(Monster) Chili Shrimp

Note to self: if Ed goes to the market to pick up shrimp (or, really, anything), he will most likely purchase the largest shrimp (squash, scallop, salmon fillet, etc) he can find.

Exhibit A: the shrimp on steroids pictured above.  To give you a little perspective, each one was about the size of a small to medium lobster tail (yes, that is a normal size dinner plate they're displayed on).  I didn't even know such shrimp existed.  I'm pretty sure they'd be shunned in nature for their grotesquely large appearance.

I expected the meat to be stringy/fibrous but, amazingly, the shrimp was tasty and tender - and quite possibly the best shrimp I ever had.

Moral of the story: sometimes bigger can be better.

(Chili Shrimp recipe here)

Drink your vegetables

I, admittedly, have been on a weird food kick lately.  Currently, I'm dipping my toe into the world of green smoothies.

Last night I tried out this recipe.  The taste brought to mind gazpacho (not bad).

(Light) Crabcakes with spicy mustard sauce

I originally intended to make this dish for dinner on my husband's birthday, but he poo-pooed the idea and whipped up the decadent chicken dish I posted below.

I decided to use canned lump crab meat ($5/can * 3) instead of fresh ($30/lb), and was a little worried that it'd affect quality and taste - but I figured with all the ingredients in crab cakes, it'd most likely be fine.  I was right.

The crab-cakes were flavorful, meaty, and had the perfect amount of "filler" ingredients (this being the bare minimum).  A simple arugula salad provided the perfect accompaniment.

Chicken With Vin Jaune and Mushrooms

This recipe, for Chicken with Vin Jaune and Mushrooms, is not diet friendly.

"Why" do you ask?  "How can chicken and mushrooms be bad for me"?

Well - there's 14 tablespoons of butter in this dish.  Divide that by 4 servings, and you just consumed 3.5 Tbl of butter (yumm?).

But I must admit, every bite of this dish was heaven - and just knowing that I was indulging in something so decadent made it taste even better.

Etsy Love

my latest Etsy purchase

"Glacier Park Painting" by Marissa Vogl

Baked eggs over sauteed mushrooms and spinach

Sorry for the lack of posts lately - I haven't been super inspired to blog, which I am blaming on: (1) being crafted out from my Montana crafting extravaganza, (2) being on the Zone diet (too lazy to cook).

However, I did manage to muster up a little enthusiasm for the yummy baked egg dish pictured above.  I mean, who can resist a breakfast dish with wine it it?!

Note: I would recommend you bake the dish in your actual oven and not a toaster oven, like I did.  The egg whites took forever to set, and the yolks were a little over-done on the out-side, and under-done on the inside.