Cook Can Spin Dye » allrecipes

Shrimp Anything.

Sarah — Thu, 19 May 2011 23:55:33 +0000

I love shrimp. It’s a fact that anything tasty that includes shrimp is also a favorite of mine. Shrimp gumbo, shrimp cocktails, shrimp rolled in bacon and grilled… Actually, I have never had the last one but I wonder if it is possible and if it would taste good. My newest meal from scratch is making Alfredo of any type, but shrimp Alfredo is my favorite Alfredo to date. It really isn’t too difficult to make and very rich and filling.

How I make it is kinda quirky and possibly not correct, but the result is always tasty. I start by making a bechamel sauce (heavy on the cheese, especially old, stinky cheeses like aged English cheddar or a nutty aged Gouda), then modify it to make it into the alfredo sauce by adding half heavy whipping cream and half 2% milk. A recipe very similar to mine is listed below. And I add shrimp to it at the end, to stew in the cheesy sauce.

Shrimp Fettucine Alfredo – courtesy of Allrecipes.com
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Ready In: 40 Minutes
Servings: 6

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound fettuccini pasta
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound cooked shrimp – peeled and deveined
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup half-and-half
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (I use closer to a 3/4 cup of cheese total but add and taste a little at a time to get the right amount)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
salt to taste, pepper to taste (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
In a large skillet, saute shrimp and garlic in the butter for about one minute. Pour in half and half; stir.
Sprinkle Parmesan cheese in one tablespoon at a time, stirring constantly.
After all Parmesan is added, mix in parsley and salt. Stir frequently making sure it does not boil. Sauce will take a while to thicken.
When sauce has thickened, combine with cooked pasta noodles; serve hot.

Enjoy!

Apple Squares = Perfect Summer Treat

Sarah — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 21:10:37 +0000

One of my more favorite ingredients to work with is apples. There are many different dishes, condiments, snacks, and desserts that use apples as a foundation.

With the sizzling summer heat here and apple sales upon occasion, one of my favorite summer stand-by treats is the Apple Square recipe found on Allrecipes.com. It’s pretty easy to make, can be doubled to make a big 13×9 pan, and travels very well in both hot and cold weather. It makes a quick breakfast if you are on the run. Simply warm it, add vanilla ice cream, and you have a very tasty dessert. It also works as a tasty snack and people of all ages seem to love it!

Apple Squares

Ingredients: (I doubled the ingredients to fit into a 13×9)

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped apple

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9×9 inch pan (or 13×9 if the ingredients are doubled). Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon; set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together melted butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup of white sugar with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture until just combined, then stir in the apples and walnuts. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. In a cup or small bowl, stir together the remaining cinnamon and sugar; sprinkle over the top of the bars.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in preheated oven; finished bars should spring back when lightly touched. Cool in the pan, and cut into squares.

The result is fluffy, not overly-sweet, and keeps for a week if it’s properly stored. A perfect way to begin and end a day.

Ahhh, a red snapper. Mmmmm, very tasty.

Sarah — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 21:38:08 +0000

When I am not quoting UHF (1989), I am trying to fit more fish into my diet. Ignoring the recent doomsday warning about fish (because the warnings were over-inflated), I have decided to start experimenting with fish using allrecipes.com recipes. If you haven’t been to this website, you must open a new tab or window and go now. The ratings and reviews are really what makes this recipe site so special.

There were red snapper fillets sitting lonely in my freezer. What’s a girl to do? Well, make some Spicy Red Snapper Fillets. The result was a very tasty dish that had only a hint of fish flavor. If you are thinking at this moment “I hate fish flavor”, I can’t say that I blame you. The trick to any good fish meal is getting fresh fish – thawed or unthawed. I found that Trader Joes has the least fishy tasting frozen fish, especially the sockeye salmon which is notorious for tasting fishy from other stores.

If you aren’t sure if the fresh fish you want to purchase is fresh, smell it. Does it smell like the ocean – clean and slightly salty? Or does it smell like something that washed ashore? If it’s the latter, that fish is no good and you should throw it back. Quickly. Fresh fish will almost never smell fishy.

Obviously, this method doesn’t work as well with frozen fish. I typically find good frozen fish by trial and error. The location of where it was farmed or caught might help in your quest. And don’t forget to check the expiration date – even frozen stuff expires eventually.

The last thing to remember is that frozen is often fresher than “fresh” thawed fish for us Midwesterners because they freeze it right away where they caught/farmed it instead of either shipping it without freezing it or thawing it at the store. Bon appétit!