Baked Lobster Tails

Zack and I love seafood – especially lobster, crab, and shrimp.  The only problem is the price.  Lobster is incredibly expensive (to us anyway) so we rarely ever have it.

We wanted to have a special dinner for New Years though and went to our health food grocery store and lobster was on sale!  We knew we had to get it.

I had never made it before and was worried that I would mess it up and ruin our special dinner (and waste a ton of money).

Luckily, this recipe was super easy and they turned out perfect!  If you like lobster, I highly recommend trying this recipe.  It’s relatively healthy and absolutely delicious!

Our yummy New Years Dinner: lobster tails, green beans and baked hush puppies.  Yum!

– 4 lobster tails (8-10 oz each)

– 1 c water

– 1 T minced fresh parsley

– 1/8 t salt

– dash pepper

– 1 T butter, melted

– 2 T lemon juice

– lemon wedges and additional melted butter, optional

Split lobster tails in half lengthwise.  With cut side up and using scissors, cut along the edge of shell to loosen the cartilage covering the tail meat from the shell; remove and discard cartilage.

Pour water into a 13×9 baking dish; place the lobster tails in dish.  Combine the parsley, salt and pepper; sprinkle over lobster.  Drizzle with butter and lemon juice

Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until meat is firm and opaque.  Serve with lemon wedges and melted butter, if desired.

Potato Crusted Salmon

I love salmon.  It’s such a versatile fish and is really mild.  It’s a lot like chicken – you can really add basically any flavors to it and it will still be delicious.

This recipe made the salmon crunchy and the paprika gave it a nice spice.  I actually used a four-cheese mashed potato mix which added positively to the flavor as well.

Yum!

Prep: 10 minutes.  Cook: 6 minutes.  4 servings.

– 1 lb salmon, about 3/4″ thick

– 1 egg, lightly beaten

– 1 T water

– 1/3 c mashed potato mix (dry)

– 2 t cornstarch

– 1 t paprika

– 1 t lemon pepper

– 2 T olive oil

Cut fish into 4 serving pieces.  Beat egg and water with fork.  Mix potato mix, cornstarch, paprika, and lemon pepper.  Dip just the top and sides of fish into the egg, then press into potato mixture.

Heat oil in 10-inch skillet over medium high heat.  Cook fish, potato sides down in oil 3 minutes.  Carefully turn fish with wide slotted spatula.  Reduce heat to medium.  Cook about 3 minutes longer or until fish flakes easily with a fork.  If fish has skin, carefully slide cooked fish off of the skin with wide spatula.

Cheddar Shrimp Nachos

I have found the perfect appetizer.  These are cheesy, spicy, shrimp-y, crunchy, and delicious.  Plus, I have to admit, they look so very pretty.  All of the colors are very festive.  They would be perfect for a party setting.

I made dinner last night for Zack and my dad.  These were the first thing I added to the menu.

This is actually the second time that I’ve made these for my dad and Zack.  They have raved about them both times.

I am not the biggest fan of appetizers as a general rule, but these are extremely easy to make and I highly recommend them.

Don’t ya want a bite? 😉

Prep: 15 minutes.  Total: 17 minutes.

– 2 tablespoons Italian dressing, divided

– 1 lb frozen cooked, cleaned medium shrimp, thawed

– 1 red pepper, chopped

– 1 tablespoon blackened seasoning

– 6 cups tortilla chips

– 1 package (8 oz) shredded triple cheese with a touch of Philadelphia

– 1 green onion, chopped (optional)

– 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

– 1 jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced

Heat large cast iron skillet on high heat until it is very hot and starts to smoke.  Add 1 tablespoon dressing, shrimp, red peppers and seasoning; cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until shrimp is heated through and evenly coated with dressing mixture.  Stir in remaining dressing.

Cover large dish or platter with layers of half each of the chips, shrimp mixture, and cheese.  Repeat layers.

Microwave on HIGH 1-2 minutes or until cheese is melted, rotating plate after each minute (or, if your plate is too big for your microwave, put it in the oven at about 200 degrees until the cheese is melted).  Top with onions, cilantro, and jalapeno.

 

Slow Cooker Shrimp and Chicken Jambalaya

New Orleans was my favorite place for years (it was only recently beat out my Seattle).  I’ve been there 3 times and I plan to go more.  It’s kind of strange how much I like New Orleans, because I’m not into drinking.  I just really like the Cajun people and their lifestyle.  As a general rule, they are very friendly (and have such a wonderful accent!).  I also really like the architecture in New Orleans, especially in the French Quarter.

As a fan of spicy food, New Orleans is the perfect place for me.  They love spicing up everything and the Cajun-style of cooking is so great! I could go there and do nothing but eat.  I decided to bring home a little bit of that cooking style and try my hand at some Jambalaya.  Turns out I’m not half bad at it 😉

Since I’m feeling so nostalgic, I am going to include some pictures from the last time I went to New Orleans, back in 2009.

Mmm, mmm, good.

Crayfish! My dad sampled some of these, but neither Zack or I were brave enough to.  I’ve heard they’re actually really good, though.

Zack and I with the Mississippi River in the background.  We were there in November and it was freezing!

Here’s Zack holding a baby alligator on a swamp tour that we went on.

I do not look too happy to be holding an alligator! Oh, and that’s my dad in the background.  I look a lot like him.

Okay, back to the good stuff.  Here’s the Jambalaya in the slow cooker before the shrimp and rice have been added.  The colors are so pretty!

Slow Cooker Chicken and Shrimp Jambalaya

Yield: 6 servings

– 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces

– 3 celery stalks, chopped

– 1 green bell pepper, chopped

– 2 onions, chopped

– 3 garlic cloves, minced

– 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes, undrained

– 1 tablespoon sugar

– 1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves

– 1/2 tsp dried basil leaves

– 1/2 cup instant brown rice, uncooked

– 1 lb frozen cooked shrimp, thawed

Combine all ingredients except rice and shrimp in a slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours, until chicken is cooked through.  Stir in rice, cover and cook for 15 minutes or until tender.  Add shrimp, stir, cover and cook an additional 3-5 minutes, or until heated through.

Yummy!