Garlic Shrimp Pasta

Day 1 of using ingredients in my pantry! Today I used angel hair pasta and canned green beans. Canned vegetables are not my favorite, but they are nice to have around since they last a long time. When I buy a lot of fresh vegetables it seems like some always goes to waste b/c things come up and I won't be home to cook as often as I had intended.

Serves 2

Ingredients:
4-6oz angel hair pasta
6-8oz large deveined frozen shrimp (around 12 - 18)
2 garlic cloves, minced (or pre-chopped garlic in jar, about 1 tsp)
2 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Italian seasoning
Red pepper flakes
Salt & pepper

Directions:
To thaw the shrimp you will need to let the shrimp sit in cool water. I usually have to dump the water out and refill it once. After thawed cut of the tails.

Cook pasta according to directions on the box. While pasta is cooking heat skillet to medium heat. Add the butter, olive oil and garlic. Once butter is melted add the shrimp and let cook for around 5 minutes or until shrimp are pink. Add the shrimp mixture to the pasta to combine and add red pepper, italian seasonings, salt & pepper to taste. Serve the shrimp pasta sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

Green beans - I heated up the can of green beans (drained) in a pot with 1 tbs butter, salt and lemon pepper.

Easy meal that tastes great!

Jalapeno Garlic Tilapia by Johnny Carino's

All I have to say is YUM! Johnny Carino's is better of course, but I have a feeling their's is even higher in calories than mine! Eek!

Ingredients:
2 (4 ounce) tilapia fillets
1/2 cup white flour
2 ounces butter
1 tsp chopped garlic
1/4 cup diced jalapeno
1 cup chopped de-stemmed spinach (or 10 oz frozen spinach, thawed)
6 ounces heavy cream
1/4 cup butter
5 ounces angel hair pasta
1/4 cup diced grape tomatoes
Lemon pepper
Salt
Fresh parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:
Prepare the pasta as directed on the box while completing the below instructions.

Melt the 2oz butter in a skillet on medium heat, then add the garlic. Sprinkle each side of the tilapia fillets with salt & lemon pepper (to taste), then dredge the tilapia in the flour and add to the skilled w/melted butter. Cook fillets about 3 minutes on each side or until they are fully cooked and flaky. Move the tilapia to a place and cover with foil.

Add the jalapenos, spinach, heavy cream and 1/4 cup butter to the empty skillet and heat all ingredients on medium-high heat. Let mixture come to a boil and then remove from the heat to thicken. Add salt and lemon pepper if desired.

Add the pasta to a bowl or plate, top with spinach/cream mixture, add tilapia and sprinkle with cheese (if desired) & diced tomatoes.

Tip: To make this a spicy dish just leave in some of the jalapeno seeds, otherwise just wash them off.

Chicken Piccata with Mushrooms & Zucchini

Adapted from EatingWell

So I want to start off by saying that I know my food & pictures don't always turn out all that pretty in appearance, but that doesn't mean they don't taste delicious! This is a perfect example. It's not as pretty as the picture on the website or pictures you see in cookbooks, but that's b/c I don't like spending extra time on the way it looks (or messing with my camera). I figure it takes long enough to fix the food that as long as it tastes good, then I'm a happy girl! Okay enough about that now I'm starting to ramble lol. This dish was a little time consuming and had a lot of components, but I must say I absolutely enjoyed it!

Ingredients:
6 oz whole-wheat angel hair pasta
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
4 chicken cutlets, trimmed
1/2 medium white or yellow onion, chopped
1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
2 tbs olive oil
10 oz package mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
2 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs capers, rinsed
2 tsp butter
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until tender according to package directions. Drain and rinse.

Meanwhile, whisk 5 tsp flour and broth in a small bowl until smooth. Place the remaining flour in a shallow dish. Season chicken with salt & pepper on each side then dredge in flour. Heat 1 tbs oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned and cooked all the way through, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate; cover and keep warm.

Heat remaining 1 tbs oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add onions, mushrooms and zucchini and cook, stirring, until they soften and start to brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to plate or bowl. Add garlic and wine to the pan and cook until reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the reserved broth-flour mixture, lemon juice and 1/4 tsp salt. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes.

Stir in capers, butter and mushroom/onion/zucchini mixture. Toss the pasta with the sauce mixture. Serve chicken on top of the pasta. A little parmesan cheese makes a great topping (optional).