Tasty Tuesday Szechuan Shrimp!

Once again, we have Diva Donna to thank for a terrific recipe!

So, let's play ball and serve a few shrimp!



Szechuan Shrimp (serves4)

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 12 ounces cooked shrimp, tails removed

Directions

1. In a bowl, stir together water, ketchup, soy sauce, cornstarch, honey, crushed red pepper, and ground ginger. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in green onions and garlic; cook 30 seconds. Stir in shrimp, and toss to coat with oil. Stir in sauce. Cook and stir until sauce is bubbly and thickened.

Tasty Tuesday Eggplant Casserole!

One of my faves I've forgotten over the years is eggplant casserole. I loved it, but the kids didn't, so it sort of fell off the menu. But the kids are grown up now, and the other day, I was in the grocery and spotted the most beautiful, perfect eggplant I'd ever seen. I simply couldn't resist the temptation.
To refresh my memory, I checked out some online recipes and found one on Allrecipes.com that looked good. I made a few modifications, and thought it turned out rather well!

Hamburger Eggplant Casserole
1 eggplant, peeled and sliced
1 can tomato paste (6 oz)
1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
3 cloves minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp salt, pepper, and garlic powder mixture
1 1/2 lb hamburger, browned
2 cups water
1 onion, chopped
1 onion, sliced
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, sprinkle hamburger with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder mixture, then saute it with the onion and garlic for 5 to 10 minutes. Drain excess fat. Stir in the tomato paste, water, tomatoes, rosemary, thyme, oregano and basil. Set aside.
3. Slice eggplant into 1/4-inch rounds. Place a layer of eggplant in the bottom of a lightly greased 9x12-inch glass baking dish. Then place a layer of the hamburger mixture over the eggplant, followed by a layer of sliced onion. Top this with 1/2 the breadcrumbs and cheese. Then repeat the layers: eggplant, hamburger mixture, sliced onion and remaining breadcrumbs and cheese.
4. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour, remove foil and bake for 20 more minutes.

Tasty Ricotta Gnocchi Tuesday!

Bless Donna's little heart. I'm exhausted, hurt all over, and the tequila is making me forget what I need to do tonight, but there's a recipe in the file to post, complete with pictures. All I have to do is download the pics, and copy and paste the recipe. God love you, Donna. Wait. I think I said that already. Sort of. . .
Like I told her when she sent me this recipe, I've never made anything with Gnocchi before. But I'm willing to give it a go!
Donna writes:
Cheryl, This recipe is authentic Italian recipe passed down generations of my old friend Angelina Pucci's family.
Secret: Be sure to strain the Ricotta Cheese, by placing it in strainer over bowl in frigerator for 30 min. previous to making Gnocchi.

Ingredients(serves 5)

serve with a nice glass of Sangiovese or Negroni Cocktail

Gnocchi:

• 1 (8 ounce) container ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, or as needed
• 
  
• Sauce:
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 (15.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 dash crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 6 basil leaves, finely shredded
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into small chunks

Directions

1. Stir together the ricotta cheese, eggs, Parmesan Cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a large bowl until evenly combined. Mix in 1 cup of flour. Add additional flour if needed to form a soft dough.
2. Divide the dough into 3 or 4 pieces, and roll into 1/2-inch-thick ropes on a floured surface. Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces, and place on a lightly floured baking sheet. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
3. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic, and cook until softened and fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour in diced tomatoes and red pepper flakes; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in shredded basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. While sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Boil the gnocchi until they float to the surface, 1 to 2 minutes, then drain.
5. To assemble the dish, stir the cubed mozzarella cheese into the sauce and allow the heat of the sauce to soften, but not melt the cheese. Place gnocchi into a serving bowl, and spoon sauce overtop.
6. Serve with a Salad and Crusty bread

Day Two on the Road!

Day Two with the gang in Gatlinburg, Tennessee!

We had breakfast and then headed down to the main drag and shopped 'til we dropped.

I had already made a few purchases--two T-shirts for Sam--when I was ready for a little breather.

Willy needed a break too. He found a great resting place among the pansies.



















And then he took a ride on the Earthquake.

After a dip in the fountain,


















And a ride on the ski lift,


















We found the perfect T-shirt for him, but it didn't come in his size.


















