We made a batch of this pesto to use as a marinade for the Shrimp Tostada appetizer we made. This recipe makes about 2 cups of pesto, which is alot! A little bit of this stuff goes a long way! You can use it in so many ways though... as a spread on sandwiches, tossed with some pasta and veggies, as a marinade for meat, etc. I changed it a little bit (I left out the fresh parsley and used extra adobo to make it spicier). You can click on the link if you want the original recipe.
Ingredients:
2 c sliced fresh cilantro
1 chipotle chile in adobo, roughly sliced
3 garlic cloves
1/4 c shelled pumpkin seeds
2 c fresh spinach (leaves only)
1 tbsp sliced fresh oregano (I used a couple pinches of dried)
2 tbsps grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
4 tsps olive oil
Directions:
Place cilantro, chile, garlic, pumpkin seeds, spinach, oregano, and parmesan cheese in a food processor or blender and pulse until mixed.
With the motor running, add oil and lime juice and process until smooth. You can adjust the heat by adding some of the adobo.
Scrape into a container, cover, & put in the fridge until ready to use. The pesto keeps for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Shrimp Tostada Bites
We got the idea for this recipe from an appetizer we really like at Z Tejas. This recipe is one we sort of made up as we went, so the measurements aren't really exact.
Ingredients:
1 two-pound bag frozen shrimp, thawed and tails removed
5-6 Tbsp. Chipotle Cilantro Pesto
4-5 large flour tortillas (burrito size)
cooking spray
4 avocados
1 roma tomato, chopped
3 Tbsp. red onion, chopped
fresh lime juice
salt
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
Directions:
Chop thawed shrimp into small pieces (about the size of your thumbnail). Place in mixing bowl and stir in 3-4 Tbsp. Chipotle Cilantro pesto. Cover and marinate in fridge for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. With a 2-inch biscuit or round cookie cutter, cut tortillas into mini circles. Place on a foil lined baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Lightly spray the tortilla rounds. Bake in oven for about 6 minutes. Watch closely and if any begin to puff up, flatten them with a fork. Broil them until they are lightly browned. When they're done they will be hard and flaky, almost like a cracker.
For guacamole, mash avocados in a bowl. Add chopped tomato and onion. Stir together and add fresh lime juice and salt, to taste.
Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a large frying pan over medium to medium-low heat and add marinated shrimp. As shrimp cooks, stir in another 1-2 Tbsp. pesto. Cook until shrimp is light pink.
To assemble, top tortilla round with a small scoop of guacamole and 2-3 shrimp pieces. Arrange on serving platter and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.
Ingredients:
1 two-pound bag frozen shrimp, thawed and tails removed
5-6 Tbsp. Chipotle Cilantro Pesto
4-5 large flour tortillas (burrito size)
cooking spray
4 avocados
1 roma tomato, chopped
3 Tbsp. red onion, chopped
fresh lime juice
salt
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
Directions:
Chop thawed shrimp into small pieces (about the size of your thumbnail). Place in mixing bowl and stir in 3-4 Tbsp. Chipotle Cilantro pesto. Cover and marinate in fridge for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. With a 2-inch biscuit or round cookie cutter, cut tortillas into mini circles. Place on a foil lined baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Lightly spray the tortilla rounds. Bake in oven for about 6 minutes. Watch closely and if any begin to puff up, flatten them with a fork. Broil them until they are lightly browned. When they're done they will be hard and flaky, almost like a cracker.
For guacamole, mash avocados in a bowl. Add chopped tomato and onion. Stir together and add fresh lime juice and salt, to taste.
Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a large frying pan over medium to medium-low heat and add marinated shrimp. As shrimp cooks, stir in another 1-2 Tbsp. pesto. Cook until shrimp is light pink.
To assemble, top tortilla round with a small scoop of guacamole and 2-3 shrimp pieces. Arrange on serving platter and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.
Ginger Peanut Chicken Lettuce Wraps
For this appetizer, I took this recipe I found for some wraps and decided to just take the recipe for the filling and turn it into lettuce wraps instead. They were SO good! They had so much flavor and tasted really fresh. I will definitely be making these again. They are also nice because you can make the filling way ahead of time and just let it chill in the fridge. So easy!
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon olive oil
6 (4-ounce) skinned, boned chicken breast halves, cooked (we just baked them with a little salt and pepper on them)
1 cup chopped seeded peeled cucumber
3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger (I just used 3/4 tsp. ground ginger instead)
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Lettuce leaves (I used iceburg because I like the crunch:)
Directions:
Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Place chicken, cucumber, and bell pepper in a large bowl; set aside.
