Instant Pot Seafood Boil

 

Hey, guys!  It's been a minute since I've last shared a recipe.  Over two years to be exact!  It was never my intention to go so long... but life!  We've experienced a lot of life change between then and now.  What's new?  Well, our son, Lucas, was born (already 26 months old).  He's brought us so much joy.  I also accepted the full-time position of Director of my church's Children's Ministry and Preschool.  While lots of things are different, lots of things are the same.  We still homeschool my little sous chef, who isn't little anymore.  She's turning 17 this year!  Finding time to cook, plate, photograph, and edit dishes has proven to be difficult, but there is still plenty of cooking and good eating happening over here.  Another thing that hasn't changed is God's goodness.  Even in a pandemic, He has blessed us with so much.  

Now that I've shared a little update, I might as well share a recipe that we thoroughly enjoyed this weekend.  I've made seafood boils in the past, but this was the first time trying it in my Instant Pot.  After a few bites, I had to pull out my phone to take a few pictures to share with all of you lovely people!  While the photos don't do it justice, it was phenomenal.  I'll be dreaming of dipping my crusty bread into the savory seafood broth for a long, long time.  So.  Good.  

Spicy Shrimp Sushi Stacks

The Eagles are going to the Super Bowl!!  That was a fantastic game!  There were so many moments last night, where my husband and I would look at each other in disbelief of what we were witnessing.   

What made the game even sweeter were these sushi stacks!  Don't let the picture fool you; these babies are a lot bigger than your average piece of sushi.  The ingredients are layered in a 1 cup measuring cup.  Perfectly seasoned sushi rice is topped with a cool, creamy, crunchy, avocado and cucumber layer, and then it's topped off with delectable, spicy, creamy, shrimp.  Delicious!  They are also very versatile.  You can swap out the shrimp with raw salmon, tuna, or cooked chicken.  My gears were turning as I was making these, and I've decided to make a buffalo chicken version for the Super Bowl, replacing the avocado mixture with a blue cheese and celery mixture and replacing the spicy shrimp with buffalo chicken!  

Note:  For an extra kick of heat, up the Sriracha to 1 tbsp.  

Skinny Chicken & Shrimp with Quinoa and Vegetables

No interesting story behind this dish -- just another weeknight meal that I'd like to share.  It earned an "excellent" rating from my family.  It's healthy, delicious, and you'll find yourself coming back for more... and more!  

Spicy Honey-Glazed Salmon... and a New Member of the Family!

I'm a little late.  Tomorrow is March, and I'm just now sharing my first post of the New Year.  While 2015 was very eventful for us, 2016 seems to be giving it a run for its money.  I was laid off from my job of nearly ten years, which was sad in itself and wasn't the best timing in the world considering we had just bought our new house.  Thankfully, I was blessed to be able to quickly find a new job that I love, and I'm still able to work out of my home!  We also just recently decided to adopt a puppy.  "Duggy" is a Jack Chi (Jack Russell Terrier/Chihuahua mix).  He's happy, full of energy, and extremely smart.  We've had him for one month, and he can already sit, stay, fetch, bang-bang (play dead), and shake!  Potty training is another story, however.  Serves us right for getting a puppy in mid-winter!

Shrimp, Snow Peas & Mushrooms over Jasmine Rice

It's been two months already since we've moved into our new home.  Because of the timing of our settlement date, I got a little bit of a late start with my new garden.  I'm just now beginning to harvest zucchini, cucumber, tomatoes, green beans, etc.  Better late than never!  I had the exciting discovery of black cherry trees and a Chester Thornless Black Raspberry bush in my backyard last month.  The black cherries are done for the year, but I'm still getting a ton of blackberries.  Maybe jams and jellies will be on the menu soon!  I also have an overabundance of snow peas. While my little sous chef and I have generally been enjoying them raw, I decided to use them in dinner last night.  I don't know why we don't eat snow peas more often.  They're one of my favorite veggies!  My husband and daughter raved over this dish.  It's so full of flavor.  

On a different note, we got the new Samsung Galaxy S6 Active a few weeks ago.  I love so many things about it, but my favorite thing is the camera -- it takes amazing photos!  For the very first time, I decided to use a phone camera for blogging.  Not bad, right?! 

