recipe roundup

Here goes my weekly (hopefully) roundup of a "saintly" dinner recipe paired with a "sinful" dessert recipe. The dinner recipe is a salad from the May 2011 issue of Cooking L!ght. In fact, this recipe is on the cover! (sidebar, if you're wondering what's with the exclamation mark in the title, I don't want anyone stumbling on my blog when they google the magazine).I'll have to apologize to the good people with the magazine though, because I tried their dressing recipe and wasn't a fan, so I'm sharing with you another dressing recipe that I prefer with this salad. I'm even including some ultra-professional photos taken with my phone.

Shrimp Cobb Salad

(makes 2 big salads or 4 little ones)

4 slices center-cut bacon

12-16 large raw shrimp (6-8 per large salad), peeled and deveined

1/2 tsp paprika (I eyeball it)

1/4 tsp black pepper (I eyeball it)

Romaine salad greens (I buy the pre-cut, pre-washed package. I've also made this with baby spring mix, like in the picture)

2 C halved or quartered cherry or grape tomatoes

1 C frozen corn kernels

1 ripe avocado, cut into 8 wedges

Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium until it is crisp. Drain it on paper towels and crumble. Wipe the skillet with a paper towel. Sprinkle shrimp with paprika and pepper, increase heat to medium-high, and toss the shrimp into your skillet. Cook it about 2 min per side or until it is done. Meanwhile, toss your lettuce with a little bit of dressing (however much you prefer, really, but it is best to just coat the greens, not soak them!) (my dressing recipe follows, or it is also yummy with Newman's Own Olive Oil & Vinegar dressing). Arrange  lettuce on plates, top each serving with 6-8 shrimp, tomatoes, corn kernels, crumbled bacon, and avocado wedges. (a note about the shrimp: I've found that Target carries bags of large, frozen, peeled, deveined, tail-off, raw shrimp. The shrimp are a good size and it's around $6.99 for a bag with lots of shrimp in it. I've had a hard time finding frozen shrimp before that isn't already cooked, so thought I would share! Of course you can also get shrimp at the seafood counter at the grocery store).
Enjoy!

Agave-Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/4 C balsamic vinegar

1/4 C agave nectar

1 T dijon mustard

1/2 C olive oil

pinch of kosher salt

pinch of coarse black pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a jar and shake well. Or, combine in a blender or with a stick blender. Store in the fridge. This dressing is a bit sweet, and a little goes a long way. 

This week's dessert recipe comes from my very favorite blog for finding yummy treats, Our Best Bites. I absolutely LOVE this blog, and I'm dying to get their new cookbook too! This pie reminds me of my family's favorite banana cream pie that we get from a local barbecue place pretty much any time we have a family gathering. Sorry, no picture. 

Banana Cream Pie

1 4-serving box of vanilla pudding

1 C cold water

1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

2 pie crusts (I like graham crusts but you can also do pre-made regular crusts, just cook them according to the package directions)

2 large bananas, sliced

1 pint whipping cream

1/3 C powdered sugar

Combine pudding mix, water and condensed milk in a bowl with a hand mixer until it is well-blended. Put it in the fridge for a few minutes, just while you do the next 2 steps. Slice the bananas and arrange a layer of the slices in the bottom of each pie crust. In another bowl, beat 1 C of the whipping cream with the mixer until peaks form (basically, til it starts to look like whipped cream. This takes several minutes). Take the pudding mixture out the fridge and fold the whipped cream into it. Then divide this mixture between the two pie crusts. Now beat the remaining 1 C of whipping cream with 1/3 C powdered sugar, again until peaks form and it looks like whipped cream. Spread this sweetened whipped cream on top of each pie, cover them, and refrigerate for several hours before serving. YUMMY!