Grilled Shrimp Tacos

This was my Thanksgiving lunch. A little unorthodox I know, but who cares! It was definitely easy (the hardest part was skewering the shrimp), and as long as you like shrimp and you like tacos I would definitely recommend it!  The one tip in the recipe was to skewer the shrimp twice-once through the tail and fold them over and skewer the head-then you can lay them flat on the grill and they won't spin when you turn the skewer.  I really liked the green salsa I got that was recommended with this recipe. I normally don't put any kind of sauce on my tacos, but this was really good! I would suggest at least trying it!

Grilled Shrimp Tacos from Real Simple's Meals Made Easy

Grilled Shrimp Tacos

Serves 4

Total Time: 30 minutes

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and devined
• 4 limes, quartered
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 8-inch corn tortillas
• 3 cups shredded green cabbage
• 1 14-16-ounce jar green (tomatillo) salsa
• Wooden skewers, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes

In a small bowl, whisk the sour cream, mayonnaise, milk and cumin; set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the butter and garlic. Heat a grill or broiler. Rinse the shrimp and pat them dry with paper towels. Place the shrimp and lim wedges on the skewers. Brush the shrimp with garlic butter. Grill or broil until the shrimp are cooked through and the limes are browned, about 3 minutes per side. Season the shrimp with the salt. Transfer to a plate. Grill or broil the tortillas until warmed, about 30 seconds per side. Place them between clean towels to keep warm. To serve, remove the shrimp from the skewers, divide them evenly among the tortillas, and top each with the cabbage, sour cream mixture, and salsa. Serve the lime wedges on the side.

Pastry for Double Crust Pie

This is the homemade crust for the apple pie I made tonight. I don't think it was too hard, and when I have the time, I plan on making my own crust for pies!  I didn't have a pastry blender, so I just used my hands. They are apparently pretty inexpensive, so I will probably go buy one in the near future! This is also from Better Homes & Gardens.

Pastry for Double Crust Pies
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 2 9-inch pie crusts

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup shortening
• 8 to 10 tablespoons cold water

In a medium bowl stir together four and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until pieces are pea size.

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the water over part of the flour mixture; toss with a fork. Push moistened pastry to side of bowl. Repeat moistening flour mixture, using 1 tablespoon of the water at a time, until flour mixture is moistened. Divide pastry in half; form halves into balls.

On lightly floured surface, use your hands to slightly flatten one pastry ball. Roll it from center to edges into a circle 12 inches in diameter. 

Wrap pastry circle around the rolling pin. Unroll pastry into a 9-inch pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate without stretching it. Trim pastry even with rim of pie plate. Transfer desired filling to pastry-lined pie plate.

Roll remaining ball into a circle 12 inches in diameter. Cut slits in pastry. Place pastry circle on filling; trim to 1/2 inch beyond edge of plate. Fold top pastry under bottom pastry. Crimp edge as desired. Bake as directed in recipes.

Apple Pie

I don't know if I have ever made a pie before by myself. As I was making this pie, I was reminded of the fifth grade. One of the perks of being a 5th grader at Greenwood Elementary was that you spent a whole day making apple pies. You and a few classmates did all of it with the help of some parents. I specifically remember my mom was one of those parents, and part of her duties was to take some of the pies home and bake them for us. In doing this, some of the juice from the apples got onto our oven and caught fire!  I honestly don't remember what our pie tasted like, but I remember that part of the story!

As far as this pie goes...like I said I've never really made one completely from scratch before. I even made the pie crust! If you didn't have the time, or didn't want to make a pie crust from scratch, you can buy the pre-made stuff form the grocery store. I think this all turned out phenomenal, and I'm super proud of myself!  Yeah, it takes a little while, but I would definitely make it again! I didn't use the lemon juice or the cranberries in this recipe. Below are also instructions if you would like to freeze the pies (before or after baking!). This is from Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook.

Apple Pie
Total Time: 1 1/2 hours
Servings: 8 slices

• 1 recipe pastry for double-crust pie
• 6 cups thinly sliced, peeled cooking apples (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare and roll out pastry for double crust pie. Line a 9-inch pie plate with a pastry circle.

If desired, sprinkle apples with lemon juice. In a large bowl stir together sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add apple slices and, if desired, cranberries. Gently toss until coated.

Transfer apple mixture to the pastry-lined pie plate. Trim bottom pastry to edge of pie plate. Cut slits in remaining pastry circle; place on filling and seal. Crimp edge if desired.

If desired, brush top pastry with milk and sprinkle with additional sugar. To prevent over-browning cover edge of pie with foil. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil. Bake 20 minutes more or until fruit is tender and filling is bubbly. Cool on wire rack. To sere warm, let pie cool at least 2 hours.

To freeze a baked fruit pie: Let it cool completely. Place it in a freezer bag for up to 4 months. To serve, thaw the pie at room temperature.

To freeze an unbaked fruit pie: Before assembling, treat light-color fruit with ascorbic-acid color keeper. Assemble pie in a metal pie pan. Place in a freezer bag; seal, label, and freeze for up to 4 months. To bake, unwrap frozen pie; cover with foil. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 375 degrees; bake 15 minutes. Uncover; bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until filling is bubbly and crust is golden.

Guacamole

I made this for my brother's going away part since he is leaving for Iraq next week. Scott helped! We added some lime juice and played with the measurements a little bit. Overall it is very simple, and you can customize it as you wish!  This is from Sandra Lee's Semi Homemade Cooking 2!

• 2 large Hass avocados
• 2 tablespoons medium salsa
• 1 tablespoon sour cream
• 1 tablespoon jalapeno juice
• Salt

Peel avocados and remove pit. Place in a bowl and mas. Stir in salsa, sour cream, and jalapeno juice. Add salt to taste.

Creamy Spring Soup

I know it's about Thanksgiving, and this soup has spring in the title, but it was very good! I also like that this recipe is slated for two servings so I didn't have to cut it in half!  This was definitely yummy and next time I would probably add some mushrooms, and minced garlic instead of the garlic powder.  And I don't know what it is, but whenever I make something with elbow macaroni, I want to add cheese to it! Some shredded cheese on the top of this soup definitely wouldn't be bad!  It is also very quick-about 25 minutes, so it is something very easy to make after work, which is even more awesome since it seems like a lot of times soup can take longer to make!

Also, looking at the soup before I added the milk, it came to me that the majority of these incredients would make a great casserole--I will definitely be trying that out some day!

Creamy Spring Soup from Taste of Home's Healthy Cooking Recipe Cards

• 1 can reduced soduim chicken broth
• 4 fresh asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 4 baby carrots, julienned
• 1/2 celery rib, chopped
• 1 green onion, chopped
• Dash garlic powder
• Dash pepper
• 3/4 cup cooked elbow macaroni
• 1 can (5 1/2 ounces) evaporated milk
• 3/4 fresh baby spinach

In a saucepan, combine the first seven ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in the macaroni, milk and spinach; heat through.