Busy Weeknight Shrimp & Rice Noodle Stir Fry with Peas

Wednesdays have turned out to be quite the busy day for us this year.  Once school lets out for the day, it's Girls on the Run until 5:00 followed by a mad rush to finish homework.  We then prepare & eat dinner all before dance practice from 6:30 to 8:00.  This is one of my favorite meals for busy week nights.  While soaking the noodles in hot water, the rest of the ingredients are prepped and then sauteed in a skillet.  It's fast and easy, and it tastes delicious!

Note:  I always keep a 2 lb. bag of frozen raw easy peel shrimp in my freezer.  To quickly thaw the shrimp out, place however much shrimp your recipe calls for in a Ziplock bag.  Submerge the shrimp in a large pot of warm water for about 20 minutes, depending on the size of your shrimp.  

Pan-Fried Cod with Farro Salad in Champagne Vinaigrette

My husband and I celebrated 11 years of marriage this past Valentine's Day!  We look forward to a romantic getaway every year, but once the celebrating is over, we come to the grim realization that we have to endure the long, bitter winter that just seems to go on and on... and on and on... like a bad run-on sentence.  You know it's brutal out when the school districts are closed because of the low temperatures.  The frigid weather sends me into complete hibernation mode, and all I want to do is bundle up all day with a hot cup of tea.  I'm happy to report that I've already gained my usual 5-pound winter weight, and I justify it by telling myself that the only practical thing to do is embrace the extra layer of insulation.  It takes everything in me to muster up motivation for exercise this time of year.  My daydreams have ever increasingly consisted of playing tennis under the hot son, or running on the trail next to my little sous chef.  

Speaking of running, I enrolled my daughter in Girls on the Run!  It's a program that "inspires girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running."  Once it's completed, she and I will run our first 5K together!  More about that another time.

Because my exercise routine is rather unstable this time of year, eating healthy is a must.  Once a week, I incorporate fish into our meal rotation, and I'm always looking for different ways to present it to my family.  I've been experimenting with farro recently, and I decided to pair the two for dinner.  Farro is a wonderfully chewy and hearty grain that has a delicious nutty flavor.  It holds up well in soups and stews, and is a great substitute for pasta.  Farro is high in fiber, a rich source of vitamins B and E, and can stimulate your immune system and lower cholesterol.

This farro salad is dressed in a delicious champagne vinaigrette and seasoned with thyme, parsley, and rosemary.  A touch of freshly squeezed orange juice is added to brighten up the flavor.  Fresh tomato and artichoke are tossed in along with some minced onion for a little crunch factor.  This is a delicious salad that's hearty, healthy, and full of flavor.  It can can be enjoyed warm or cold.  I can't wait to use farro in my Tuscan Soup next time!    

15-Minute Shrimp Mei Fun

We've been pretty busy lately, so I've been making a lot of my quick and easy dinners.  Of all of my 15-minute meals, this one is my family's favorite.  It's better than anything you can get from Chinese take-out (or so my husband proclaims), and it is incredibly easy to make.  Mei fun simply means thin rice noodles, which you can find in the foreign section of your grocery store labeled rice vermicelli.  This mei fun is light and healthy, and has a beautiful, mild sauce.  I used frozen peas this time, but you can really use any vegetable combination you prefer... celery, broccoli, snow peas, asparagus, etc.  I'll never forget my little sous chef's reaction the first time I made this dish - she couldn't get enough of it!  Oh, reminisce with me little.  Four years ago... *sigh*  They grow up too quickly.  She looks pretty comfortable with those chopsticks, though!

Baked Salmon & Balsamic Quinoa Salad with Zucchini and Pine Nuts

The days are growing colder, and the nights are creeping earlier.  What do I love about fall?  So many things!  Baking pies and breads, picking pumpkins and apples, crunching leaves under my feet, sipping hot cocoa, breathing in the crisp air, and wearing chunky sweaters with fuzzy socks and boots!  Yesterday was the first official day of autumn, though it's felt like autumn for quite some time now.  It was chilly outside, and I was in the mood to fire up my oven for dinner.  I had some lovely organic salmon that I needed to use up, so I made a simple & delicious baked salmon.  As a side, I made a warm quinoa salad with zucchini and pine nuts, and brightened up the flavor by adding balsamic vinegar.  Divine!  

