Aren’t they cute!?!?!?

I am extremely lucky I live right down the street from a wonderful Farmers Market that I frequent often, from its opening in April until pumpkin season in November. I love picking out potatoes that still have the dirt on them, and the oh so delicious butter sweet corn, that grows 1/2 mile down the road from my house in their corn patch. I love going without much of a plan to see whats good that day, and when we pulled up these were right up front.  OK so I’ll admit it, half of the reason I got these at the Farmers Market was there cute factor. I couldn’t help myself, I was sent for veggies and veggies I bought. Just real cute ones so much so that I almost didn’t want to cook them up.  I did and they were delicious! They look great and grilled up nicely. These are great simply dressed with salt, pepper and some olive.

• Green Zucchini
• Yellow Squash
• Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper 

• Slice veggies in 1/4 thick slices, salt both sides to remove some of the moisture. 
• Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with pepper, adding a pinch more salt
• Grill over medium high flame for about 4-5 minutes or until grill marks appear and Zucchini gets slightly limp.

I served these with the Lime Marinated Shrimp

 Eat and Enjoy !!!

Lime Marinated Shrimp

Summer time to me means grillin and chillin! When of course its not 100 degrees and humid out…One of our favorite things to grill is shrimp, it’s so fresh and light on hot summer days. There are so many great recipes for grilled shrimp it was hard to decide which one to make. Since I was going to make grilled veggies I wanted something light to go along. I walked into the kitchen and the limes were singing to me. You know that Lime song they sing. So Lime Marinated Shrimp it was. While listening to my limes sing, my hubby brought me a cold beer. This summer my hubby and I have been experimenting with summer brews and have found some great ones. My new favorite and a great pairing with this Shrimp is Summer Shandy!! 
 Its like Lemonade Beer so good!! 

Lime Marinated Shrimp 

Grilled Shrimp 

Serves 2

Items need :

Tuperware with cover

Metal Skewers

Grill or Grill pan

• 20 uncooked shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 2 limes, also use for zesting zest
• salt
• pepper
• cayenne
• olive oil

• Zest lime or limes... really depends on how much you want , I zested one lime and that was great for us. 
• Place shrimp in a Tupperware with salt, pepper, dash of cayenne, and the juice of 1 1/2 limes, lime zest and then sprinkle with olive oil. Seal with cover and give a good shake or two. Refrigerate for 30 minutes removing them from the fridge about 15 minutes before you want to grill them.
•  Heat grill or grill pan over medium high flame/heat, set the shrimp on a paper towel lined plate to absorb some of the excess marinade, a little tip I learned from the O Magazine. 
• Skewer shrimp.. 5 per skewer ..
• Grill Shrimp for 2-3 minutes on each side until pink in color and slightly curled. 
• Serve with lime wedges and some yummy beer.

Eat and Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie

This has got to be one of my favorite comfort foods, and if I could I would probably eat it at least once a week. My mother used to make it all the time growing up maybe that's why I love it so much. We have had some very rainy days around here and this is one of those comfy yummy recipes that is easy to make for a weeknight meal. This is also one of those recipes that you can play around with in the veggies department. When I have lots of chicken leftover I make some pies for my parents.. that’s right I said pies (plural) When I make this for my parents.. well I have to make two… see my father doesn't likes peas and well mom and my brother do so that means two pies…So you get my drift you can change it to suit your needs.

Chicken Pot Pie

Items Needed:

2 qt sauce pan

Pie Plate

Ramekins if making small one

Pre heat Oven to 425 degrees

• 1 box Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box ( I only use one pie crust for the top no bottom but if you do use two follow the instructions for a 2 crust pie )
• 1/3 cup butter or margarine
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 3/4 cups chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken or turkey
• 2 cups cooked veggies = carrots, peas, corn, potatoes what ever you have on hand
• 1 egg, beaten

• In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender 
• Stir in flour, salt and pepper until well blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk, cooking and stirring until bubbly and thickened.If needed use a whisk to make sure all the flour is incorporated
• Stir in chicken and mixed veggies. Remove from the heat. Spoon the chicken mixture into a buttered pie plate.
• Place the pie crust on top of filling and press and flute the edges. Cut slits in several places in top crust. Brush crust with the egg.
• Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. During last 15 to 20 minutes of baking, cover crust edge with strips of foil or one of these to prevent excessive browning. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

We serve ours with Cranberry sauce.. not sure if it is a New England thing... but it is oh so yummy!!

Quick Chicken Parm

Things have been a bit hectic over here so dinner has either been throwing something on the grill or something quick in the oven. Of course with all this crazy weather ( tornadoes 50 miles away in Western Mass) that we have been getting as soon as you decide to grill, a freak storm comes in and bam... Thunderstorms. So this night was no different, we made sure we had charcoal and were all set to grill when the skies opened and guess what no grilling.  So I had to rethink dinner and quick, since we were going to grill chicken and I had been having a craving for Chicken Parm, I went with that.  But who feels like doing the whole breading thing not this girl, not after I thought Hubby was cooking dinner ie the official griller in the fam. So I figured I would throw them in a skillet and voila Chicken Parm for dinner. Honestly this took about 20-30 minutes tops from start to finish.

Chicken Parm 

Items needed:

Skillet

Baking Dish

• 5 skinless Thin sliced Chicken Breast
  
• salt
  
• pepper
  
• garlic powder
  
• Angel Hair Pasta, Half a box
  
• Tomato sauce

• Bring a pot of water to a boil and drop angel hair cooking per box instructions, drain set aside
  
• Heat skillet to medium heat and give a few swirls of olive oil, place chicken in pan, brown chicken 2 minutes, cooking in batches so you dont over crowd the pan
  
• Place Chicken in baking dish spread a spoonful of tomato sauce enough to cover nicely then sprinkle a good helping of cheese on top
  
• Bake until cheese is bubbly and melted 

eat and enjoy!

