Cucumber Gazpacho with Shrimp Relish

Cucumber Gazpacho with Shrimp Relish
This is a yummy cold soup.

YIELD: 4 servings
TOTAL: 20 MINUTES
COURSE: Soups/Stews

Ingredients

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
2 cups quartered grape tomatoes
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
2 1/2 cups chopped English cucumber
1 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1 cup whole-milk plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Dash of ground red pepper
1 large garlic clove, peeled

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shrimp with 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, cumin, and paprika. Add shrimp to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until done. Stir in tomatoes; remove from heat. Add cilantro.
2. Place remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, cucumber, and remaining ingredients in a blender; process until smooth. Ladle 1 cup soup into each of 4 bowls; top with 3/4 cup relish.
Sustainable Choice: Look for shrimp that are certified sustainable. U.S.-farmed shrimp or wild Northern shrimp from Canada are the best options. Avoid imported wild and farmed species.

Laura Zapalowski, Cooking Light
APRIL 2011

Meaty White Gravy for Biscuits

This is really a simple recipe. It looks long, but that’s because I’m verbose, not because the recipe is complicated.

Now, this is a lot of gravy, but it makes such fantastic leftovers, I think it’s worthwhile. If you run out of biscuits, eat it over toast. Yum. Easy enough to half the recipe if you want. Use a large enough pan to hold 2 lbs. of sausage + 1/2 gallon of milk and still have plenty of room for stirring.

2 lbs. of MILD sausage
seasonings
~1 c of flour
1/2 gallon milk

 

Cook the sausage on medium-low heat with seasoning added in from the beginning so the flavor really soaks in. I like to use garlic salt and onion powder. Sometimes I put in pepper or other spices. While the sausage is browning, preheat the oven and get the biscuits onto a baking pan.

When the sausage is completely browned, you may remove some of the grease if you wish. I don’t. If you’re cooking scrambled eggs too, you should get them started.

Add flour until the sausage is coated and the flour starts to look somewhat dry. At this point you should put your biscuits in the oven.

Pour in the milk and turn up the heat, stirring constantly or so. when it boils, it will be about as thick as it’s going to get. If it’s too thick, you can add more milk. Too thin? should have added more flour in the beginning. If you add more now it may be lumpy. You can blend some flour and milk vigorously in a jar and add it, then bring it to a boil again. make sure you’re not burning the biscuits or eggs while you’re messing around with the gravy.

Mu Shu Chicken Wraps

Makes 6 servings.

1 16oz can plums, rinsed, drained, and pitted
1/2 c orange juice
1/4 c finely chopped onion
1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips
6 (7-inch) flour tortillas
3 cups coleslaw mix

1. Bamix the plums until almost smooth.  Combine plums, orange juice, onion, ginger, and cinnamon in slow cooker; mix well.  Place chicken strips over plum mixture. Cover and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours.

2.  Create a tortilla wrap with chicken, sauce, and coleslaw.  Use remaining plum sauce for dipping.

Adapted from Home-Tested Slow Cooker Recipes:
Mu Shu Turkey p. 96

Blackened Cumin-Cayenne Tilapia

I made this, along with roasted vegetables for the gang (Jack, Tamara, Andrea, & Lupita) over our spring break in Phoenix.

Photo: Photo: Randy Mayor; Styling: Rose Nguyen

Blackened Cumin-Cayenne Tilapia via myrecipes.com

YIELD: 4 servings (serving size: 1 fillet)

TOTAL:18 MINUTES

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Preheat broiler.

2. Rub oil evenly over fish. Combine cumin, salt, garlic powder, and peppers; sprinkle over fish. Arrange fish on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; broil 5 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or desired degree of doneness.

Cooking Light
SEPTEMBER 2009

Potato Cheese Casserole

7 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled and grated
Mix together:
1/2 cup melted margarine
1/3 cup dry onions
1 1/2 cup grated cheese
2 cups sour cream
2 cans Cream of Chicken soup
1 tsp. salt
Pour mixtures over grated potatoes and mix. Spread into a 9X13 pan.
Sprinkle with crushed cornflakes or parsley. Bake 45 minutes at 350.
Tips: Don't over boil the potatoes or it will be hard to grate. A chopped onion can be substituted for dry onions. Place dry or fresh onion with the margarine when melting. Frozen potatoes can be used (but not as good!).

Date Pop Tarts

Filling
16 dates
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

Make the filling: Open dates and remove pits. Dice. Boil and reduce to simmer. While simmering, mash the dates until you’re happy. I liked mine with some chunks left in them. If you don’t like any chunks at all, you might have to put it in the blender. When dates look thickened enough to spread with a spoon, they’re done.

Pastry
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pats
1 large egg
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) milk

1 additional large egg (to brush on pastry)

Make the dough: Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Work in the butter with your fingers, pastry blender or food processor until pea-sized lumps of butter are still visible, and the mixture holds together when you squeeze it. If you’ve used a food processor, transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Whisk the first egg and milk together and stir them into the dough, mixing just until everything is cohesive, kneading briefly on a well-floured counter if necessary.

Divide the dough in half (approximately 8 1/4 ounces each), shape each half into a smooth rectangle, about 3×5 inches. You can roll this out immediately (see Warm Kitchen note below) or wrap each half in plastic and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Assemble the tarts: If the dough has been chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to soften and become workable, about 15 to 30 minutes. Place one piece on a lightly floured work surface, and roll it into a rectangle about 1/8″ thick, large enough that you can trim it to an even 9″ x 12″. [You can use a 9" x 13" pan, laid on top, as guidance.] Repeat with the second piece of dough. Set trimmings aside. Cut each piece of dough into thirds – you’ll form nine 3″ x 4″ rectangles.

Beat the additional egg and brush it over the entire surface of the first dough. This will be the “inside” of the tart; the egg is to help glue the lid on. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling into the center of each rectangle, keeping a bare 1/2-inch perimeter around it. Place a second rectangle of dough atop the first, using your fingertips to press firmly around the pocket of filling, sealing the dough well on all sides. Press the tines of a fork all around the edge of the rectangle. Paint with egg whites. Repeat with remaining tarts.

Gently place the tarts on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Prick the top of each tart multiple times with a fork; you want to make sure steam can escape, or the tarts will become billowy pillows rather than flat toaster pastries. Refrigerate the tarts (they don’t need to be covered) for 30 minutes, while you preheat your oven to 350°F.

Bake the tarts: Remove the tarts form the fridge, and bake them for 20 to 25 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown. Cool in pan on rack.

Note: I adapted this recipe from http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/04/homemade-pop-tarts/ where there are ideas for other fillings. Apparently this recipe had there been adapted already from someone else's site.

I blogged about the making of these at jack.turner08.com, where I also included more pictures. I put the recipe on www.dailyburn.com too, and it turns out that each pop tart has about 650 calories.

Strawberry Agua Fresca

With strawberries on sale and Spring here to stay, I thought this was a fun way to celebrate a bit of warm weather.

Spanish for "fresh water," agua fresca is a refreshing, fruit-infused drink that is served throughout Mexico. Depending on the ripeness of the berries, adjust the amount of sugar for desired sweetness.

YIELD: 8 cups (serving size: 1 1/3 cups)

Ingredients

• 4 cups water
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 6 cups hulled strawberries
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)

Preparation

Combine water and sugar, stirring until sugar dissolves. Place strawberries in a blender, and process until smooth. Combine the sugar mixture, strawberry puree, and juice; stir well.

Traci Des Jardins, Mijita, San Francisco, California, Cooking Light MAY 2005