Trottole with Seafood & Smoked Gouda Alfredo

I lied.  In my previous post, I promised to start sharing recipes weekly, but it's been exactly two weeks since I've posted anything.  I had a good reason to lie, though.  We ended our summer with a much-needed beach vacation.  It was a magical time.  Yes, I'm happy to be back home and sleep in my own bed again, but I sure would love to go back for some more of that fresh seafood!  

While visions of sea scallops danced in my head, I splurged a little at the grocery store without a second thought.  I gently cooked shrimp, crab, and scallops in a simmering smoked Gouda Alfredo sauce.  I then poured that delectable, creamy mixture of goodness over cooked organic trottole.  It was so rich and creamy, it had to be a sin!  I served it with steamed broccoli and Tums.  Everything in moderation!  

Lobster & Corn Salad Lettuce Wraps with Tarragon Mayonnaise

Exactly one week ago, on August 6th, I celebrated my 33rd fifth 29th birthday.  My husband and I called off work, and he had the entire day planned out, babysitting and all.  How exciting!  We started the day off at the Parc Bistro for brunch, where I enjoyed some amazing bouillabaisse, and he had the bourbon shrimp BLT.  Look at the evidence below - I'm turning my husband into a food blogger!  We then went for a couple's massage, had an appointment for a new tennis racquet fitting for me, had my favorite fish tacos for dinner, and played tennis with my new racquet.  Start to finish, it was a pretty amazing day!    

Well, that was last Wednesday.  Since it's still technically my birthday week (haha!), I thought I'd treat myself to a little lobster.  Okay, that was a pretty weak transition from my birthday to the recipe, but it's the best I could do!  We typically only indulge in lobster two-to-three times a year, usually when live lobster goes on sale for $6.99/lb.  I combined the steamed lobster with freshly picked corn and tomatoes from the garden along with a yummy tarragon mayonnaise.  After chilling it, I served it over romaine lettuce to make a lettuce wrap.  It's light, simple and delicious, and the tarragon mayonnaise doesn't overpower the beautiful flavor of the lobster.  

Red Snapper Tacos with Strawberry & Peach Salsa

My husband was out golfing and wasn't going to make it home in time for dinner, and my  little sous chef had some leftovers that she was looking forward to eating.  It was a very peculiar situation that I found myself in... but I wasn't about to complain!  I had the entire kitchen to myself.  No catering to everyone's individual tastes (not that I'm complaining - I love to oblige them).  Just me and my kitchen.  I have literally been craving fish tacos for weeks now, but I've been unsuccessful in convincing my family to indulge in them as frequently as I would like.  With a skip and a hop, I turned up some music, poured a glass of wine, and got to cooking.  I pan fried some delicious red snapper, spooned some beautiful Strawberry & Peach Salsa on top, and cradled all that goodness in a whole wheat tortilla.  Life is good.

Quick Shrimp & Vegetable Stir Fry with Jasmine Rice

I am obsessed with my griddle.  It was a gift from my lovely mother last Christmas, and I honestly don't know how I survived without it before!  This past spring and summer, I have literally cooked 90% of my meals on it.  I especially enjoy making stir fry on the griddle because there is much more cooking surface to work with.  In this stir fry, I used freshly picked organic zucchini from the garden, and all of the other ingredients used were organic, with the exception of the Jasmine rice.  I still have some left in my pantry from before we started switching to organic ingredients.  

This happens to be week 4 of switching to organic ingredients.  I've also made the switch to organic shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, soap, etc., but I'll spare you the details since this is a food blog and all.  I'll admit, there have been times here and there that I've cheated for the sake of convenience.  I can't always drive 20 minutes to Wegmans when I run out of bread and my daughter wants a sandwich stat.  I guess that will all come with better planning on my part.  It has definitely been a fun learning experience.  We also still have more items in our fridge and pantry that we have to use up before we switch those over to organics, but I'm excited to see our progress thus far.  

Pan-seared Mahi Mahi with Mango Salsa

Mahi Mahi is one of my favorite fish to eat.  It's a hearty, yet delicate, mild-flavored fish with a slight sweetness to it.  In this recipe, I pan-seared it in a little butter and garlic, and then topped it with a fresh and crunchy homemade mango salsa.  Light, healthy, bursting with flavor, and ready in 20 minutes - yet another perfect summer dish!  