Then we stopped for lunch. We had a cute waiter, but Terri got him blushing by telling him I wanted my picture taken with him. We told him Terri was out of control and not to pay any attention to her. I had a Reuben sandwich and chips, which was very tasty, and the restaurant had a very interesting decor, as you can see. Weenie Man felt right at home.


















After lunch, we kept right on going. Got a massage in one of those water massager things, and bought some dark chocolate espresso coffee beans for Budley.

By then, my feet were killing me, so Angie and I went back to the hotel and took a dip in the hot tub. After a little rest, we went out to dinner at Calhoun's. They claim to have the best ribs in America, and I'm here to tell you, they aren't lyin'!



















And now, since it IS Tuesday, we need a recipe! I freely confess to having committed grand larceny, stealing these recipes from Mellanie Szereto's blog. She brought them both to our Sextet critique group meeting this past Saturday, and I totally pigged out on the Chicken Ranch Dip. It is AWESOME!!!! And the Artichoke Dip is fabulous too. She says she normally doubles both of the recipes, and trust me, it won't go to waste!

Chicken Ranch Dip

4 1/2 oz. can of white meat chicken or 2 chicken breast tenderloins, cooked and chopped
2 tablespoons margarine
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
8 oz. cream cheese, softened (I use Neufchatel)
2 teaspoons ranch dressing mix (about 1/4 envelope)
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Saute onion in margarine. Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Blend well. Transfer to oven-safe dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Serve with crackers or chips.

Artichoke Dip

1 can artichokes, drained and chopped
1 cup mayonnaise (I use light)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Transfer to oven-safe dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Serve with crackers or chips.

Tasty Tuesday Crockpot Ribs!

Okay, gang, here's an easy one for you. Take a rack of baby back ribs, cut into sections so they'll fit in your crockpot, sprinkle liberally with your favorite dry rub, drop them in the crockpot on low for about 6-8 hours. Don't add water, but after a while, there will be some liquid that cooks out of the ribs, and you can suck it up with your handy-dandy turkey baster and squirt it on the ribs whenever the spirit moves you. Add the barbecue sauce of your choice at the table, and you won't find anything any better.

As you may have noticed at the top of the sidebar, Hero is in the running for Whipped Cream Best Book of 2010 on Long and Short Reviews. The review was one of the best I've gotten on any book, ever. So click on the pink box over there, and it will take you to the voting site. Voting continues until February 28th. Trag and Micayla would appreciate your vote very much!

Tasty Tuesday Sticky Chicken!

Sticky, Sweet, Spicy Chicken

courtesy of our own DIVA DONNA!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger root
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons hot sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1/2 inch strips
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions

1. Mix together brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and hot sauce in a small bowl.
2. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken strips.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken strips and brown on both sides, about 1 minute per side. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Simmer uncovered until the sauce thickens, 8 to 10 minutes.
4. Serve over Rice and Enjoy!!!

Tasty Thursday!

The Casablanca Authors blog is having a giveaway this month!

Comment to win!

Leave a comment on The Casablanca Authors blog and you'll be entered to win drawings throughout the month. Also, EVERY commenter gets an entry in our drawing for a grand prize pack featuring more than TEN SOURCEBOOKS ROMANCE NOVELS!

The contest begins on February 1

The more you comment, the more chances you have to win.

Good luck! And Happy Valentine's Month!

Since I skipped Tasty Tuesday in honor of Nancy's birthday, I figured I'd post the recipe today. This is another delicious treat courtesy of our own Diva Donna!

This recipe is homemade recipe. Whenever I make these for someone. They fall in love with it and want more. It fills your house with a great aroma. It's the best way to have cheap pork chops go so tender they fall off the the bone. I hope your men Enjoy these as much as mine. And the Hunk has nice Chops too!!
Tasty Family Pork Chops

Ingredients

• 8 bone-in pork chops
• seasoned salt to taste
• 3 onions, sliced
• 1/4 cup water

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Season the pork chops with seasoned salt(I like Greek Season Salt) and place in a glass baking dish. Arrange onion slices on top of pork chops, then pour the water into the pan. Cover with aluminum foil.
3. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, then reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Continue to cook for another 30 minutes.