Kickin' Lime Marinade

This is a recipe I got from Susy.  She says that she will never post a recipe on here cause it is too much trouble to type it in.  I think she is ridiculous, but was tired of asking for this recipe, so while at her house on Sunday I took it and am putting on the blog for her.  So there.

This marinade is great for chicken or shrimp.

1/4 cup olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 Tbsp minced garlic
3 Tbsp orange juice concentrate
1 lime - juice and zest
3/4 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp grilling spice (use your favorite - or you can make a blend of salt, pepper, oregano, garlic)

Zest and juice the lime.  Heat oil and saute onion and garlic.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer until combined.  Marinate chicken or shrimp for several hours or up to a day.  Cook in the grill.  (Or you can put meat and marinade together in a large skillet and cook, then serve over rice.)

LEMON PASTA WITH ROASTED SHRIMP

by Ina Garten

(This is a super easy and delicious recipe. Love it! - Mom)


Ingredients:
• 2 pounds (17 to 21 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Good olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound angel hair pasta
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 lemons, zested and juiced
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Place the shrimp on a sheet pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Toss well, spread them in 1 layer, and roast for 6 to 8 minutes, just until they're pink and cooked through.
Meanwhile, drizzle some olive oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add the angel hair, and cook al dente, about 3 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the cooking liquid. Quickly toss the angel hair with the melted butter, 1/4 cup olive oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper and about 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking liquid. Add the shrimp and serve hot.

Side note: I heard recently that you only need to remember two things when cooking shrimp. - "C" and "O" - If the cooked shrimp is shaped like a C, its properly cooked. If its shaped like an O, its overcooked.

Cajun Shrimp Pasta

1-2 lb peeled and deveined shrimp
1 stick butter/margarine
2 Tbsp Cajun seasoning
1 cup ranch dressing
1 Tbsp mayo
Angel Hair Pasta

Melt butter in saute pan with Cajun seasoning, saute shrimp in butter until cooked through. Remove shrimp from pan, put it on a cookie sheet and keep warm in oven. Mix ranch dressing and mayo together then add ranch mix to seasoned butter (tip butter is super delicious, but it can separate at this step where if you use margarine it will not) and whisk together until well blended. Heat through and if desired add more Cajun seasoning to taste. Add shrimp back to sauce and serve warm over angel hair pasta.

You can serve this over any kind of pasta - I just prefer it with angel hair. Also if you don't love shrimp, this is really good with chicken too. Just cut a few chicken breasts into bite size pieces and follow directions above.

Sorry I don't have a photo of it, but it's super delicious - trust me!

Here fishy, fishy...

Anyone have any good ideas for cooking tilapia? I make it often and am looking for new ideas. I usually saute it with olive oil, thyme, basil, bacon bits, and a squirt of lemon juice. And that is Super yummy! However we like change now and again, so the other night I tried some curry powder on it and it was just ok. (though, Holly thought it was "yuck!") Any ideas/suggestions?