Recipe - Scampi Shrimp - A Family Favorite

Seafood was always plentiful where I grew up on the west coast of Florida. Shrimp was a dinner time staple in our house. This Scampi Shrimp recipe was formulated from a combination of tastes and ingredients from my all time favorite restaurant recipes in my hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Scampi Shrimp

1 pound (peeled and deveined) jumbo fresh shrimp
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 teaspoon steak sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Cooked fettuccine

Peel and devein shrimp. Cook onion and garlic in butter in a large skillet (medium heat), stirring constantly, 4 minutes. Add lemon juice and next 3 ingredients. Bring to a boil; add shrimp and cook, stirring constantly, 3 to 5 minutes or until shrimp turn pink. Serve over fettuccine. Yield: 3 to 4 servings

When I moved away from the coast of Florida where fresh seafood is plentiful, I also moved away from the seafood specialty restaurants that I'd always loved to dine at during my formative years. I began experimenting in my own kitchen, where I perfected this Scampi Shrimp recipe. My goal was to create a scampi recipe with just the right combination of herbs, worcestershire sauce and butter to achieve great taste and perfect aroma. I like to serve it over fettuccine, however it can be served over rice or any other type of pasta. It should be doubled or even tripled for a large group and works well with a salad or vegetable of choice on the side.

Make an Old-Fashion Comfort-Food Meal For Your Family Quickly and Easily!

Sometimes we just feel the need to have an old-fashion comfort food meal. These recipes are quick and easy to make and will be a hit with your family. The best part is that all these recipes are inexpensive so they will fit right into your food budget. Start with Aunt Stella's Cheeseburger Pie as an entree, add Easy Old-Fashion Baked Beans, they bake for 1 1/2 hours but they are quick to assemble and can be baked ahead to save time later. The Garden Vegetable Salad will round out the meal.

AUNT STELLA'S CHEESEBURGER PIE

1 1/2 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
3/4 cup catsup
1 pkg American cheese
1 can biscuits

Brown the hamburger meat with the onion, salt it to suit you, and drain off fat. Add the catsup and stir to mix up. Place the mixture in the bottom of a round cake pan. Top with the cheese slices then the biscuits. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

EASY OLD FASHION BAKED BEANS
This recipe is from an old grocery store ad.

2 cans (regular-size) Great Northern Beans
1 cup tomato catsup
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp prepared mustard
1 medium onion, chopped
6 slices bacon, cut into 2-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute the onion and bacon. Set aside. Combine the beans, catsup, brown sugar, and mustard. Pour the bean mixture into a lightly buttered casserole dish. Top with the bacon and onion mixture. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Serves 6 to 8.

GARDEN VEGETABLE SALAD

1 head cauliflower
1 large bunch of broccoli
1 can black olives
1 lb fresh white mushrooms
1 lb cherry tomatoes
1 small red onion, sliced into thin rings
salt to taste, optional
Your favorite dressing

Cut or break cauliflower and broccoli into bite size pieces; place into a salad bowl. Slice the mushrooms into the bowl. Drain the black olives well and add to the bowl. Cut the tomatoes into halves and add to the bowl. Add the onion rings and salt, if desired. Mix vegetables together well. Add your favorite dressing (I prefer Italian) and toss before serving.

Enjoy!

Pinto Beans and Cornbread - Using Leftovers to Feed Your Family Delicious Meals For a Week

In tough economic times, we all need ways to save money. Stretching your food dollar is an excellent way to save money and eat well.

Two huge money wasters regarding food are eating out and wasting leftovers. It is not uncommon to spend $10 on a sandwich, fries, and a drink. My first thought is to imagine what I could have purchased at the grocery store for $10.

I can feed my family several meals for $10. I also imagine how healthy, or unhealthy, the meal is that costs $10. Fast food meals are typically loaded with calories, fat, sugar, and cholesterol.

Meal planning is very important to my family. Here is an example of a weekly meal plan designed to stretch your food dollar. Dried beans are very inexpensive. On Sunday, I will cook a large pot of pinto beans. I will also cook some chicken breasts in water and store the shredded meat.

You want to cook enough beans to last several meals. This will vary according to the number of people you are feeding. I save electricity and time by cooking my beans and chicken at one time rather than at each individual meal.

The Sunday meal will consist of a bowl of warm pinto beans topped with chow-chow or ketchup. I make a pan of cornbread, and serve the meal with a cold glass of buttermilk or sweet white milk. A green onion is a nice side addition, or a hunk of sweet Texas or Vidalia onion. Fresh sliced salted tomatoes, when available, are a tasty treat. My husband enjoys crumbling the cornbread in the bowl and ladling his soup beans on top. A side salad is optional.

Cornbread is a great breakfast or lunch staple. You can serve it warm with fresh honey, or crumbled in a glass of milk or buttermilk. Tortillas are great breakfast treats filled with scrambled eggs and cheese or warmed with honey inside.

On Monday, plain tortilla chips are spread evenly in a casserole dish for nachos. These are topped with a bed of shredded cheese, then layers of beans, shredded chicken, and jalapeno peppers. This is baked at 350 degrees until cheese is melted. The cheese base helps support the other additions. Add shredded lettuce to the top after baking, along with salsa and sour cream.

On Tuesday, more leftover pinto beans are mashed up to create refried beans for chicken bean burritos. Flour tortillas are warmed and spread down the center with the mashed beans. Add shredded lettuce, chicken, cheese, salsa, diced onions, jalapeno peppers, and roll up burrito style. Microwave the burritos quickly to melt the cheese. You can prepare burritos ahead of time and store in plastic wrap for quick re-heating later.

On Wednesday, I take fresh corn tortillas from the refrigerator and fry up crispy tostada shells. These are drained on brown paper bags. Refried beans are spread along the surface of the fresh cooked shells. Add shredded chicken, lettuce, salsa, cheese, sour cream, hot jalapeno peppers, and black olives. Now you have tasty pinto bean and chicken tostadas. These fresh shells are so much tastier than boxed, ready made tostada shells.

On Thursday, what happens next depends on what's left. Shredded chicken can be used in chicken stew, chicken salad sandwiches, or in crock-pot chicken barbecue. My family loves my chicken barbecue on hamburger buns served with coleslaw or potato salad.

We keep a jug of fresh tea in the refrigerator, and water is always available. Fresh lemon slices in a glass of ice water are refreshing. Soft drinks are okay in moderation, but they are expensive and unhealthy. Kool-Aid has a delicious pink lemonade drink mix. Real lemon juice also makes simple and tasty lemonade; the recipe is usually on their label. Tea and lemonade contain sugar, but they are certainly tasty and affordable alternatives to sodas.

I do not cook the same meals each week. This is just an example of a Mexican style menu for one week. There are many other alternatives that include fresh ground beef, sirloin steak, red beans, potatoes, other bean varieties, and rice dishes. If you use a bit of imagination, you can come up with many ideas of your own to stretch your food dollar during tough times by simply planning your meals in advance.