Pesto Shrimp and Pasta

 Hello! Happy Spring!  I thought I'd share a recipe that makes me think of spring every time I make it. I created this recipe because we had an abundance of last year's pesto from our garden.  It's about  this time that I want to eat all of the things in our freezers to make new for the upcoming growing season.  I hope you enjoy this decadent ode to spring.  

Shrimp and Pesto Pasta - serves 4-5 people

Ingredients:

4 T butter

1/4 cup prepared pesto

1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes 

1/4 cup cream

1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined shrimp

1 pound of pasta - or maybe a little less

Bring water to boil for 1 # pasta.  I generally use fettucine.

In a large skillet melt 4 T of butter.  When the butter is melted add 1/4 pesto (either homemade or store bought).   Add 1 1/2 cups or more of chopped tomatoes (frozen or canned works - I've even used sun dried).  To this mixture add about 1/4 cream.  Stir together and at this point add in about 1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined shrimp.  Stir the mixture until the shrimp cook and the cream mixture has thickened.  Season with salt and pepper.   

When the pasta is done and cream is thick, drain the pasta and add to the sauce. Mix all together.  

I've served this with a green salad or roasted veggies, just depends what you have.  Serve with a Chardonnay (but nothing too oaky) or Sauvignon blanc.  

Bon Appétit!

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth

Vegetarian Eats

 Hello! It's been a while since I last posted. I've just been taking a break from the computer after work recently or I've had more school work to do.  I've also been taking a break from social media for Lent.  So I've been posting less there, except for a new blog post.  

I decided to make this post a few of my favorite vegetarian, if not vegan recipes.  I am not a vegetarian, yet I try not to eat meat until dinner.  I find for lunch it is too heavy and there are so many delicious soups and bean recipes why limit myself. 

This recipe could be for any meal: chickpea scramble with garlic kale.  This makes 2 generous portions and you can see I topped mine with avocado and salsa. Please don't skimp on the salsa; any type  would be good. 

For lunch or dinner how about corn chowder with quinoa? I've made this recipe both in the Instant Pot and on the stove and it turns out great either way.  Also feel free to sub different types of beans. 

This may not be pretty but steel cut oats in the slow cooker are always so easy.  This time I made it PB and J style.  I added my Smucker's peanut butter, thawed blueberries, unsweetened coconut, collagen and little bit of maple syrup for sweetness. 

A tofu scramble for breakfasts was a new recipe for me. I didn't know how long this would really take, so I made it the night before.  It was great the next two days.  I added spinach, peppers, onions, nutritional yeast while I cooked it.  When I warmed it up the next day I topped it with Tajin seasoning. 

Leftover oats savory style.  For me that means oats topped with precooked veggies, avocado, kimchi and a sunny side up egg. 

One of my favorite vegan dinners is mushroom bolognese.  This recipe can just simmer away and my mostly veggie hating husband enjoys this dinner, here and there. This is not for mushroom hater.  This goes very well with a nice red wine and a green salad to round out the meal.  

I hope this gives you a little inspiration to try some new vegetarian if not vegan meals.  As I said even if it just adds to your recipe collection.  

Bon Appétit!

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

My Midwest Life February 22nd

 Hello! I just got back from a walk with the dog, and I think we have 2-3" piles of slush in some areas.  It's at this time of year that I'm really thankful for my warm socks and LL Bean boots.  I just finished A Year in Havana for my book club this Saturday and I loved it.  I would highly recommend it. I'm also finishing up Unorthodox on Netflix.  It's an interesting and suspenseful TV show. This is part of my "me" TV time.  I'm finally at the point where I can enjoy some of my own TV and not just when I'm treadmilling in the mornings during the winter.  

Here's a peek of what else has been going on for the past 2 weeks. 

Of course breakfast.  I've got to have a little extra protein so I usually make a smoothie with my weekend waffle.  I also had the last of the grapefruits for the season sadly.

For lunch last week I made a tempeh eggroll bowl.   This was so easy I had some time on the night before so I didn't have to make it for the weekend.  I'm also trying some more vegan recipes, just to expand my repertoire and find more healthy alternatives. 

The frost on my bedroom window one morning.

I made Valentine's cards for my girls. 

Another vegetarian lunch.  This time I made Mexican rice (subbed veggie broth for chicken) and then added some leftover black beans, roasted veggies and spinach.  Instead of cheese I used nutritional yeast. 

We made homemade mushroom filled ravioli as a side dish for our anniversary. 

I went snowshoeing the other day.  It was so beautiful. 

These grasses must have been 10 ft tall. 

Homemade lasagna, everything from scratch: pasta, Bolognese and béchamel sauce.  This is lasagna perfection. 

I hope you have a wonderful week!

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

Recent Eats

 Hello! I just thought I'd try to inspire you for some cooking ideas this next week.  I always like to see what others are cooking and eating as well.  It's a cold snowy morning and I'm  quite thankful I don't need to go anywhere today really.  It's time to hunker down, cook and  blog.   As I write this I have crème brulé in my oven for dessert tonight and I started marinating my rack of lamb for dinner.  It was  our 26th anniversary the other day and we thought we'd make ourselves a lovely dinner tonight.  We will be drinking a Bordeaux. On with the eats.

Breakfast: I just want to prove I don't always  eat eggs for breakfast.  I really do love them. Today I made teff  pancakes with maple butter, grapefruit and cherry and spinach smoothie topped with cacao nibs.  The pancakes are from Run Fast Eat Slow by Shalane  Flannigan.  I recommend at least picking this book up from your local library to check out.  It has a lot of great recipes.                                                                   

I do love my Smucker's  all natural peanut butter or Costco all natural peanut butter.  Here I had it with sourdough toast and my rhubarb jam and the smoothie, day one. 

