Garlic Butter Shrimp!

This recipe was the first recipe I ever Pinned on Pinterest back in the day!  It's actually called a butter, Italian shrimp, but I add the garlic to it!  It's SUPER easy and really tasty!  The whole thing takes only about 20 minutes!  Melt a stick and a half of butter in the oven on the tray you're going to cook the shrimp in.  Thinly slice some lemons and lay them over the melted butter.  Layer the shrimp over the lemon slices and add italian seasoning and some salt and pepper.....and that's it!  15 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees and you're done!  I like to add some fresh, chopped garlic to the melting butter in the oven to give it a little kick.  I also steamed some sugar snap peas on the side and made some white rice.  Easy Peasy!

Here's how it turned out:

My 2 year old's dinner - everything just chopped up over rice :)

Thai Coconut Curry Soup!

So, I've decided to try something NEW!  Over the last several years, I've developed a love for Asian/Thai flavors and have tried to replicate several of my favorite recipes.  I've also discovered how EASY it is to cook with rice noodles and decided that today I would try a Thai soup!  It was fairly easy and SOOOOO flavorful!  My hubby's going to LOVE this one!

I followed this recipe on Pinterest:
http://www.feastingathome.com/thai-coconut-noodle-soup-khao-soi/

Here's how it turned out!

MMMMMMMMMMMM!

All the ingredients blended together before adding the shrimp

Red curry with onions and ginger

Soaked Rice Noodles

Back from vacation in Toronto!

I haven't cooked at all for the last 2 weeks while we were in Canada visiting my family!  It was an AMAZING two week break that we all needed!  For anyone traveling to Toronto, here are some of the activities we did with the kiddos:  Canada's Wonderland (we only did Snoopy's World)https://www.canadaswonderland.com/, Ripley's Aquarium (this was INCREDIBLE) https://www.ripleyaquariums.com/canada/, High Park (we went twice, once to the old wooden castle playground and the other time to the new splash pad and playground area - we also walked through the petting zoo)http://www.highparktoronto.com/, the train museum located just across the street from the CN Tower http://www.torontorailwaymuseum.com/, walking along lakeshore, Woodbine beach http://www1.toronto.ca/parks/prd/facilities/complex/311/index.htm, the Caribana parade (VERY crowded, but soooo much fun for my 2 year old for the first time!!!), riding the GO train, and lastly, but most importantly, spending a few days in a cottage at Niagra-on-the-Lake https://www.niagaraonthelake.com/.  If you've never done this before, it is a MUST.  It was absolutely beautiful!  There is a little town with shops and restaurants, tons of vineyards and wineries, paddle boarding, kayaking, driving along the lake to Niagra Falls, the list goes on and on!

Needless to say, we had a great time!  But, now it's back to the real world!  School officially started for teachers this past Monday and for the first time since graduating, I am not setting up a classroom and beginning my school year.  I have chosen to stay home with my little ones for the year and not go back to work. It's  a little bittersweet for me because I love what I do, but what could be more rewarding than teaching my own children and not someone else's?

I finally got back into the kitchen yesterday and decided I needed a quick meal.  I had some frozen shrimp in the freezer and looked up some Pinterest recipes and decided on the one below!  Shrimp scampi over angel hair pasta!  Yum!

Here's the pinterest recipe I loosely followed:
http://www.averiecooks.com/2015/07/lemon-butter-garlic-shrimp-with-angel-hair-pasta.html

I tweaked it a little by adding cilantro and green peas to the recipe!  But it turned out great!  Super easy and my 2 year old loved it!

Seafood paella!!!

Last night I decided I wanted to try out a new Pinterest recipe. I've made paella once or twice before using the first Pinterest recipe below and it turned out good! But my husband requested some mussels, so I found several Pinterest paella recipes and sort of combined them and did my own thing - and it turned out great!!!

It was super easy to make and took less than an hour from start to finish (actually eating). I also just used a cast iron dish that I already had and didn't have to use a special paella dish.

Here are the two main Pinterest recipes I used, combined, and added to:

http://www.themediterraneandish.com/easy-seafood-paella-recipe/
This is the recipe I used a few times already - it was super quick and easy!

http://www.halfbakedharvest.com/skillet-grilled-seafood-and-chorizo-paella/
I picked a few things from this recipe to add to the other one!

Some changes I made:

Now, I don't eat pork, so I took out the chorizo... but I did use the idea of pouring the lobster water over the rice. I also decided to add a little Adobo seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder. I went to Trader Joe's a few days ago and got some fresh English green peas so I decided to use those instead of the green beans.  I added some chopped red pepper and used shadow benny instead of the parsley/cilantro because I just didn't have any. Shadow Benny is used in the Caribbean and is in the same family as parsley and cilantro. Shadow Benny has a bit of a stronger taste like cilantro does.
My husband went to the weekend flea/farmer's market on Beach Blvd. and found the Shadow Benny there (for those of you interested in finding some fresh Caribbean/Asian/Hispanic fruits and veggies!).



I also chose to quickly marinate my seafood before adding it to the paella with some salt, pepper, and old bay seasoning which didn't seem to be a part of either of the recipes above.

And that's it! It was fabulous and I strongly recommend making it as a quick family meal!  Also, as a side note, I try to make a point of making sure my 2 year old eats whatever it is I cook for the day and try my best not to make something different just for her.  She loved the paella and I just cut the shrimp into little pieces and put them over the rice for her!

Paella before adding the seafood to it

After arranging the seafood and gently pressing it into the rice.  Cover it and allow the seafood to steam until the shrimp turns pink.

This is what the Beach Blvd. Flea Market looks like!