Shrimp, Acorn Squash & Pear with Basil Polenta in Butter Wine Sauce

Ok, I really should come up with a shorter name... I just came up with this recipe tonight because I just had some ingredients on hand to use. I thought this turned out really well, but James absolutely loved it.

For 2 large appetites-
1lb shrimp (thawed, tails off)
1 acorn squash, peeled, seeded & cut into 1/2"
   cubes
1 danjou (green) pear, peeled, seeded & cut into
   1/4" cubes (adds just a tiny bit of sweet)
2 handfuls of fresh spinach
1 stick of butter
1/2 c. white wine
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tube of basil/garlic polenta

In one skillet, melt 2TBS butter over medium-high heat. Add the squash, and a little salt. Saute for a good 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. While that cooks, prep the polenta by cutting into 1/2" slices. (You can also prep the pear and pull the tails off the shrimp, if you haven't already.) You will need two more skillets (or a skillet and a big griddle- that's actually better). Add the pears and another TBS of butter and continue to cook over medium heat.

 In the other skillet, melt 1TBS over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and stir frequently until almost completely cooked but not quite. Add all the contents of that skillet into the squash skillet. Add the wine & nutmeg and lower heat to very low.

On the griddle, melt another TBS of butter and add the slices of polenta. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side. After you have flipped the polenta once, add the two handfuls of spinach to the shrimp mixture and stir in to wilt.  Serve on top of the polenta.

My Plan For The Week

I apologize for getting behind, but hopefully there have been some recipes here for you to put some meal plans together over the last week. Here's what I am doing this week because it works for our family schedule and it didn't involve buying a lot of ingredients- this may or may not be particularly helpful to you, but I hope it helps even a little bit. 

Monday- Sloppy Joes (see recipe below) and asparagus (lightly browning an extra pound of turkey meat while I'm at it to save time on Thursday when I make the Taco Bake.)

Tuesday- We have a supper club that will be doing a taco salad bar thingy

Wednesday- Sauteed shrimp, acorn squash & pears in a butter sauce served over basil/garlic polenta and a side salad. I have not come up with this recipe yet, but if it's good, I will post it for next time.

Thursday- Taco Bake (great for creating leftovers)

Friday- Sweet & Spicy Salmon with zucchini chips

Saturday- Sausage & Peppers with goat cheese

Sunday- Leftover Taco Bake (because I work on Sundays and hate to cook)

I'm not creating a grocery list for this because I have a feeling it's too random for y'all. But all the recipes will be on this blog somewhere, if not posted immediately around this one. 

Sausage & Peppers

This is a recipe of my own creation after having experienced 2 things: One was this fabulous little dish they used to serve at Carrabba's Italian Grille that involved italian sausage, marinara, rigatoni and a big slab of goat cheese. The second was when my good friend Cara came over to make a dish like this and awakened my heart and soul to the fact that I really DO like red bell peppers- if they're cooked right.

4 bell peppers (I detest green ones, but love the color variation of red, orange & yellow ones)
4 italian sausage links (turkey sausage doesn't save you much in calories and fat, so I say go for the good stuff (Canino's in Denver makes delicious ones that are 150 calories per link and 13g of fat.)
1-2 yellow onions, depending on the size (and your particular taste for carmelized onion)
1/2 jar thick marinara (make your own or just buy some)
Goat cheese (buy it in the tube instead of crumbled, if you can)
Olive oil

slice up the bell peppers in thin, long slices, discarding the seeds & white stuff. Try to get them roughly the same size. Slice the onion(s) similarly. In a very large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat (any higher and you'll scorch the bell pepper). Add the bell peppers only for the first 5-8 minutes. Then add the onions and reduce the heat to medium-low. The secret to fabulously carmelized veggies is low heat, and long cooktime. Give this about 15 more minutes, or until the onions are nice and brown and the bell peppers are soft, yea even supple.

While the bell peppers are cooking, slice the sausage into bite sizes, keeping them roughly the same size. Create some space in the pan so the sausage can be directly on the bottom, and turn the heat back up to medium. Cook until the sausage is cooked through- I don't have an exact time.

Once that's just about done, add some marinara, just a little at a time. I like mine thick, to eat with a spoon, so I don't put in a ton. The longer you let the sauce cook, the thicker it will get as the water evaporates out. Plate the sausage and peppers and add a big dollop of goat cheese on top. Enjoy.

Pronto Taco Bake

As my sister, Sarah (who gave me this recipe) says, "It's fast, easy and surprisingly yummy!"

