PESTO SHRIMP WITH GLUTEN FREE PASTA

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

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!!!

MINI ROSE APPLE PIE

Recently I've been searching for new recipes to try and add to my Superbowl Sunday menu. Next weekend is the Super Bowl which means a lot of friends across the nation will gathered around together and spend their entire Sunday eating and cheering for their favorite team! Even though I'm not a big football fan I still do enjoy participating in this event and getting together with friends to watch the game, drink and eat food. Since most of the time these gatherings don't involve an actual sit down meal finger foods and bite-size food are always a good choice. This way as people get hungry they can just grab a little bite and don't even need a plate necessarily. That is why I decided to try these mini rose apple pies. They are small enough to fit into your palm and take about two's bites to devour. Just enough of the dessert to satisfy you without having to commit to filling up on this one dessert choice. It also helps that they are super pretty! hehe

Servings: One 200Gr Pie Crust makes about 6 mini pies roses.

INGREDIENTS:

3 Apples (Washed and cut into quarters, remove seeds than slice thinly)
6 TBSP of White Granulated Sugar
1/4 -1/2 of a Lemon (juiced)
400Gr PiIlsberry Pre-made Pie Crust
Cinnamon Spice (as desired)
Icing sugar for garnish (as desired)

*You will also need toothpicks and a baking tray covered in wax paper/ nonstick baking sheet.
 

DIRECTIONS:

In a sauce pan add in your thinly sliced apples, 2 TBSP of sugar and lemon juice. Fill sauce pan with water to submerge your apples and place on stove on High heat. Bring your water to a boil, then reduce heat letting it simmer for an additional two minutes before draining the water.

Lay the apples out on a absorbent cloth to suck up any access water.

Preheat over to 350 Degrees.

Next lay out one of your pie crust. Sprinkle it with the remaining sugar (more or less as you please) and cinnamon.

Cut the dough into 3/4 to 1 inch strips and place your apple slices slightly overlapping along the strip. Roll the strip and tie off the end using a toothpick to hold it in place. 

Place strip on baking tray (previously covered with wax paper)

 Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden.

 Remove from oven and allow to cool before sprinkling icing sugar on top. 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!!!

BREAKFAST BURRITO!

Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day - one that is the most often skipped meals of the day. This breakfast burrito is so easy to make and transport you really have no excuse to not eat breakfast. You can pack it up in aluminum foil and take it with you on the subway or school bus. Eggs and bacon are a great source of protein which both your body and brain need to function properly in the morning so GET IT IN YA!

INGREDIENTS:

4 Stripes of Bacon (2 per Burrito)
1 TSP of Butter
2 Eggs
1 TBSP of Milk
1/2 Tomato (Remove inside seeds, Chop remaining)
1 TBSP of Onion (Chopped)
2 Whole Wheat Tortillas
Salt and Pepper (to taste)

DIRECTIONS:

Start cooking your bacon in a frying pan. Once half way done continue with the rest of the prep/cook.

In a bowl add two eggs, milk, tomato, onion, salt and pepper. Whip together till the eggs are fully beaten.

Preheat your oven to 100 degrees

Add butter to second frying pan, once melted add in your whipped egg mixture. Let that cook, moving and stir every minute or so until full cooked.

Throw two tortillas in the oven so that they warm up slightly.

Plate the tortillas when warm. Top with bacon and cooked eggs. Fold to create a wrap and 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!!!

KALE AND PINEAPPLE GREEN SMOOTHIE - ANTI-ANGIOGENESIS

I call this my anti-angiogenesis drink because it's full of great nutrients that help your body fight cancer and stop it from growing or metastasizing in your body. I designed this drink after watching Dr. William Li's Ted Talk on his discovery of anti-angiogenesis foods that help your body stop cancer cells from metastasizing and therefor helping you beat cancer. He calls it "eating to starve cancer". I will post the video below the recipe for you to see!! ENJOY

INGREDIENTS

2-3 Cups of Kale (steams removed and chopped)
1 Whole Cucumber (chopped)
3 Branches of Celery (chopped)
1 Lemon (peeled and chopped)
1/3 Of A Pineapple (chopped)
1 TSP of Spirulina Powder
A handful of Mint
 

DIRECTIONS:

Throw everything into a blender till it is liquefied and serve.

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!!!