Quick Dinner: Garlic Shrimp Pasta with Parmesan Breadcrumbs

For a quick (and relatively healthy) dinner, I love to use my always ready stock of frozen shrimp. If you ever see them on sale, definitely stock up.

To defrost, either toss them into the fridge before you go to work or submerge the bag in a bowl of cold water for an hour or so. For this dish, I like to remove all of the shell.

Toss the shrimp with a dusting of Cajun seasoning and garlic salt. If you don’t have Cajun spice, just add a bit of paprika, oregano, thyme and onion powder.

Mince a few cloves of garlic. Then in a separate bowl, zest and juice one lemon and add a half cup of white wine. Chop a couple green onions and set aside. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.

Next combine about 3/4 cup breadcrumbs with a bit of garlic salt and 1/2 cup of Parmesan. Drizzle some olive oil in a small frying pan. Heat the breadcrumbs on low heat until golden. But keep an eye on them! Meanwhile heat some butter and olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the shrimp and garlic to the butter and also add about half a packet of angel hair pasta to the boiling water.

Turn the shrimp after a minute and add the wine and lemon juice. Let simmer on low heat. Make sure the breadcrumbs are off the heat. Once the pasta is al dente (remember angel hair cooks very fast!), add it directly to the shrimp and turn the heat off. Add the green onion and toss well. Get your plates out. (I prefer flat soup bowls) Add half the breadcrumbs to the pasta. Toss again. Plate and sprinkle more breadcrumbs on top. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil and enjoy!

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Quick Dinner : Parmesan Crusted Cod with Tomatoes

For a super fast and healthy dinner, try this crusted cod. You can use any white fish but I love the meatiness of cod. Of course I can’t get it fresh but it’s still a nice texture.

Finely dice half a yellow onion and slice a couple garlic cloves. Sauté on low heat with olive oil in large frying pan. Meanwhile chop a box of cherry tomatoes and add to the onions with a dash of cumin, coriander and black pepper. Let cook a minute or so and add a splash of white wine. Let simmer for a few minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Pour into pasta bowls. While tomatoes are cooking, blitz some old bread if you want fresh breadcrumbs. Or mix store bought with a little Parmesan, black pepper and bit of garlic salt.

In the pan add a drizzle of olive oil and toss a couple large handfuls of spinach, pinch salt and black pepper. Cook until wilted and spoon into center of tomatoes.

Sprinkle fish with garlic salt and pepper. Heat oil in same pan and cook the fish 1-2 minutes on medium heat. If you have a lemon, zest and squeeze juice. Flip the fish over and cook another 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon place fish onto tomato spinach. Let remaining juice reduce slightly and spoon on top of fish.

For the final touch, drizzle a couple tbsp of olive oil and add bread crumbs. Stir on low heat until golden and toasty. Spoon directly onto fish and enjoy!

Ps. If you need a starch, add some angel hair pasta to the tomato sauce.

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If Ground Beef Is On Sale..

In all aspects of life, I am always happy to find a good sale/offer. In the States (not everywhere), the grocery stores will send out weekly ads in the mail. They’ll highlight offers and coupons etc. If you love to cook or have to cook for a large household, you’ll absolutely love these. I love having a cup of coffee and reading these. I flip through and see what’s available, what’s fresh and come up with meal ideas for the week.

So recently ground beef has been on sale. It’s usually the fattier type (80/20), but let’s be realistic. We can’t all eat everything we want. Food can get really expensive! Sometimes the fattier ground/mince beef is tastier too. So when I see these deals, I stock up if I can. Same goes for chicken which freezes really well. For the beef, I prefer to cook it and then freeze it. Or freeze patties so you can throw them straight onto the grill/grill pan for a burger.

Here are two recipes you can make that would freeze really well. They can be eaten for dinner or lunch and in a variety of ways. There are many shortcuts you can take, but if you have the time on maybe a Sunday you can just cook these. You could do it while the husband is watching Sunday football maybe!

• Beef Meatballs with Homemade Marinara
• Universal Bolognese or Cottage Pie Base

There are so many recipes out there for these dishes. If you have time you can use fresh tomatoes for Marinara (the riper, the better). Lately I like to blanch my tomatoes and remove the skin. Don’t hesitate to use lots of tomato paste too.

For Bolognese, some recipes use milk and/or pork as well (Epicurious) or white wine instead of red (Food Network). Some of you may be surprised to see Cottage Pie or wonder what it is. You’ve probably heard of Shepard’s Pie, but traditionally Shepard’s Pie is made with ground lamb. The beef version is called Cottage Pie. This MyRecipes.com version adds mushrooms. This Epicurious recipe uses dried marjoram. Ultimately, there are many versions. Play around with them and choose the one you like! I personally love it super thick and gravy-like.

As for meatballs, I don’t really measure when I make them. I use whatever ground beef I have, add some breadcrumbs or panko soaked with milk, an egg or two, finely chopped or grated onion and garlic, Italian seasonings and a handful of parmesan or romano. A couple of good recipes are Ina Garten’s or this Epicurious recipe that uses ground fennel. Either way, bake them and then pop ’em into a bubbling Marinara. These freeze so fantastically. Reheat with a bit of olive oil and splash of water.

Beef Meatballs & Homemade Marinara

Universal Base for Bolognese or Cottage/Shepard’s Pie

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