So it’s mother day, and the weather is garbage. We actually had snow; which, should be illegal in May.
Being that its mother day, I wanted to make a few of my wife’s favorite things. Pizza- with pulled pork with bbq sauce and vegetable with oil/garlic sauce for lunch; and shrimp scampi for supper. I ended up with some leftover spinach and artichoke hearts from the pizza, I went ahead and made some spinach dip with small pieces of French bread as a side. Score! 3 of her favorite foods throughout the day.
I have the full recipe for the spinach dip on cookingwithlegs.com; in the forum just look for my free downloadable cookbook. I can promise you that it’s the best artichoke and spinach dip you’ve ever had.
For this I made an abbreviated version:
Can of artichoke hearts -diced
8 oz of frozen spinach drained completely and liquid squeezed out
Half a yellow onion- diced
3 toes of minced garlic
4 oz cream cheese
4 oz sour cream
4 oz fresh shredded cheddar or Monty jack
3-4 oz of parmigiana cheese
Season with salt, pepper garlic powder and Cajun seasoning
Heat up some olive oil, add in the onion. Once the onion starts turning clear add in the spinach, choke and garlic. Season with salt pepper and Cajun seasoning Work it together and fold it until all is well incorporated and the onion is clear.
Add in the cream cheese and sour cream. Work this until the cheese is melted and everything is uniform. Add in the shredded cheese and work that in. You should have a thick soup consistency. Add in parm until it thickens to your desired consistency.
Shrimp scampi.
1 pound of pealed, deveined and dried shrimp (make sure they are dry)
1 shallot diced
4 toes of garlic minced
White wine 1/2 cup to cup
Fresh parsley
Parm cheese
Butter
Crushed red pepper
Salt pepper and garlic powder
Pasta of your choice – I like this with angel hair
Season the shrimp with salt pepper and crushed red pepper before you start this and set aside
Get your skillet nice and hot, add in olive oil and shrimp. Cook the shrimp for maybe 30 seconds a side, take them out and set aside then lower your heat. Add more olive oil and the shallot. Let the shallot cook for about 30 seconds then add the garlic, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. Once you smell the garlic add in about 1/4 cup of wine and let it reduce down to half, then add in another 1/4 cup and let it reduce a bit. Add the shrimp, parsley and let it cook for about 5 minutes. Taste and season as need be, then add in the butter to incorporate and tie it all together.
Serve over pasta
