Here shrimpy, shrimpy...

Growing up my Mom never cooked fish and because of that I never really had any interest in trying it when I grew up. I have slowly been trying to incorporate more fish in my diet so after having this shrimp dish on Friday night at my Step-Dad's, I thought I would give them a whirl at my house for Daniel. FYI, if I eat anything that swims, then you know it has to be good or else it wouldn't make it on to my dinner plate.
Shrimp~
Ingredients:
1 lb. shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 can diced green chilies, sm. can
1 tbsp. lime juice
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. red pepper flakes
Essence of Emeril Seasoning

Directions:
1.) In a large skillet over medium high heat add your butter, green chilies, lime juice, and shrimp.
2.) Sprinkle red pepper flakes and about a tablespoon or so of the Essence of Emeril seasoning. Saute until your shrimp are a nice pink color.

You can serve this over angel hair pasta, in taco shells, or just eat plain like we did. Also, if you have trouble finding the Essence of Emeril in stores like yours truly did, make your own essence using the recipe below. This is supposed to the exact replica of how Emeril makes his.

Essence of Emeril~
2 1/2 tbsp. paprika
2 tbsp. salt
2 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. black pepper
1 tbsp. onion powder
1 tbsp. cayenne pepper
1 tbsp. dried oregano
1 tbsp. dried thyme

Mixed Berry Pie

It's another Saturday night dinner and this weekend my sister has taken over the reigns. I decided after having homemade apple pie at my Step-Dad and his girlfriend Kathy's house last night that I would attempt a homemade pie on my own tonight. I love berries so I thought a mixed berry pie would be awesome to try.

Mixed Berry Pie~

Ingredients:

1 C. fresh strawberries, quartered

6 oz. fresh raspberries

6 oz. fresh blueberries

6 oz. fresh blackberries

1/2 lemon, juiced

1 C. white sugar

3 tbsp. cornstarch

Pie crust

Directions:

1.) In a large mixing bowl stir together sugar and cornstarch. Add fresh fruit and gently toss. Add lemon juice.

2.) Add your pie crust to a 9 in. pie pan or to your already made pie crust, add your fruit mixture. Top with your second crust or make a lattice work.

3.) Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 to 50 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

4.) Cool on a wire rack.

I attempted to make my own pie crust and I will be honest, never again will I make one on my own. I just don't have what it takes, couldn't roll it out to save myself. Next time I will be making the pre-made store boughten kind and I assure you, I will still be able to sleep at night. Other than having trouble with the crust, the smell of this pie was unbelievable and I can't wait to tear into it night after dinner.

Not another pasta recipe...

If you didn't believe me about the pasta addiction mentioned before I hope you do now. Here we are two days later and I have made yet another pasta dish. My Hubby requested this one so I am not totally at fault, but it was on the list of meal possibilities that I gave him so it's not like he pulled it out of left field.

Does anyone else feel like your pulling teeth when asking your significant other what they would like for meals through out the week? I despise trying to get that sort of information out of Daniel. One of the last times I asked him you know what he said...hot dogs? Hot dogs?? You have a wife who loves to cook, is willing to cook just about anything, and has a food blog to top it all off, and all you can think about is hot dogs? How am I supposed to blog about hot dogs...geesh.

Anyway, I am slowly realizing that my husband doesn't have a fancy palate, he is happy with down home simple meals such as a good casserole. I know this probably isn't considered a casserole but it's down home and very easy. Some may know it as Johnny Marzetti as my family does, others may know it as Goulash, either way I hope you enjoy!!!

Katie's Johnny Marzetti~

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained
1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 green pepper, finely chopped
1 lb. elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
1- 14.5 oz petite diced tomatoes
1- 6 oz. tomato paste
2/3 C. tomato sauce
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper

Directions:
1.) In a large pan, bring to a boil elbow macaroni.
2.) In a skillet brown ground beef, add green pepper and onion. Drain grease.
3.) Add ground beef mixture to drained elbow macaroni and add your diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and tomato sauce. Stir together and add salt and pepper, stir once again.

Now if it were up to me I would add a couple of cups of shredded cheese and throw that bad boy in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes. Since Daniel is picky and I want him to enjoy this I am going to leave as is. You do whatever floats your boat!

Great Danes...

Can't live with them, can't live without them! I thought this disease that my hubby has in regards to raising the biggest dogs he can possibly find was just something he suffered from, my favorite pioneer lady however, has proven me wrong.

