We Made Room For Dessert 24 - Cinnamon Crescent Rolls

We made room for dessert this week with this super simple take on a cinnamon roll.  You can have them for breakfast, dessert, or a snack!  I found the original recipe on Pinterest, check out the Pin HERE.  I modified the recipe to only make 4 (we are trying to practice moderation around our house), but you can easily double the recipe.

Cinnamon Crescent Rolls
Ingredients:

• 4 refrigerated crescent rolls
• 2 tbs butter
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.  Mix together butter, cinnamon, and sugar.  Unroll and separate crescents.  Spread 1/4 of the mixture over each roll.  Roll up and bake for 10-15 minutes.  If you'd like and easy frosting, mix together 1/4 powdered sugar with 1 tbs milk and 1 tsp vanilla.  Drizzle over top when crescents have cooled for a few minutes.  Enjoy!

Tunisian Shrimp Stew - Pinterest Pick #14

One of my goals for 2016 was to try a new food, and I picked Harissa.  It is a spicy Moroccan pepper paste.  I got mine at Whole Foods, the ONLY place I could find it in the metro Orlando area.  It is delicious!  If you recall, I also used it in one of the fillings for my beef hand pies.  I decided to give it another application by using it in the stew I found on Pinterest.  You can find the original Pin HERE and the original recipe HERE. The original recipe uses cod instead of shrimp, but really you can easily adapt it to whatever protein you prefer.  I like shellfish better than regular fish, and I had some on hand already.  So shrimp it was.  I also left out the turnips because, well, I have never tried them before and figured there was enough veggies.  This is a very light and healthy dish that makes for a fairly quick weeknight dinner.

Tunisian Shrimp Stew

Ingredients:

• 1 12 oz bag peeled and deveined shrimp
• 2 zucchini, sliced into half rounds
• 2 red potatoes, diced into small pieces
• 3 carrots, chopped into rounds
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 quart chicken broth
• 3 tbs tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon harissa (start there and add more depending on your love of spice)
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• salt and pepper
• olive oil

Directions:
In a soup pot, heat 2 tbs olive oil and then saute garlic and onions for 5 minutes.  Add in tomato paste and let cook for a minute or two.  Add in cumin, salt, pepper, and harissa.  Stir for one minute.  Put in carrots and potatoes and saute for two minutes.  Add chicken broth, bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer.  Cook 10 minutes then add in zucchini.  Cook another 5 minutes then add in shrimp.  Let simmer for 10 more minutes then serve.
Enjoy! 

Lemon Pepper Chicken - Pinterest Pick #13 BONUS RECIPE TOO

A post where you get TWO recipes at one time?  Yup, it's happening!  I was reviewing all my recipes to make that I had pinned on Pinterest, and I found two that complimented each other to make a great dinner.  So one night, I made them both!  The tangy lemon pepper chicken breaks up the creaminess and richness of the pasta.  This chicken is simple, and great for any dinner or lunch.  You don't have to serve it with pasta.  It would be great on a salad, with rice, or whatever side you want to serve it with. You can find the original pin for the chicken HERE and the original pin for the pasta HERE.

Lemon Pepper Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tbs lemon pepper seasoning (I use Lawry's)
• 1 lemon juiced
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 2 tbs grated parmesan

Directions:
Place all ingredients except parmesan in a ziploc bag or airtight container and mix well.  Marinate chicken for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350.
Place chicken on foil-lined backing sheet and sprinkle with parmesan. Bake for 30-45 minutes.
Enjoy!

BONUS!!!
Four Cheese Garlic Spaghetti
Ingredients:

• 8 oz thin spaghetti
• 1 cup cooking water
• mix of chicken and broth in water to cook pasta in 
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbs butter
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 cups four cheese Italian cheese blend (shredded)

Directions:
Cook pasta in mix of chicken broth and water until pasta is al dente.  Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid.  Drain pasta.
Saute garlic in olive oil and butter for 1 minute.  Add in pasta, pasta water, and heavy cream.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and stir in cheese.  Cook for a couple of minutes so sauce can thicken.
Enjoy!

Beef Hand Pies - Home Cooked Recipe #72

Who doesn't love a hand pie!  Delicious, easy, convenient, and does not take a lot of time if you use store bought puff pastry.  It makes a nice lunch, dinner or snack.  I decided to create 2 different types of beef hand pies since I had some puff pastry stocked up due to it being on sale (which is rare!).  One beef filling is SPICY!  The other one is rich and kind of creamy, full of umami.  The best thing about this recipe is that you can adjust to flavor your beef any way you like.  Try taco seasoning, maybe a bit of pasta sauce and mozzarella to make and Italian version... Whatever you like!  You could also go completely vegetarian, or do a chicken filling such as chicken, broccoli, and cheese.  Of course I do have to say, I was more than pleasantly surprised at how delicious these two versions are, so give them a try!

Beef Hand Pies

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg (2 sheets) puff pastry (I use Pepperidge Farms) - thaw according to directions on package - tip, if dough is too soft when going to fill, freeze for 5 minutes
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup beef broth

***For the spicy - 2 tbs Harissa (I bought mine at Whole Foods in the International aisle.  It is a spicy Moroccan paste and it is GOOD)
***For the creamy - 2 tbs Worcestershire sauce, and 4 oz crumbled blue cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400
Brown ground beef with diced onion.  Drain, then add in minced garlic and saute for a couple of minutes.  Stir in beef broth and cook 1 more minute.  Separate beef into two bowls (or add half into another pan).  In one pan/bowl stir in Harissa and in the other add Worcestershire sauce and crumbled blue cheese.  Let fillings cool for a few minutes (this is a good time to freeze dough for 5 minutes if needed).
Cut each sheet of puff pastry into 4 squares.  Put 1/4 of spicy mixture in the middle of a square.  Repeat 3 more times.  Put a 1/4 of blue cheese mix on one of the remaining 4 squares.  Repeat 3 more times. Fold each square into a triangle shape, and seal edges.  Place on a greased baking sheet (I lined my baking sheet w/parchment paper then greased paper).  Bake for 15 minutes.  Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!!!

Steamed Shrimp - Home Cooked Recipe #71

Man oh man do I love me some shellfish! Shrimp, scallops, crab, lobster... Yum! Shrimp has been very reasonably priced lately, and is a high protein, low calorie delight!  I had never steamed my own.  I usually roast or grill it.  But I saw a recipe for steamed shrimp with Old Bay and realized it was so easy and quick that I should be able to do it with no problem!  Here's how to make your own.


Steamed Shrimp

Ingredients:

• 12 oz RAW shrimp, shell on (try to get "easy peel" so it's not a lot of work to remove after cooking)
• 2 tbs Old Bay seasoning (I used low sodium)
• 12 oz beer (use your fav, I used bud light because that's what we had - you can also omit beer and just use all water)
• 3 cups water

***optional for dipping: 4tbs melted butter (I seasoned mine with a little more Old Bay) or cocktail sauce (healthier option and super easy: ketchup, horseradish, dash of Worcestershire!)

Directions:
Place beer and water in a pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer.  Season shrimp with Old Bay.  Place in a mesh metal strainer.  Place on pot, making sure shrimp doesn't touch water.  Place lid on pot.  Steam for 5 minutes, or until shrimp is cooked through.  Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.  Enjoy!