This year I am a little bit under the weather so I am posting a recap of my Halloween Posts over the years. I hope the post give you some ideas to use for your gatherings.
I’ll be back posting shortly with the gumbo recipe I promised.
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Hi Everyone,
This past week my house was all about shrimp recipes. Bob picked up 2 lbs. of shrimp and I was planning on making a big pot of gumbo; some for now and some to freeze and then I stumbled upon this recipe for a shrimp appetizer on Pinterest that looked interesting.
I discovered this recipe during one of my late night recipe searches. It called for very few ingredients which is one criteria I need when making any appetizer so I thought that I would give it a try for a quick lunch for Bob and I.
I have to be completely honest with all of my members regarding this recipe…
The taste of this appetizer was great but for my personal tastes it was a little too salty because of the cheese I chose to use. I used a regular white cheddar and I think that next time I would definitely buy the lower sodium variety.
In addition, I would ease up a little on the mayonnaise and make more of the shrimp taste shine through. It was still enjoyable but I have to tweak most of my recipes and I wanted to share my thoughts with you.
We made it for a quick “taste test” lunch but if you were to serve it for guests I would cut the bread more evenly into perfect squares.
Here is the recipefrom Pinterest
courtesy of Jamhands.net
Cheesy Shrimp Ciabatta Makes about 16 slices when cut
Ingredients:
1/2 pound cooked shrimp, tails on is fine
1 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
salt & pepper to taste
1 large loaf ciabatta bread, sliced in half like a large sandwich
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup of cheddar jack cheese
Oops, I almost forgot the dill …
Directions:
Remove the tails from the shrimp and set aside. In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shrimp and old bay seasoning. Cook just for a minute or two until coated well with the seasoning. Remove from heat and let cool. When cooled, chop into small pieces.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the shrimp in a medium bowl with the mayo, garlic, chives, dill, and cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread onto the cut ciabatta bread. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake for 10-13 minutes. Ovens vary so check it at 10 minutes to see if it looks completely warmed through and that the cheese is melted. Slice into sticks. Serve warm.
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Hope you are all well.
Please be careful, Covid-19 cases are on the rise all over the world and I pray that you and your families stay safe.
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In the middle of the pandemic, many ordinary things have changed for all of us, especially grocery shopping. Now we use instacart and have everything delivered. But we have to follow guidelines and hopefully make it safer for all.
Bob and I ordered groceries from Trader Joe’s this past week andI wanted to share a quick recap of some of my lunches and desserts that I made with the new items. I wish I could have gone to the store. I miss browsing the aisles for new items, but for now online shopping is the only way for me.
These lunches and snacks are all quick and I thought it could possibly save you time in the kitchen since school is back in session.
Of course everything is pumpkin online but I controlled myself.
All the sandwich ingredients can be substituted with items that you prefer in each category and just consider this a general guideline.
I know there are many days I stand in the kitchen trying to think of something new to have for lunch that isn’t time consuming to make or isn’t old reliable soup; so I hope these photos and brief descriptions give you some new ideas.
First sandwich is melted white cheddar cheese with fresh gala apples and 1 slice of no nitrite/no nitrate & no sugar added bacon(bacon is a treat for me, so that is why I only used 1 slice) on an everything ciabatta roll served with a side salad of organic romaine lettuce with cucumbers and radishes and fresh blueberries (a small side of cheddar wisps crackers for Bob).
*Cooks Note– eliminating the sugar from the bacon gives us a little wiggle room to have a dessert with sugar. For me to stay within my food restrictions and post transplant guidelines I have to give and take here and there.
Shopping List:
Trader Joe’s No Sugar Dry Rubbed Uncured Bacon for $4.49
Trader Joe’s Everything Ciabatta Rolls for $2.49 (qty. 4)
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First dessert– is chocolate hummus with fresh apples and pumpkin cranberry crackers with spiced pumpkin seeds for a fall touch.
Other items to eat with the chocolate hummus are bananas, strawberries, & no salt pretzels.
The hummus is made with cooked chickpeas, tahini, sea salt, cocoa and cane sugar. Absolutely delicious and I am becoming quite obsessed.
Shopping List:
Trader Joe’s Chocolate Hummus (8 oz) for $1.99
Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Cranberry Crisps for 3.99
Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Spiced Pumpkin Seeds for $2.99
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The next sandwich is spicy avocado hummus with a hard-boiled egg and fresh tomatoes and chives on a bakery roll, served with an organic romaine lettuce side salad with pecans and some of the leftover hard-boiled egg that didn’t fit on the roll and organic blue corn chips.
There is a quick story with the hummus… I am no fan of avocado at all. I have never had the desire to have avocado toast or guacamole etc. and then this product came on the market and I tasted it and it wasn’t so bad and I decided to buy it. All who know me were shocked that I ingested anything that had avocado in it. It is very spicy and not a strong avocado flavor and I think that is why I liked it. So, I can now say that I have tried it but I am still not ready for anything else avocado.
Shopping List:
Trader Joe’s Organic Spicy Avocado Hummusin an eight-ounce tub for $2.99
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The next dessert is the ultimate fall comfort dessert and it is southern fried apples. Reminds me of eating the inside of an apple pie without the crust (think Cracker Barrel if you have ever been there) with snickerdoodle ice cream- ahh!
Apple pie or pumpkin ice cream would taste great too.
This needs a recipe and was not store bought but very easy to prepare…… I have been using this recipe for years and I think I printed it from All Recipes back in the day….
Fried Apples
Ingredients:
½ cup butter
2 tbsp. ground cinnamon
½ cup white sugar
4 granny smith apples- peeled cored and sliced
Directions:
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir sugar and cinnamon into the hot butter.
