Like most days recently, today was a very busy day, I did a lot of running around with the kids. To my very pleasant surprised when I finally arrived home, there was a fed-ex box on my door step. My son Amari gets really excited when there are gifts left at the door, he jumped out of the truck and ran over to grab the box. I wondered what could be in the box???? I knew I hadn’t ordered anything from Amazon.com recently and I knew for a fact that Curtis hadn’t order anything. What could it be?
I open the box and inside were several packages of Amazing Taste seasoning packs. I was contacted last week by Sara from AT and she sent over a few seasoning packs and recipes for me to try-out. Thanks goodness, because I had no plans for dinner and I had a hungry bunch waiting for me inside. My daughter Keira defrosted and peeled a bag of frozen shrimp, SN: It’s wonderful having extra hands in the kitchen. In about 35 minutes (prep time, cook time and photo shoot) dinner was one the table.
The smell was amazingly good, so that was a good start. I was thinking I hope this is as good as it smells…..
The recipe for Shrimp Scampi called for shallots , well I didn’t have any on hand so I used onions and because I love garlic so much I added an extra tablespoon. I added the garlic, lemon juice and white wine to the pan, then I taste the sauce before adding the shrimp. It was a bit tart for my taste so I added a teaspoon of sugar.
OK, it was now time for the shrimp to take a yummy bath in garlic, onion, lemon juice and white wine.
I tossed in the tomatoes and simmered for a few minutes. Keeping in mind not to over cook the shrimp.
This is the product of all my hard work and tears that resulted from chopping onions and mincing garlic, actually not too much work at all. A quick and easy dish. It was really delicious. I surveyed the family and got all thumbs up on the meal, they were all in agreement that we should keep this recipe around. I also have a Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta recipe, it’s one of my favorite recipes. You can check out Amazing Taste for more details on where to purchase their products.
Amazing Shrimp Scampi
recipe by Amazing Taste with few adjustments by Shelisa ~ Big2Beautiful
1 (16 ounce) box dried pasta (I used thin spaghetti)
2 pounds raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 packet Amazing Taste for Seafood seasoning mix 1 onion, diced 3 tablespoons fresh garlic, minced 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
3/4 cups olive oil
1/3 cup white wine 1/8 cup lemon juice 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved 1 teaspoon sugar
Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside.
1. Preheat skillet over medium heat. Once hot add in the oil olive, onions, garlic and packet of Amazing Taste seasoning. Stir.
2. Add the white wine and lemon juice.
3. Add the shrimp and tomatoes and continue cooking until shrimp are light orange and no longer translucent.
4. Add basil and serve over pasta.
Have you ever cooked with chipotle peppers? Well I used them in many recipes, but none than required heating the pepper. I was a bit distracted during my first attempt at this dish. I had actually forgotten to remove the seeds from the chipotle peppers and boy oh boy I was in for a surprise. Holey Moley Chipotle , the entire house was filled with this intense pepper smoke. Everyone started coughing and choking on the smell coming from the kitchen. OMG this s@#! was burning hot.
Let’s just say we ordered out that night. My husband started making fun at me saying “if you can’t stand the heat…..” I told him I would gladly get out the kitchen, and that pretty much put an end to his comments. (Plus one for the wives )
OK back to the dish, the flavor was really good, the heat was the only problem. I wanted to give the recipe another try and I am very happy I did. The smokiness of the peppers along with the cream and cheese is a splendid combination. Removing the seeds is key!!!!!! But if you like a lot of heat keep the seeds in the dish.
Using thinly sliced meats actually cuts down the cooking time in most dishes. And for a busy family this is key to getting dinner on the table after a long day of work and school. Oh BTW I recently changed my name/title to Mrs. CabbyCookCleanerly! So I am always looking for quick meals for the family. I can’t spend too much time on any one project these days.
After a few adjustments to my new pasta dish, things turned out pretty darn delicious.
Chipotle Chicken Pasta recipe
recipe by Shelisa ~ Big2Beautiful
1 (16 ounce) box dried pasta noodles
2 tablespoon cooking oil
2 pounds chicken breast fillets, sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 (15 ounce) can artichoke hearts, halved
2 chipotle peppers, seeds removed and finely chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
Cook pasta noodles according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
Season the chicken with salt.
Heat a fry pan or skillet over medium high heat, once hot add the cooking oil to the pan and the sliced chicken breast. Cook the chicken until it starts to brown, about 2 to 3 minutes each side.
Add in the chopped chipotle peppers and saute for 1 minute. Then add the chicken broth to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes.
Next add the, artichoke hearts, cooked pasta noodles, heavy cream and Parmesan cheese and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and give the dish a good stir, let sit for 5 minutes (the sauce will be thin). Letting the dish rest will allow the pasta to absorb the sauce. Garnish with the basil and serve with a fresh garden salad or steamed vegetables.
This is one of the best Taiwanese dishes I’ve ever had. I love trying new menu items and a while back I visited Thai Coconuts Restaurant with one of my girlfriends. She wanted to treat me to lunch. I never ever turn down food and free food tastes even better!
So I scanned the menu and skipped over all the “normal” items I would usually gravitate towards. Everything looked delicious but nothing really grabbed my full attention. That’s until I saw Stewed Pork, simple enough! But then I read the description, cinnamon and star anise and that did it for me. One order please.
I guess I don’t really need to tell I loved the dish, actually I loved it so much that I placed an order to go. I came home and picked apart the flavors to come up with this recipe.
The original dish had diced pork butt and the waitress at the restaurant told me the cooking time was 2 hours or more depending on the size of the butt (OK I could take that statement and run with it) I guess I need to walk/run on the treadmill to tenderize/reduce the size of my butt. But that’s another post all together.
Well this rendition is cooked with ground pork and the cook time is less than 20 minutes.
My husband was walking through the door from work as I started to preparing this meal, let me tell you, he ran over to the stove to see what I had sauteing. The cinnamon, star anise, shallot and garlic gives off such a wonderful aroma. The house smelled so yummy!
I browned the pork
then added in the the soy-vinegar mixture and let everything simmer for a few minutes. Just until the sugar melted completely and the sauce began to thicken. This dish has been added to my families favorite dishes of all time list. Try it and let me know what you think.
Taiwanese Ground Pork {Lo Ba} recipe
recipe adapted from dish at Thai Coconuts Restaurant by Shelisa ~ Big2Beautiful
1 (10 ounce) package dry Thai Rice Noodles
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 cup shallot, sliced
2 whole star anise
1 cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1 pound ground pork
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
Prepare a large bowl(Ice Bath) with 12 ice cubes and 4 cups of water, set aside.
Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a large pot, then add the dry rice noodles and boil for 2 minutes. Remove the pot from heat and let the noodles sit in the hot water for another 2 minutes. Drain the noodles, then immediately add them to the prepared ice bath to stop the cooking process, let sit for 1 minute. Drain and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine the soy sauce, the vinegar, warm water and the sugar whisk together well.
Heat a fry or saute pan over medium high heat. When hot add in the cooking oil, shallots, garlic, star anise and cinnamon stick and saute until fragrant about 30 seconds. Add the ground pork breaking the meat into small pieces and cooking until the browned. Once the meat has cooked throughout, add the soy-vinegar mixture and simmer for 5 minutes on medium-low heat. Serve over rice noodles.
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