I don't know if it's the sad puppy dogs eyes that they have from the time of birth to the time of death or the need to sit on the couch as if they were human beings or what. You just can't say no to these creatures they are pathetic sad saps that you just can't help but take aside and squeeze until they almost burst from your love. Meet Mr. No Name, this lovely little fellow showed up on The Pioneer Womans front porch this morning and I'll be darned if she didn't let him in just like my Husband would have done. She also fed him and now I wonder if she will keep him. What kind of power do these wonderful creatures hold that makes people unable to use Great Dane and heck no in the same sentence?? Click on "The Pioneer Womans" and go directly to her blog to read more!

Picture provided by Ree Drummond @ The Pioneer Woman

My name is Katie and I have an addiction...

Yes I have an addiction, I think I have mentioned it before. I am a sucker for pasta, especially pastas drenched in sauce and piled high with cheeses. I don't know where this comes from, I am half German, half Irish, and I am pretty sure there is no Italian in there anywhere.

Anyway, like I said I love my pasta, I could eat it just about every day of the week in a different form each night. I have made this recipe before using different ingredients and tonight I thought I would keep it relatively simple by using ingredients that I have on hand. You are more than welcome to use your own homemade sauce, but tonight I am making Sandra Lee proud and doing it the Semi-Homemade way by using a jar of my favorite store bought version.

Katie's Stuffed Shells~

Ingredients:
1 box. jumbo shells

1 jar. pasta sauce

1 lb. ground beef

1 md. container ricotta cheese

1 C. parmesan cheese

4 C. mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

1.) In a large pot bring to a boil your shells. Do not cook all the way through as they will finish cooking in the oven.

2.) In a separate skillet brown ground beef, drain off any excess grease. Add garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper. Mix and turn off heat. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.

3.) To the cooled meat mixture, add your ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Mix gently and then add 1/2 cup of your sauce.

4.)Begin my putting a good tablespoon or so of your meat mixture to each shell.
5.) In a 9x13 baking pan take a little of your sauce and cover the bottom. Layer stuffed shells. Top with remaining sauce and remainder of shredded cheese.
6.) Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit covered for 45 minutes, for the last ten or so minutes bake uncovered so that topping can brown slightly.

Outback Night

As promised I am providing you one of the recipes out of the lovely cook book I got from an e-mail. Tonight I decided on doing a few of the Outback recipes and we were not disappointed. I have never had these items at Outback so I am not sure how close they are to the original, but we didn't have much left so it must not have been to bad.

Outback Steak Marinade

Ingredients:

1 package of Taco Seasoning

1 package of Good Seasonings Italian Mix
1 can of Coca-Cola

Steak of your choice

Directions:

1.) In a large bowl add all of your ingredients and allow to marinate for 24 hours.

We made ours by doing kabobs so I also added green peppers, onion, and cherry tomotoes when putting them on the kabobs.

I also made cheesy fries and made their dipping sauce.

Outback Sauce~

Ingredients:

1 C. sour cream

2 tbsp. prepared horseradish

dash of salt

dash of pepper

dash of cayenne pepper

Directions:

1.) Mix together in a bowl and allow to "marry" for an hour or so.

Both my Husband and our dinner guest Denny enjoyed this sauce on not only their fries but on their steak and veggies as well.

Katie's Fried Pork Chops

Yesterday was my Uncle Dan's birthday dinner here at my homestead and I chose to make him fried pork chops, mashed potatoes with gravy, and corn casserole. It went off very well and I think everyone really enjoyed it. I had been craving those mashed potatoes and gravy for about a week and was not disappointed. My Dad had to help with the gravy but we got it accomplished. For some very strange reason I can never make gravy when I have an audience or feeding other people!

Katie's Fried Pork Chops~
16 servings

Ingredients:
16 medium thick pork chops
2 C. all purpose flour
1 tbsp. paprika
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. onion powder
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. black pepper
3 eggs
milk

Directions:
1.) In a large cast iron skilled add about a cup or so of vegetable oil. I didn't measure the amount just added enough until it was about an 1/2 in. deep. I warm it up on high heat and then before adding the meat I take it down to medium.
2.) In a separate bowl add your three eggs and a splash or two of milk. Beat until incorporated.
3.) In another bowl add all of your dry ingredients and mix.
4.) Dip pork chops in egg wash and then generously cover in the flour mixture.
5.) Add to skillet and brown on each side.
6.) After browning on each side I add them to the oven at about 300 degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour and half.

They came out really moist and tender and I think we only had three leftover.

Hope everyone enjoys as much as we did!!

I would also like to take a moment to introduce a new member of my family. The great dane resuce that we are associated with holds a grooming day once a month. It allows all of the volunteers to come to the rescue and groom the adoptable dogs, trims their nails, brush them down, and just overall socialize with them. I made the mistake of allowing my Husband to go by himself today and I just received the call he's bringing me home another son.
His name is currently Lennon, however I am not fond of it. Suggestions are welcome! Did I also mention that he is partially blind and deaf...this should be very interesting.