Dinner Last Night

Smokey Corn Chowder
Hands-on time: 25 minutes Total Time: 45 minutes Serves 6

Ingredients:
8 oz sliced bacon, cut in half
1 lg sweet onion, chopped (I just used a yellow onion)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp smoked or regular paprika
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
2 10oz pkgs frozen corn (I just used one)
3 c low sodium chicken or vegetable broth (I used chicken)
1 c half and half
Salt and black pepper
2-4 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 baguette, sliced and toasted (optional)

Directions:
Cook bacon in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat until crispy, 6-8 mins. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate.
Spoon off and discard all but 2 Tbsp grease and return pan to medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, 5-7 minutes until soft. Add the garlic, paprika and red pepper and cook, stirring about 2 minutes.
Stir in the corn, broth and cream; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 mins. Transfer half of soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Return to pot and stir in 1/2 tsp each salt and black pepper.
Divide among soup bowls and top with scallions and bacon. Serve with bread if using.

*I used a light rye bread from the bakery for the bread and did not toast it so the juices could be soaked up.
I also pureed once, poured it back in, took out some more and did it again for a second time before re-joining it all back in the pan. Andrew doesn't like corn so I figured this would make it easier to eat the slightly smaller kernels. 

Dinner Last night

I've been trying out new recipes via my Pinterest Dinner board. There are so many yummy dishes all around, sometimes it is hard to choose just one! I wanted us to shy away from having chicken all the time, so decided to try a shrimp dish. It was Delish! Simple ingredients and simple process. Even Andrew liked it (he doesn't always like the new dishes) and said we should make it again.

Orzo with Feta, Basil and Shrimp

1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp. sweet Spanish paprika

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp. sea salt, plus more, to taste

3 cups orzo

1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves, snipped into small pieces, plus 4 to 6 whole leaves

1/4 lb. feta cheese, crumbled

In a bowl, stir together the shrimp, the 1/4 cup olive oil, the paprika, red pepper flakes and the 1/2 tsp. salt. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. *I only let it sit for about 20 minutes and it still tasted great!

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the orzo, stir well and cook until al dente (tender but firm to the bite), according to package instructions.

Meanwhile, in a large fry pan over medium-high heat, warm the 2 Tbs. olive oil. Drain the shrimp, discarding the marinade, and add the shrimp to the pan. Cook, turning once or twice, until the shrimp are opaque throughout, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the shrimp and any pan juices to a plate and cover to keep warm.

Drain the orzo and transfer to a warmed serving bowl. Add the shrimp and their juices and stir several times. Add the snipped basil and cheese and gently stir again once or twice. Garnish with the whole basil leaves and serve immediately. Serves 6 to 8.

*For the Feta Cheese, the variety I used was tomato and basil. I only put in what I thought looked good, rather than a 1/4 lb. 

*For the basil, buying fresh is really expensive here, so I put in 1/2 tsp instead.