Shrimp and Biscuit Bake

This is one of those OMG I can't believe I cooked up this delicious dinner kind of moments. 

The Red Lobster Biscuits were a fantastic topping for this filling, but feel free to use whatever biscuits you prefer.  Feel like making your own biscuits? More power to ya!

Shrimp and Biscuit Bake

Adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients

For the filling:

1 lb shrimp

4 tbsp butter

1 onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, sliced

1 yellow squash, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp Old Bay seasoning

2 tbsp flour

14 oz can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1 cup chicken broth

For the topping:

1 package Red Lobster biscuit mix

1/2 cup shredded cheddar

3/4 cup water

1/3 cup of butter

1. To prepare the filling: Melt butter in a large pan.  Add onion, celery, and squash.  Cook until tender.  Add Old Bay and garlic, cook until fragrant. Sprinkle flour over vegetables, stirring constantly, until mixture has thickened. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, and chicken broth.  Bring to a simmer and cook, covered for 5 minutes.  Add shrimp and cook until they turn pink.  Set aside and prepare topping.
2. Preheat oven to 425. Stir together biscuit mix, cheddar, and water.  Pour shrimp and vegetables into a 13x9 inch casserole dish.  Top with biscuit mix. Cook 14-16 minutes, until biscuits have browned slightly.  Melt butter and stir in seasoning packet.  Brush butter over biscuits.

Even Bailey knows something incredible is going to come out of this oven!

The box calls for much more butter than necessary.  At least that was my opinion,  I saved the remaining butter to use for garlic bread another night.

Seriously, it is almost a crime to not bake this up immediately.

So get on it!

Lemon Raspberry Chess Pie Ice Cream

Congratulations to the winner of my first contest!

Lemon raspberry chess pie ice cream can now make its way into all of your homes.

Let me just take a moment to thank you all for entering. It was so much fun and extremely difficult to make a final decision.

An additional nod to the runners up for the Elvis inspired and raspberry white chocolate cheesecake flavors.  They definitely need a place in my freezer sometime soon.

Lemon Raspberry Chess Pie Ice Cream

Ingredients

2 cups whipping cream

1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup raspberry jam

1/2 cup lemon curd

1 pie crust

2 tbsp sugar

vegetable oil or butter spray

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Spray pie crust with butter or vegetable oil.  Sprinkle with sugar and bake until crust is browned.  Let cool while you whip up the ice cream.

2. Whip cream until it becomes stiff, 1-2 minutes. Fold in condensed milk. Add in the lemon curd and raspberry jam in little dollops, like 1/2 teaspoon amounts to ensure it gets mixed throughout.

3. Crumble up the pie crust and add that to the ice cream.

4. Freeze for 6 hours, then enjoy!

I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did!!

Ice Cream Flavor Contest

I'm going to try my hand here at my first ever contest!

I'm super psyched about this because well... ice cream + creativity + prizes = fun!

Here's how it's going to work:

Step 1. Spend all night long tossing and turning over your brilliant flavor combination

Step 2. Submit your idea in the comments section of this post by August 26th.

Step 3. Anxiously await the results!

One first place winner will receive first choice of cookbook along with a post dedicated to your winning flavor.
Two runners up will receive a cookbook.

Yay prizes!!

Below are some delicious ice cream desserts I've made over the years. Enjoy!

Homemade Chipwiches

2 Ingredient No Churn Ice Cream

Baked Alaska

5 Layer Ice Cream Cake

2 Ingredient Ice Cream Cake

I look forward to seeing your ideas!

 Good luck everyone!

Balsamic Watermelon Feta Chicken Salad

I know you don't come here to look at salads, but I made and ate this one and it was glorious.

Sometimes it's ok to take a break from your bacon and cheese covered carbohydrate stuffed carbohydrates and eat something nutritious.

Balsamic Watermelon Feta Chicken Salad
Adapted from Pinch of Yum

Ingredients
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
1 bag baby spinach
2 cups chopped watermelon
1/2 cup feta cheese crumbles

1. Pour vinegar into a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes until it becomes syrupy.
2. In a salad bowl layer spinach, chicken, watermelon, and feta cheese. Drizzle with balsamic reduction.

How often does a memory of a salad make you drool?

This is summer salad perfection and you need it because it's too damn hot to cook, Oh, and it's delicious.

Coffee Granita

This is just the kind of simple refreshing dessert August calls for.  Don't be afraid of whatever "granita" is, this is an awesome homemade Italian ice/slushee.  It's the best darn iced coffee you'll ever have.

Coffee Granita
Adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients
2 cups hot coffee
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp Bailey's Irish Cream

1. In a 13x9 in pan, mix coffee, sugar, vanilla, and Bailey's.  Freeze for 1 hour.  Rake the mixture with a large fork, I used a spaghetti serving spoon.  Place pan back in the freezer and repeat the process again every 30-45 minutes, 2 or 3 more times .  You don't want the mixture to turn into a solid block of ice, thus the raking.

Ina served her granita with some whipped cream, I found that unnecessary.  You can be the judge of that indulgence.

Chicken Nuggets

I have been missing one of my favorite hangover meals like crazy lately.  That beautiful chicken nugget special from Garden Catering.  Every time I go home I think about diving head first into that glorious bag of nuggets and french fries loaded with special seasoning, but alas it never seems to be in the cards.

Chicken Nuggets

From Life's Ambrosia

Ingredients

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into nugget size pieces

1 tbsp honey

2 tsp seasoned salt

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1 cup flour

vegetable oil, for frying

1. Toss chicken pieces in honey and 1 tsp seasoned salt.

2. Beat egg and milk together in a pie plate. Mix flour and remaining seasoning in another pie plate.  Coat chicken in egg, then flour.  Let sit while you heat the oil.

3.  Heat about 1/2 inch of oil in a large pot or Dutch oven to 375 degrees.  Shake excess flour off chicken and fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes.  You will want to do this in batches. Remove cooked chicken on to a paper towel lined plate. Season with more salt if desired.

4.  Serve with french fries and dipping sauce of your liking :)

I made myself a honey mustard dipping sauce, just mustard and honey and mix it all up.

These were delicious, but no one makes a nugget quite like Garden Catering.  I haven't quite cracked their secret recipe yet.