Recipe: Cajun Shrimp, Grapefruit & Cilantro Salad

My husband laughs at me when I finish making my dinner and grab the camera to take a picture. It’s more so I remember what went in it if I can’t post the recipe right away – but I’m also very visual and like to see what I’m talking about. This recipe came to me because I had frozen shrimp in the freezer, and a nice, big grapefruit in the fruit bowl, staring at me all day. 

Ingredients:
Frozen Shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 Tsp Cajun Seasonings
1 Whole Grapefruit, peeled and sectioned
6-8 Pepperoni, thinly sliced
1 Cup Romaine lettuce
Handful of Sliced Celery, Red Pepper and Red Cabbage
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Grapefruit Juice
1/4 Cup Ciantro, chopped
1 Tsp Honey
Salt & Pepper to taste 
Whole Cilantro Leaves, for garnishing

Thoughts: 8.21.08

Today was a good day, except that I didn’t eat nearly enough. I had a banana in the morning and then my dad came over to help me install some exterior light fixtures… we got busy, had to leave to get screws that actually fit [why, oh, why would they give us screws that were a 1/4″ longer than we needed??? one of life’s little mysteries, I guess…], and by the time we sat down to lunch it was 2:00. Ouch. I was crashing just before that… I can’t survive on just a banana. I know plenty of people who brag about how they ‘forgot to eat’ or only ate an apple all day long. I don’t know how they do it. The thought of skipping meals terrifies me because I’ve come so close to passing out when I’ve inadvertently let my sugar get too low, and it’s the worst feeling. Like a robot shutting down, one system at a time. Being so out of control of my body is not my idea of a good time. Nor is it a good time for my poor body. But I digress…

So… It was a great lunch – just a simple salad with some roasted chicken tossed in. My dad loved it – I tend to go a little over the top with salads. They’re like painting a beautiful picture, but with veggies in a bowl. I can’t help myself. I love the colors! I used romaine, thinly sliced red cabbage, celery cut on the diagonal, fresh red pepper, red seedless grapes, strawberries, grape tomotoes and then tossed it in a quick, homemade honey mustard dressing with whole grain mustard and white balsamic vinegar. YUM. Tonight I threw together a stirfry using the same chicken and it came out great. I didn’t find myself craving the pasta with meat sauce my husband was eating across the table from me. 

Recipe: Over Easy Caesar Salad

I have to say, I make a killer Caesar salad, which I will have to post the recipe for… and was the inspiration for this recipe. I LOVE eggs over easy. Eggs over easy on buttered rye toast is my absolute favorite breakfast. But when I’m trying to cut down on grains/bread, there’s no fun eating eggs over easy on just a bare plate. Unless you have no shame and don’t mind licking all that yummy yoke off the plate. I can’t bring myself to do that, so I needed something to put my eggs on that wasn’t grain-based. Well, real Caesar salad dressing is made with raw egg yoke, right? Why not do a variation… It’s fast, easy and delicious. This recipe is based on one serving.

Ingredients:
1 whole egg [or two if you’re more hungry]
1-2 cups chopped romaine hearts
1 Tsp Extra Virgin olive oil
Lemon juice to taste 
1/2 Tsp of your favorite mustard [I actually like the organic version of regular ballpark mustard] 
Salt to taste
Fresh cracked black pepper to taste 
1 Tsp Grated parmasan cheese 
1 Tsp olive oil for cooking
Garlic powder or 1 fresh garlic clove smashed but in one piece for flavor – optional [we are talking breakfast so you may not want the garlic flavor 1st thing in the morning… which is why I didn’t include the anchovy paste, either…]

Method:
– In the bottom of a wide, shallow bowl, combine the mustard, salt, pepper, lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil [and optional garlic powder or whole garlic clove]
– Mix together, then toss in the romaine and coat lettuce well [take out whole garlic clove at this point if you put it in… you only want the essence of garlic for this dish]
– Sprinkle grated parmasan cheese on top and more fresh cracked pepper to taste
– drizzle a little olive oil in a pan on medium low heat, cook egg to your desired doneness, sprinkling a little salt for flavor

Slide your perfect over easy egg on top of your salad, break yoke, cut up the egg a bit and mix together and you have a delicious warm Caesar Salad! Enjoy! 

[I’ll take a pic next time I make it to post with this recipe]

Roasted Red Pepper & Avocado Salad

I made a salad to go with dinner tonight that was kind of a serendipity recipe. I made part of it for something different, didn’t use it and decided to use it in this salad.

Ingredients:
Roasted red peppers, cut into short strips
1 Shallot, sliced thinly
1 Tbsp minced pepperoncini peppers, hot
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Sea Salt, Fresh Ground Pepper
2 Cups romaine lettuce, chopped
1/2 Ripe Avocado
1/4 Cup Greek-style Yogurt
Good, fruity Extra Virgin Olive Oil to drizzle  

How To Make It:
First, I marinated roasted red pepper slices, thinly sliced shallot, diced pepperoncino peppers, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. I made it to toss with some chicken for a quick lunch, but didn’t use it, so it marinated for 3 days. The flavors melded really well, and the pepperoncino’s heat enveloped everything without overpowering. The shallots sweetened up, but still had a touch of twang. I tossed that into a bowl of chopped romaine lettuce, and then cut up half of a very ripe avocado, which had a ton of flavor. Then I put a nice blop of Greek style yogurt on top, ground some fresh pepper on top and drizzed it all with a really good, delicous Tuscan olive oil. The result was awesome. Crunchy from the romaine, yet creamy from the yogurt and avocado, spicy from the pepperoncino and shallots, yet sweet from the roasted peppers, balsamic and yogurt. It was divine and it hit the spot! So healthy… so flavorful!