Chicken & Shrimp Stir Fry

The original version of this dish was made with beef or venison and can be found by clicking here. With white meat chicken being a much healthier alternative for me, I decided to give the substitution a try. I had never really worked with ground chicken before so this was to be a good test. Long story short, it really worked out well, and I now have a use for my grinder again as whole chicken breasts are  far cheaper.... AND I always know for sure what is in my grind.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs ground white meat chicken
• 1 lb large raw shrimp, cleaned and peeled (no tails)
• light olive oil
• 3/4 head green cabbage, shredded
• 1/2 cup ginger teriyaki marinade (more or less)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp spicy mustard
• Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:

In a large non-stick Dutch oven fry the chop meat in a bit of oil. When cooked, add  cabbage, marinade, soy and mustard. Simmer and toss frequently until cabbage is cooked but still crunchy. Finally add shrimp and cook another few minutes until shrimp are just cooked perfectly. Finish with salt & pepper to taste.

Blessed be... and happy cooking!

Shrimp & Broccoli Stir Fry with Vegetable Barley

This recipe is adapted from one I found on the Diabetes Food Hub which is run by the American Diabetes Association. 

Instead of sweetener I opted to use a teriyaki sauce to enhance the flavor pallet, and instead of rice (???) I chose to serve a vegetable stock barley. With Wondra flour being my go-to these days for all sauces I bypassed the recommended corn starch, too. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1.5 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Wondra Flour
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/tsp sriracha
• 2 tbsp of your favorite Asian teriyaki marinade
• 3 tbsp olive oil - divided
• 1 clove garlic - minced
• 1.25 lbs raw medium/large shrimp - peeled, cleaned, tails off
• 1 lb fresh broccoli florets - parboil or nuke a couple minutes before use
• 1 cup quick cook barley - cooked using vegetable stock
• 1/3 cup scallions - cut into 1/4" pieces

Preparation:

In a liquid measuring cup combine vegetable stock, rice vinegar, soy sauce, Wondra flour, ginger and marinade and whisk until blended.

Start the quick cook barley according to package instructions, but swap out the water for vegetable stock. Cut up the scallions and set aside for later.

Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a large skillet or wok. When the oil is shimmering, add the garlic and cook until fragrant (30 seconds). Add the shrimp and cook until opaque, about 3-4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the shrimp and place on a plate... covered.

Heat the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil in the same skillet. Add the broccoli florets and cook until tender, about 4 minutes.

Add the cooked shrimp back into the skillet and toss to combine with the broccoli. Pour the broth mixture over the shrimp and broccoli and toss to coat.

Continue cooking until the broth mixture thickens slightly, about 1 minute.

When barley is cooked, blend in the scallions just before serving to retain a little crunch.

Blessed be... and happy cooking!

Shrimp & Noodle Casserole

Yes.... Shrimp and NOODLES! Before anyone freaks out, please remember that this dish features a mere 8 ounces of noodles in a recipe with six servings. Also, pasta is in the low glycemic range at 50-54. Be sure to serve with a complimenting green vegetable like asparagus and your pasta load will be minimal.

With that out of the way, make this dish... Seriously, it is absolutely packed with comfort food flavor. Carb counters... take a small serving and have more vegetables. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp - tail off
• 8 oz medium or large no-yolk egg noodles
• 2 cans (10 3/4 oz) unsalted condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup sliced scallions
• 1/4 cup chopped orange pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried dill weed
• 1/4tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 medium sized tomato – sliced
•  flat leaf parsley sprigs/leaves for garnish

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Drop the shrimp into boiling salt water and simmer for 4 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Cook noodles al dente and drain well.

Combine noodles with soup, sour cream, scallions, orange pepper, dried dill weed, pepper and salt. Cut 25% of the shrimp into thirds and fold cut shrimp and cheese into noodle mixture.

Spoon into shallow baking dish. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove foil and arrange remaining shrimp and tomato slices on top of casserole.

Return to oven uncovered for 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Garnish with parsley sprigs/leaves and serve.

Blessed be… and happy cooking!

Shrimp & Pollock with Creamy Broccoli & Lima Beans

This dish is comfort food. Period. Great source of good nutrients combined with a very cozy flavor pallet, this dish will have everyone around the table smiling. Enjoy!

I know the dish looks like a pasta overload... In reality, pasta's glycemic index is in the low range at 52-54. The trick is to eat a sensible amount, which should be fairly easy considering the recipe only calls for six ounces of noodles in total.

 Ingredients:

• 6 oz pollock bites
• 6 oz lge shrimp - cleaned & tails removed
• olive oil
• splash of lemon juice - fresh squeezed preferred
• 6 oz frozen lima beans
• 6 oz broccoli crowns - cut up after cooking
• 1 lg yellow onion - diced
• 3 scallions - cut to 1/4" rings
• 1 15.5 oz can Cream of Shrimp condensed soup
• 1/3 cup half & half
• 6 oz egg noodles

Preparation:

Combine pollock & shrimp in a bowl. Add a dash of salt & pepper, a little olive oil and a splash of lemon juice. Toss to blend flavors and set aside.

Cook the lima beans and broccoli as you normally do. Cut the broccoli into small pieces. Set both aside.

Put on the water for the egg noodles... don't forget to salt the water.

Heat ~2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute until fish and shrimp are just done. Remove from skillet and set aside on a plate with a cover.

Add a little more oil if needed and saute the onion over medium heat. Add scallions and after a minute add the soup. Rinse can with 1/3 cup half & half, add and blend. Add the vegetables, blend and season with salt & pepper to taste. 

Finally, add the shrimp and pollock back to the skillet, blend and cover. Simmer on low for a couple more minutes for everything to heat through.

Serve over egg noodles as shown top of post or with noodles on the side. :-)

Blessed be... and happy cooking!