Coconut Shrimp

I absolutely love seafood! When I left Maryland I was worried I would miss the fresh fish, but I have found Michigan has a good selection of seafood in the stores and restaurants.

My boyfriend is a big fan of coconut shrimp, but I don’t own a deep fryer so I never thought to make it home. Then I found this recipe for baked coconut shrimp. Try it, you won’t be disappointed!

Baked Coconut Shrimp

Ingredients

• 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
• 2 cups flaked sweetened coconut
• 3 egg whites, beaten until foamy

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Rinse and dry shrimp with paper towels. Mix cornstarch, salt, and seasoning in a shallow bow; pour coconut flakes in a separate shallow bowl. Working with one shrimp at a time, dredge it in the cornstarch mixture, then dip it in the egg white, and roll it in the coconut, making sure to coat the shrimp well. Place on the prepared baking sheet, and repeat with the remaining shrimp.
3. Bake the shrimp until they are bright pink on the outside and the meat is no longer transparent in the center and the coconut is browned, 15 to 20 minutes.

The shrimp goes well with sweet and sour sauce, or marmalade.

Turkey Chili

When it’s chilly outside, you must make chili inside. The best part about making chili for two people: it makes awesome left overs for days.

I recently received a slow cooker, which means I got to use my usual healthy turkey chili recipe but incorporate the ease of letting it cook for 6 hours, rather than watch it over the stove.

Turkey Chili

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 pound ground turkey 1 large onion, chopped 2 tablespoons chili powder 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 3/4 cups Chicken Broth 1 cup salsa 1 tablespoon sugar 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained 1 (16 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained

Directions

1. Slice the onion.

2. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat, add turkey, onion, chili powder, cumin, black pepper and garlic powder. Cook until turkey is browned.

3. Place mixture in slow cooker, add broth, salsa, beans and corn (yes this all fit in a 3.5 ounce cooker, with an inch of room to spare.)

4. Cook on low for 6 hours.

I recommend serving with cornbread, I prefer the Krusteaz mix. My boyfriend recommends drenching your chili in hot sauce.

Bread Pudding

I hate wasting food. Whenever my bread looks like it is starting to get stale, I stick it in the freezer with a plan to make bread pudding. Yesterday, my boyfriend and I were filling the freezer with goodies from Omaha Steaks, and my boyfriend exclaims, “Why do we have five little bags of old bread in here?!” I decided it was time to make that pudding.

This is the recipe I use, tweaked from AllRecipes.com

Bread Pudding

Ingredients

• 6 slices day-old bread
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups milk
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Break bread into small pieces into an 8 inch square baking pan. Drizzle melted butter or margarine over bread. If desired, sprinkle with raisins.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Pour over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.

The apartment smelled amazing when this was cooking. I decided to serve it with Cinnamon Gelato to make it extra indulgent….I love comfort food.

Pork Chops With Squash and Apple Bake

I know Fall has left, especially here in Michigan (it snowed today!), but I couldn’t resist making a squash and apple bake last night with the remaining acorn squash at the grocery store. While I will happily eat the leftover bake by itself for quick dinners this week, my boyfriend needs some meat in his meal. I prepared the squash and apples as a side to bone-in pork chops, which I love making because they are so easy and always delicious.

The squash and apple bake is usually made with butternut squash, but my store was all out so I used the acorn. It is not easy to peel so I ended up with only partially peeled squash. Don’t worry, after cooking the peel is easy to eat and you hardly notice it.

Squash and Apple Bake

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 pounds squash - peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 2 large apples - cored, and cut into 1/2 inch slices

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, stir together brown sugar, butter, flour, salt, and cinnamon. Arrange squash in a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Top with slices of apple, then sprinkle with the sugar mixture. Cover with a lid or aluminum foil.
3. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until squash is tender.

After you begin baking the squash, prepare your pork chops. I dip mine in egg, then in a mixture of panko bread crumbs, paprika and pepper. I place them on a greased sheet, and I added them in the oven with the squash when there was 40 minutes left on the timer. They turned out great!

I served the meal with Zingerman's farm bread, which is some of the best bread I've ever had. Disclaimer: I currently work for Zingerman's, but I thought the bread was awesome before I worked there so you can trust me!

Irish Stew

Red meat, check. Potatoes, check. Beer, check. Irish Beef Stew has the makings of a perfect meal for my boyfriend, and I love it because you only have to clean one pot in the end, and there are a few veggies.

He has been asking me to make this meal since I moved in with him, and last week he enjoyed eating the fresh stew and even deigned to eat the leftovers.

My one warning is that Guinness stout makes the stew a bit bitter, and I would pick a milder beer next time.

Irish Beef Stew

Ingredients

2 T Vegetable Oil

2 T flour

1 lb beef stew meat (lean)

1 Chopped Onion

2 large potatoes, peeled and diced

4 Sliced Carrots

2 Cups Sliced Mushrooms

6 garlic cloves minced

1 6 ounce can tomato paste (not sauce...I've made that mistake before)

2 cups beef broth

12 ounce Irish stout beer

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup fresh minced parsley

Steps

1. In a large pot, heat oil. Coat beef in flour and fry in oil until browned on all sides. Place meat in a bowl and set aside. Place mushrooms and onions in the pot, cook until onions are tender.

2. Place the beef back in the pot, stir in the tomato paste, garlic, beef broth and beer. Add potatoes and carrots. Cover and simmer on low for 1 hour.

3. Mix cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water. Pour into the stew and stir. Simmer until sauce has thickened. Sprinkle with fresh parsley. (Serves 6)

Tweaked from Allrecipes