Recipe from tasteforexcellence.com. Very neat lady that I met at Cooks Warehouse, Midtown Atlanta.

A great quick Indian dish that is fun to make. Very fresh, with STRONG lime flavor. Maybe take it easy on the lime the first go around, and then go nuts later on. The only hard part is de-veining the shrimp. A great way to bypass that step is to by the pre-frozen cooked shrimp in the freezer section. I was talking the grocer at Publix, and he said the “fresh” shrimp is actually frozen and they thaw it out for you and you were wasting money.

I would have to disagree with him, because to me the frozen stuff does taste as good as the “fresh” stuff I by from the seafood section. Maybe it is just the placebo effect, but I am will to pay for it. Have a good one!

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
—————————————————

6 cloves of garlic, Chopped
1 Jalapeno, Seeded and Chopped
8 Green Onions, Chopped
1/2 c Cliantro, Chopped
Juice and Zest of a Big Lime
1 Tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 Tsp Ground Black Pepper
1 Tsp Garam Masala
1 Tsp Cumin
1/2 Tsp Cayenne
1 Tsp Dark Brown Sugar
3/4 c Coconut Milk
1 1/2 lbs Large Shrimp, Peeled

Directions:
——————————————

1. Preheat oven to 450F
2. Mix all of your spices together and set aside
3. Place the first 5 ingredients in your food processor. Add spices, sugar, and coconut milk. Process until it is a slight chunky paste.
4. Place 4 large square of aluminum foil (12×12) on the counter.
5. Divide the shrimp and the spice paste between the four packets, and seal the edges to make a packet.
6. Place packets on a baking sheet and place in the oven for about 10-15 mins or until the shrimp are pink.

Serve with steamed Basmati Rice with Green Peas.

Fettuccine Paolo

This recipe is high in carbs and great for runners before a race. Not too surprisingly, I found this recipe in Runner’s World Magazine. It was very tasty and a definite redo. I cooked the chicken on the stove top, you could also broil or grill it, depending on how ambitious you are.

—————————-
Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups Red Bell Peppers, thinly sliced
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
6 oz. fettuccine
1 1/3 cups chicken stock
4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts with liquid
1 1/2 cups grilled chicken sliced (~1/2 lb)
2 tablespoons fresh basil, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper

——————————————————-
Directions:
In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add red pepper and cook until soft (~ 3 mins). Add garlic, saute for 30 seconds. Add chicken stock and vinegar, bring to a boil, and simmer until reduced by half. Add sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and liquid, chicken, and basil. Salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm.
–Pasta–
Follow the directions on the pasta to box to cook al dente.

After everything is prepared, add the fettuccine to the saute pan and mix. Top with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Beef Taco

This is not really a recipe, but more of a suggestion. When I make tacos for the popular Taco Night! I use the premixed taco seasoning packets. First of all, it’s convenient as heck. Secondly, uh tasty, but to increase the tastiness of the taco I add one thing…

The juice of one lime!

Yes, that is all it takes to make some great tacos for taco night! By the way, don’t forget the toppings!

• Cilantro
• Tomatoes
• Lettuce
• Pepper Jack Cheese
• Grilled Onions and Peppers
• Sour Cream
• Red Taco Hot Sauce (El Paso)

Craig’s Engagement Dinner

I have a perfect excuse as to why the blog hasn’t been updated as often as I wanted. Main reason, on March 1st, 2008 I proposed to my beautiful girlfriend Alexis. She said yes and we couldn’t be happier. Now it’s time to get some wedding plans started. Oh yeah, this picture is the dinner I had at the Sundial Westin (the restaurant of that night) but I didn’t really eat all too much of it. I was too nervous. Click on the photo to see my Flickr account and more photos from that night.

Tortilla Soup

The other day my girlfriend and I were sitting around the house after a hard day of work–I had to teach a class of 50 kids, which can get out of control sometimes. It was the perfect time to call it quits and go out to eat. I’m proud to say that we got a second wind and cooked one of our favorite soups. Very tasty, it has a nice southwestern Texas flavor to it. Click on the photo to get the recipe! It’s healthy, too. For everyone on weight watchers (Alexis is on it, so I guess I am unofficially on it as well) the soup is 3 points per cup.

Now there is nothing wrong about eating out, but if you are constantly doing it isn’t fun anymore. Not to mention, it can also start to get pretty expensive. Work and your personal life tend to get in the way of cooking at home. You have to remember to have fun, try new meals, and keep a list of staples (like this recipe) for those tough days. Remember the more you cook at home, the better eating out will be. It should be something of an adventure or treating yourself to a must-have dish at your favorite restaurant.

Orzo Chicken Stuffed Pepper

Agh! I went to start dinner tonight and when I opened my fridge, to my surprise I was low on food. Lucky I was able to find:

A large Red Pepper

Orzo Pasta

1 Frozen Chicken Breast

Black Olives

Leftover Artichoke Hearts

Garlic (I always have this)

Green Onions

Tomato Sauce

Capers

Cooked the chicken with the tomato sauce, olives, garlic, green onions, capers, and artichoke hearts. Mixed in the cooked orzo, stuffed the pepper and threw it into the oven. It came out very well and we had a great dinner. It seems to be pretty healthy as well (always a plus). Too bad I didn’t write the recipe down. Looks like I heading to the grocery store.

Black Rice with Sweet Potatoes

Click on the photo to get the full recipe for this side dish. My girlfriend and I took a trip to Granbury, TX to visit with her grandma and unfortunately ran into an ex…eh, not too bad. The guy doesn’t shower that often and plays video games all day. Not hard competition at all.

Grandma is a pretty good cook, I think that is where my girlfriend got her knack for cooking. She made this delicious side dish for us. It’s best with pork tenderloin (maybe a future post).

FUN FACT: Back hundreds of years ago, black rice was exclusively grown for the emperor of China. Apparently, he liked it a lot! Now you can pick up a bottle of this at any Whole Foods.