Lemon Pepper Shrimp Scampi

I'm kind of half-considering moving to Wordpress, because I think I like the layout and functionality more than Blogger. By my next entry I'll know for sure what I'm going to do about that.

It's been awhile since I've posted, but I still have been cooking most every night. With homework though, it's hard to find the time to post on here. I'm seriously like 2 weeks behind in sharing what I've cooked. But as this journal is called "The Law Student's Cookbook", it does have to be expected that I don't have all the free time in the world to be posting on here. I guess it's a surprise in itself that I actually do cook almost every night.

This meal was super easy and was also the first time I've tried orzo. I really enjoyed it and will be trying different orzo recipes in the future!

This entry will be submitted to Presto Pasta, hosted this week by The Life & Loves of Grumpy's Honey Bunch!

Lemon Pepper Shrimp Scampi

Ingredients

1/2 cup uncooked orzo

1 tbsp chopped parsley

1/4 tsp kosher salt

3 1/2 tsp Brummel&Brown

3/4 lb peeled and deveined shrimp

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/8 tsp black pepper

Directions

1. Cook orzo according to the packaging. Drain and place in a medium bowl. Stir in parsley and 1/8 tsp salt. Cover and set aside.

2. Melt 1 tbsp Brummel&Brown in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the shrimp with remaining salt. Add the shrimp to the pan and saute 2 minutes, or until almost done. Transfer the shrimp to a plate and set aside.

3. Melt the remaining Brummel&Brown in a pan. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in shrimp, lemon juice, and pepper. Cook for 1 minute or until shrimp are done. Serve the shrimp over the orzo.

CALORIES: 366

Citrus Shrimp with Vegetable Slaw

One of my MFP friends asked me to make a dish that included both grilled protein and vegetables. Upon some recipe explorations I found this recipe, a shrimp dish that included a cold vegetable slaw.

Here's the thing. I really really am not fond of raw vegetables. I hate the crunch so much. I initially was going to just eat the slaw cold and try to change my taste buds into loving the raw veggies, but when I was standing there cutting up the onion and the squash I couldn't bear to think that my teeth were going to be tearing into the hard flesh of the raw vegetables. So I changed it up a little and put the vegetables over heat long enough to soften a bit.

And then it didn't gross me out anymore.

Citrus Shrimp with Vegetable Slaw

Ingredients

1/4 cup lemon juice + 1/2 tbsp

1/4 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tbsp sugar
1 sprig of rosemary
a pinch of cinnamon
1/2 lb peeled and deveined shrimp
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1/2 carrot, cut into circles
1/2 yellow squash, thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp ground black pepper flakes
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup uncooked rice

Directions
1. In a rice cooker combine the rice and 2 cups of water. Cook.

2. In a small bowl combine 1/4 cup of lime juice, the orange juice, pineapple juice, sugar, rosemary, cinnamon, and sugar. Stir to combine and then toss the shrimp in the liquid. Set in the refrigerator.

3. In another small bowl combine the olive oil and cilantro. Mix with the vegetables.

4. In a small skillet cook the vegetables until they begin to soften. Place in a bowl and set aside.

5. Remove the shrimp from the marinade. Pour the marinade in the skillet and cook until it is reduced to about 1/3 cup, about 8 minutes. Let boil briefly. Pour into a clean bowl.

6. In the same skillet cook the shrimp 3 minutes on each side. Put the shrimp into the cooked marinade and toss well.

7. Fill the bottom of a bowl with rice. Top with shrimp and then with the veggies.

CALORIES: 355 calories
CHOLESTEROL: 204 milligrams
FAT: 6 grams
SODIUM: 275 milligrams

Roasted Sweet Potato, Black Bean, and Shrimp Salad

One of my MFP friends this week asked that I make a high protein salad. Not really knowing what that meant, I decided to make a sweet potato and black bean salad. Unfortunately this combo only resulted in being 8 grams of protein. Clearly I have no idea on protein or something.

But this salad did magically become a high protein salad.

The night before I had made coconut shrimp for dinner. Thing is.. I didn't end up eating it, because I had forgotten I had dinner plans. But I didn't want the shrimp to go bad, so since they were thawed out I cooked them up and decided I could find a use for them later. Their use became apparent the next morning when I was throwing this salad together. In the shrimp went and up the protein increased to 23 grams!

I've really started to love sweet potato, so this is also a plus. I think the next two recipes you'll see after this one involve the sweet potato. It seems like sweet potato and spinach are the two staples as of late in my recipes.

This recipe is definitely going to be entered into Kahakai Kitchen's Souper Sundays!

Roasted Sweet Potato, Black Bean, and Shrimp Salad

Ingredients

2 egg whites

1 1/2 cups panko

1 tsp ground cumin

3/4 cup flaked coconut

24 large shrimp, shelled and deveined

3 large sweet potatoes

1 large onion, chopped

3 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 14-oz can black beans

1 cup chopped cilantro

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 500.

