Recipes for Love...

Recipes for Love over on Blah Blah Birds today!!!

Check it out here! 

The Main Ingredients. . .

With 3 ingredients, I made up this yummy pasta dish.  You will need to add a few other staples, but if you have these 3 things then you can tweak it how ever you want.  One evening,  I had a taste for pesto pasta, but didn't feel like going to the store to buy what I needed to make a homemade pesto.  So,  I reached for my jar of Trader Joe's Basil Pesto sauce which I usually use to dash a bit on my lentil soup.  A little goes a long way!  I always have Cherubs tomatoes and whole wheat linguine in the house, and recently I found the pasta on sale and stocked up.   Glad I did, because we have eaten Tomato Pesto pasta 3 weeks straight.  We love it and can't get enough!  I made it last night!  No meat needed. . .haven't wanted it anyway!  Scroll down for the recipe. . .

Garlic Shrimp & White Beans

Bon Appetit magazine and online site are usually my go-to place to find some of the best quick and easy recipes.  Not one has been a dud!  I had this recipe for Garlic Shrimp and White Beans in my favorites box for a while and decided to give it a try when the husband requested more shrimp dishes (his wishes are my command).  I don't know about you, but I love one-pot meals during the week.  Just easy and the clean-up is lickety-split! The tenderness of the shrimp wrapped up in a thick stew of beans and tomatoes with a slice of crusty fresh olive bread on the side is so hearty, comfy, rich, and so so yummy!  You gotta make this!  

Ingredients

6 tablespoons olive oil, divided

3 garlic cloves, minced, divided

2 dried chiles de árbol

1 bay leaf, preferably fresh

1 1/4 cups chopped tomato (about 8 ounces)

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 15-ounce cans white beans (such as cannellini), rinsed, drained

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled, deveined

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Grilled bread (optional)

How-To

Preheat broiler. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large, heavy, ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add 1 garlic clove, chiles, and bay leaf and cook, stirring constantly, just until fragrant, 1–2 minutes (do not allow garlic to burn). Add tomato; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring and smashing tomato with the back of a wooden spoon, until tomato is completely broken down, about 5 minutes.

Add tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until paste is deep red and caramelized, 3–4 minutes. Stir in beans and broth. Bring to a brisk simmer and cook until juices are slightly reduced and thickened, 3–4 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Combine remaining 2 garlic cloves, 2 Tbsp. oil, shrimp, and paprika in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper and toss to evenly coat shrimp. Scatter shrimp over beans in an even layer.

Broil until shrimp are golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Drizzle remaining 2 Tbsp. oil over shrimp and beans; garnish with parsley. Serve with bread, if desired

Bon Appetit!

Homemade Lemon-Basil Jello...

Lemons!!! From cooking to medicinal uses, this is definitely the PERFECT fruit...to me!   So, when I saw this homemade jello recipe on A Cup of Jo (amazing blog),  I immediately bookmarked it and made it right away.  It was the super yummy end to a Summer meal with welcomed guests..."irritatingly perfect"!  

Just think...fresh lemon basil from the farmers market steeped in hot hot hot fresh lemon juice, organic sugar, and water.  Then mixed in with fresh orange juice and of course gelatin...amazing!  

I poured the mixture in little ramekins for individual servings topped with a dollop of whipped cream and a lemon basil leaf.  

 all ready for the fridge...

Joanna from A Cup of Jo was definitely right..."best jello you'll ever have!"

Now, that just screams Summer! 

Smling About...

this magazine cover...she rocks!

photo credit: complex magazine

smoothies...

chalkboard mag

great summer sandals...

loeffler randall

getting my hands on this...

this video...

have a lovely weekend!  

happy friday! 

Giving Thanks...

So, this year I decided I'm making a turkey.  Not sure why I'm excited about that, but I've never made one and felt it was time to tackle the bird.  I'm going to use my Saturday Night Chicken recipe and double or triple the recipe.  Should be really moist and tasty!  I will report back!

Here's what I'm cooking...

photo credit: bonappetit

Herb Roasted Turkey

photo credit: bonappetit

Green Beans with Butter, Garlic, and Shallots

photo credit: bonappetit

Cranberry-Orange Relish

photo credit: bonappetit

Golden Brown Butter and Pecan Tart

That's all I can do this year!  The tart, I just found this recipe while writing this post and it sounds so yummy and pretty simple.   Just need a tart pan!  My mom is doing mac & cheese and butternut squash casserole.   Ladybird Dyan and her mom will tackle the rest with some greens, stuffing, and some other tasty sides and desserts.  Thanksgiving should be really fun being in the kitchen with family and friends.  Can't wait!

I'm very grateful and thankful for my family, close friends, health, and all God has blessed me with.  What are you thankful for and what are you cooking?

Happy Thanksgiving!  

and I'm off and running...
 

smiling about...

this perfect dish...

photo credit: how sweet it is

20 cheap summer date nights...

photo credit: marie claire

look forward to doing a couple of these with the hubby!

people watching in Paris...

photo credit: hip paris blog

Hip Paris blog did a cute post on  places to people watch in Paris.   Definitely love to people watch and can't wait to do it in Paris.   Bookmarked!

public picnics...

photo credit: pop up la

Just think of a huge public picnic with everyone wearing white.  Pop Up Picnic has come to L.A.!!!  More deets here...

this video...

video credit: urban bush babes

Video speaks for itself, but I heart Solange!  

what are you smiling about?

have a great weekend! 

Pink Lemonade Bars

What do you get when you blend raspberries and lemons together, then add water?  Pink Lemonade!!!  Well, I came across a recipe for Pink Lemonade Bars (what?) on Smitten Kitchen, one of my favorite food blogs.  I printed it out immediately and decided to make it for a Sunday treat.  The husband went completely wild! lol!

Here's what I did...

lemon zest for the dough

wash the berries gently

pureed the raspberries

strain the berry puree

this is what you will get after straining

the end result after straining

juice the lemons (my orange juicer worked perfectly)

mix the juice with eggs and raspberry puree

add the flour, and it will turn a pale pink

the crust after mixing and baking until the edges brown

raspberry mixture meets the cooled crust, ready to bake

what you do with the leftover raspberry puree

refrigerate and use as a topping over greek yogurt w/ a sprinkle of granola or ice cream

fresh out the oven, time to cool before cutting

cut and ready to eat...super yummy

**recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen 

refreshing Summer treat!

do you have a favorite Summer treat?

and I'm off and running...

Baked and Stuffed...

I had baked potatoes, broccoli, and cheese!  Hmmm....  The hubby was talking about stuffed baked potatoes last weekend and ever since, it has been on my mind.  So, last night was the night for stuffed baked potatoes...well at least my version, and of course it had to be slightly healthy.  Soooo... no bacon, but leftover baked salmon from the night before, plenty of broccoli, grated parm, and Greek yogurt with a dash of sea salt and ground pepper.  Oh...a tad bit of butter.  Yummy to my tummy....you just don't know!  Great quick meal and very filling!

Steam broccoli and season however you like. 

Rub baked potato with olive oil and kosher salt.
Wrap in foil and bake until soft. 

 Recipe for one serving...

baked potato
a cup of steam broccoli
salmon-grilled or baked (can use chicken, shrimp, steak, or nothing)
grated Parmesan cheese or any cheese you like
Greek yogurt
butter
sea salt/kosher salt
ground pepper

You can really use any toppings you like.  Just pile it on!!!!

STUFFED and HAPPY!!!

AND I'M OFF AND RUNNING... 
J.P. ARCHIE