Whisk together sugar and the next 6 ingredients (sugar through garlic) until smooth. Add peanut butter and water; whisk until smooth, scraping sides. Add peanut butter mixture to chicken mixture; stir well. Add cilantro, and toss well. Serve with lettuce leaves.
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon olive oil
6 (4-ounce) skinned, boned chicken breast halves, cooked (we just baked them with a little salt and pepper on them)
1 cup chopped seeded peeled cucumber
3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger (I just used 3/4 tsp. ground ginger instead)
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Lettuce leaves (I used iceburg because I like the crunch:)
Directions:
Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Place chicken, cucumber, and bell pepper in a large bowl; set aside.
Whisk together sugar and the next 6 ingredients (sugar through garlic) until smooth. Add peanut butter and water; whisk until smooth, scraping sides. Add peanut butter mixture to chicken mixture; stir well. Add cilantro, and toss well. Serve with lettuce leaves.
Pecorino Romano with Apples and Fig Jam
We also made these for New Year's Eve. We actually made them for the first time about 3 years ago, when we really started getting into cooking. They are so good. I love the combination of the salty cheese, sour apple, and sweet fig jam on the crunchy bread. Definitely one of my favorites! Oh and we ommitted the brandy and it didn't really seem to mess up the consistency or anything.
Ingredients:
6 dried figs, halved
1/2 cup simple syrup, (recipe follows)
2 tablespoons brandy
1/4 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts
24 baguette slices
Olive oil, for drizzling
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
1 large apple (Granny Smith or Braeburn), thinly sliced into 24 slices
1/4 pound chunk Pecorino Romano, for shaving 24 pieces
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Place a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the figs, simple syrup, and brandy. Bring the mixture up to a simmer. Turn off the heat and let sit for 10 minutes. Place the fig mixture and the hazelnuts in a food processor and blend, pulsing a few times, until pureed. Set aside.
Place the baguette slices on a heavy baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Top each slice with 1 teaspoon grated Pecorino Romano. Bake until the bread is toasted and the cheese is melted and golden, about 7 minutes.
Top each slice of toast with 2 teaspoons of fig jam, a slice of apple and a piece of shaved Pecorino Romano. Transfer the toasts to a serving platter and serve.
Simple syrup:
1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
In a saucepan combine water and sugar over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved. Take pan off heat and cool the syrup. Any extra cooled syrup can be saved in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Ingredients:
6 dried figs, halved
1/2 cup simple syrup, (recipe follows)
2 tablespoons brandy
1/4 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts
24 baguette slices
Olive oil, for drizzling
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
1 large apple (Granny Smith or Braeburn), thinly sliced into 24 slices
1/4 pound chunk Pecorino Romano, for shaving 24 pieces
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Place a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the figs, simple syrup, and brandy. Bring the mixture up to a simmer. Turn off the heat and let sit for 10 minutes. Place the fig mixture and the hazelnuts in a food processor and blend, pulsing a few times, until pureed. Set aside.
Place the baguette slices on a heavy baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Top each slice with 1 teaspoon grated Pecorino Romano. Bake until the bread is toasted and the cheese is melted and golden, about 7 minutes.
Top each slice of toast with 2 teaspoons of fig jam, a slice of apple and a piece of shaved Pecorino Romano. Transfer the toasts to a serving platter and serve.
Simple syrup:
1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
In a saucepan combine water and sugar over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved. Take pan off heat and cool the syrup. Any extra cooled syrup can be saved in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Triple Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
We also made these for one of our New Year's Eve appetizers. So good and super easy!
Ingredients:
48 medium (2-pounds) white mushrooms
1 package (10-ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
Salt
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F. Using damp paper towels, wipe mushroom caps clean; remove and discard stems, or save for another use. In colander, squeeze liquid out of spinach until dry.
In large bowl, mix spinach, feta, cream cheese, green onions, and 1/4 teaspoon salt until well combined. Fill each mushroom with heaping teaspoon spinach mixture; top with Parmesan.
Line baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. Transfer mushrooms to baking sheet; bake 20 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and filling is golden brown.
Ingredients:
48 medium (2-pounds) white mushrooms
1 package (10-ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
Salt
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F. Using damp paper towels, wipe mushroom caps clean; remove and discard stems, or save for another use. In colander, squeeze liquid out of spinach until dry.
