Grilled Marinated Shrimp

(credit to allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
1 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails attached
skewers

Directions:
1. In a mixing bowl, mix together olive oil, parsley, lemon juice, hot sauce, garlic, tomato paste, oregano, salt, and black pepper. Reserve a small amount for basting later.

2. Pour remaining marinade into a large resealable plastic bag with shrimp. Seal, and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

3. Preheat grill for medium-low heat. Thread shrimp onto skewers, piercing once near the tail and once near the head. Discard marinade.

4. Lightly oil grill grate. Cook shrimp for 5 minutes per side, or until opaque, basting frequently with reserved marinade. Serve over rice.

Baked Tilapia

(credit to bigoven.com)

Ingredients:

2 lbs tilapia fillets (I can fit five or six fillets in a 9x13 pan)
2 Tbs Lemon juice
1/2 cup Grated Parmesan cheese
4 Tbs butter room temperature
3 Tbs Mayonnaise (or plain yogurt)
3 Tbs green onions, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1/4 teaspoon Dried basil
black pepper to taste
1 dash Tabasco sauce

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or you can broil this, which is faster).
2. In sprayed 13-by-9-inch baking dish, lay fillets in single layer.
3. Brush top with juice.
4. Bake fish in preheated oven 10 to 20 minutes or until fish just starts to flake (broil 3-4 minutes).
5. In small bowl combine cheese, butter, mayonnaise, onions and seasonings. Mix well with fork.
6. When fish starts to flake, remove from oven. Spread with cheese mixture and bake until golden brown, about 5 minutes (broil another 2-3 minutes).
7. Baking time will depend on the thickness of the fish you use, watch fish closely so that it does not overcook.
8. Serve over rice

Shrimp Bisque

A thick, creamy soup that goes fabulously with Red Lobster Biscuits.

(credit to Allrecipes.com with changes by me)

INGREDIENTS:
* 1 cup butter
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 pound pre-cooked shrimp, thawed
*1/4 cup butter
* 1/2 onion, finely diced
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 tablespoons paprika
* 2 tablespoons tomato paste
* 1/4 cup dry sherry
* 2 quarts chicken or seafood stock
* 1 can diced Italian tomatoes
* 2 cups heavy cream, heated
* 1/2 cup dry sherry
* 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
* 1 dash Worcestershire sauce
* 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning TM


DIRECTIONS

1. To make roux: melt 1 cup butter in saucepan over moderate heat. Add 1 1/4 cups flour all at once, stirring constantly over low heat, for approximately 5 minutes. Set aside.  (Note: If the roux  is chunky instead of smooth, try whisking in a little bit of water until it's a smooth paste).

2. In a large pot, melt 1/4 cup butter. Add onion and garlic, cooking until tender, adding more butter if needed. Add paprika. Once paprika is dissolved add tomato paste and mix well.

3. Add dry sherry, simmer for a few minutes to burn off the alcohol; add chicken broth and simmer.

4. In food processor or blender, blend Italian diced tomatoes until smooth. Add to soup.

5. Thicken soup by adding small amounts of roux, each time mixing thoroughly.

6. In a food processor or blender, chop up shrimp into small chunks (remove tails first, obviously). Add to soup.

7. Add heated heavy cream, sherry, Tabasco, Worcestershire and Old Bay seasoning. Stir well and serve.

Shrimp Scampi

We had the most delicious shrimp scampi at Giovanni's in Hawaii. This was the closest thing I could find. It's good, but not as good as the original. If you're ever in Hale Iwa, DO NOT pass up the scampi. It's ridiculously expensive, but so, so good.

INGREDIENTS
15 pre-cooked shrimp, thawed
4 Tbsp. butter
8 cloves garlic, chopped (NOT minced)
lemon juice (or lemon wedges if you're feeling fancy)
3 cups cooked rice

Marinade:
1/3 cup Olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped (NOT minced)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. paprika
1/4 cup dry white wine

DIRECTIONS
In a large, non-reactive bowl, add the marinade ingredients and mix well. Add the shrimp. Place in fridge and let it marinate 4 - 8 hours, or overnight.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add chopped garlic (if you want to add the chopped garlic used in the marinade, fish it out now. If not, you're going to have to fish it out later and discard it). Sautee the garlic over low heat until soft and caramelized (about 7 minutes). DO NOT let the garlic roast--if it starts doing this, turn down the heat.

Once garlic is soft, separate the shrimp and garlic cloves (if you didn't use them earlier) from the marinade. Add remaining liquid to the skillet, continue to cook on medium-low for 5 minutes.

This is the tricky part: overcooked shrimp gets very rubbery, so basically what you're doing in this step is just warming up the shrimp. It's already cooked, so we don't need to cook it (duh), just heat it. Turn off heat, remove skillet from burner. Add shrimp in a single layer to the sauce. If the sauce covers the shrimp, you're good to go. If not, turn the shrimp after a minute or two to warm both sides.

Serve shrimp over rice. Drizzle with remaining scampi sauce and garnish with lemon wedges (or just squirt some lemon juice on it). So delicious, and so bad for you.

Italian Pasta Salad

INGREDIENTS:
1 box rotini pasta
1/2 cup Italian dressing
1 packet Zesty Italian Dressing Mix
1 T. onion powder
1 t. salt
1/2 t. sugar
1 t. garlic powder
1 T. parsley
1 T. mustard
1/2 lb. crab
4 oz. cubed cheddar cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
sliced olives (if desired)

DIRECTIONS:
Cook rotini as directed on package. Drain; rinse with cold water. In large bowl, mix Italian dressing with Zesty Italian packet. Mix in onion powder, salt, sugar, garlic, parsley, and mustard.

Put cooled rotini in bowl with dressing; mix well. Add crab. Refrigerate two hours. Add Parmesan and cheddar before serving. (I also add another squirt of Italian dressing--the salad tends to dry out during refrigeration).

Cajun Seafood Pasta

(credit to Allrecipes.com with serious adjustments)

INGREDIENTS
* 1 cup heavy whipping cream
* 1 cup milk
* 1 clove garlic, minced

Herbs (these can be adjusted to taste, specifically the crushed and ground red pepper):
* 1 teaspoon basil
* 1/4 teaspoon thyme
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
* 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
* 1 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1 tablespoon parsley

* 1/2 cup chopped green onions
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese (I buy the sliced kind and tear into pieces)
* 1/2 pound precooked shrimp, thawed and chopped into small pieces
* 1/2 pound crab (I use imitation crab)
* your choice of pasta

DIRECTIONS
1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente.
2. Meanwhile, pour cream and milk into large skillet. Add garlic clove. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until just about boiling. Reduce heat, and add herbs. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Turn heat to LOW***.  Add Parmesan, whisk until mixed in.  Add Swiss, whisk until cheese is all melted (you'll have kind of a goopy mess in the center of the pan).  Once the cheese is melted, turn heat back up to medium.  Allow sauce to boil lightly, whisk occasionally to mix the cheese in.
4. Once the sauce is a creamy consistency, add in the shrimp & crab.  Simmer for 1-2 minutes, then remove from heat.
5. Drain pasta. Serve sauce over noodles.

(***If you don't let the sauce cool down enough before you put the Swiss cheese it, it tends to curdle.  If it happens, don't worry--it will still taste just as good, but will have a kind of grainy texture.  I wait a couple of minutes after I see the last of the bubbling stop before I put it in.)