Sesame Orange Shrimp

More often then not, my food photos never end up looking as pretty as I wish they would- instead, you just have to trust me when I saw they taste good!

Tonight's dinner was Sesame Orange Shrimp, which I picked out of a copy of Everyday Food. This little food magazine is awesome- I inherited a lot of my grandma's copies, and had a subscription myself for a year. It is from Martha Stewart, and is full of recipes- with pictures for each one!

The Sesame Orange Shrimp not only looked good in the magazine, but more importantly, it tasted good. The only part I did not like about this recipe was peeling the raw shrimp- made me really think about how my dinner was once living...

Other then that, it was fairly easy, and pretty quick. I had another dinner going at the same time (a personal-size veggie pizza for my vegetarian husband), and had no problem cooking two meals at once.

I served this over brown rice. Next time, I'll add a vegetable side dish like spicy broccoli or bok choy.

Ingredients:

2 large egg whites
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup sesame seeds
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus more if needed
1 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced

1.) In a large bowl, whisk together egg whites, cornstarch, sesame seeds, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper until frothy. Add shrimp, and toss to coat.

2.) Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Working in two or three batches, cook shrimp until golden and crisp, 2 to 3 minuets per side; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Add more oil to skillet if necessary for remaining batches.

3.) Wipe skillet with a paper towel. Add orange juice, soy sauce, and sugar; boil over high heat until syrupy and reduced to about 1/3 cup, 4 to 5 minutes. Return shrimp to skillet; add scallions, and cook until heated through and coated with sauce, about 1 minute.

Lemon Shrimp with Parmesan Rice

Living with a vegetarian can be hard at times as I don't get to eat a lot of meat- unless I want to make two separate meals. I had been craving a seafood dish for awhile, and came across this recipe in my file box. I clipped it out of a magazine and don't remember which one, but it is delicious! It's very fast, and full of flavor. Lemon adds a great tang to the shrimp- after this meal, I'm hoping to find more recipes that incorporate lemon.

Ingredients:

2 cups chicken broth
2 cups uncooked instant rice
1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

1.) In a small saucepan, bring the broth to a boil. Stir in the rice; cover and remove from the heat. Let stand for 5 minutes.

2.) Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the shrimp, onions, and garlic in butter and oil over medium heat for 5-6 minutes or until the shrimp turn pink. Stir in the lemon juice and pepper.

3.) Stir the Parmesan cheese and parsley into the rice; serve with shrimp.

Yield: 4 servings

Salmon Egg Foo Yung

This recipe was my grandma's- I never had it before, but had copied from her recipe box a long time ago, and finally got around to making it tonight. I love Chinese food, and am constantly looking for new Chinese recipes that I can make at home. This one was fairly easy and tasted (in my opinion) better then take-out. I'm sure much healthier too!

Ingredients:

1 can (7 3/4 oz) salmon (drain and flake)
4 eggs1 cup bean sprouts
3 tablespoons minced green onions
1 can sliced mushrooms
canola oil

1.) Beat the eggs. Fold in the sprouts, green onions, mushrooms, and salmon.

2.) Heat canola oil in the bottom of a skillet over medium high heat.

3.) Measure out about three tablespoons of the egg mixture and place it in the skillet. The eggs will bubble, and then you can flip it over to brown the other side. The egg mixture will become like a small "egg pancake." Once both sides are brown, set on a plate. (Since you are making a batch of these, I suggest covering the cooked ones with foil to keep them hot until serving.)

4.) To make the accompanying sauce, combine 2 teaspoons of cornstarch with 3/4 cup of water and cook it in a small sauce pan until it dissolves. Add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Once the sauce is bubbling and thick, remove from the heat.

5.) Serve the salmon egg foo yung patties over rice, and top with the sauce.