Of course what breakfast would be complete without an egg pic.  I love putting a sunny side up egg on leftover roasted veggies, and who can complain about avocado toast and everything seasoning?

For some of my lunches I made sesame chick peas.  I put them on cauliflower rice which I topped with grated carrots (or another veggie), arugula and avocado and more sesame seeds.   Yum.  For work I put the avocado and the arugula  in a separate container and topped the rice mixture after I heated it up. 

I also tried a new veggie recipe for turnips. I roasted them and topped with a caper raisin vinaigrette. The recipe is in Six Seasons. Joshua McFadden has a lot of creative recipes with vegetables or that are veggie heavy yet still contain meat or chicken.  

For dinner last week, we had Mexican rice. It's similar to stir fried rice yet with some different flavors. Honestly this could be a B, L or D. The corn was from last summer and the lettuce is local Wisconsin grown, Superior Farms. Of course the eggs are local too. 

I hope this post inspires you to create a week of delightful eats.

Bon Appétit!

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

  

My Midwest LIfe February 6th, 2021

 Hello! It's a cold afternoon in Northeast Wisconsin. We got about 6 inches of snow Thursday and now it's bitterly cold. The snow is here for a while.  It's time to just stay inside and enjoy some of the inside things I like to do.  Currently I'm reading Belonging. It is a fascinating book about finding out who you are.  The illustrations and the way the book is put together is really interesting.  I don't know if reading it on a Kindle would do it justice.  I've also been cooking a lot, knitting and working on my art.   I'm also blessed to have a treadmill so I've been watching Brigerton while I'm on the treadmill.   

Speaking of snow I took this picture before our extra 6 inches came down. I love the sun setting in the distance. 

A few days later,  4 pm

5 pm - I love how the light changes. 

I'm working on growing more plants.  Greenery is so good to have around the house.  These are grapefruit seeds.  I need to get them in some potting soil pretty soon.

My sister-in-law gave us this grow pod, yummy fresh herbs in the winter. 

As I said, I've been working on more art.  Watercolors inspired from a walk.

I might do more of this, make it into a whole word or on a different medium. 

Of course some good food.  Italian quinoa soup. I used black beans and veggies I had in the freezer and fridge and less cream.  You could make this vegan, by subbing plant milk and nutritional yeast.  

Also so proud of this breakfast: local eggs, topped with local micro greens, homemade cracked wheat toast topped with raspberry jam from local berries, (not local peanut butter -but no sugar) and peaches I canned last year from Tree Ripe Citrus. 

And what could be better than a filet mignon with a red wine sauce, mashed potatoes and broccoli and a Spanish red on a a cold night. 

I hope you have wonderful week and find ways to bring joy and creativity into your life.

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth

Inspiration from the Kitchen

 Hello! It has been a while. Over the past few weeks I've just been enjoying time with my girls before they went back to school in Madison.  So I took a break from posting. However I haven't taken a break from making nourishing and delicious meals for myself and my family, because hey I'm worth it.  We all are.  So on with a little inspiration.

Breakfasts: Slow cooked PB and J style steel cut oats.  I served the oats with Smuckers peanut butter, thawed blueberries, hemp seeds and a little extra collagen for added protein. I had a small glass of sweetpotato juice too.

Madeleine gave me this idea. Sautéed frozen peppers and onions and I then add my eggs to scramble.  I top it with Tajin and avocado.  I served it with a strawberry rhubarb muffin from my freezer.  

Simple French toast made of cracked wheat bread. I added more peanut butter and the banana. A perfect winter morning dish on a day off. 

A few dinners: We had tacos with guacamole and black beans. I made a simple arugula salad on the side. 

Stromboli was also a requested dinner before Sophie left. I fill ours with prosciutto and cheese. I also made a simple green salad and sautéed mushrooms. We had a tomato sauce for dipping from the tomatoes I canned this summer. 

And of course a few lunches: A tuna melt with guacamole on top of the cracked wheat bread. I only had cheddar cheese but it tasted very good. I had a small bit of kale salad left and some roasted veggies. This made a yummy Sunday lunch. 

This may not look pretty, but it tasted good.  Lentils and mixed with sautéed mushrooms, my chanterelles from the summer and kale.  I served this over cauliflower rice and potatoes during the week at school. 

I've also enjoyed this chick pea scramble with garlic kale.  I made some energy balls too last week so they have been a little extra snack with my lunch. 

I hope this inspires you to take some time in your kitchen and make something delicious for you and your family.

Bon Appétit!

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

My Midwest Life January 12, 2021

 Happy New Year!  I'm finally sitting down to write the first post of  the year.  We've been out on a lot of hikes in Door County these past two weekends, which has been great. The weather has been very mild for Wisconsin in January.  My book club met for a walk and talk Saturday morning.  This month we read A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson.  I enjoyed the book; it was a simple read and there were a few parts I could skip. But overall the book made me want to go out and hike.   Most of my pictures these past few weeks are from Door County.  It was just beautiful.

I also made a quick individual French apple tart for dessert one night.  The base is puff pastry and I top it with sliced apple and cinnamon sugar.  Cook for about 20 minutes at 425 (check the package directions on the pastry).  When it comes out of the oven I glaze the tart with apricot or peach jam. 

And of course Magic is ready for dinner.  Some things never change.

I hope you've had a pleasant start to the new year.

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth