SHRIMP WITH BROWN RICE

This blog may turn out to be about food only-but who doesn't like food? I know that I do. I try to combine different ingredients in order to make a dish that is a little out of the ordinary. The same old doesn't always do it for me: my hubby on the other hand will eat just a salad if that's all that I make. Here is something I tried with Shrimp and Brown Rice. I hope you try it...it was yummy! Recipe is for two.

1 lb of raw shrimp 1 small red onion, chopped or sliced
1 pk Steam Fresh brown rice 2 stalks of celery, chopped or sliced
1/2 red pepper black olives
1/2 green pepper 1 pkg Steam Fresh Broccoli Crowns
2 cloves of garlic 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon
1/4 cup olive oil 1/2 red wine
3 tbs butter or margarine Chicken broth or clam juice
1 tsp red pepper flakes
Salt & Pepper


In a large skillet lightly brown sliced garlic in the oil. Add peppers, onions and celery. Saute for about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, steam the rice and broccoli crowns and put aside. Add butter, lemon juice and shrimp. When the shrimp starts turning pink, add red wine (you can substitute with any wine) sprinkle red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Now add the olives, rice and broccoli. Cover and let simmer for about 5 minutes on low heat.
Time is anywhere from 1/2 hr to 45 minutes. I like to prepare everything in advance so that I don't forget anything.

You can serve this alone or with a nice tossed salad. ENJOY!

Quick Chicken Dinner

Today was a crazy day...worked most of the day. We got home late and Jack and I were both starving. I did have the insight this morning to thaw out chicken breasts. Here is how I prepared them. It took only 30 minutes.

1 package of chicken breast
Red onion
two small potatoes - diced
roasted peppers
cooking spray (Pam)
oil
salt
pepper
Mrs. Dash

Preheat a large skillet. Brown them quickly in a large skillet...I used a cooking spray to brown them. After browning them I added a red onion slices, diced potatoes and seasonings. I added 1/4 cup of canola, salt, fresh ground pepper and Mrs. Dash original seasoning. Let this all cook covered for 10 minutes checking it constantly. Remove the chicken when done so that it doesn't get dry. Cover it with aluminum foil and put aside. Finish sauteing the potatoes and onions. When potatoes are tender, they are done. Return the chicken to the skillet and add roasted peppers. Cover and let simmer for 5 minutes.
This meal is done in one skillet, easy clean-up and it should only take 30 minutes total.
YUMMY! Serve alone or with a tossed salad.

My Very First Blog & Grandma's Homemade Pizza

Good morning everyone! Last night my grandson Kristopher and I decided it was time for Grandma to start her blog. We thought very hard as to what the blog should be about, and Kristopher's answer was " Blog about being a Grandmother, giving advise, doing fun things with grandchildren, making PIZZA and other good stuff". He is special but so are my three other grandchildren: Jonathan, Holly, and Allison. I love them to death! So here goes my first recipe for the day.

Grandma's Pizza

One pound of dough - I prefer Calise & Sons Bakery dough, but any dough will do.
Let it rise until it doubles in size.

Coat your pizza pan with Crisco. This will help the dough stay in place..

Drizzle olive oil around the edges and put it aside.

Next: prepare the sauce. I prefer Pastene chunk style kitchen ready tomatoes. One can will make at least two pizzas.

In a medium size bowl, combine tomatoes, teaspoon of oregano, sprinkle minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon sugar and 1 table spoon of Olive Oil. Mix it well. You will also need toppings. I usually make pepperoni with mozzarella cheese for the kids. Spread the sauce on the dough. Then add the mozzarella cheese evenly over the sauce. The more the better. Top it all off with Pepperoni. Bake in 425 oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Start checking it after 15 minutes, some ovens cook quicker than others, especially electric ovens.
Let it set and cool for about 10 minutes after taking it out of the oven. Enjoy!

I make pizza with many different toppings.

One of the favorites is with Cento Anchovies and hot peppers with grated cheese.

In my next blog I will discuss making white pizza with yummy toppings!


ps: If you try this recipe, please let me know how it turns out.