Shrimp Hash with a Bacon onion Balsamic vinaigrette

So we had this big get together dinner on Sunday with friends and it was great fun. It was a pot luck, I was to bring a side and dessert... So I brought Darwin's favorite goodies of his grandmothers...recipe will probably make its apperance here at some point, and I had 2 lbs of shrimp...so my mind was thinking what to do with this shrimp....I kid you not I went to sleep and dreamt about this wonderful yummy shrimp dish and woke up and decided it actually sounded quite tasty... so I made it and well lets just say my dear friend Michelle requested a tray full of it for her Birthday...which is in September.

Shrimp hash with a Bacon onion and Balsamic vinaigrette

3 large russet potatoes grated
1 T olive oil
1 meduim onion small diced
1/4 lb bacon diced
3 cloves garlic minced
2 lb shrimp
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 T olive oil
salt and pepper
4 T reserve bacon fat...I know not the most healthy thing but Mmmmmmm
4-5 T balsamic vinegar
1/3 tsp white pepper

Start by marinating the shrimp in the paprika, cayenne salt and pepper and oil. Set aside. Fry the bacon and when about half way done add the onion and bacon, drain reserving the grease and allow to cool. On a griddle spread the olive oil out and press out the grated potatoes, basically you are making hashbrowns. Season to taste and cook till golden brown adn crisp then flip and cook through completely. In the pan that cooked the bacon and onions add the shrimp and cook completely. In a bowl add the bacon grease white pepper and whisk in the balsamic vinegar.
Cut your hashbrowns into squares, then top each one with 4-5 shrimp, top each square with about 1 tsp of the bacon mixture then drizzle with the vinaigrette, serve warm.... yummy!

Alfredo anyone??

So I made this super yummy and way easy alfredo sauce tonight and it turned out really good. I had leftover shrimp and chicken from the other night and really didn't want to cook something new so I just made this sauce and cooked up some noodles and whala a whole new meal!

Alfredo sauce:

1/4 cup flour
2 T olive oil
1 T butter
2 garlic cloves minced
1 onion peeled and cut in half, core still attached
3 cups milk
1/3 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
salt and white pepper to taste

Melt the butter and oil and saute the garlic and add the split onion, add the flour and cook your roux for about a minute, add the milk, bring to a boil to thicken, if too thick add more milk. Add cream cheese and Romano cheese, reduce to a simmer. Season to taste and remove onion. Supper simple and ooooooo so YUMMY!

Ham and Potato soup

I always make this whenever I have leftover ham, it is so basic and simple but so very yummy! I like serving it with crackers and cheddar rolls, and a salad. However the soup is filling enough on its own... I meant to take a picture but...oops.

3 cups left over ham, diced
4-6 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 boxes chicken stock (32 oz)
2 cups milk
1/2 cup flour
2 T oil
garlic powder
onion powder
salt and black pepper
white pepper

Heat the oil and suate the onion and garlic. Add the potatoes and Ham and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the stock. Combine the milk and flour and mix well to get rid of any lumps. Bring soup to a boil and add the slurry to thicken the soup. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes. Now you must season the soup to your likings. Usually I use 1 T onion powder 1 T garlic, 2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp black pepper and white pepper about a 1/2 tsp. The white pepper is very peppery so season to you and your families liking. We like it with a bit more peppery flavor. Simmer for an additional 30 minutes or till the potatoes are cooked through. Serve hot and enjoy!

Slacking...

Well I've been a slacker lately...sorry. In all reality I really havne't been cooking that much, we are still working on left overs.. But I promise to post some new recipes soon.. perhaps with pictures. On a side note though, made my sister's chicken recipe(see below) and it is AMAZING and the kids loved it! For now while I'm lacking in recipes... I ask for your help. I met with a couple the other day who have asked me to do their wedding cake. I'm a bit scared and intrigued to do their cake... Not sure how I will blend the topper but this is the photo they gave me...
Their cake topper is very bridal and white and sparkly. It has lots of tulle and rhinestones, and the bride and groom are holding guns... They said they want James Bond meets Camo outdoors man...They want this cake just three teirs on pillars with large ediable branches in between so they can put fake deer on them... hmmmm... any ideas on how I can do this cake?

