Shrimp, leek and spinach pasta

I love my family. I hope they know that. Even though I am not always the best at calling, or emailing, I want them to know that I think of them all the time and I miss them! In fact, just writing on this blog again makes me think of my sister, Shea, because we cooked a lot together over Christmas break and I had just started my blog so the ongoing joke was "Oh Jaynee, you should put this on your blog". We had fun :)

Well, I didn't put any of the things we cooked on this blog and I have been horrible at keeping up with it. This is my spring attempt to be a good blogger-- It's like getting motivated to go to the gym for me! Spring has made me excited to try new recipes and to eat refreshing foods. Yesterday I ate brie with some of Brandon's Grandma's homemade apricot marmalade that she canned in the fall-- soooo delicious and sweet!

Tonight, I cooked a dish I found in the magazine Real Simple. My mother-in-law bought me a subscription to Real Simple for Christmas and I have really enjoyed the first three issues. I was excited to tell her today that I was cooking one of the recipes for dinner from the magazine she bought me :)

Here's the simple recipe:

Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes
Serves 4 (I cut the recipe below in half for just Brandon and I and we still had leftovers)

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces gemelli, fusilli or some other short pasta (I used Rotini because it was the best Walmart had to offer)
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 leeks (white and light green parts only), cut into half-moons
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 10 ounces baby spinach (about 12 cups)

Instructions:

• cook the pasta according to the package directions; drain and return to the pot
• meanwhile, heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the leeks have softened, 3 to 5 minutes. (I added 1/2 cup dry white wine after the leeks softened and cooked until it evaporated to make the dish richer) Add the shrimp and lemon zest and cook, tossing frequently, until the shrimp is opaque throughout, 4-5 minutes more.
• Add the cream and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the pasta in the pot and cook over medium heat, stirring, until slightly thickened, 1-2 minutes. Add the shrimp mixture and the spinach and toss to combine.

Bon Appetit! I served this dish with a piece of buttery toasted pita bread

Yummy Burritos!

I don't know about you, but there are a few "go to" meals that I make when I don't have a lot of time or if I am just feeling lazy. We usually have a taco night at least once a week. To keep it from being too boring, I like to do a "twist" on the traditional taco. I usually use turkey meat instead of ground beef and sometimes I make taco pie (I'll post that some other time). Tonight, I took big burrito tortillas and made burritos fried in a little butter (not the best for you but sooo yummy and crispy).

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef or turkey
1 packet taco seasoning mix
shredded cheese
canned black beans
whole grain rice
flour tortillas (burrito size)
butter

Optional ingredients:
sautéed onions
green and/or red peppers
salsa
tomato

Directions:
--Cook the whole grain rice (sometimes I use the quick cooking bags that take 90 seconds in the microwave if I'm short on time).
--Cook the meat as directed on the taco seasonings packet and add the seasoning. Add onions and/or green and red peppers and cook in pan with meat
--Heat up the black beans.
--Get all ingredients ready and spoon a little of each into a tortilla. Fold all four sides of the tortilla up and put the fold side down into a buttered frying pan set on medium heat. Turn burrito after about 1 minute.
--Re-butter the pan after each burrito and keep frying until all burritos are golden brown and crispy :)

Enjoy with a little guacamole or salsa!

Texas Chili on a Wintry Day

I made chili for the first time the other night! I wasn't sure what type of chili to make so I used a recipe from a cookbook that is fail proof-- everything I have made from this cookbook has been delicious! It's called a Bride and Groom First and Forever Cookbook by Mary Corpening Barber and Sara Corpening Whiteford. Brandon and I received it as a wedding gift (I can't remember who gave it to us but I am grateful forever). Most of the recipes I post in this blog will probably come from this cookbook.

Here's the recipe:
1 Tbsp bacon grease or vegetable oil
2 Medium yellow onions, chopped
3 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
1 lb ground beef chuck
1 lb italian sausage links, removed from casings and crumbled
2 tsp kosher salt, plus more as needed
2 cans (28 oz each) crushed tomatoes with puree
1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 oz) barbecued baked beans, drained
1 Tbsp minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, plus more as needed

Heat the bacon grease in an 8-quart heavy bottomed stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the chili powder, paprika, cumin, and oregano and stir until the spices are well combined. Add the ground chuck, sausage, and 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook the meat, stirring frequently, until cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Adjust the seasonings with more kosher salt or chipotle chiles if necessary. Serve it up with any of the fixin's below.

Fixin's:
Grated sharp cheddar cheese
chopped green onion
sour cream
crumbled corn chips
red pepper flakes
chopped jalapeno chiles

We didn't use all the fixin's but it tasted great with corn chips and cheese :) Nothing like a bowl of chili on a cold and snowy day. Enjoy!

The chili tasted even better the second day by the way. We also gave some to our neighbors and froze some-- so be prepared to have lots of chili! :)