Garlic Shrimp

Posted by: Maggie

I have another quick and easy dinner for you today! 

I wanted something healthy, since DC is going to be unpleasantly hot and humid in approximately one month, and I am in no way ready for anything skin revealing. Much to my dismay, jeans and cozy sweaters cannot be comfortably worn in DC year round. If I had it my way, November weather would last all year, and I'd never have to reveal my pasty appendages in sundresses (I don't do shorts. Seriously, I own zero pairs.) Unfortunately it's not November year round, and if I'm going to wear all the new sundresses I bought I'm going to have to break out some healthy foods for the time being. 

As much as I love food blogs that encourage me to stuff my face with copious amounts of bacon, peanut butter, chocolate, animal fat, and frosting, I also enjoy quite a few health conscious blogs, particularly Gina's Skinny Recipes.  She makes all of her diet friendly fare look and sound so downright delicious I often forget I'm reading a healthy blog. 

I settled on the garlic shrimp from Gina's website, since I ate the leftover lemon linguine for lunch back on Tuesday when I made this, and wanted something a bit more protein heavy for dinner. I ate these shrimp by themselves, but I imagine they'd also be great on a salad, or over rice. 

Here's what you'll need:

1/2 pound large shrimp, washed, peeled, deveined, and tails removed

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

Paprika

Salt

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley 

Lime wedges for serving

In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, and saute until golden, about 1-2 minutes. This will burn really easily, so keep an eye on it. Add shrimp to pan, and season with salt and paprika.  Cook for 2-3 minutes or until shrimp is cooked through, stirring frequently. 

Transfer shrimp to a bowl, and stir in parsley. 

Enjoy! 

Lemon Linguine

Posted by: Maggie

I made this pasta dish for dinner back on Monday night, when DC temperatures soared to the mid-80s, and all I craved was something fresh and light tasting for dinner. I know it doesn't look like anything special from the picture, but trust me when I say that these simple ingredients come together to make something amazing.

Lemon is one of my favorite flavors for baked goods, but I haven't really used it much in savory dishes. After making this pasta, I can't wait to use it more.

Another great thing about this pasta is simply the speed with which it came together. I am a notoriously slow cook, and this literally took me about 20 minutes to throw together. It would probably take a normal person 10 minutes to make! I usually don't like eating leftovers, but since this only made two portions I'm going to see what it's like as a cold pasta salad tomorrow and report back!

One last thing - bufala mozzarella is insanely expensive. Since when I grocery shop I sometimes forget that my job doesn't pay me eleventy bajillion dollars a year to keep me in spendy cheeses, I paid $12.99 for a container of bufala mozzarella. Yeah, it's delicious, and I may try and convince myself that it's worth it, but you could probably use fresh mozzarella from a cow instead of a water buffalo and pay about half that price with equally tasty results.

Here's what you'll need:

1 9 ounce container fresh linguine
1 container fresh bufala mozzarella, torn into small pieces (or cow mozzarella if you're smart)
Juice from 2 lemons
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 handful fresh basil, chiffonaded (I used about 8 large leaves)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Combine olive oil and lemon juice in a bowl, and whisk to combine.

Cook linguine according to package directions (fresh pasta only takes about 2-3 minutes.)

Mix cooked pasta with all other ingredients, and garnish with more basil and lemon zest if desired.

Source: Ramshackle Glam

BBQ Salmon

Posted by: Annie

I almost feel silly posting this recipe because it was SO simple and did not require many ingredients. However, it was so delicious and reminiscent of summer I figured I would share! I was still recovering from my Alfredo binge from the other day and was incredibly tempted by the leftovers in the fridge, but opted for a piece of salmon and some fresh sauteed spinach instead. (I only sulked about not eating Alfredo for like ten minutes - I also stared at a pint of Wegmans Dark Chocolate Ice Cream for a good five minutes, but thoughts of Florida sadly kept me focused.) I cooked this using my grill/panini maker that I received from my dad for Christmas. I did not close the lid to use as a panini maker, I simply used the grill plates like you would use a normal grill.

What you will need:

1 skinless salmon filet (about 6 ounces)

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 tablespoons BBQ seasoning (I used McCormick's Grill Mates brand)

Preheat grill to 400 degrees. Pour olive oil into a medium sized bowl. Place the salmon in the bowl and coat thoroughly with the oil. Dump in BBQ seasoning and using your hands rub into the oiled fish. Place salmon on preheated grill plates and cook for approximately six minutes per side, until the fish flakes when pulled with a fork.