Shrimp and Bacon Pasta

We had shrimp and some leftover bacon just waiting to be used and I thought "Put your hands together!"  (Please oh please.... someone tell me what show this is from!!)

Let's Get Crafty!
Cook 3/4 box of linguine pasta, al dente according to box directions (I started the water when I started the other pieces and it came together well.  The pasta only had a to wait a few minutes to be mixed in.)

Saute together until softened:
1 tablespoon butter
Small splash of EVOO
1/2 medium onion, diced
3/4 cup celery, chopped
Once the butter and EVOO have been absorbed (because it truly "wants" more than this...) add in some chicken stock to continue the softening process.  This continues to add flavor but with much less calories and fat.  I start with 1/2 cup and add a little more as needed- It probably ends up being around 1 cup.

Add to the veggie blend and cook another 4-5 minutes until shrimp fully cooked:
1 lb uncooked shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 roma tomato, seeded and diced (I would have used more if I had them-3 would have been perfect.)

Stir with veggies and shrimp to finish it up :
1/2 cup fat free half and half
3/4 cup pizza blend cheese (I liked the mix of different cheeses included but some mozzarella would be great here too.)

Toss in the pasta to distribute the shrimp and sauce
I flipped the large pan into a large dish to serve so the onions and celery would be on the top.  This also helped shrimp to be on the top because they fell to the bottom as I stirred everything together.

Hope you had a great day!  Thanks for stopping by.

Camping Breakfast Scramble

We took our camper out for the first time a few weeks ago.  This was the first official meal cooked on the camping stove.  I felt like a little girl cooking in my play kitchen while pulling this recipe together.  I’m trying to take more pictures during the cooking process and was excited to do that with this breakfast!

You'll notice in the picture below there are two breakfast hash/scrambles.  I made the one at the top of the picture and the other delicious one was made by my brother-in-law.  Yes- there was a breakfast competition.  Yes- a winner was determined.

Let's Get Crafty!

1/2 package turkey kielbasa, diced

1/2 green pepper, diced

1/2 medium onion, diced

Saute together until the onion is sot and the kielbasa starts to get a little color.  I like to do the kielbasa first and then add in the veggies.   Set aside.

2 medium potatoes, diced
2 tablespoons EVOO
Lawrey's seasoning salt
Garlic powder

Ideally these bad boys would be cooking while I did the meat and veggies.  Unfortunately, I only had one pan so we weren't able to multi-task this part.  (Another pan added to the list- check!)  Fry the potatoes until done and then set to drain to get as much oil off as possible with a paper towel.

Everybody back in the pan!  I was excited with how it was coming together at this point and then realized... I forgot the eggs!  Luckily- my competitor was willing to share a couple with me.

2 eggs
1/4 cheddar cheese

Scramble the eggs and add to the pan- cooking on medium heat until cooked through.  As the eggs are close to setting add in 1/4 cup cheddar cheese to wrap it up.

Finished product!  I forgot to take a picture until we had already dug in and started eating... but will wanted to share it.

Here's Ron's breakfast hash.  I wish I could share the recipe, but it's top secret and I'm lucky to have even been able to take a picture and include it on the blog.  :)  I can tell you (because I had some and didn't sign a non-disclosure agreement)... there were fried hash browns, sausage, and a generous helping of melty, gooey cheddar cheese.

My son hugged me and gently shared that Ron's was better than mine.  It was truly delicious!

 Happy Saturday Friends.

Spaghetti Squash Stuffed with Mushrooms and Spinach

I've been really loving playing with different recipes using spaghetti squash.  This one was pretty tasty.  I had to improvise from the recipe my sister-in-law shared with me because we didn't have artichokes on hand but we had some peppers and mushrooms that I was excited to use up.  This could easily be made a vegetarian dish by switching out the chicken stock for veggie stock.

Let's Get Crafty!
Cook Spag squash in microwave - see how I did this is yesterday's blog post.

Preheat oven to a high broil

On medium heat saute for a couple minutes:
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 pepper, diced (I used red that we had onhand)
1 T EVOO

Keep the veggies coming by adding these and saute another few minutes:
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup chicken stock
(You could use more butter for the mushrooms but I like to save the fat and calories by using chicken stock.  It adds an extra layer of flavor too!)

Once the mushrooms and onions have softened:
4 cups fresh spinach
Pinch of salt

It never ceases to amaze me how much spinach wilts down!  I remember Rachael Ray saying that those blocks of frozen spinach in the freezer aisle was one of the freezer sections best kept saving secrets.  As the fresh spinach from a big bag wilted... this came to mind.

To finish it off with creaminess add these to the veggies:
8 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

It seemed to time out perfect that by time the squash was done cooking in the microwave- the stuffing was ready to do some stuffing.

Cut the squash in half and take out the seeds.  Using a fork- scrap strands from the sides.

Divide spinach mixture between the squash halves and broil until browned.  (This was about five minutes.)

Have a great day!

Spaghetti Squash using the Microwave?!?!

If you're like me and you've done spaghetti squash in the oven... you know that it takes FOREVER. In the summertime... the oven is the last thing we want going for over an hour on any given weekend or weekend.

My sister-in-law turned me onto a new way using the microwave and it was news to me. 

Here's what I did and how it turned out...

Let's Get Crafty!

Make cuts all around the spaghetti squash using a knife.  A lot of holes!  When you think you have a lot... maybe do a couple more for good measure.

Cook in the microwave for 10 minutes on 80%

Flip over and cook another 5 minutes on 80%

I let mine sit for a few minutes before pulling it out... it was super hot!

Then trim the end and cut in half.  Using a fork- gently pull the spaghetti in.

Happy Friday Friends!