Bang Bang Shrimp

This is one of my new favorite appetizers. But aren't they all?! Because if I am posting it then it's nothing short of delicious aka post worthy.

This appie accompanied the Triple Cheese Mushrooms on Mother's Day when I did nothing but appetizers. They just make me happy. A happy sampling of a little bit of this & a little bit of that. For me, life is a like a buffet of appies, ya never know whatcha gonna get!

These have gained quite the popularity in many restaurants & since shrimp is one of my favorites I knew I had to make them right away. The pan only calls for enough oil to lightly fry the shrimp so don't go thinking of a scary deep fry. This was quite easy & did I mention delicious???!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BANG BANG SHRIMP

{ Printable Recipe Here }

1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Asian chili sauce *
2 teaspoons honey
Kosher salt
Vegetable oil, for frying
2 large eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper
1 1/4 pounds large shrimp, peeled & deveined (I like tail on)

M ake the sauce: Mix the mayonnaise, chili sauce, honey, 1/4 teaspoon salt & 1 tablespoon water in a large bowl; set aside.

P repare the shrimp: Heat about 2 inches of vegetable oil in a pan. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs in a shallow bowl. Whisk the flour, cornstarch & 1 teaspoon each salt & pepper in another shallow bowl.

W orking in batches, dredge the shrimp in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess, dip in the beaten eggs, then return to the flour mixture, turning to form a thick crust. Fry the shrimp in the hot oil until lightly golden, 1 to 2 minutes, adjusting the heat as needed to maintain the oil temperature. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon.

T oss the shrimp with the prepared sauce.

{ Food for Thought }

I added quite a bit more chili sauce than what's stated above because I felt there was too much mayo. Just start out with what the recipe calls for & then add more chili sauce & honey according to your own taste. Also, use a good Asian style sauce. 

I also worked in batches so I had a master bowl for all the sauce & then used a separate bowl in which I placed a little sauce to coat each batch of freshly fried shrimp. 

You don't want the shrimp drenched in sauce, just lightly but thoroughly coated.

{ Linking Deliciously to Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays }

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And for Wordful Wednesday, here is something beautiful my boy made for his mama at school.

While other moms were 90 years old & cooked canned beans, he was spot on about everything.

{ Linking to Wordful Wednesdays at Seven Clown Circus }

Triple Cheese Mushrooms

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!!!!! Mine was a very balanced one ~  entertaining with friends who unfortunately are leaving town soon, lots of kitchen & cooking time & some exercising outdoors to keep the energy level up in order to enjoy all those things I just mentioned!

This appetizer is from Paula Deen & one I knew I had to make soon after seeing it. It was one of the appies I made on Mother's Day. We all loved them!!

I absolutely loved making them the day before, only to have to pop them in the oven right before guests arrive.

Triple Cheese Mushrooms

{ Click for Printable Recipe }

2 16 oz pkgs fresh mushrooms
1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
2 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
Salt
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

P reheat oven to 350° F. Using damp paper towels, wipe mushroom caps clean; remove & discard stems, or save for another use. In colander, squeeze liquid out of spinach until dry.

I n large bowl, mix spinach, feta, cream cheese, green onions & 1/4 teaspoon salt until well combined. Fill each mushroom with heaping teaspoon spinach mixture; top with Parmesan. Transfer to 15 1/2-inch by 10 1/2-inch jelly-roll pan; bake 15 minutes or until mushrooms are tender & filling is golden brown.

{ Food for Thought }

Make it easy on yourself & assemble the day before. Let sit at room temp for 1/2 hour before baking in the oven.

I kept the filling amount the same & bought (2) 16oz pkgs of mushrooms. I picked the best ones of the group for my stuffed mushrooms knowing I would have some left over yet using all of my filling. 

I also like to take a little 1/4 tsp & use it to carve out more space in the mushroom for the filling, otherwise I feel like there just isn't enough.

I was able to make about 30 mushrooms.

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And now for one of the few things I love more deeply than appetizers:

My handsome boy. It's been too long since I've posted a pic of him.

Tristan ~ 6 yo

Enjoy. Him. The Mushrooms. All of it. Oh, enjoy your week too! 

Can't wait to come by & see you!

{ Linking Deliciously to Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays & Wordful Wednesdays}

Lemon-Raspberry Mousse Squares

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mothers Day weekend!  I didn't chose to sleep in, have breakfast brought to me in bed or get a pedi or facial. All I wanted was to make a few appetizers from my ever increasing list of things to make, while spending the day with family. So that's just what I did. 