Clam Chowder

I remember growing up and it was tradition to have Clam chowder on Christmas Eve.. we did it for years and then we switched it to French Dip sandwiches because none of us kids would eat the clam chowder... Now that I have more developed tastebuds and a passion for food, I love clam chowder and we've decided to make it our Christmas Eve tradition. Of course I serve it with chicken strips so my kids will at least eat something that night! So I made it for Christmas eve and my oh my did it turn out good! Iwas even told by several of Darwin's family members thatit was better than their grandma's!!! yes, I can die happy now! I didn't really write out my recipe... but here is what I did.

1/2 lb bacon
3 leekes
2 stalks celery, small diced
1/2 cup flour
6 cans of diced clams, save the juice
2 T butter
2 cups chicken stock
1 T garlic minced
2 cups milk
5 large potatoes, peeled and diced
salt and pepper to taste

Start by dicing the bacon and cook till brown and crispy, drain and set aside. Now one might say, bacon in clam chowder? Won't that take away from the sweet chewiness of the clams?? But I tell yo trust me, it adds a nice smokiness to it and it is tasty!! Next slice the leeks in half then slice then place in a bowl full cold water to clean, the dirt will sink to the bottom and you can scoop out the leeks on to a dry towel. (I use leeks rather than onions because they add a suttle onion flavor) In a large stock pot, melt the butter, saute the garlic and leeks, add the celery and potatoes and cook for a few minutes. Add the bacon and flour. The flour should heavily coat all of the chunks of goodness, if it seems like you need more flour go ahead and add more. Add the drained clams. season with a bit of pepper. Add the clam juice and chicken stock, stir well to combine all of the flour. Add the milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and allow to cook for at least 45 minutes. If it is too thick add more milk, too thin you can mix some flour and milk and combine it but be sure to bring soup back to a boil to get the full thickness. Season to taste and serve hot with crackers. Mmmmm Mmmmm good!

My sister Jessica

I always seem to be emotional around the holidays especially when I know I'm not going to be with my family. Having my grandmother recently hasn't help and we also found out Darwin didn't get a job we really felt he was going to get. So keeping with my emotional state and sentimental feelings of late, here is a recipe and post about an example in my life. My sister Jessica. Now don't get me wrong all of my sisters are amazing examples to me... but I'm pretty sure Jessica is the only one that cooks and this is a cooking blog so... :) I love you Laura, Miranda and Jana! Jessica is incredible and I look up to her so very much. She is the mother of five active kids and still manages to keep the house in order the kids in order and still look amazing and stylish. She has given me many encouraging talks and words of wisdom. She has always been there for me. This past weekend at my grandmother's funeral I was going through some of her photos and found pictures of her and I playing the leaves. I wish we were closer to each other so I could get pictures of our children playing together. She is a great example to me of what a good wife and mother and member of the Church is and I pray that I can someday be as wonderful as she is. I love you Jessica! This is a recipe she sent me. I haven't tried it yet but it sure sounds Delicious.

1 cup Catalina dressing

1 can cranberry sauce or 1 cup prepared cranberries

1 pkg Lipton soup mix

chicken breast

Combine and cover over top of the chicken breast. Bake at 350` for 1 hour. Serve hot over brown or long grain rice, with the extra sauce.

Grandma Grace Macbeth

This post is in honor of my Grandmother who passed away this week. 99% of my readers will already have this recipe but I wanted something to remind me of my grandma. I started by showing the kids a picture of Grandma, I explained to them that she died this past week and that mommy was really sad. I explained that it is okay that she died because she is with Grandpa and Heavenly Father and that she is happy. I then told them we were going to do something fun that will help us remember Grandma. I then told them that Whenever Grandma Macbeth came to visit I would wake up in the mornings and she would be in the kitchen rolling out scones to make. I loved it! We would cut them into different shapes and fry them up. I rember Grandma always cut them into rectangles then slit the middle and inverted one end into the other to twist it a bit. We would eat them with honey butter and jelly and powdered sugar. Such found memories. So then we made them and I decided I would share it with you all... even though you probably already have the recipe!

Scones:

3 T yeast

1/2 cup warm water

2 cups milk, scalded

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp salt

3 eggs

6 cups flour

Scaled milk and allow to cool. Combine yeast and water and set aside. Cream sugar and shortening. Add remaining ingredients and combine well. Allow to sit in the fridge for at least an hour or over night. Roll out on to a floured surface and cut into strips. Fry till golden brown on each side. Serve warm with honey butter, jelly and powdered sugar.

I Love you Grandma and I will miss you! Give Grandpa a hug for me and till we meet again!