2. Beat egg whites in a small dish. Combine the bread crumbs, coconut, and 1/2 tsp of cumin in a ziplock bag.

3. Dip the shrimp in the egg whites and then shake in the dry mixture. Add to a baking sheet.

4. Bake for 6 minutes. Flip over. Bake for 6 more minutes. Set the shrimp aside.

5. Reduce the oven temperature to 400. Place the sweet potato and onion in a baking dish. Toss with 1 tbsp olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and mix with the shrimp. Add the black beans as well.

6. In a small bowl mix together 2 tbsp of olive oil, salt, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, and 1/2 tsp of cumin.

7. Pour the dressing over the sweet potato and shrimp mixture. Toss well.

* serves 4

CALORIES: 566 calories
CHOLESTEROL: 71 milligrams
FAT: 18 grams
SODIUM: 851 milligrams

Shrimp Shells + Sauteed Garlic Asparagus

Tonight's dinner was pretty simple, but pretty tasty. Upon cooking I came upon the harsh realization that my half-and-half had soured since I last checked (around Thursday). It was unfortunate because the sell by date on the carton says July and it's obviously not even June. But that is the way it goes. I replaced the half-and-half with milk, so I'm sure this sauce was supposed to be creamier. But honestly, I'm not even sure if I'd want it to be creamier. It was delicious.

The only thing that could have made this dish better would have been more shrimp. I stupidly weighed out my shrimp when it was still frozen and the frozen shrimp weighs more than the thawed shrimp due to all those ice crystals. Finding the shrimp in the pasta was like finding some delicious treasure (if treasure was delicious).

Thanks to allrecipes.com for the pasta recipe.

The asparagus is something I've made in the best and is super easy for a tasty green.

Shrimp Shells

Ingredients
12 oz shell noodles
4 slices bacon
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp fresh oregano
2 tbsp fresh basil
3 tomatoes, chopped
6 green onions, chopped
1 cup 1% milk
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 pound shelled and deveined shrimp
1/4 cup pine nuts

Directions
1. Bring a pot of water to boil and cook the pasta until al dente.

2. Place bacon in a skillet and cook until crispy. Place on a paper towel until cool. When cool, crumble.

3. With the leftover bacon grease, saute the garlic, oregano, and basil for a minute. Add the tomatoes and green onions and cook for 3 minutes. Add the bacon, milk, and cheeses until the cheese has melted.

4. Add the shrimp and cook until

* serves 6

Sauteed Garlic Asparagus

Ingredients
1/2 tbsp Brummel&Brown yogurt spread
9 asparagus stalks, trimmed and cut in half
1 clove garlic

Directions
1. Mince the garlic.

2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and asparagus. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.

* serves 2

Nutrition: Shrimp Shells
CALORIES: 491 calories
CARBS: 46 grams
PROTEIN: 33 grams
SODIUM: 415 milligrams

Nutrition: Sauteed Garlic Asparagus
CALORIES: 60 calories
CARBS: 4 grams
PROTEIN: 2 grams
SODIUM: 68 milligrams

Baked Shrimp w/Feta

I had the 3rd of my 4 finals today at 6PM. I knew I needed to eat before the 3 hour long test, but I also knew that it would need to be something tasty as well as filling. Tonight I pulled out a recipe from the trusty Cooking Light magazines. Actually, I haven't purchased a Cooking Light in years. This is recipe from the April 2009. But something about the magazine changed since then and they just don't excite me like they used to. But I do still have several of my old magazines and cook out of them quite regularly. I don't think anything I've made from Cooking Light has ever disappointed. Tonight was no exception. The taste of the feta with the shrimp and the tomato was just really pleasant. I served it over rice to sop up some of the tomato juices. It was good! The magazine suggests serving it with orzo, which I have no doubt would be good too but that's not what I had in the house.

One thing I've decided about this blog is I'm not going to post any of my kitchen flops. I mean, for as much as I like cooking delicious food, I don't like everything I cook. In my last blog I pretty much posted everything I cooked. But since this is my "cookbook" I really should only be filling the pages with yummies I would make again and not gross stuff that won't get made in my kitchen again. So you can take my word for it: everything in here is good.

Baked Shrimp with Feta

Ingredients:
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined
Cooking spray
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp claim juice
1 tbsp white wine
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 (14.5-oz) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450.

2. Combine the lemon juice with the shrimp in a bowl and set aside. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray. Add oil to the pan. Add the onion and saute for a minute. Add the garlic and saute for a minute. Add the clam juice, wine, oregano, pepper, and tomatoes, bringing to a boil.

3. Reduce heat and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add shrimp mixture.

4. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and place mixture in the dish. Sprinkle with feta cheese.

5. Bake for 12 minutes.

* serves 4

Nutrition (without rice):
CALORIES: 276 calories
CARBS: 11 grams
PROTEIN: 39 grams
SODIUM: 732 milligrams