More Easy Dinners!

Here are 2 more very easy meals for our weeknight dinners. First up is Chicken Pasta-Roni with grilled chicken and mushrooms. Next is Mac and Cheese with Imitation Crab (our fav!). Dinner in less than 20 minutes. Can't beat that!

Trader Joe's to the Rescue

We LOVE just about everything from Trader Joe's and one of our favorites is their Lobster Ravioli. For less than $4, you get a gourmet meal for 2 that takes just 15 minutes to make. I like to serve them in an Alfredo Sauce topped with some extra cheese. Simple yet incredible on a Saturday night!

Crabby Mac and Cheese. TOTAL Comfort Food!

It's a cold night so comfort food is definitely on the menu and tonight, it's Crabby Mac an Cheese. I mean, SERIOUS comfort food! Nothing's better than baked ooey gooey cheesy dinner!

If Martha Approves, You KNOW It's GOOD!

I found Emeril's Seafood Mac and Cheese on Martha Stewart's website so I knew it had to be good. I used Imitation Crab for the seafood part cuz my hubby loves that stuff and hey, it's WAY cheaper than lobster! The verdict? SUPER YUM!

Paula Deen's Shrimp Pasta is a WINNER!

I watched Paula Deen make her Company Shrimp and Mushroom Pasta with her son Jamie (HOT HOT!) and couldn't wait to make it for dinner. My hubby LOVES shrimp and I don't make them enough since I'm always afraid of overcooking them. This recipe is a definite winner all around! The shrimp was succulent, the sauce was deliciously creamy and the mushrooms added a nice earthy flavor. Thanks Paula!

Creamy Shrimp Pasta Oh YEA!

I don't cook shrimp a lot because I'm always so scared I'll overcook them but with a little practice I think I'm getting the hang of it! Tonight, I made a Creamy Shrimp and Pasta meal and we couldn't have been happier with it! It was so easy and so incredibly delicious!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb peeled and deveined shrimp
1 Tbsp butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 c chopped green onions
1/4 c heavy cream
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
Pasta, cooked

Prep:

1. Pat shrimp dry with paper towel. Melt over in a pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add shrimp and green onions. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until shrimp is cooked.

2. Add cream and Parmesan. Stir until cheese is melted. Add pasta and coat the noodles well. Serve.

Happy Chinese New Year!

You must wonder what type of horrible Chinese person I am to not acknowldege Chinese New Year. Well I'm definitely NOT a horrible person and I decided to celebrate with some LOBSTER! Not Chinese but INCREDIBLY delicious! I just cooked the tail meat in some melted butter and served them over mashed potatoes. I don't care what nationality you are, this is a GOOD DINNER!

How to Jazz Up Boxed Mac and Cheese

I've never been a fan of boxed Mac and Cheese but sometimes, they just come in handy especially if you can jazz things up with Salmon Mac. I was VERY pleasantly surprised by the result and believe it or not, it was pretty healthy too! I jazzed things up even more by topping the dish with breadcrumbs and browning it in the oven. :)

Gourmet Pasta on a Weeknight!

I watched Rachael Ray make her Seafood Pasta with Sherry Tomato Cream Sauce and knew right away we were having that for dinner. Being the frugal gal that I am, I substituted Imitation Crab for the Lobster, which my hubby LOVED and it as the PERFECT gourmet Pasta dinner! Quick and easy and incredibily YUMMY!

Can't Go Wrong with Crab and Enchiladas!

My hubby LOVES imitation crab so I knew exactly how I was going to transform these Shrimp and Crab Enchiladas. Basically I just substituted all the seafood with the crabmeat. I LOVED the Monterey Jack Cheese in these and of course, nothing beats sour cream!

More Lobsters to Celebrate 2013!

There's nothing like lobster to feel like a celebration so tonight, I made Crab-stuffed Lobster Tails to welcome the new year. It couldn't have felt more fancy yet it was really easy to make! Happy 2013 everyone!

$5 Lobster Tails!

Since Lobster Tails are on sale, I couldn't resist so I made Neely's Lobster Mac and Cheese. OMG it was yummy! I loved how they spiced it up with some Cayenne and I absolutely adore Gruyere so this was definitely a winner!

