the pasta/tuna mixture in the larger bowl and stir or toss to coat.
3. If you are serving this casserole cold, empty the contents into your serving dish, sprinkle the top with the Panko breadcrumbs, and refrigerate for at least an hour (to let the flavors meld).
4. If you are serving this hot, then preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a 9 x 13 casserole with non-stick cooking spray or vegetable oil. Spread the noodle mixture evenly in the prepared pan and sprinkle the Panko bread crumbs over the top. You can also sprinkle with a little extra cheese if you like.
5. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, just until it’s heated through and the sauce begins to bubble a little.