Asian Salmon Burgers with Orange-Ginger Slaw

School is out and we've been busy enjoying the beautiful weather, so blogging has kind of taken a little backseat these past two weeks.  These salmon burgers are a great summer meal because they're easy, delicious and ready in 15 minutes!  You don't have to spend copious amounts of time prepping and cooking, so you can spend more time with family and friends.  Happy Saturday!

Asian Mahogany Shrimp with Asparagus & Shiitake Mushrooms

It was a mounds-of-dishes-from-the-night-before-that-I-was-too-tired-to-clean-because-the-dishwasher-was-full-of-clean-dishes-that-I-didn't-want-to-put-away-either type of morning.  Fast forward 8 hours of a crazy work day, and those same dishes were still there.  Amazing.  I was done working for the day, so I rolled up my sleeves, turned up some music, and got to cleaning.  I stepped back to admire my sparkling kitchen and thought to myself, "I have all these clean dishes and a counter you could eat off of - why don't I mess it up by making dinner?"  *sob*  I begrudgingly start grabbing pots and pans, and gathering ingredients.  But something happened that always seems to happen to me.  In a sort of magical way, messing up the kitchen with food becomes almost therapeutic.  It's like playing with food puts me in a good mood (sounds like a country song!).  That's probably why I always end up having some sort of dinner made for my family every night, regardless of how my day went.  

Having a food blog is not only about cooking and coming up with recipes, it's also about photography.   If the food doesn't look appetizing, chances are, no one's going to want to make it.  I'd say once or twice a week, my family will be eating at the table... behind me while I'm snapping pictures of what they're eating.  A lot of times when I'm taking photos of the food we're eating, I have a sense of urgency to hurry so I can sit down with them and enjoy the food at the same time.  So, I made this mahogany shrimp last night.  I was having one of those days and I just couldn't get the shot that I wanted of it.  I'm frustrated and trying to hurry to get the shot and, in the midst of all that frustration, I hear my little sous chef behind me going, "Mm!  Mm!  *smack, chomp, smack*  This is so good!  Mm!".  I stop, put my camera down, sit down at the table, and smile.  Priorities.  The photo may not have been a hit with me, but this mahogany shrimp sure was a hit with my family.  The mahogany sauce is so good that I'm putting it into my meal rotation possibly weekly.  It would be wonderful with chicken and broccoli, too!  

Coconut & Walnut Crusted Cod

I love this coconut and walnut crusted cod.  The toasted walnut pairs well with the sweet coconut, and it doesn't overpower the fish.  Easy to make, healthy, and ready in 15 minutes!  

Baked Crab Rangoon Dip & Homemade Wonton Chips

Last night was a big night for us.  Eagles versus Cowboys for a chance to go to the playoffs.  I was cautiously optimistic, but if history is a good predictor of the future, at the very least, I was going to have something good to snack on!  I had made our favorite crab cakes for dinner and found myself with some leftover crab.  After some thought, I decided to turn one of my favorite appetizers into a dip.  This crab rangoon dip doesn't disappoint!  It's creamy, delicious and tastes just like my favorite Chinese takeout's crab rangoons.  The homemade wontons are airy, crisp and super easy to make.

As for the game, it was a nail biter as usual, but it tuned out to be a thing of beauty!  I'm already thinking about what to make for the playoff game against the Saints!

Shrimp, Potato & Corn Chowder

Freshly picked vegetables from the garden were used in this divinely delicious and hearty chowder.  This is a family favorite.  Try it - you will not be disappointed!  I served this with my Cheddar & Garlic Biscuits, another family favorite. 

Grilled Zesty Haddock & Vegetable Foil Packets

We spent a few hours working in the garden with friends and family a few days ago and found ourselves nearly overwhelmed with how much we had harvested in just one day.  I decided to use some of the freshly picked vegetables in foil packs with some haddock for dinner last night.  Foil packets are perfect for camping and grilling.  Not only are they a cinch to clean up, they also seal in flavor and lock in nutrients.    

Note:  I can't stress this enough.  When the packets are finished cooking, remove them from the grill with tongs or a pot holder because they will be hot.  Also, be very careful when opening the packets as the steam trapped inside could burn when released.