Shrimp Salad

Easy, elegant, versatile and oh so good! How can you go wrong with this salad? I recently catered an event where I made this salad and I had several people ask me for the recipe. It's too good not to share. And, it's so perfect for summer!

I start by taking my thawed, already cooked shrimp and laying them on a paper towel to get all the moisture out.

A few simple ingredients all thrown in a bowl ready to stir-up and you are done.

I love all the possibilities with this salad. You can serve it as a stand alone, in a bowl for lunch.

You can also serve it as an appetizer with crackers.

And of course, it would be a great first course to any meal, baked fish or grilled chicken or beef, to name a few. I have also made this ahead of time and packed it up for a picnic lunch or dinner.

Shrimp Salad

Ingredients

• 4 cups chopped cooked shrimp
• 3 thinly sliced green onions
• 2 diced celery ribs

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• salt and pepper to taste

Place shrimp, green onions and celery in a bowl. In a separate bowl stir together the dressing ingredients. Stir together shrimp mixture and dressing.

See above for serving ideas.

Asparagus and Cheese Tart

Asparagus is another spring food that I find irresistible. In fact, my husband refers to this delectable food as "the queen mother of all vegetables." I would have to agree, although, artichokes are right up there too.

Our favorite way to enjoy asparagus is either roasted or grilled (with olive oil, garlic and seasonings). I wanted to make a savory tart that included aspargus and found this recipe on one of my many favorite blogs— Closet Cooking. I did change the recipe a bit however. I went to buy the gruyére cheese and knew that it was expensive but oh my! At my local Walmart it was $13.95 for a half a pound! Ummmm, talk about sticker shock! Time to change the recipe a bit. So, I settled for swiss cheese. I am very happy to report that we did not miss the gruyére.

This tart was very tasty. It works well as a side dish or, it would make a wonderful appetizer. The "queen mother" never disappoints!

Asparagus and Cheese Tart

Adapted slightly from Closet Cooking

Ingredients:

1 sheet puff pastry (thawed according to the packages directions)

2 tablespoon honey dijon mustard

2 cups swiss cheese (sliced or grated), or gruyére cheese

1 pound asparagus (cleaned and bottom of stalk broken off)

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

Roll the puff pastry out to a 15x10 inch rectangle.

Score a line around the puff pastry 1 inch from the edge.

Brush the mustard around the inside of the cut.

Sprinkle the cheese over the mustard.

Arrange the asparagus in a single layer over the cheese.

Season with salt and pepper.

Brush the outside inch of the pastry with the oil.

Bake in a preheated 400F oven until the asparagus is tender and the pastry is golden brown, about 15-25 minutes.

Pineapple Salsa

It has been a busy couple of weeks around here. Last weekend we had a bridal shower for my future-daughter-in-law (more on the upcoming nuptials later). This weekend we had lots of family in and a big Easter meal here on Friday night. This salsa was a part of both weekends. We enjoyed it at the shower and then again on Friday night as an appetizer.

Made with all fresh ingredients, this salsa can be used as an appetizer with tortilla chips. Or, it would be wonderful on grilled chicken or fish.

Ordinarily, I would dread the messy task of cutting up a pineapple.

Fortunately, we live in a day and time (and I might add, we are slightly spoiled), that we can use such a thing as a Pineapple Wedger. It really makes short work of the whole process.

I was tempted to stop the process right here and just serve the fresh pineapple.

But the finished product was so worth it.

Here you see my sweet niece enjoying her pineapple salsa appetizer with my slightly deranged brother-in-law in the background! A good time was had by all!

Pineapple Salsa

Ingredients

• 2 plum tomato
• 1/2 medium red onion (whole)
• 1 4-in. piece seedless cucumber
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
• 1 Jalapeno Pepper
• 1/2 fruit pineapple (raw)
• 1 lime
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

Hull and remove seeds from tomatoes. Dice tomatoes, onion and cucumber. Chop cilantro. Combine tomatoes, onion, cucumber and cilantro in bowl. Cut jalapeno in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Finely chop jalapeno, add to bowl.

Slice top and bottom off of pineapple, creating a flat base. Core and peel. Set aside half of the pineapple for another use. Dice pineapple flesh. Juice lime to measure about 2 tbsp juice. Add pineapple, lime juice and salt to bowl. 

Mix thoroughly until combined. Serve with Lime Tortilla Chips.

Yield - 16 servings. Calories - 20; per serving (3 Tbls.)

This post has been linked to Eat at Home

Make Yourself a Dang Quesa-dill-a!

This post has been linked to Eat at Home.

A trophy for the first person who can tell me what movie that line comes from! All the boys in our house can quote practically every line from every movie they've ever liked—and they did like that movie. The quoting of media soundbites makes it in to the common vernacular of our family's everyday speech.

Okay,… if you've given up guessing, I'll tell you. The movie is Napolean Dynamite.

I'd imagine that Napolean's version of a quesadilla would involve a flour tortilla and mounds of grated cheese. It is after all, a staple in our house as well. Today, we're going to kick up the quesadilla a few notches and give it the wow! factor—the likes of which, I'm sure Napoleon has never seen.

The boys had gone off in different directions the other night so I whipped up these chicken-mushroom quesadillas for my husband and me. I'm thankful that I made enough for the boys to have some when they got home later that night. They were delicious. They were easy to throw together with healthy, fresh ingredients. My husband and I both agreed, they were restaurant quality!

These would make a nice dinner meal adding a side and or salad. Or you might consider having them with soup: corn chowder, tomato or black bean. Whatever you choose, give these a try, you won't regret it!

Chicken-Mushroom Quesadillas

Adapted from Ellie Krieger

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 8 ounces white button mushrooms, coarsely chopped (about 3 cups)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups cooked diced skinless boneless chicken breast (1 breast half)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 cups spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 10-inch flour tortillas (preferably whole-wheat)
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
• butter (for lightly spreading on tortillas)
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushroom water has evaporated and they begin to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring for 1 minute more. Add the chicken, cumin, chili powder, and oregano and stir until all the spices are incorporated. Stir in the spinach, salt and pepper and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.

Lay the tortillas on a flat surface. Sprinkle half of each tortilla with 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese. Spoon 1/4 of the chicken mixture on top of the cheese on each tortilla, then top each with 2 more tablespoons of cheese and fold the tortillas over into half-moon, pressing down lightly to seal them closed.

Spread a little butter on both sides of tortilla and place in skillet over medium heat. Place 2 quesadillas in the pan and cook, turning once, until lightly browned and the cheese is melted, about 3 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining quesadillas. Slice each quesadilla in half. Serve with the salsa and sour cream.

Yield: 4 Servings

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

With Super Bowl Sunday quickly approaching , it's nice to have an easy, quick appetizer to add to any party. I found the recipe for these bite-sized babies from Cathy over at Noblepig.

You will want to double the recipe for these because they go FAST! For an extra bonus, they freeze well so if you find yourself with a house full of teenagers (often the case around here), you will be prepared. Also great for an after-school snack.

They have a bit of a kick to them thanks to the generous amount of pepperoni in them. If you have picky eaters, you may want to cut back on the amount of pepperoni.

The recipe calls for using a store bought pizza sauce for dipping. However, if you have some of the homemade Marinara Sauce I blogged about yesterday on hand, it is the perfect compliment. I got rave reviews from my crew for these mini bite-sized pizzas!

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

Adapted from Noble Pig

• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
• 4 ounces pepperoni, cut into small cubes (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 cup pizza sauce (or homemade marinara)
• 2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil (opt.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.

Stir the batter and divide among the mini muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 15-20 minutes.

Microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through, then stir in 1 Tablespoon basil (opt). Sprinkle the puffs with the remaining 1 Tablespoon basil (opt). Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.

Yield - 24 mini-muffins