Add apples and cook until the apples begin to break down, 5-8 minutes
Serve over pancakes or waffles or ice cream.
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I hope these images gave you some inspiration for lunch.
Enjoy and stay well and make a plan to VOTE!
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Until my next post, make every day a celebration!
Stay well,
Diane
Thank you for visiting my blog.
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This dish is a traditional staple of all Italian households and especially at summer barbecues and Italian street festivals, but I love it all year.
I usually prepare this dish the old fashioned way and I will include my original recipe at the end of this post but I have to tell you how this quick version happened…..
A few nights ago, I made turkey chili for dinner and I made it a little too spicy for Bob (I love spicy). I didn’t want him to eat leftovers for dinner so I decided to make a separate meal for him (quickly) so we could still eat together.
I had all the ingredients in the house for sausage and peppers except my sausage was frozen so I went to plan B.
With plan B, I used “store bought pre-cooked sausage” that I had in the refrigerator. I originally bought this sausage because I was going to make a sausage, kale and zucchini frittata but instead, I used the pre-cooked sausage for Bob’s sausage & peppers dinner.
The meal turned out well and I thought that this could be another quick meal for a school night so I want to share what I did ….
Ingredients:
4 bell peppers – washed and sliced (a mix of colors is nice for this dish)
2 yellow onions- sliced
4 cloves of garlic – diced
4 links of pre-cooked sausages (so many brands on the market- your choice).
Cooks Note:I used Teton brand sausage but found them to be salty so I am looking further for another brand). At this point I don’t have a brand to recommend- sorry…
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano flakes (I use Italian imported)
1- 3 tbsp. tomato paste
4 “hero” rolls (in the northeast) or hoagies, clubs, etc.
Directions:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add the sliced onion and sliced peppers and sauté for 5 minutes and then add garlic, sauté a few minutes longer until veggies are soft.
Make room in the center of the pan and add the tomato paste and stir for a few minutes to toast the tomato paste; then mix it well with the peppers and onions.
Add the salt, pepper, garlic powder, & oregano and mix well
Add the precooked sausage just to heat through. (I cut them in half and heated face down in the skillet until the sausage was golden).
Serve on toasted rolls
Here is my Sausage and Peppers Traditional recipe for when you have more time to spend on dinner.
Sausage and Peppers
Just open the link and click
OR
search the search box on the right for sausage & peppers.
I hope that you are all doing well and staying safe.
I can’t believe that it is October already. Wow, time is sure flying by. I haven’t been on the blog for a few weeks because it seems that all of my post-transplant doctor appointments have been scheduled around the same time; but I have been thinking of all of you constantly.
Yesterday morning, driving to one of my appointments the roads were crowded with school buses and I thought of all the moms and dads that are faced with the beginning of the school year and homework, school projects, new schedules and still having to get dinner on the table.
And then I thought…… What could be a really easy meal to feed a family that could be prepared under 30 minutes and less than 8 ingredients & one of my favorite meals popped into my head and I wanted to share it with my members.
The dish is “pasta piselli” or pasta and peas. I might have posted this before but as the years go by I tweak all my recipes, especially since the heart transplant, searching for better choice ingredients.
When I first got married, my mother told me to always keep canned and frozen peas, a container of mascarpone cheese and 1 box of medium shell pasta in the house and you will always be prepared for a quick easy meal and Mom was always right.
I cannot tell you how many nights this meal came in handy- after a day in the city for doctor appointments or when my son was younger, a late night dinner after sports practice.
But before I type the recipe, I want to wish “Good Luck” to all the students starting school and to the administrators and teachers that have to keep themselves and our children safe while working with Covid19 restrictions.
God Bless them all.
Now, let’s eat some Pasta with Peas ….
Ingredients:
1 lb. box of medium shells pasta
6-8 TBSP mascarpone cheese *
1-2 cans low sodium sweet peas, rinsed and drained
1 bag frozen peas (10 oz)
2 medium red onion (sliced)
Salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp. dried Italian oregano
Olive oil
2-3 TBSP Pecorino Romano cheese (or more to taste)
Reserve 1- 2 cups of the pasta water
Prepare pasta shells according to box
In the meantime, in a large skillet or saucepan add olive oil to slightly cover the bottom of the pan (approx. 1/3 cup).
Add onion and sauté for approx 2-3 minutes
Lower the heat to low and add the frozen and canned peas, turning slightly and gently not to smash them, only heat them.
Add the mascarpone cheese to make a sauce
When the pasta is ready, Reserve 1- 2 cups of the pasta water and set aside prior to draining the pasta.
Drain the pasta and add to the peas & sauce in the pan and mix gently.
Add the salt, pepper, oregano, and Romano cheeses and 3 TBSP of the pasta water. Mix well
If you feel the pasta is too dry, add a TBSP at a time of the pasta water to the desired texture, otherwise this dish is complete.
Can be served with additional Romano cheese (to taste)
SAVE the pasta water in a jar. You will need it to heat up the pasta piselli leftovers.
I hope you try the recipe and enjoy it.
If you cannot find mascarpone cheese, you can substitute heavy cream, low fat Greek yogurt, cream cheese or sour cream.
If you do use mascarpone for this recipe and don’t know what to do with the leftover (remember it is an ingredient in tiramisu), it can be used the same as butter on toast with a little cinnamon and added berries as a sweet treat for breakfast.
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Until my next post, make every day a celebration!
Stay well,
Diane
Thank you for visiting my blog.
Ask your family and friends to share, like, comment, and join DishingwithDiane.com and become part of the family!
Once you become a member, you’ll never miss a post.
Also, continue to send me your comments and emails,
Dishing With Diane 