Top Ten Post #5: Orange Peel Shrimp

So you have heard before that Wednesday night is shrimp night.  I've been feeling in a rut lately and not knowing what to make.  Thankfully Pat suggested this, which has been one of our favorites since we first made it!  Whenever we go to P.F. Chang's I have to have the Orange Peel Shrimp.  Everything that I have ever eaten there has been great, but nothing will beat the Orange Peel Shrimp. So you can image my delight (about 2 years ago) when I came across a Pin for Orange Peel Shrimp.  The pin I found came from EatLiveRun blog.  However, the recipe comes from PBS.

This recipe results in crispy, flavorful shrimp.  We do always serve the Orange Peel Shrimp with brown rice and another favorite green, edamame (Yes, Pat eats a few green things now!).

I know I say you have to make each recipe I blog about, but really...I wouldn't waste your time reading the post if the results weren't well worth it.  When your closest P.F. Chang's is an hour away, you'll be really glad you have this recipe in your inventory!

We just cut the sauce recipe in half from the original since it's just for two and use half a pound of shrimp.

Here's our ratio for the recipe, but the recipe comes from PBS.

Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb. of shrimp, peeled and deveined
-2 cloves of garlic
-4 scallions (I cut the white parts to use too)
-1 orange (zest and juice)
-3 Tbsp. orange marmalade (I do use the reduced sugar)
-1/4 C. of soy sauce
-1/4 tsp. of crushed red peppers
-1/8 C. of cornstarch
-2 Tbsp. of canola oil, divided


Brown rice and Edamame for sides

Start by adding 1 Tbsp. of oil over medium high heat.  Once heated, add the garlic, scallions, and orange zest.  Then add the juice from the orange, orange marmalade, soy sauce, and crushed red peppers.  Bring it to a boil and maintain the boil for about 5 minutes so the sauce thickens.

Meanwhile, get the salted water boiling for rice and stick your edamame in the microwave per bag instructions.





Peel your shrimp and pat it dry.  Then lightly coat the shrimp in the cornstarch.  Add the remaining oil to another pan (only bummer about this recipe is the amount of pans it requires).   Once heated, add your shrimp.  After about 2 minutes, it's ready to flip.  When it is cooked through, remove the shrimp from the pan and mix it into the sauce.

Serve and enjoy!

My chef notes:
1.  I probably do a tablespoon and a half of minced garlic.
2.  I also cut the white parts of the scallions to use, too.
3.  For the marmalade, I used the kind with reduced sugar.
4.  The original recipe calls for optional Thai chili peppers, we do not add those, so we keep with the original 1/4 tsp. of crused red peppers.

I definitely use more soy sauce than the average person....this is not the only jug we've been through this year!

Top Ten Post #4: Shrimp and Grits

Somehow Pat and I decided to try shrimp and grits for our weekly shrimp night a couple of years ago.  I have no idea how we decided on this because our only grits experience was with a lot of butter from the Waffle House...

Anyway, this recipe is one of our more regular recipes and it definitely is in our top ten!  We made it this week for dinner and Pat asked, "Have you blogged about this?"  Good thing he asked.  We make it so much I would have never thought to.

Our favorite recipe comes from the Food Network.  Check out their set and see the high rankings for this dish- Lemon-Garlic Shrimp and Grits.

This is one of those recipes that we don't ever look at to prepare anymore.  I cook the shrimp and Pat cooks the grits.  The first few times we made this, we followed the recipe exactly.  It is now adapted to be our favorite. Here's what we do based off of the Food Network's recipe.

This recipe is for two!

Ingredients:
2 C. of water
1/2 C. 5-minute grits (not instant like their recipe says)
Salt and Pepper sprinkled in to your liking
1 Tbl.  butter, unsalted
1/2 C. grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 lb. of shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 Tbl. minced garlic
Salt and pepper to season shrimp
1 Tbl. of butter
1 lemon, juiced

Bring water to a boil.  Whisk in the grits, until the grits thickens (when the grits stick to the whisk).  Next add the butter, salt, and pepper. Once the butter is melted, add the Parmesan cheese and whisk until melted in.








While the grits is cooking, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add in the garlic and let it cook for 1 minute.  Meanwhile, pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel and coat both sides with salt and pepper.  Add the shrimp and cook about 3 per side.  Once the shrimp is cooked through, chop the shrimp into bite sized pieces and squeeze in the lemon juice.



Scoop grits into bowls and top with the shrimp and lemon/ butter sauce.  Enjoy!

Wednesday Night- Shrimp Night

Such is life, and I haven't posted in over a month! I need to make this a routine in order for this to work.

My next Pinterest recipe was Spicy Parmesan Shrimp Skillet.  Each Wednesday, we eat shrimp.  Wednesday is also trash night.  This has worked out as a great way to enjoy shrimp and then not having to deal with stinky trash.

 The recipe for this can be found here:  http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/02/spicy-parmesan-shrimp-skillet/

This was a fabulous and easy meal.  My week nights are very hectic so anything going on in the kitchen needs to be easy.  I always buy frozen, peeled shrimp.  It saves me a lot of time and I can just keep it stocked in the freezer so I don't have to run to the store during the week.

I did use regular pasta penne for this (not whole wheat).  Whenever I try to sneak whole wheat pasta in Pat reacts as if I was trying to poison him!

Anyway, this was a great recipe.  It is definitely on my list of repeaters!