In large bowl, mix spinach, feta, cream cheese, green onions, and 1/4 teaspoon salt until well combined. Fill each mushroom with heaping teaspoon spinach mixture; top with Parmesan.
Line baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. Transfer mushrooms to baking sheet; bake 20 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and filling is golden brown.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Baked Lemon Pasta
I found this recipe one night when I felt like making dinner but didn't feel like going to the grocery store:) There are just a handful of ingredients and most of the stuff you probably already have in your fridge.
Ingredients:
1 pound thin spaghetti
4 Tbsp. salted butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 whole lemon, juiced and zested
2 cups sour cream
½ teaspoons kosher salt, or more to taste
plenty of grated parmesan cheese
flat-leaf parsley, chopped
extra lemon juice
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook spaghetti until al dente.
In a skillet, melt butter with olive oil over LOW HEAT. When butter is melted, add minced garlic. Squeeze lemon juice into the pan. Turn off heat.
Add sour cream and stir mixture together. Add lemon zest and salt. Taste, then add more salt if necessary. Pour mixture over drained spaghetti and stir together, then pour spaghetti into an oven safe dish.
Bake, covered, for 15 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for an additional 7 to 10 minutes. (Don’t bake too long or the pasta will dry out.)
When you remove it from the oven, squeeze a little more lemon juice over the top. Top generously with Parmesan cheese, then chopped parsley. Give it a final squeeze of lemon juice at the end.
Serve with crusty French bread and a simple green salad.
Ingredients:
1 pound thin spaghetti
4 Tbsp. salted butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 whole lemon, juiced and zested
2 cups sour cream
½ teaspoons kosher salt, or more to taste
plenty of grated parmesan cheese
flat-leaf parsley, chopped
extra lemon juice
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook spaghetti until al dente.
In a skillet, melt butter with olive oil over LOW HEAT. When butter is melted, add minced garlic. Squeeze lemon juice into the pan. Turn off heat.
Add sour cream and stir mixture together. Add lemon zest and salt. Taste, then add more salt if necessary. Pour mixture over drained spaghetti and stir together, then pour spaghetti into an oven safe dish.
Bake, covered, for 15 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for an additional 7 to 10 minutes. (Don’t bake too long or the pasta will dry out.)
When you remove it from the oven, squeeze a little more lemon juice over the top. Top generously with Parmesan cheese, then chopped parsley. Give it a final squeeze of lemon juice at the end.
Serve with crusty French bread and a simple green salad.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Chocolate Chip Mexican Wedding Cakes
I made these cookies a few weeks ago for my mom to take to a charity lunch. This is one of my favorite cookie recipes. They are like miniature chocolate chip cookies with a twist. They have only a few ingredients and I love the warm flavor the cinnamon gives them. They have a smooth, almost flaky texture. They are super easy to make but are also pretty enough to be served at a party. You can use any kind of nuts you want. I have made them with pecans and hazelnuts. Also, they don't brown as they bake so just bake them for the given time and they should be done.
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup finely chopped nuts
2 to 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cups (12-ounce package) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Beat butter and sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in vanilla extract. Gradually beat in flour, nuts, and cinnamon. Stir in 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips. Roll dough into 1-inch balls; place on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until set and light golden brown on bottom. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Microwave remaining chocolate chips in heavy-duty plastic bag for 30 seconds; knead. Microwave at 10 to 15 second intervals, kneading until smooth. (*Note: I usually just melt the chocolate in a small bowl and then transfer it to a plastic bag. It's easier to tell if it is all melted that way) Cut a tiny corner from bag; squeeze to drizzle over cookies. Refrigerate cookies for about 5 minutes or until chocolate is set. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup finely chopped nuts
2 to 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cups (12-ounce package) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Beat butter and sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in vanilla extract. Gradually beat in flour, nuts, and cinnamon. Stir in 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips. Roll dough into 1-inch balls; place on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until set and light golden brown on bottom. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Microwave remaining chocolate chips in heavy-duty plastic bag for 30 seconds; knead. Microwave at 10 to 15 second intervals, kneading until smooth. (*Note: I usually just melt the chocolate in a small bowl and then transfer it to a plastic bag. It's easier to tell if it is all melted that way) Cut a tiny corner from bag; squeeze to drizzle over cookies. Refrigerate cookies for about 5 minutes or until chocolate is set. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.
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