Shrimp Margherita Pizza

Shrimp Margherita Pizza
Originally uploaded by Ajidivine

I was in the mood for pizza today, so I found a great recipe for pizza crust and a margherita pizza recipe to use as a guide. The crust was a bit like flat bread, not too thick and not too thin. I added dried basil and oregano to the pizza dough and baked it for about 7 minutes prior to adding the toppings.

I used shrimp on my pizza, just because I wanted too. I cooked them in a little olive oil and garlic for a little bit and drained on a paper towel. I followed the margherita pizza recipe as far as tossing my tomatoes in olive oil and garlic. I only had mozzarella cheese and I added thinly sliced red onion to the pizza. I have to say it again, I love having my own fresh tomatoes and basil to use in my recipes.

I will be making this pizza again!!

Seafood and spinach soup

Seafood and spinach soup
Originally uploaded by Ajidivine

Since I have been battling both nasal and chest congestion the past few days I decided that soup was needed, but I didn't have chicken soup in my cabinet (nor did I want any boring chicken soup). I had seen a soup recipe with spinach the last time I was in the book store, but I didn't have it in my vast recipe inventory. So I did what I usually do when I can't find a recipe, surf the web. I found lots of recipes, but most of them were tomato based and I didn't want that. I came across a link for spinach and seafood soup for diabetics, so I decided to use it as a guide since I didn't have everything it called for and I didn't want pasta in my soup. My soup contained chicken broth, water, celery, green onion, asparagus (fresh not canned), soy sauce, mushrooms, shrimp, calamari, fresh baby spinach and fresh basil which was added just before serving. I didn't follow the recipe measurements, because I only wanted to make enough for two. The soup was a deliciously light healthy dinner.

Shrimp with white wine tomato sauce

Shrimp with white wine tomato sauce
Originally uploaded by Ajidivine

My deck garden had produced quite a few ripened tomatoes this week, so I had to do something with them. I had some decent sized shrimp in the freezer and a bottle of white wine. I diced three 3 roma and 8 cherry tomatoes and a small purple onion to saute in a little olive oil. Once they have soften a little I added some fresh thyme, oregano, minced garlic and some kosher salt. Then I added approximately 1/2 cup of white wine and brought the mixture to a simmer, then I added the shrimp. I taste the sauce and seasoned as needed. Once done I served it over a bed of brown rice. Dinner was great!

This was my Thursday night dinner, I fried chicken and made mash potatoes on Friday.

Asian Ragu with rice-stick noodles

Asian Ragu
Originally uploaded by Ajidivine

A few weeks ago I bought Weeknight Menus by Cuisine at Home, because it had some really great recipes in it. I am always on the lookout for new recipes to try. There are 99 recipes in this book and I will try all of them eventually, but I will have to find substitute meat for the pork recipes. I found a recipe called Asian Ragu, which is a Thai take on Spaghetti and Meatsauce. I have a fondness for Italian and all things in Asian cuisine, so this was a must cook for me. It was truly an easy dish to make. Fresh ginger, garlic, shallots, chili garlic sauce, soy sauce or fish sauce, chicken broth, brown sugar and ground sirloin (I used ground round) made a tasty variation on the italian dish so many people love. Lucky for me I have a basil and mint plant growing on my deck. The dish was a little spicy, but I like spicy. The fresh basil and mint added to the plate made the dish complete, I didn't add the peanuts as the recipe suggested.  If you want to try this recipe contact me and I will share it with you.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip
Originally uploaded by Ajidivine

I am attempting to create my own take on Oatmeal cookies. I found a contest that I want to enter, but I have to have my own recipe. Do you know how hard that is to do? Well, I think I have hit upon a winner. I am not going to share my recipe just yet as it still needs some tweaking. The taste of the cookie is good, but I am not so sure about the texture. I got great reviews from the kids across the street, even the oldest liked them and she doesn't like a lot of sweets. I was so glad she like them, because I am trying to make them as healthy as possible. I have a few more people to test this batch on and then I am off to tweak the recipe again.

Chicken Tikka Masala

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Originally uploaded by Ajidivine

Today I tried my hand at an Indian dish called Chicken Tikka Masala. There are several versions of the recipe online, but Cooks Illustrated online has been my source for recipes for the past week. There is even an article where they are fighting over the origins of the dish. Ahhh you gotta love foodies. I have had Indian food before and have tried to duplicate a dish or two without much success. I love that the dish can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days, so the leftovers don't go to waste. I must say that I did a great job on this dish.

Braised Beef Brisket, Oaxacan Style

This is a plate of braised beef brisket (Oxaxacan style) with a side of rice with some of the sauce and lima beans. I found this recipe on Cook's Illustrated website, they have a 14 day free trial period. I have had beef brisket before, but not braised let alone with this type of seasoning. I am a fan of all types of mexican seasonings and cooking, so this will be a keeper for me. Beef brisket is a bit expensive and I rarely find it on sale, so it will be a while before I try this again. I did find another site with more Oxaxacan recipes for me to try out.

In preparing this dish I did find that I need to invest in a few new items for my kitchen. I never really knew how important it was to have a meat thermometer or a thermometer to make sure my oven was at the right temperature. I do have a food processor, but I need a smaller one for small jobs. Funny how when you start to do something new you find out that you need new stuff too. I will try to do what I can with what I have for now.

Shrimp quesadillas

This is a picture of the shrimp quesadillas that I made today. I found the recipe for Shrimp Quesadilla and knew I had to try it out. The recipe only makes one serving, so I had to triple it to make it for more than one person. The guacamole was fairly simple to make - 2 ripe avocados, lime juice, cilantro, jalapeno pepper, green onion, and sour cream if you want to make it creamier (salt to season if needed). Everything turned out perfectly.

My Deck Garden

Last summer we tried our hand at growing a few plants on our deck, since we live in a townhouse. The tomato plants never took off, but I did get one bell pepper and a few cayene peppers. This spring we started planting seeds inside under a flourescent light and bought a few plants from a garden center. The harvest has been a lot better this year. So far I have picked at least 12 roma tomatoes, lots of cherry tomatoes and 2 yummy peppers. I have 2 green bell peppers growing right now and the tomatoes are still growing. I also have several herb plants growing and doing quite well (rosemary, basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram, garlic chives and orange mint). I am also trying to grow cilantro in the basement. It has been so wonderful to grab fresh herbs to put into my dishes. Fresh basil can make canned tomatoes taste so much like fresh tomatoes. Yesterday I made Shrimp and Chicken Jambalaya using my tomatoes, thyme, and yummy peppers. Yumm!!