PESTO SHRIMP WITH GLUTEN FREE PASTA

May 22, 2016 Soheila Hakimi

I love me some pasta and this is one of my easiest recipes. If you are hungry or dealing with some 'hangry' company/kids this is the fastest and easiest meal to get on the table. The longest part of this recipe is waiting for the water to boil, after that it's done in 10 minutes. I'm not celiac but I like using gluten free pasta whenever I can. In this case I used qunioa pasta (my fav gluten free kind of noodle) because it is easier to digest plus its a complex carb (1 part protein to 2 part carbs) making your noodles that much healthier for you. I also find that taste and texture wise it's the closest to regular aldente wheat pasta from a box. Enjoy!

Serves 2 Adults

INGREDIENTS:

2-3 TBSP of Olive Oil
2 TBSP of Butter
1 Clove of Garlic (minced)
1 Shallot (Finely chopped)
15-20 Shrimp (de-vained and shell removed)
Pre-made Pesto*
Quinoa Pasta
Salt to taste
Parmesan Cheese (garnish)

*make sure it's gluten free

DIRECTIONS:

Bring a pot of water to a boil add 1-2 TSP of salt and your quinoa pasta. You have to stir quinoa pasta for the first two minutes so that it doesn't stick together. Continue to cook for another 8-10 minutes for aldente.

Add olive oil and butter to a skillet and allow to heat up on medium heat before adding in your garlic and shallots.

Once shallots become transparent add in your shrimp and pesto. Mix and allow the shrimp to cook until pink.

Once pasta is aldente remove 3-4 TBSP of water from the pot and set aside. Drain the remaining pasta water and add the pasta into the skillet with the shrimp and pesto. Mix well so that the pasta is well coated.

If you need a little more liquid to cook the pasta a little more add in the pasta water you set aside now. This will also help remove anything stuck to the bottom of the skillet.

Twirl pasta and plate. Add shrimps from the skillet and garnish is pesto sauce and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can! Bon Appetite!!!

CINCO DE MAYO SPICY SHRIMP TACOS

May 5, 2016 Soheila Hakimi

Cinco de Mayo is one of my favorite holidays! That's mainly because it's another great excuse to eat tacos more than once a week. I have been doing some experimenting and have come up with an amazing shrimp taco marinade which of course I just had to share with the world. I will warn you that this marinade is spicy (not kick-you-in-the-pants spicy but has-some-bite spicy) so if you're not into spicy stuff you probably wont enjoy this as much as my other recipes. If you can stand a little heat then more to ya my friend!!!!! Enjoy!

Makes 4 Tacos - VIDEO BELOW

INGREDIENTS:

16 Shrimp (de-veined with shells removed)
1-2 TBSP of Olive Oil
1/4 TSP Red Pepper Flakes
1/4 TSP Chili Powder
1/4 TSP Paprika
1/4 TSP Cayenne Powder
3 Cloves of Garlic (minced)
1 Lime Zest and Juices
1.5 Cups of Shredded Cabbage
1 Stock of Green Onion (Chopped)
Salt
Avocado (sliced)
4 Tortillas

Garnish:
1/4 Cup of Cilantro
Sprinkle of Cotija Cheese or Feta Cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Mix shrimp, olive oil, red pepper flakes, chili powder, cayenne powder, minced garlic, pinch of salt and lime zest in a bowl. Allow to marinate for 15 minutes or so.

In another bowl mix together the shredded cabbage, lime juice, chopped green onion and a pinch of salt.

Warm up a skillet on medium heat and add in the marinated shrimps, cook for about 5 minutes or until pink. You can add more oil if you think you need it.

Warm tortillas up under oven broiler for a minute or two.

Plate your tortillas, add your avocado slices, cooked shrimp, cabbage slaw, and garnish with cilantro and cheese.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can! Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!

SPICY LOBSTER QUINOA PASTA - GLUTEN FREE

January 11, 2016 Soheila Hakimi

INGREDIENTS:

1 TBSP of Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion (chopped)
5 Cloves of Garlic (minced) - you will need to split 3/5 cloves for the sauce
1 TSP of Chili Flakes
1 TSP of Dried Basil
1 TSP of Dried Oregano
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Bottle of Tomato Pomodoro (strained tomato sauce)
1 TSP of Butter
6 Lobster Tails (thawed 4 chopped up 2 left whole)
1 Pack of Quinoa Pasta

DIRECTIONS:

Add oil to a sauce pan and heat up on medium heat. Add in your onion and 3 cloves of garlic and let them sweat.

Add in chili flakes, basil, oregano and salt and pepper. Stir around and let evenly mix

Once onions are garlic are nicely cooked add in your bottle of pomodoro tomato sauce, reduce heat to low and set aside to simmer.

Start to boil your water for the pasta.

Salt and pepper your chopped lobster bits lightly

In another skillet add in your butter and let melt on medium -low heat. Add in the remaining garlic and allow to season the butter for a second until you add in the chopped lobster bits.

Once the lobster bits are cooked through (apx 4-5minutes) then add cook lobster bits to the tomato sauce. Stir lobster into the tomato sauce and leave to continue to simmer

When the water is boiling add 1 TSP of salt to the water before adding in your quinoa pasta. You need to stir quinoa pasta for the first two minutes so that it doesn't stick together then let it continue to cook for an addition 10 minutes before it is al dente.

In another pan we are going to add in 1 cup of water and steam the remaining two lobster tails for 3-4 minutes. One ready remove lobster tails from water and set aside.

One ready dump pasta water and add pasta to sauce. Mix in and plate hot. Top with full steamed lobster tail and serve. ENJOY

I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can! Happy cooking!!!

SPANISH SHRIMP WITH YELLOW RICE

January 7, 2016 Soheila Hakimi

I was looking for some healthy meals online and came across this one of Spanish shrimp and yellow rice. I love Spanish dishes and flavors and you can probably tell from my paella recipe but this is a lot simpler and a great way to incorporate seafood into your diet. You can obviously switch up the shrimp for a piece of fish if you want more protein or are allergic to shell fish. I switched up the original recipe (I will post the link below) a little bit so here is what I did.

INGREDIENTS:

4 Cloves of Garlic (minced)
2 TBSP of Olive Oil
1.5 TSP of Smoked Paprika
1/2 TSP of Salt
1 Lbs of Shrimp (peeled and deveined)
1/2 Cup of Onion (chopped finely)
1.25 Cups of Spanish Yellow Rice
1/2 TSP of Turmeric
2.5 Cups of Water
1/2 Cup of Frozen Peas
1 TBSP of Fresh Parsley

DIRECTIONS:

First we are going to marinate the shrimp. Add half the olive oil, paprika and half the salt to a bowl and toss your shrimp in the mixture. Set aside in the fridge to marinate! The longer the better!

On medium heat add the remaining olive oil to your pan and once hot throw in your onions and saute until soft (about 3-4 minutes). Then throw in your garlic and continue to saute for 2 minutes till they soften.

Next add in your uncooked rice along with remaining salt and turmeric. Mix before adding in the water, cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for four minutes before removing from the heat and adding in the peas.

Warm up another skillet on medium heat and throw in your shrimp. Cook and flip until shrimp are cooked through (opaque) or pink. Remove from heat when ready and top the rice on a plate. Add parsley as garnish.

Original Recipe -> http://www.health.com/health/recipe/0,,10000001998494,00.html

I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can! Happy cooking!!!