Shrimp Pasta in Foil Packet

Recipe Taken From:
www.thepioneerwoman.com

Ingredients:

½ cups Olive Oil
4 cloves Garlic, Minced
3 whole 14.5 Ounce Cans Diced (or Whole) Tomatoes
½ cups White Wine
2 pounds Jumbo Or Large Shrimp, Peeled And Deveined
Salt And Pepper, to taste
Fresh Parsley, Minced
1 pound Linguine, Uncooked
Red Pepper Flakes, to taste

Preparation:

Cook pasta for 1/2 the recommended cooking time. Pasta should still be very firm.

In a large skillet or pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for a minute. Dump in the tomatoes and wine. Stir the mixture together, season with salt and pepper, and allow to cook for ten minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare a large parcel of heavy duty aluminum foil. It should be large enough to hold the entire pasta dish.

Throw the shrimp on the top of the pasta sauce. Throw the drained pasta over the top, then pour the whole dish onto the foil. Tightly wrap the foil into a parcel.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and keep warm until serving.

Open the foil parcel right before serving. Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil over the top. Squeeze on lemon juice, if desired.

Notes & Tips:
This is the second time I've made this pasta. It's so yummy and easy. I didn't use even close to the 1/2 cup of oil it calls for. I know your supposed to, so it coats the pasta, but seriously I can't bring myself to use even a 1/4 cup of oil. So I just coat the pan so that the garlic doesn't burn, maybe 2 or 3 Tbsp. And I still think it tastes great. You can also half this recipe and it turns out just as great, that's what we did since there's only 2 of us.

Brown Sugar & Mustard Pork Chops

Recipe Taken From:
Sparkpeople.com

Ingredients:

* 6 boneless pork loin chops
* 1/3 cup yellow mustard
* 1/2 cup brown sugar

Preparation:
Mix mustard and sugar. Pour over pork chops. Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes depending on thickness.

Notes & Tips:
This is the simplest recipe I've ever made. This time I tried mixing regular yellow mustard and spicy Dijon mustard. You'll be surprised how tasty this simple recipe is. I served this with a salad, peas, and a roll.

Nutrition Facts:
* Calories: 228.0
* Total Fat: 7.8 g
* Cholesterol: 51.1 mg
* Sodium: 204.4 mg
* Total Carbs: 18.3 g
* Dietary Fiber: 0.5 g
* Protein: 20.7 g

Colcannon

Recipe Taken From:
wwww.foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:
* 3 pounds potatoes, scrubbed
* 2 sticks butter
* 1 1/4 cups hot milk
* Freshly ground black pepper
* 1 head cabbage, cored and finely shredded
* 1 (1-pound) piece ham or bacon, cooked the day before
* 4 scallions, finely chopped
* Chopped parsley leaves, for garnish

Preparation:
Steam the potatoes in their skins for 30 minutes. Peel them using a knife and fork. Chop with a knife before mashing. Mash thoroughly to remove all the lumps. Add 1 stick of butter in pieces. Gradually add hot milk, stirring all the time. Season with a few grinds of black pepper.

Boil the cabbage in unsalted water until it turns a darker color. Add 2 tablespoons butter to tenderize it. Cover with lid for 2 minutes. Drain thoroughly before returning it to the pan. Chop into small pieces.

Put the ham in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes until tender. Drain. Remove any fat and chop into small pieces.

Add cabbage, scallions, and ham to mashed potatoes, stirring them in gently.

Serve in individual soup plates. Make an indentation on the top by swirling a wooden spoon. Put 1 tablespoon of butter into each indentation. Sprinkle with parsley.

Notes & Tips:
This is a traditional Irish side dish, many times served on the side of corned beef. I used a ham hock that I had in the freezer. I like the smokey flavor that the ham hock brings to the dish.Also, I didn't have any scallions so I omitted those, and I had already boiled my potatoes before I realized I was supposed to steam them. Mat grilled a 3.5lb corned beef. I cut back on the amount of hot milk, it was starting to look soupy. I did cut WAYY WAYY back on the butter, to only about 1 stick!

Nutrition Facts:
Let's not even go there...there are 2 sticks of butter in this recipe!

Cilantro Shrimp

Recipe Adapted From:
Cooking Light Magazine
August 2010

Ingredients:

* 1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
* 3 cups (1-inch) slices green onions
* 2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
* 5 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
* 3 1/2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
* 1/2 teaspoon sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste) or hot sauce
* 2 cups chopped fresh cilantro
* 3 cups hot cooked brown rice

Preparation:

1. Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat; add oil to pan, swirling to coat. Add onions, ginger, and garlic to pan; stir-fry 1 minute. Add shrimp; stir-fry 2 minutes. Stir in soy sauce and chile paste; stir-fry 1 minute or until shrimp are done. Remove pan from heat; add cilantro, stirring constantly until cilantro wilts. Serve over rice.

