Garlic Chipotle Shrimp and Basil Pesto Fusilli (Recipe)

If you are looking for a great recipe to impress that special someone or anyone who enjoys a home-cooked meal, this combination of spicy garlic grilled shrimp and basil pesto pasta is sure to be a hit.

Grilled Garlic Chipotle Shrimp

Everybody loves Shrimp...and if they don't, they should! They are so delicious, healthy, and they can be marinated and garnished to your palate's content. This recipe was very easy and received rave reviews from my dinner guests.

Ingredients: 

Peeled and deveined large raw shrimps, thaw if frozen

4 garlic cloves, chopped 

1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes 

1/2 salt (I used Himalayan salt)

1/3 cup of extra-virgin olive oil 

1-2 tablespoons of Chipotle mayonnaise 

Fresh rosemary 

Lemon wedges 

Directions: 

Preheat Barbecue or Grill to medium-high heat. 

Thread shrimp onto skewers and place in baking sheet, deep enough to allow marinating 

Mix garlic, red peppers flakes, chipotle mayonnaise, salt and oil in a bowl and brush over shrimp. Garnish with lemon juice and fresh rosemary. Marinate in fridge for desired amount of time. 

Lightly oil grill rack and grill shrimp covered, turning over once, until cooked through, about 1-2 minutes per side. 

Serve immediately as they become cold very quickly. 

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes

Zucchini, Corn and Bacon Fusilli with Basil Pesto

I simply adore pasta, but I don't often prepare it because of its high carb count, but when I stumbled upon this recipe I knew I had to try it. It's a rather light pasta so I used it as a side dish with the shrimp and a garden salad. It goes well with any vegetables you may have in your fridge and it was awesome as a leftover pasta salad for my lunch.

Ingredients:

6 Bacon slices, chopped
1 lb of Fusilli 

3 ears of corn kernels, cut from the cob, or 1 med can of corn
1 zucchini, chopped
half a red and orange pepper, chopped
1 small sweet onion, chopped
1 (5 to 7ounce) container of basil pesto
Fresh basil for garnish
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions:

Begin by cooking the Fusilli according to the package, Al Dente.

Meanwhile, cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp. Drain on a paper towel and set aside.

In a large skillet sauté onions, peppers and zucchini on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add corn and chopped bacon and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add in pasta and pesto and cook for 1-2 minutes until all ingredients are well mixed.

Top with grated cheese and fresh basil.

Start to finish time: 30 minutes

Verdict: Deliciously satisfying duo. Great for entertaining and impressing

Rating: 9/10

White Chocolate Coconut Cake (Recipe)

I searched long and hard to find the perfect recipe for my mother’s birthday cake! As I rarely make the same dessert twice, it had to be something new that my mother would absolutely love! When I eventually came across the recipe for ‘White Chocolate Coconut Cake’, I knew that this would be a big hit!

Ingredients:

1 package of white cake mix
1 cup water
1 can (15 ounces) cream of coconut, divided (I used coconut milk instead)
3 egg whites
1 can (5 ounces) evaporated milk
2/3 cup white chocolate chips
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup whipping cream, divided
3-1/2 cups flaked coconut, divided
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

Cake:
For the cake, combine the cake mix, water, 3/4 cup cream of coconut (or coconut milk) and egg whites in a large bowl and beat on low speed for 30 seconds, and then on medium for 2 minutes.

Pour into two or three greased and floured 9-inch round baking pans (decide whether you want two or three layers). Bake at 350° for 22-26 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pans and then cool completely on wire racks.

Filling:
For the filling (which is the best part!), combine the evaporated milk, white chocolate chips, cream cheese, 3 tablespoons whipping cream and the remaining cream of coconut (or coconut milk) in a small saucepan and cook, while stirring, over low heat until chocolate chips are melted. 

Remove from the heat and stir in 1-1/2 cups coconut and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Then transfer the mixture to a large bowl, and cover and refrigerate until it reaches spreading consistency, stirring occasionally.

Frosting:
For the frosting, beat the remaining cream in a large bowl until it begins to thicken. Then add sugar and remaining vanilla and beat until stiff peaks form.

Assembly:
Use a cake leveling tool to level out the layers of your cake to ensure that the layers will stack properly. Then place the bottom cake layer on a serving plate and pierce it with a fork (this will allow the filling to seep through and moisten the cake). Spread either 1/2 or all of the filling over the cake (depending on how many layers you baked). If necessary, repeat layers. Then top with remaining cake layer and frost the top and sides of the cake. Finish off your masterpiece by sprinkling the entire cake with the remaining coconut.

If you are not immediately serving the cake, you should refrigerate it and take it out roughly 10-15 minutes prior to serving.

In the end, I couldn’t have chosen a better cake, as my mother loved it! And it was definitely a crowd pleaser with the rest of my family as well!

Yields: 12 servings

Verdict: Great texture, soft and moist, with a subtle, yet sweet flavour; recommended to all who love coconut!

Prep Time: 30 minutes + chilling
Bake Time: 25 minutes + cooling
Assembly Time: 10 minutes

Rating: 9/10

Summer Stuffed Peppers (Recipe)

Who doesn't love stuffed peppers? They taste great, are really easy to prepare, and you can experiment with different herbs and spices to add flavor. This particular recipe makes a great side dish to any summer barbecue meal because they are slightly less filling than whole stuffed peppers and they don't contain any meat. They are easy to prepare beforehand so you're not slaving away when company arrives!!

Ingredients: 

- Yellow, red and orange peppers (one half per person is sufficient)
- Cooked brown or white rice (I made two serving sizes and ended up having leftover rice for another meal)
- One or two cloves of garlic
- One small sweet onion, diced into small pieces
- Fresh and dried Basil
- One can of diced tomatoes
- Grated Romano cheese
- Mozzarella cheese
- Salt and pepper
- Red pepper flakes

Directions: 

Cook rice based on package instructions.

Heat oil in a pan and sauté onions and garlic on medium until soft. Add in rice (serving size depends on amount of peppers you are preparing). Add in can of tomatoes, dried and chopped fresh basil, and Romano cheese. Cook for a couple of minutes. Add salt and pepper and red pepper flakes.

Grill halved peppers on the barbecue or in the over for about 10 minutes, until they are soft. Fill the peppers with the rice mixture, top with Mozzarella cheese and some additional fresh basil and broil in the oven for a couple of minutes until the cheese starts to melt.

Serve on the side with desired meat and a fresh salad and you have a great summer barbecue meal.

Verdict: Delicious easy recipe, little prep time, great for summer barbecues

Strawberry Shortcake Skewers (Recipe)

This past weekend, to celebrate our country's birth, Lola and I attended a Canada Day bbq. We wanted to make something easy, yet festive and delicious. So we went with Strawberry Shortcake Skewers, which turned out to be a big hit!

The recipe itself was extremely simple. All we did was string cubes of angel food cake and strawberries onto skewers. We then melted white and dark chocolate and drizzled it over the skewers. We may have had some clumping issues with the dark chocolate (do not heat it too fast)...but aside from this, the skewers were extremely easy to make and took less than 30 minutes!

Verdict: easy, simple treat that pleases most crowds!

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Rating: 7/10