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Food

Spring Break Eats ~ Shrimp Po’ Boys & Orange Cilantro Coleslaw

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Well, we definitely didn’t starve over Spring Break.

We finally went to Toppers Pizza and managed to eat there 4 times in 5 days. I’m addicted to the salad bar, but the pizza is fabulous, too! We took Jay there yesterday for lunch as he was unable to join us in our numerous earlier visits.

During Lent we don’t eat meat on Fridays so we enjoyed a roasted garlic, fresh roma tomato & mushroom pie…

pizza

Like, WOW! Like I could never eat meat again, WOW.

I like the pizza because it is thin, but not too thin and the crust is crispy and not too doughy. They also have a nice, fresh salad bar and a different selection of dressings like maple vinaigrette and chipotle ranch.

Last night for dinner we needed something meat-free, too. While Elliott & I were getting our toes done {finally!?!} I watched an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives and witnessed Guy Fieri inhale a shrimp po’ boy. Bingo. Our dinner idea was taken care of. I had also gotten a recipe from my chef friend, Leslie, for some Orange Cilantro Coleslaw that I’d been dying to try and thought it’d go well with the po’ boys.

When Googling the sammies, I got a little overwhelmed with several recipes and finally just went with Rachael Ray’s version for the shrimp and another one for the remoulade. I used cornmeal rather than the bread crumbs. I had originally wanted Jay to grill the shrimp to make them a little healthier, but then I figured I’d try the traditional way first and then if they were a hit, I’d try to health-ify them the next time around.

Let me just say, they were a TOTAL hit.

poboy2

I ended up kind of making up by own remoulade ~ mayo, spicy brown mustard, lemon juice, sweet relish & Tabasco. Just dump all those things in a bowl, stir it up and spread some on your rolls before building your sandwich. I also used some super fresh Sara Lee French Rolls that were perfect for this. I heated them up slightly under the broiler first, too.

Here is how to prepare the shrimp:

Vegetable or peanut oil, for frying
1 large egg
1 cup milk
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, deveined
Salt
1/2 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal or bread crumbs
2 tablespoons seafood seasoning a couple of palm fulls (recommended: Old Bay) —–> I used cajun seasoning

Preheat 1-inch of oil in a deep skillet over medium to medium-high heat. —–> I used about half that and it was plenty {shallow fry}

Pull shells & tails off shrimp. Beat egg and milk together. Salt shrimp then soak in milk batter. Mix together the flour, cornmeal or bread crumbs and seafood seasoning in a bowl. Using tongs, remove a few shrimp at a time and coat in breading. Add breaded shrimp to the hot oil and fry them 5 to 6 minutes or until firm and deeply golden all over. Place on a paper towel lined plate.

Spread some sauce onto your rolls followed by some lettuce and tomato slices. Add several shrimp and you have yourself a taste of Louisiana.

So good.

poboy1

Orange Cilantro Coleslaw 

{ recipe courtesy of Leslie Babikan by way of Jo Lafferty 😉 }

1/4 cup fat free plain yogurt {I used Greek}

1/4 cup light mayo

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup orange juice {I used the juice of one orange and the zest, too}

3 tbsp. white vinegar {I used rice vinegar}

1 1/2 tsp. honey

7 cups shredded green cabbage

1 cup shredded carrot

1/2 cup chopped red onion

salt & pepper to taste

Whisk together the first 6 ingredients for dressing. Add cabbage, carrot and onion. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours to blend flavors.

So light and summery. I love different variations on coleslaw and will be making this lots.

Thanks, Leslie!

Thanks, Rachael!

Thanks, Toppers!

Because of you all, our Spring Break eats were super great.

Back to eating bananas, yogurt, kale smoothies, grilled chicken and boring salads.

And drinking more water.

Food, Friends

{Insta}recipes ~ Cheeseburger Calzone

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Last week one of my Instagram friends, Melissa, posted a cheeseburger calzone picture and was gracious enough to type out the recipe on her iPhone WITH a cast on one hand! Thanks, girl!

So, this was what was for dinner last night. I could hardly wait to make it since I had never made a calzone before.

Elliott suggested, “How about Sundays are ladies cook nights!”. I couldn’t say no to that so we donned our aprons and got to work.

Here is the ingredient line-up:

1 tube Pillsbury French Bread loaf

1 pound ground beef or turkey

1/2 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup Ketchup

1/4 cup Mustard

6 slices cheese {I used pre-shredded cheddar}

Pickles

Brown your ground beef with the onion and garlic. Add the ketchup and mustard and mix together. Roll out your bread {this is where it gets sketchy…I don’t know if you’re supposed to unroll the dough by hand as it comes out of the tube and THEN roll it with a rolling pin or just roll it out directly as it comes out of the tube which is what I did. I had trouble getting it into a big flat piece which is what I envisioned} At any rate, I ended up cutting it in half and having two long pieces of dough. Lay the bottom piece of dough on a greased {with Pam} pan, put cheese, pickles and then the meat down the middle, leaving a little room on the top and sides. Add the top layer of dough and press the edges together {I also got a fork and pressed down to seal and give it those little lines}. Put a few slits in the top to vent and bake according to package directions {26-30 minutes at 350*}. Let cool for about 5 minutes, slice and serve!

{not the prettiest calzone I’ve ever seen, but still delish}

I served ours with blue cheese coleslaw.

Three quarters of the family thoroughly enjoyed it…Holden opted for a ham sandwich. Surprise.

*****

Happy Monday!

Food

Tomato vs. Vinegar

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When it comes to BBQ, there is a distinct difference between “Carolina BBQ” and say St. Louis BBQ. One has a mustard/vinegar base (Carolina) and the other is tomato/ketchup based. Personally, I prefer the thicker, sweet sauces of the St. Louis region, but the traditional Carolina vinegar variety is certainly nothing to turn up your nose at.

Jay came across a Carolina BBQ recipe in my new Crock Pot recipe book, so that is what we prepared for this week’s Sunday night din din.

I was looking for a light, low fat side dish and found a “Polynesian Coleslaw” recipe on allrecipes.com. If you haven’t discovered this website and love to cook, please do yourself a favor and check it out. Gazillions of great recipes to be found!

I was intrigued by the coleslaw because it had a peanut butter based dressing rather than the typical mayo based sauce. It will be great for summer picnics since there is no mayo. I thought it was delish and complimented the pork nicely. The reviews say that the slaw is better the longer it sits, so I am looking forward to seeing how the flavors marry overnight. I also added a bit of crushed pineapple ~ sweet, salty from the soy and tangy from the rice vinegar!

Polynesian Coleslaw

Carolina Barbequed Pork

2 onions, quartered

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 Tbsp. paprika

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 4-6 lb. boneless pork butt or shoulder roast (I used a bone-in shoulder)

3/4 cup cider vinegar

4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1 1/2 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Hamburger buns (I used sesame to compliment the Asian flavors of the slaw)

Place the onions in the Crock-Pot. Combine the brown sugar, paprika, salt and pepper and rub the mixture over the roast. In a bowl, combine the vinegar, Worchestershire sauce, red pepper flakes, sugar, mustard, garlic salt and cayenne pepper. Mix well. Drizzle 1/2 of the vinegar mixture over the roast. Cover and refrigerate the remaining vinegar mixture. Cover; cook on Low for 10 hours or on High for 6 hours. Remove the meat and onions and drain. Chop or shred the meat and chop the onions. Serve the meat and onions on buns. Use the remaining vinegar mixture to drizzle over the sandwiches.

Which do you prefer? Tomato or vinegar?

I’m stickin’ to tomato, but this meal would’ve made the Carolinians proud, I think!