Tequila Lime Shrimp

I was rummaging through my liquor cabinet and found a lonely bottle of tequila in there with only about 2 tablespoons of goodness left in it.  Who would leave that in there?  That's not even enough for a shot!  That's like leaving a drop of milk in the milk carton and stashing it back into the fridge.

Tequila Lime Shrimp

Ingredients:

• 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and de-veined
• 2 tablespoons tequila
• juice of a lime
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
• 2 tablespoons Smart Balance

Directions:

• Place all the ingredients, except for the Smart Balance, into a plastic zip bag and let marinade in the fridge for about an hour.  (Shrimp is usually naturally salty to begin with, so go lightly on the TSSS.)
• Melt the Smart Balance in a skillet over medium heat.  Remove the shrimp from the marinade and sauté in the skillet, a minute or two on each side.  Transfer the shrimp to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.
• Pour the marinade into the skillet and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer for several minutes until the sauce is reduced by half.
• Plate the shrimp over brown rice and drizzle with the sauce.

Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore

This made the house smell A-MAZING! I'll add some capers towards the end next time.

Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore
Taken from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 12 oz. tomato paste
• 6 oz. sliced mushroom
• 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 rib celery, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt

Directions:

• Place the onions in the bottom of the crockpot.  Layer the chicken over the onions
• In a large bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients.  Pour over the chicken.
• Cook on low for 6 - 8 hours.  (I did 8 hours and it was a bit dry b/c I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  Next time I will probably reduce it to 6 hours.)
• 1/2 hour before the end of cooking time, roughly shred the chicken with two forks, then stir to combine.

Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Spinach and Prosciutto

Using up what's in the fridge.

Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Spinach and Prosciutto


Ingredients:

• 2 1-lb. pork tenderloins, all visible fat removed
• a large handful of big spinach leaves
• 3 oz. thinly-sliced prosciutto
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
• olive oil

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.  Spray a baking sheet with olive oil.
• On a cutting board, slice each tenderloin length-wise (like you're unrolling a cinnamon bun) a few times until you get an open rectangle of meat that is about 1/2-inch thick.  
• Arrange half of the spinach in a double-layer on top of the open tenderloin.  Then arrange half of the sliced prosciutto in a single layer on top of the spinach.  Roll the stuffed tenderloin up and lay it seam side down onto the baking sheet.  Repeat with the second tenderloin.
• Sprinkle each stuffed tenderloin with TSSS and TSGG.  Drizzle with olive oil and massage.
• Roast in pre-heated oven for about 40 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F.  Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before slicing on a diagonal.

Roasted Kale

This recipe came as an accident while I was making kale chips one day.  I overcrowded my pan because I was too lazy to spread the kale out over two pans.  So the leaves ended up crisp in some parts, and chewy in others.  The combo of textures was awesome.  The next time I made this on purpose, I cut way back on the salt, added some garlic, omitted the parmesan and spritzed it with a little lemon juice, which made it even more awesome.

Roasted Kale

Ingredients:

• a giant bunch of kale
• olive oil in a mister
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
• 1/2 lemon

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Tear the kale into bite-size pieces.  Wash thoroughly and spin dry.
• Place the kale onto a baking sheet.  Mist with olive oil, sprinkle lightly with TSSS and TSGG, and spritz with the juice of 1/2 a lemon.  Toss everything with your hands until evenly coated. 
• Spread the kale out across the sheet, but you don't need a single layer.  It's fine (and actually preferred) if the kale is just mounded on there, that way you'll have some crispy pieces (from the corners and outer edges), and some chewy pieces (from the center and bottoms).
• Roast in pre-heated oven for 15 minutes.  (10 minutes if you prefer it mostly chewy.)