Caron stepped in for Rhonda at the last minute and hosted us for August. Rhonda chose a great theme of "Quick Simple Dinners" since the craziness of school is right around the corner! Happy cooking!
Lauren's Summer Beer
3 beer
1 pink frozen lemonade
lemonade container filled 80 percent with vodka and mix together
Ashley's Honey Lime Shrimp
1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup olive oil
2 T honey
juice of one small lime, or half a large lime (2-3 T)
zest of one small lime, or half a large lime
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1.) In a large ziploc bag, combine all the marinade ingredients. When everything is well-combined, add the shrimp, squeeze as much air as possible out of the bag, and close it up. Place it in the fridge.
2.) Let the shrimp marinate for 30-60 minutes, flipping the bag around once or twice during that time, so that all the shrimp stay evenly covered in the marinade.
3.) When you’re ready to cook, take the shrimp out of the fridge and let them sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat; there is no need to add any oil or butter to the pan, as the marinade has enough oil in it to keep the shrimp from sticking to the pan. (If you would prefer to use the grill for these, you can thread them onto skewers and toss them on the grill at this point.)
4.) Add your shrimp to the pan in a single layer, making sure they are not too crowded; you can always cook them in more than one batch. Let them cook on one side for about a minute, until they curl up and start to turn pink. Flip them over, and cook for another 30 seconds or so, until the shrimp are opaque. Remove from the pan, and serve immediately!
Amy's Pasta Dish
Penne pasta
Rotisserie chicken
Sundried tomatoes
Artichokes
Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper
Add arugula before serving.
Melanie's Fresh Tomato, Sausage, and Pecorino Pasta
8 oz uncooked penne
8 oz sweet Italian sausage
2 tsp olive oil
1 cup vertically sliced onion
2 tsp minced garlic
1 1/4 lbs tomatoes, chopped
6 tbsp fresh grated pecorino Romano cheese, divided
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves
Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Remove casings from sausage. Add oil to pan, swirl to coat. Add sausage and onion to pan and cook for 4 minutes, stirring to crumble sausage. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in pasta, 2 tbsp cheese, salt, & pepper. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese and basil.
Sarah's Fresh Asparagus with Balsamic Tomatoes
1 lbs asparagus
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ cup grape tomatoes
½ teaspoon minced fresh garlic
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese
½ teaspoon black pepper
1) Cook asparagus in boiling water 2 minutes until crisp tender. Drain.
2) Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat . Add tomatoes and garlic, cook 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar, cook 3 minutes. Stir in salt
3) Arrange asparagus on platter, top with tomato mixture, sprinkle with goat cheese and pepper.
Dede's Squash Casserole
Squash cut into slices
1 small onion chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Shredded cheddar cheese
Lay squash on bottom of casserole dish-over lapping as needed.
Mix onion & cream if mushroom soup and spread over top layer of squash
Sprinkle w/ cheese
Bake on 350 for 20 minutes
Virginia's Italian Casserole
1 lb. ground beef
chopped onion
Italian seasoning
garlic powder
salt and pepper
1 small (14 0z) jar of Ragu
1 8 oz. sour cream
swiss cheese slices
1 package Pillsbury crescent rolls
Parmesan cheese
Squeeze Parkay or melted butter
Cook ground beef and onion. Add seasonings to taste. Add Ragu sauce to beef mixture and simmer 10 mins. Lay in flat baking dish. Mix in sour cream. Layer swiss cheese and then crescent rolls. Pour melted butter on top of dough and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 about 18 mins until golden brown.
Caron's Lasagna Roll-Ups
1/2 lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes (I'd recommend Contadina Brand)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 Tbsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 (15 oz) container Ricotta Cheese
1 large egg
1/3 cup fresh flat leaf parsley (aka Italian Parsley, its about 1 small handful), chopped
2 1/4 cups freshly grated Mozzarella Cheese, divided
3/4 cup freshly, finely grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
1/3 cup freshly, finely grated Romano Cheese
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Drizzle one tablespoon olive oil into a large non-stick fry pan. Heat over medium high heat, crumble ground beef over oil, add chopped onions and cook mixture stirring occasionally and breaking up meat, until browned. Drain fat from beef. Pour beef mixture into a food processor and pulse for about 5 seconds until it is ground into fine pieces. Pour beef mixture back into fry pan and add crushed tomatoes, minced garlic, basil, oregano and 1 tablespoon olive oil and stir. Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste then cover with a lid and simmer over low heat while preparing pasta and cheese mixture.
- Cook lasagna noodles in a large pot of boiling water along with 1 tsp salt and 2 tablespoon olive oil to al dente according to directions listed on package. Once noodles are cooked, drain and immediately line noodles in a single layer on waxed paper or cookie sheets.
- Prepare cheese mixture (I do this while pasta is cooking) by stirring together Ricotta cheese, egg, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper with a fork in a large mixing bowl until well combine. Stir in chopped fresh parsley. Add in 1 3/4 cups grated Mozzarella Cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese and 1/3 cup Romano Cheese, stir mixture until well combine.
- Stir meat sauce and spread 1/3 cup evenly into a 13x9 inch baking dish by tilting pan back and forth. Spread 1/4 cup cheese mixture evenly onto each cooked lasagna noodle, then spread 1 heaping tablespoon meat sauce along the top of cheese covered noodle. Roll noodles up jellyroll style and arrange seam side down in baking dish. Cover rolled noodles with remaining meat sauce (about a heaping 1/8 cup over each) then sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese evenly over roll ups. Tent lasagna roll ups with foil (don't allow foil to rest on cheese or it will stick you just want to loosely tent to prevent the cheese from browning) and bake for 35 minutes in preheated oven. Serve warm garnished with additional chopped fresh parsley.
Anna Kate's Black Russian Cake
1 box Duncan Hines yellow cake mix
1 large instant chocolate pudding
1 cup oil
½ cup sugar
4 eggs (large or jumbo)
¾ cup water
¼ cup Kahlua
¼ cup vodka
Mix ingredients using mixer. Pour in Bundt pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.
Whitney's Caramel Apple Cobbler
*Silver Spoon winner!
1 box butter cake mix
2 cans (21 oz.) caramel apple pie filling (found at Walmart) OR 2 cans apple pie filling and a jar of caramel sauce
2 sticks butter
Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8 x 11 casserole pan with nonstick cooking spray. Pour pie filling into the bottom of the casserole pan. If you used the regular apple pie filling, pour caramel sauce (as much as your heart desires) over the pie filling. Pour dry cake mix over filling. Melt butter, and pour on top of cake mix until covered well. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown.