Shepherd’s Pie stuffed Potatoes

Once again back to the Rachel Ray’s Look and Cook book, I think this has been our most used cookbook this month.  This is at least recipe number 2 or 3 from this book, our first one was the awesome Artichoke and Spinach Mac and Cheese.

The weather last week was awful for Spring with quite a chill in the air like a cool crisp fall morning. So that meant a toss up on what to make except it had to be something warm and comfy of course. I asked the hubby what he was in the mood for and of course got the “ It’s 8 in the morning how can I think dinner??” So I broke out the Look and Cook book because like the title says you can look and then cook, aka it has pictures. I started to flip thru it and bam, he stopped me at this recipe, well the picture of it. And voila dinner recipe is chosen. Of course you know we changed it up a bit, this time because well that’s what we do. Hubby doesn’t like mushrooms, so out they went, and we’re off beef, so sub in Turkey, and we ended up going for a more traditional shepherds pie sub in corn and peas**. These were so delicious that we ate them right away and then I gave some to my parents so I didn't get a melted cheese picture but you get the idea. Of course got this recipe got the wheels turning.. You could stuff potatoes with so many things.. Check out my Shrimp Stuffed Potatoes here

So here is our version of Rachel’s Shepard's Pie Potatoes recipe.

Shepard's Pie Potatoes 

Items Needed:

Skillet

Baking Sheet

• 8 Russet Potatoes, scrubbed clean
• 3 tbsp EVOO
• salt

• 1 lbs ground turkey
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 c ketchup more to taste
• garlic powder
• salt
• pepper
• 1 package Steamfresh frozen corn, prepared according to package directions

• 1/4 c milk
• 2 tbsp margarine 
• 1/4 c sour cream
• 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• Cheese, shredded 

• Rub potatoes with the EVOO, and sprinkle with salt than place the potatoes on a foil lined cookie sheet, bake for one hour ten minutes. Remove the potatoes and allow them to cool
• When the potatoes are cool enough to work with using a sharp knife carefully cut a thin top slice off each one and scoop out the potato flesh, set aside to whip up later. Place shells back on cookie sheet and set aside 

• In a mixing bowl add the sour cream, milk, and margarine with a hand mixer set on 3 whip the potatoes until a creamy consistency 
• Meanwhile brown the turkey in a large skillet over medium high heat with 2 tbsp EVOO for about 5-6 minutes, breaking up the lumps as it cooks, add the Soy sauce and Worcestershire and cook another minute than add the ketchup. Adding more or less depending on your preference remove from heat and set aside wiping the skillet clean to use for the bacon 

• Heat up the skillet to medium high and cook bacon until just crisp ( dont over cook it will cook more in the oven)
• Fill the potato shells with the turkey and corn mixture and then top with the whipped potatoes and pop back in the oven for 8-10 minute and than remove to put on topping
• Top the potatoes with the bacon then pile on the cheese and put back in the oven until cheese is bubbly 

Heres where we forgot to take a picture of the bubbly cheese.... They looked so yummy.. oh well next time!

** Ok forgot about the peas... time just got away from me and for some reason I left them out.. guess that means we need to make this again since it was so yummy and try it with peas!!

Spinach and Artichoke Mac and Cheese

Over Chrismakuh I exchange gifts with the girls in my office, we do secret santa, and this year I lucked out, not only did I get a lot of cute little stuff  I also received Rachel Rays cookbook, Look and Cook. I love it, there are so many great recipes, some that we have already made over and over again because we love them so much!! There are several recipes that we earmarked to make and this is one of them. We love all things Mac and Cheese and also love to experiment with different kinds, and this was one we hadn't made at home yet. So when I saw this easy to make and easy on the eyes recipe, I had to make it. In my version I used canned artichokes only because that was what I had on hand but it tasted great anyway. So once again use what have.... 

Spinach and Artichoke Mac and Cheese 

ever so slightly adapted from :

Rachel Ray's Version

Items Needed:

Large Stock Pot

Large Saute pan 

Casserole Dish

• salt
• 1 lb Penne pasta
• 2 tbsp EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 med onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1/2 c. white wine
• 2 c. milk
• Freshly grated nutmeg, about 1/4 teaspoon or to taste
• 1 10-oz box frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and wrung dry in a kitchen towel
• 1 can quartered Artichokes, slice in half again if desired 
• pepper
• 1 1/2 c. Fontina cheese, shredded , plus additional for sprinkling on top
• 1 1/2 c. Parmigiano cheese, grated,  plus additional for sprinkling on top 

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil for pasta, salt water and cook pasta to al dente.
• Meanwhile, place a medium pot over medium-low heat adding 2 tbsp olive oil, and the butter. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook the veggies until very soft, about 10 minutes. Then heat the broiler and position rack in the middle of the oven. 
• Turn the heat up to medium-high and sprinkle the flour into the pan. Cook for about 1 minute then whisk the wine into the pan, cooking for another minute to burn off the alcohol
• Whisk the milk into the pan and bring up to a bubble. Add the nutmeg, spinach, artichokes, salt and pepper to the sauce and simmer until thickened and vegetables are warmed through, 2-3 minutes more. Add 1 cup of each of the cheeses to the sauce and stir until melted.
• Toss the prepared sauce with the cooked pasta and transfer to a casserole dish. Sprinkle some more Fontina and Parmigiano over the top and bake until the cheese has melted and the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Eat and Enjoy!!!!!