Notes & Tips:
I changed a few things in the ingredients, for example, I didn't have any of that crazy hot sauce they mention, I just used red pepper flakes. Also, I didn't have any brown rice so I used a box of wild rice. I didn't have any green onions or fresh ginger, so I omited the onions and used ground ginger instead. I thought it turned out great. Pretty spicy, which I liked.

Nutrition Facts:

Calories: 356
Fat: 6.9g (sat 1.2g,mono 2.3g,poly 2.8g)
Protein: 29g
Carbohydrate: 44.3g
Fiber: 5.1g
Cholesterol: 172mg
Iron: 5.1mg

Lemon Couscous with Broccoli

Recipe Taken From:
Healthy Cooking, Taste of Home
Feb/March 2011

Ingredients:

* 4 cups fresh broccoli florets, cut into small pieces
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 cup uncooked whole wheat couscous
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1-1/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
* 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
* 1 teaspoon lemon juice
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
* 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
* 1 tablespoon slivered almonds, toasted

Preparation:

* In a large skillet, saute broccoli in oil until crisp-tender. Add couscous and garlic; saute 1-2 minutes longer.
* Stir in the broth, lemon peel, lemon juice, salt, basil and pepper. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 5-10 minutes or until broth is absorbed. Fluff with a fork. Sprinkle with almonds. Yield: 6 servings.

Notes & Tips:
I really enjoyed this as a side dish. I served this with homemade oven fried chicken tenders. The only thing I didn't like about this dish was the almonds. They tasted stale to me.

Nutrition Facts:
2/3 cup equals 115 calories, 3 g fat (trace saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 328 mg sodium, 18 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 5 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1 starch, 1/2 fat.

Thai Shrimp Soup

Recipe Taken From:
Healthy Cooking Magazine:
Feb/March 2011

Ingredients:

* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
* 1 cup water
* 1 tablespoon brown sugar
* 1 tablespoon minced fresh gingerroot
* 1 tablespoon fish or soy sauce
* 1 tablespoon red curry paste
* 1 lemon grass stalk
* 1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined
* 1-1/2 cups frozen shelled edamame
* 1 can (14 ounces) light coconut milk
* 1 can (8-3/4 ounces) whole baby corn, drained and cut in half
* 1/2 cup bamboo shoots
* 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
* 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
* 2 tablespoons lime juice
* 1-1/2 teaspoons grated lime peel
* 1 teaspoon curry powder

Preparation:

* In a Dutch oven, saute onion in oil until tender. Add the broth, water, brown sugar, ginger, fish sauce, curry paste and lemon grass. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; carefully stir in shrimp and edamame. Cook, uncovered, for 5-6 minutes or until shrimp turn pink.
* Add the coconut milk, corn, bamboo shoots, basil, cilantro, lime juice, lime peel and curry powder; heat through. Discard lemon grass. Yield: 8 servings (2 quarts).

Notes & Tips:
This came out pretty good. I really like the broth part of this. I think I might use smaller pieces of baby corn. Also, I used ground ginger and dried basil. I also used pre-cooked shrimp and I added them too early. If you decide to use pre-cooked shrimp please add them at the end so you don't overcook them like I did. Also, I don't know where to find lemon grass, so I used lemon zest instead and it was fine.

Nutrition Facts:
Serves 8
1 cup equals 163 calories, 7 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 69 mg cholesterol, 505 mg sodium, 9 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 14 g protein.

Egg Foo Yong

Recipe Taken From:
Healthy Cooking Magazine Feb/March 2011

Ingredients:

* 1 can (14 ounces) chop suey vegetables, drained
* 1/2 pound peeled and deveined cooked small shrimp, coarsely chopped
* 4 green onions, thinly sliced
* 4 eggs, beaten
* 2 tablespoons canola oil

GREEN PEA SAUCE:
* 2 tablespoons cornstarch
* 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
* 2 cups water
* 1-1/2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
* 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed

Preparation:
* In a large bowl, combine the chop suey vegetables, shrimp and green onions. Stir in eggs. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 teaspoon oil. Drop vegetable mixture by 1/4 cupfuls into skillet. Cook in batches until browned on both sides, using remaining oil as needed.
* In a small saucepan, combine cornstarch and bouillon. Gradually stir in water and soy sauce. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in peas; heat through. Serve with egg foo yong.

Notes & Tips:
This was really easy and very good. I don't think it makes 4 servings, but maybe I made the patties too big. Also, the pea sauce didn't thicken with the amount of cornstarch recommended. I had to add about a tablespoon of flour. Also, I served the sauce on the side, b/c it looked kinda funky...but it tasted great so then I poured it on the patties. Also, I had a really hard time finding chop suey veggies, but La Choy makes them and they are in the "ethnic" section of our grocery store.

Nutrition Facts:
Serves 4
3 patties with 1/2 cup sauce equals 242 calories, 13 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 298 mg cholesterol, 497 mg sodium, 10 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 20 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 3 lean meat, 1-1/2 fat, 1/2 starch.

Egg Foo Yong published in Healthy Cooking February/March 2011, p49