Quick & Easy Shrimp Scampi

Homemade Whole Wheat Pasta

I finally had some time to play with the Pasta Maker I got for my birthday. I decided to make some wheat pasta for the first time. It was so much fun!

Dry ingredients:

Wet ingredients:

Mixed into dough:

Cover and let rest for 10 minutes:

My set up (you like my Ugly Doll cookie jar, don't you?):

Dough formed into walnut size pieces. I know some are larger than others, I started second-guessing myself so this is what I ended up with:

The first batch of rigatoni (so fun!):

In action:

Here we have fusili, large macaroni and rigatoni shaped pastas:

I should have laid them out in layers to keep their shape. But, it was all good. What did I do with this pasta? I made some minestrone soup, perfect for the cold rainy Friday night.

Welcome to the World, JW!

I made this tomato basil pasta and red velvet cupcakes for a baby welcoming party for some friends.

Pack a Picnic Lunch. Enjoy it at the park or beach.

The weather was nice, so I packed a simple lunch to enjoy at the park with my friend and her son. The lunch was a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread, corn on the cob, and a pasta salad with bell peppers, asparagus, and corn.

I sauteed the veggies individually and then combined it with the pasta, added salt, pepper and some olive oil. I packed a side of Italian dressing to add a little more flavor.

Yakisoba Noodles w/ Shrimp & Veggies

Ingredients:
Veggies of choice (Snow peas & red bell peppers)
Shrimp
1 Tbsp Oyster Sauce
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Canola
1/4 cup water or more if needed

Cook shrimp in oyster sauce.  When cooked, remove from pan.  Saute veggies and remove from pan.  Add oil in pan, add yakisoba noodles and then add the water.  Let sit in pan until noodles become soft. Once noodles are soft, continue to sautee them them and add soy sauce.  Once noodles are ready, add veggies and cooked shrimp to pan. 

Rotini alla Caprese

I've been uninspired lately, so there wasn't much cooking this week. However, today I scored lots of fruits and some veggies from my sweet auntie. In this bounty were some ripe tomatoes. So, I searched for a recipe and I found it in Giada's Kitchen.

Giada's recipe calls for fusilli, but I only had tri-colored rotini. I have to say, it turned out pretty good, and I could have eaten a second bowl. But, I didn't want to over eat.



What do you think? Looks the same?

Bruschetta & Chicken Parmesan

Brushcetta




2 Tomatoes Diced
2 Cloves of minced garlic
Salt
Fresh Basil Chopped
Balsamic Vinegar
Bread Sliced Diagonally
Olive Oil

Toast bread with drizzled olive oil in oven for about 8 minutes (longer depending on how you like your toast. I don't like mine too dark). Combine tomatoes, 1 clove of garlic, basil, salt, and balsamic vinegar. Place the other clove of minced garlic on top of the toasted bread and add the tomato mixture. Enjoy!

Chicken Parmesan


4 boneless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
seasoned bread crumbs
mozzarella cheese
1 jar (16 oz) spaghetti sauce
Parmesan cheese

Whisk together the egg and milk. Dip the chicken breasts in milk and egg mixture and then in bread crumbs. Brown the chicken in hot oil on both sides until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Set chicken in a baking dish.

Place mozzarella cheese on each chicken breast. Pour 1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce over all. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and a little more mozzarella and bake at 350° for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until bubbly. Serve with spaghetti, garlic bread and a nice green salad.

Shrimp Pasta in Garlic Butter

We don't scrimp on the shrimp! I had this with half a bottle of moscato bianco I got in Sonoma last month. I drank too much too fast and went to bed. J called me a lush the next day.

Vegetable Yakisoba

Yaki-soba Noodles w/ Snow Peas, Shrimp & Bell Peppers

I've never cooked yaki-soba noodles and did not plan to. J and I took a walk to Nijiya Market, which is a couple of blocks from our house. I found the noodles, and decided to try them out.


Excited about finding Yaki-soba noodles


Grabbing snow peas.


Reaching for the bell peppers.

(Why did we have a camera with us at the market? J and I took a walk to practice shooting with the DSLR camera. I'm supposed to learn how to take pictures for his upcoming 24-Hrs LeMons race.)

We used to go to this Japanese restaurant back in MD, and I would order a yaki-soba dish. But, that was the only restaurant that I've been to who served these yaki-soba noodles. So, I was pretty excited to find them at the market.


Cooking noodles. Yaki-soba are very similar to Lo Mein.


Peeled shrimp


Washed and cut snow peas and red & yellow bell peppers


Stir-frying


Done! I added a dash of Oyster Sauce for flavor. Nothing else. It was pretty delish, if I can say so myself...hehe.