1lb ground beef (i use turkey)
1 can drained corn
1/2 c. water
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 can tomato sauce
1 pkg corn muffin mix (I like to use 2- see below)
1/2 c. green onions
1/3 c. part-skim mozzarella shredded
 **be sure you have the egg and oil that the cornbread mix needs

Preheat oven to 400*. In skillet, brown and drain meat. Stir in taco seasoning, water, corn, tomato sauce. Pour into greased 12X7 baking dish. In a separate bowl, prepare the corn bread according to the package directions. Add the green onions. Spoon the muffin mix along the outer edges of the baking dish. (I like to use 2 boxes of corn bread so I can spoon it over the entire baking dish- because I love me some cornbread.) Bake uncovered 20 minutes. Top it with cheese and bake for another 2-3 minutes more.

If you don't add extra cornbread and use lean ground beef:
Yields 6 servings
Prep time 15 minutes
Cook time 25 minutes
Calories: 440
Fat 17.7 grams

Sweet & Spicy Salmon

Salmon on the grill is tough to beat... this is for six 5-oz fillets, but prepare however many you need. i'm not a big fan of salmon leftovers, and even if I were, there never seem to be any. My kids like this recipe so it might be a good one to try with yours. 

Cooking spray

2TBS packed light brown sugar

1.5 TBS chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

6 5oz salmon fillets, skin and any pin bones removed

1 TBS olive oil

Coat your grill with cooking spray and preheat over medium heat. While the grill is heating up, combine the brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, S&P. Brush each salmon fillet with 1/2tsp of the olive oil and then rub each fillet with about 1/2 TBS of the mixture.

Grill salmon, mixture side down, 4-5 minutes. Flip the salmon and cook another 5-6 for medium doneness. For well-done, cook another 1-2 minutes.  

This Week's Plan

Admittedly, I'm a little tardy on this, since it's 8:37pm on a Sunday night. But I'll throw it out there anyway. I tried to combine ingredients and preparation a little more this time to help make dinnertime even easier.

THE PLAN-
Sunday: Pappa Al Pomo Soup & Prep Day
 Prepare the Sun-Dried Tomato Chimichurri
 For Fried Rice, chop 1 bell pepper, scallions and 2 garlic cloves- store in bag & mark.
 For Sloppy Joes, chop 1 onion and put in bag, mark it. Chop 4 garlic cloves, jalapeno and bell pepper and store in separate bag, mark it.
 For Spinach Salad, chop shallots and garlic, store in a bag and mark it.

Monday- Chicken Stuffed with Goat Cheese & Zucchini, Roasted Potatoes

 Further prep: thaw chicken for this recipe and for the chicken salad. Roast all chicken breasts together.

 Chop the extra chicken and store in baggie, mark for salad. Additionally, you can slice extra zucchini

 and store for Grilled Fish meal.

Tuesday- Grilled Fish (choose your favorite- tilapia, snapper, whatever) with Sun-Dried Tomato Chimichurri; zucchini chips (check out prior posts for the chips- you'll love 'em)

Wednesday- Warm Chicken Piccata Spinach Salad


Thursday-Shrimp Fried Rice

Friday- Sloppy Joes, baked french fries and roasted asparagus

I haven't posted how to make baked french fries or roasted potatoes- but my experience has been that while adding copious amounts of oil to either does give a delicious crispiness, it isn't necessary. For fries, spray a cookie sheet with Pam, lay the fries out and spray with Pam again. S&P. Throw in the oven on about 400* and turn 'em once. For roasted potatoes, my friend Millie turned me on to combining different kinds of potatoes (yams, gold, etc.). Cube 'em approx. the same size. Spray a baking dish with Pam. Throw them in there- spray again with Pam (or use a small amount of oil and a little butter, if you don't mind the calories) and put in oven at 400*. Check them and stir frequently until gorgeously brown.

Sun-Dried Tomato Chimichurri

This is fabulous on all sorts of things, but I recommend grilling some variation of white fish and topping it with this.

1/2c. dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes,  (this is much less fattening than buying the oil-packed tomatoes.
5 cloves of garlic
1 c. extra virgin olive oil (evoo)
S&P to taste

Take the tomatoes out and soak in hot water for 20 minutes. While soaking, peel the garlic and place on a square sheet of foil, sprinkle with salt and wrap in the foil. Roast in preheated over 350* for 12-15 minutes until very soft.

In a blender or food processor, combine all the ingredients and process until well blended. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let sit for about 20 minutes and serve. Or, cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Return to room temp before serving.

Variation: stir 1.5c plain yogurt into this salsa to make a creamier version (could use as a dip for fresh veggies)