Crabby Stuffed Shells

Sometimes I just want a go-to recipe that I can make when I'm just plain tired. Tonight, I turned to Crabby Stuffed Shells. It's just basically imitation crab mixed with Ricotta and stuffed into jumbo shells topped with Marinara sauce and CHEESE! YUM YUM!

Feeling Crabby

Crabby Enchiladas that is! I had some crabmeat in the fridge and decided to make Enchiladas tonight. Not much of a recipe, just crabmeat mixed with refried beans and rolled into tortillas. Baked with LOTS of Enchiladas Sauce and Cheese on top and DONE!

Apple and Seafood, Who Knew?

I came across this recipe for Spicy Shrimp Curry with Coconut Milk and Apple and was intrigued by the combinationa. I mean, I love fruit with pork and poultry but never thought of seafood. Well, tonight curiosity got the best of me and I decided to try the recipe using Imitation Crabmeat instead. The verdict? We LOVED it! The Coconut Milk made the dish really come together and all the spices gave it a nice kick. I served the crabmeat over rice noodles and it was an amazing curry feast!

Crabby Pad Thai

My hubby LOVES Pad Thai and I've finally figured out how to make it just the way he likes it after years of practice. Nowadays I can pretty much make it with anything but he especially likes it with Imitation Crabmeat. My recipe is obviously NOT authentic (I realize that ketchup is not from Thailand) but it's super flavorful and just the way we like it!

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp ketchup
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp ginger, grated
8 oz imitation crabmeat
Rice noodles, cooked
2 green onions, sliced
Sesame oil, for drizzling

Prep:

1. In a small bowl, stir together the ketchup, lim juice, soy sauce, fish sauce and brown sugar.

2. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add eggs and scramble until set. Remove and set aside.

3. Add garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. Add the sauce mixture and bring to a boil.

4. Turn heat down to low and add the carbmeat, noodles and green onions. Stir and heat through. Drizzle with sesame oil and serve.

It's a Pasta Revolution!

I ordered America's Test Kitchen's Pasta Revolution last week and couldn't wait to start making some of the recipes. I decided to start with the Creamy Crabmeat Fettuccine, which I substituted Fusilli for but kept everything else pretty much the same. Ok, I lied, I pretty much made my own version and here's the recipe. It turned out really yummy though! Perfectly creamy and just a touch of heat from the cayenne. A great way to start the weekend indeed!

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 c onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 c dry sherry
1/2 c heavy cream
1/2 lb cooked crabmeat
Fusilli, cooked al dente
Parmesan, for topping

Prep:

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, thyme, tarragon and cayenne and cook until fragrant, 1 minute.

2. Stir in sherry and simmer until nearly evaporated, 5 minutes. Stir in cream and simmer until thickened, 5 minutes.

3. Add crabmeat and pasta and warm through. Serve with Parmesan on top.

Watching Paula Deen Pays Off Y'all!

This morning, I watched Paula Deen make Crawfish Fettuccini and it looked SO good (just like everything else she makes)! I didn't have crawfish so I substituted imitation crabmeat instead since my hubby seems to love that stuff. I also have a thing against long pasta (they never cook right for me!) so I used fusilli. As with all of Paula's recipes, it was heavy on the butter which meant it was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!

It's Called Impossibly Easy for a Reason!

When I find a recipe titled Impossibly Easy Seafood Pie, I know I have to try it! I mean, afterall, pies are supposed to take forever to make right? Not this one since the topping is made from Bisquick, a girl's best friend! As for the seafood, I used Imitation Crabmeat, which is a favorite at our house and also substituted goat cheese for the cream cheese, which we also can't seem to get enough of! I couldn't have been happier with the result! The top was buttery and flakey and the filling was creamy and just delicious! What an easy and wonderful Saturday dinner!

No Shame in Using the Blue Box!

If I had all the time in the world, I'd love to make everything from scratch every night. Unfortunately I work fulltime and I'm lucky if I can get dinner on the table before 9pm. That being said, I'd still like us to have something homemade instead of takeout so I get help from convenience items like good old Kraft Mac and Cheese. I know some of you will think less of me for using the boxed stuff but I'm only human and there are only 24 hours in my day! Besides, it's not like I don't jazz things up like tonight's Crab Horseradish Mac and Cheese. Doesn't look anything like the boxed stuff, now does it? It's got crabmeat, horseradish cheddar and baked with a crusty breadcrub topping! Not bad for 30 minutes in the kitchen!