I made a dip, 4 appetizers & 1 dessert. I prepped whatever I could in advance & since I was bringing out an appie every hour or so I had time in between. I could just live on appies, can't you?! 

This dessert was definitely a hit & perfect for the hot summer to come. Easy to make, in under a 1/2 hour, pretty to look at & delicious to boot. Light & lemony but not too much, it was perfect!

LEMON-RASPBERRY MOUSSE SQUARES from Food Network

{ Printable Recipe Here }

48 reduced fat Nilla Wafers
3/4 cup boiling water
1 3oz pkg lemon flavor gelatin
1 cup ice cubes
8oz pkg reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp lemon zest
8oz Cool Whip Free
1/3 cup raspberry preserves
1 1/2 cups fresh fruit such as strawberries, kiwi, raspberries

S tand 16 wafers around edge of plastic wrap-lined 8 inch square pan. 

(You can see they hardly stand up but just see my notes on that)


A dd boiling water to gelatin mix; stir 2 min until completely dissolved. Stir in ice until melted.

B eat next 3 ingredients in large bowl with mixer until blended. Gradually beat in gelatin. Whisk in 2 cups Cool Whip.

P our half the gelatin mixture into prepared pan; cover with 16 wafers. Microwave preserves on high for 15 sec or until melted. Brush onto wafers. 

Top with remaining gelatin mixture and wafers.

R efrigerate 4 hours or until firm. Invert dessert onto plate. Top with remaining Cool Whip and fruit.

I didn't take a picture of it once cut so here's an idea of how pretty it is.

{ Food for Thought }

The wafers won't want to stand at first so just keep the upright as much as possible. When pouring the 1st half of the gelatin mixture stop halfway & let the mixture act as the glue to keep the wafers up. You may have to adjust them more & stand them up as the pan gets filled.

{ Linking Deliciously to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday }

Braised Paprika Chicken

Healthier dinners like the one below have helped me keep a good attitude along with doing the treadmill in the early morning. With sour cream being the only naughty ingredient, I get a satisfying meal but without the guilt. And I love how the sour cream helps to make the sauce a light but creamy one!

I have also become such a huge fan of the sweet Hungarian paprika in this dish, thanks to my amazing blogger turned real life friend Kacey. I am even visiting her & her family for the first time in just a few weeks. She once sent me a recipe where I needed to have this kind & only this kind of paprika. So don't skimp on it. It's worth it!!!!!

I re-wrote the recipe here since I made quite a few changes to this dish, making it lighter & faster by skipping the butter & using boneless chicken tenders instead of bone in chicken pieces, thereby cutting the cooking time in half.

BRAISED PAPRIKA CHICKEN  Adapted from Eating Well         

{ Printable Recipe Here }

1 1/2-2 lbs boneless chicken tenders

3/4 tsp coarse salt, divided

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tblsp olive oil
1 chopped red bell pepper
1 chopped green bell pepper
Pinch of sugar
16 oz pkg mushrooms
2 tblsp tomato paste
2 tblsp sweet paprika
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 tblsp all-purpose flour
Dried parsley for garnish

S eason chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt & pepper. Heat oil in a large heavy pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add bell peppers, mushrooms & sprinkle with sugar. Cook, stirring frequently, until the veggies are soft & light brown. Stir in tomato paste, paprika & crushed red pepper.

A dd the chicken & stir it gently into the veggie mixture. Sprinkle with marjoram & add broth. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid or foil & simmer over medium-low heat until the chicken is very tender, about 20 minutes.

A t the 15 min mark, just before the chicken is done, whisk sour cream, flour & the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl until smooth. Stir the sour cream mixture into the sauce; return to a simmer & cook, stirring, until the sauce coats the spoon. This will make the 20 minutes cooking time for the chicken. Serve garnished with parsley, dill and/or chives, if desired.

{ Food for Thought }

The original recipe called for 3 1/2 lbs of bone in chicken pieces, Canola oil instead of olive oil, the addition of butter & 4 cups of onions. I love onions but they bother some people in the family so I took them out altogether & have been since. I also upped the bell peppers & added mushrooms.

A little thought: recipes call for diced veggies often but in dishes like this I love to actually see the veggies so I just do a rough chop. It looks pretty & it saves on time!!!!!!