Blogging Class!

I had a blogging class today. I really don't know enough about blogging to TEACH blogging. I hope you all enjoyed it.

Valentine's Day - a day early (Baked Shrimp and Feta)

On Thursday's I work until 7:15pm.  This isn't too horrible, unless you want to cook a nice romantic Valentine's Day dinner for your hubby and the holiday falls on a Thursday. Sigh...what's a girl to do???  Well, even though it is Ash Wednesday, I decided to make the special dinner tonight. As a Catholic, this means no meat.  Shrimp it is!!!!

One of the best things I've ever made is Baked Shrimp with Feta.  It is an easy and very flavorful recipe.

In a sauce pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.

Dice one medium onion and cook for three minutes, or until onions are soft.



Add two cloves of minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.

 

Stir in two cans of no salt added diced tomatoes and bring to a boil.

 

 

Add one tablespoon of dill and one tablespoon of parsley and stir.

 





 Spray your baking dish with cooking spray.  Spread your cleaned and rinsed shrimp in the baking dish and season with salt and pepper.

 

 

Pour sauce over the top of the shrimp.

 

 



 

 Top with crumbled feta cheese.

 

 

 

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes in an oven preheated to 425 degrees F.

 



Serve over angel hair pasta. DELICIOUS!!!

 



 

Baked Shrimp with Feta

 

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans of no-salt-added diced tomatoes, do not drain

1 tablespoon of dried parsley or 1/4 cup finely minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon finely minced fresh dill

1 1/4 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Heat the oil in skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for about 5 minutes, until the tomato juices thicken.
Remove from the heat. Stir in the parsley and dill. Spray baking dish with cooking spray and place shrimp in dish. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the feta over the top. Bake until the shrimp are cooked through and cheese melts, about 20 to 30 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My final fudge of the day - Ziplock Bag Fudge

Sometimes you just want a no muss, no fuss treat.  As my third type of fudge for my Valentine's Day cooking program, I am making Fudge in a Ziplock Bag.  No bowls, no clean up and you can eat it right out of the bag. Here we go...

Put one pound (yes, that is ONE POUND) of powdered sugar in a large ziplock bag.  Add 3 ounces of cream cheese.

Two tablespoons of butter

Measure out 1/2 cup of cocoa powder and put it in the bag

Squish all the ingredients together in the bag.

It is not as easy as it sounds.  Mix until smooth.  This next picture is after 10 minutes of smoooshing.

Keep smooshing until smooth. This is after 15 minutes.

You can now eat your fudge out of the bag or press into a flat container.

Fudge made with pinto beans???

Each month I try to find a different "theme" for the cooking program at the library.  For February, I thought it would be nice to do a Valentine's Day theme, so we're doing three kinds of fudge and making an origami box to put it in as a gift to the participants' valentines. One of the many request from the attendees is to have healthier recipe options. I scoured the internet and found No Bake Pinto Bean Fudge on www.food.com and decided to try it.  Here are the steps to make this fudge.

Mash the contents of one 15.5 ounce can of pinto beans.  I did mine in the food processor until smooth.

Add 3/4 cup of cocoa powder

Melt 1/2 cup margarine (or butter) and pour into food processor.

Add 1 tablespoon of vanilla and 2 pounds of powdered sugar.

Add the equivalent of 1 pound of sugar substitute*.

Turn on food processor and mix until all ingredients are incorporated.

Doesn't that look yummy?  Hard to believe there are pinto beans in there!!!!

Pour the mixture into a greased 9" x 13" pan and spread evenly.

Chop up 4 ounces of walnuts (optional)

The recipe I have from www.food.com mixes the walnuts into the fudge. I thought it would be nicer sprinkled on top.  What do you think??

No Bake Pinto Bean Fudge
www.food.com

Ingredients:

1 - 15.5 ounce can of pinto beans
3/4 C cocoa powder
1/2 C margarine/butter, melted
1 tbsp vanilla
2 pounds powdered sugar
1 pound sugar substitute (or equivalent to 1 pound of sugar*)  I used splenda baking blend
4 ounces walnuts, chopped (optional)

Directions:

1. Mash beans (I did mine in the food processor)
2. Mix together all ingredients
3. Grease a 9' X 13" pan, spread mixture into the pan
4. Put in the refrigerator and chill thoroughly
5. Cut into squares and enjoy!

*Make sure to read the sugar substitute package to get the correct measurement to equal 1 pound of regular sugar.

 

Red Velvet Cake Batter Fudge

If you like cake and you like fudge, you have to try making Cake Batter Fudge.  One of the coolest things about this recipe is that you can change the flavor of the cake mix you use to make many different kinds of fudge.  Today I decided to make it with Red Velvet Cake mix.

In a microwave safe bowl, mix 1 cup of cake mix with 1 cup of confectioners sugar.

Add 1/4 cup butter, cut up, and 1/4 cup of milk to the bowl.  DO NOT MIX...yet.

 



Microwave cake mix, confectioners sugar, butter and milk for two minutes. 

Stir immediately until completely combined.

Add 1/4 cup sprinkles and 1/4 cup of chocolate chips. Fold in gently as to keep sprinkle from bleeding into cake mix.

Spread mixture into a greased pan and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Cut into pieces and enjoy.

Cake Batter Fudge

Ingredients
1 C cake mix of your choice
1 C confectioners sugar
1/4 C butter, cut into small squares
1/4 C milk
1/4 C chocolate chips (or white chocolate, butterscotch, cinnamon. Make it go with your cake mix choice)
1/4 C sprinkles

Directions

1. Mix cake mix and confectioner's sugar in a microwave safe bowl. Add butter and milk. Don't stir.
2. Microwave for 2 minutes. Stir immediately until completely mixed. Add sprinkles and chocolate chips. Do not over mix as sprinkle color may bleed.
3. Spread into greased pan. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Cut into squares and enjoy.

This makes on 6" x 6" container, or double for an 8" x 8" pan.

Note: If the batter comes out too runny, stir in 1 tsp of sugar or cake mix at a time until stiff. If too thick, slowly add 1/2 tsp of milk at a time. The batter is supposed to be thick.