Shrimp in Marinara over Pearled Barley

The purpose of tonight's post is educational. I just wanted to cover a few bases. First, marinara: not just for pizza or pasta. Put it on shrimp for the healthiest way to satisfy Italian food cravings while using stuff you probably have in the freezer and pantry. Second, barley: not just in beer. Pearled barley (especially the Trader Joe's 10 minute barley) is the most hearty and healthy pasta substitute. FYI - Barley is a good source of manganese (supporting blood, bones and sex hormones), dietary fiber and literally 80 other nutrients. Who knew?

Shrimp in marinara over pearled barley was the perfect home late from a meeting, healthy but ready in 15 minutes dinner. And a glass of wine, because of aforementioned late meeting.

Shrimp in Marinara over Pearled Barley

(Serves 2)

1 cup pearled barley (recommend TJ's 10 minute barley)

1 pound shrimp, frozen or fresh

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 lemon, juiced

1 cup favorite marinara sauce

2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

dash red pepper flakes

salt and pepper

2 handfuls of arugula

freshly grated Parmesan cheese 

In a medium pot, cook barley per instructions. In a large skillet, heat olive oil before adding in shrimp. Cook 2-3 minutes on one side, then flip the shrimp and add lemon juice, marinara, basil and red pepper flakes. Cook shrimp through 1-2 minutes then finish with salt and pepper.

Stir arugula and Parmesan into cooked barley. Serve barley in bottom of bowl and top with shrimp and marinara. Finish with more grated Parmesan and freshly ground pepper.

Shrimp and Grits

Hooray! Evan is back from traveling all week and I am finally cooking again. I know that’s a lame excuse but I just can’t get motivated to cook for one. Forgive me for not posting for a week. My dinners consisted of frozen Trader Joe’s pizza and other frozen TJ meals. Don’t judge. So finally, I cracked open the pantry and head to the grocery store to load up for my shrimp and grits recipe.

If a restaurant has shrimp and grits on the menu, there’s a 7 out of 10 chance that I’ll probably order it. It’s comforting and flavorful and cheesy… oh my god… I forgot to add the cheese. I knew there was something missing!

But I digress…

The recipe for shrimp and grits (with cheese!)

Shrimp and Grits

1 cup stone-ground grits (I used yellow corn grits)
3 Tb. butter
2 cups shredded fontina cheese
Cayenne pepper

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
½ lb. bacon, chopped
½ lemon, juiced
2-3 Tb. chopped parsley
1 small bunch chopped green onions (3/4 cup)
1 large garlic clove, minced
Salt and Pepper

In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add grits, ¾ tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. pepper. Whisk well to avoid clumping. Reduce heat to lowest setting and cook until water is absorbed, 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter, cheese and 2-3 dashes of cayenne pepper. Cover until ready to serve.

Fry the bacon over medium-high heat in a large skillet. When crisp, remove bacon with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to drain.

Add shrimp and another dash of cayenne pepper to the bacon grease and sauté until pink—about 3 minutes. Immediately add onions, garlic, parsley and lemon juice. Toss and remove from the heat.

No need to salt the shrimp, since it’s going into bacon grease.

Divide grits onto plates and top with the shrimp mixture and bacon.

Shrimp, Goat Cheese, Pineapple Quesadillas amd Chocolate Pudding

Tonight I had my beloved ex-coworker, Stephanie, over for a long over-due dinner. Since I want dinners with friends to be more about spending time with them and not stressing out in the kitchen (I did a little of that anyway), I choose recipes I’ve made before. I actually made a version of this approximately 10 days ago, but with mango. After a taste test, the pineapple is definitely the winner.

On the side was a basic summer salad of cucumber, tomato, corn off the cob, fresh basil and lemon juice.
Inside the quesadilla:
goat cheese
shrimp (cooked in cayenne and lemon juice)
red onion
pineapple, chopped (and blotted dry!)
cilantro

For dessert, I had to stand up to Stephanie’s key lime pie cheesecake, so I made homemade chocolate pudding.

This wasn’t exactly as easy as the boxed version, but it wasn’t impossible.

I found the recipe on Cooking Light magazine online. I cut the recipe in half, but here is the full version.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 cups 2% reduced-fat milk (I used 1% and everyone survived)
3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten (not easy to half)
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large saucepan. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Place egg yolks in a bowl. Gradually add hot milk mixture to egg yolks, stirring constantly. Return milk mixture to pan. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until mixture is thick, stirring constantly. Remove mixture from heat, and add chopped chocolate and vanilla extract, stirring until the chocolate melts. Spoon pudding into a small bowl. Place bowl in a large ice-filled bowl for 15 minutes or until pudding is cool, stirring occasionally. Remove bowl from ice; cover and chill.
Since I did not have whipping cream on hand, I substituted Greek yogurt mixed with lemon zest, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Nice bite to it. Stephanie was kind enough to leave me the bottle of red, so now I get to enjoy it with some online TV!

Shrimp, Zuc, Pea & ‘Shroom Risotto

Tonight, I actually have a reservation at 8:30 at a fine Italian restaurant in Eastern Market (Acqua al 2) with a group of girls for a friend’s going away dinner. Though this fine “Italian” dinner that I am reporting on now is homemade, as I plan to order a dessert and glass of wine at the restaurant. Though I’m sure dinner there would be delicious, I’m ballin’ on a budget over here. Not to mention, I don’t usually eat dinner past 7 pm. 

This risotto is an example of why Trader Joes is essential. The from-a-box mushroom and herb risotto is delicious and leaves room for me to throw in whatever I want.

Shrimp, zucchini and peas were sautéed in a separate pan then added in.
I added:

1/2 zucchini
1/2 cup peas
shrimp
shaved Parmesan cheese
diced tomato
basil (didn’t need it- the risotto had enough flavor by itself)