Easy Seafood Pasta

I am all about recipes being easy while also being tasty and this one is both!! I love me some seafood and I cant get enough of pasta (must be the tiny bit of Italian in me) and this recipe combines them perfectly!

This recipe calls for a Dutch Oven but I didn't use one...who has one of those just laying around?! It says to cook your pasta in the Dutch Oven but I cooked mine like how you normally cook pasta...pot...water...BAM...pasta.

While the pasta is boiling its good to get the shrimpies ready. I used frozen as that was all my grocery store had at the time so I stuck mine in  bowl to un-thaw.

Once you have that going grab your clam chowder, milk, 1/2 of the Parmesan cheese and the garlic and blend them all together until you have a smooth sauce. I didn't like how runny the consistency was so I also added some Alfredo sauce to thicken it up. The flavors mixed together were fantastic! Once you are done mixing just set the sauce aside for a bit.

The next step for me was to chop up all my veggies that were going into the pasta.

Once you have all that done you are ready to start cooking!! Get your oil and your skillet heated up and throw in the shrimp, mushrooms and onions. Cook them together about 5 minutes until the shrimp turns pink.

I also added chicken to my pasta to add a little more meat since I have a hungry boyfriend in the house! Next you are going to stir in your crushed red peppers. I added more than the recipe calls for to give it a nice kick! Then one you mix the crushed peppers in add the sauce that you made earlier.

Cook until thoroughly heated and then pour over pasta. Add some fresh Parmesan and you are set!

I personally LOVED this recipe. It was so yummy and the crushed red peppers added such a great flavor! My boyfriend also thought this was pretty fantastic. This is a MUST MAKE for sure!! See below for the recipe and ingredients.




16 oz uncooked linguine

1 can Progresso Traditional New England clam chowder

1 cup milk

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 1/2 lb uncooked peeled de-veined large shrimp, tails peeled

1 package sliced fresh mushrooms (3 cups)

4 medium green onions, chopped (1/4 cup)

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese



In a 5 to 6 quart Dutch oven cook linguine as directed on package. Drain well; return to Dutch oven and cover to keep warm. Meanwhile in blender place clam chowder, milk, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and the garlic. Blend on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Set aside. In 12 inch nonstick skillet or wok, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add shrimp, mushroom and onions, cook about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until shrimp turn pink. Stir in pepper flakes and soup mixture; cook until thoroughly heated. Salt and pepper to taste. Pour over cooked linguine in Dutch oven, toss gently to coat. Top individual servings with Parmesan cheese.

My Professional Review of The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I finished this book on Sunday. It was a very fast read. I really enjoyed the main characters. The author did a very good job of absorbing you into their daily lives and who they are. I felt as if Skeeter and Aibileen we two people I had grown up knowing. I think they were my favorite. I love Minny's spunk and I also loved that her boss Miss Celia didn't see that there were lines between race.
I really connected with Skeeter's character. I loved the fact that even though her entire life and culture said that to treat a colored person back then that way was fine and yet in her heart she knew it wasn't and rather than take the easy road and be a follower she chose to stand apart and fight for what was right. I felt as though some of the other white women that were showcased were good people with good hearts but they kept their mouths shut because they didn't want a label or the turmoil which to me is not an excuse.
I also really connected with Aibileen's character. I loved that she raised so many white children to be good people and that she tried to make a difference in their lives. I loved that she told Mae Mobley everyday that she was good and kind and gave her lots of hugs. Things like that can make a world of difference in a child's life. I really put myself in Aibileen's shoes being a strong, intelligent woman she had to shut her mouth and deal with disrespect on a daily basis and she did it because she knew if she spoke up she could possibly be killed. I cannot imagine living in a time where I couldn't speak my mind. I think if I had been one of these women I would have been killed which is why I think I really liked Minny because she wasn't afraid to tell anyone what she thought. Yes, it got her into trouble but she seemed like someone who would always tell you the truth.
I truly despised Miss Hilly's character. What an ignorant, unintelligent, conniving, woman. She was "out to get" anyone that she didn't understand. How sad for her that she wasn't able to have an open mind. I really did not like that character at all. She went out of her way to ruin peoples lives. The whole Home Help Sanitation Initiative made me so angry that good people were put through humiliations like that. How small-minded people were back then.
I really enjoyed the fact that the maids banded together and then accepted Miss Skeeter as one of their own proving that they were looking past the fact that Miss Skeeter was white and loving her for who she was.
The quote that spoke to me the most was, "Wasn't that the point of the book? For women to realize, We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I'd thought." We are all just people and we are all very similar and this book to me really spoke that showing someone a kindness, even a small one can change things so each of us need to do our small parts to change the world.
I rate this book 5 stars and highly recommend it!

Penne with Mushroom Cream Sauce

This recipe was SO easy!!! It took no time at all to prepare and turned out fantastic!! So yummy!

Getting all prepared in my humble kitchen :) Oh and a glass of wine always helps the cooking process! I should mention that I got a new camera so these pics are the first ones with it! I'm sure they look a lot better!

I recommend Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling. Its sweet and light and refreshing!
After having a sip of my wine and gathering my ingredients I'm ready to whip up some deliciousness! I started by getting my water boiling for my pasta.

and while the recipe calls for pancetta which is Italian Bacon and typically salt cured and seasoned with spices like nutmeg, fennel, peppercorns, dried ground hot peppers and garlic. Unfortunately I couldn't find any pancetta so I cooked up half a package of bacon!

While that was cooking I got the garlic and mushrooms all prepared.                                                             

Once the bacon and pasta were well on their way I grabbed some cooking oil and started the garlic and mushrooms cooking. They smelled amazing cooking together!!

Cook the garlic and mushrooms until the mushroom are tender and then add in your crushed tomatoes. I switched to a pot so that I wouldn't have to worry about tomato sauce getting all over my kitchen.

Bring all this to a boil and then slow it down to a good simmer. I added the bacon at this point and let it simmer for 5 minutes. I also added Cajun seasonings to give it a little bite! Once that is finished simmering its time to add the whipped cream. I was skeptical about this since whipped cream is sweet and this is well...not a sweet dish. But all fears aside!! It made my sauce super thick and creamy and gave it a little added "something".  It even looked more yummy! I also added my pasta right after that.

Now you are pretty much done! All that's left is to add your spinach! Yummy, glorious spinach!

Once you add it, the last step is waiting for the spinach to wilt but be careful, you don't want it to be mushy! I didn't have anything else with this dish and it was totally filling and amazing. This for sure got the boyfriend approval...I will be making this again!! Such a good flavor! Add a little Parmesan and you are golden!

As usual I have included the recipe....someone needs to try this...its the bees knees!!

2 2/3 cups of uncooked Penne pasta (8 oz)

3 oz pancetta (or half a package of bacon :D)

1 tablespoon olive oil or veggie oil

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes, undrained

1/2 cup whipping cream

2 cups packed fresh baby spinach leaves

Cook and drain pasta as directed on box. Return to saucepan; keep warm. Meanwhile in 12- inch skillet or Dutch oven, cook pancetta (or bacon) over medium heat until crisp. Remove pancetta (or bacon) to paper towels to drain. In same skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook garlic and mushrooms in oil 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently until mushrooms are tender. Stir in tomatoes. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in whipping cream; heat just until hot. Stir in pasta. Add spinach; toss until spinach is wilted. Sprinkle individual servings with pancetta.

Summer sausage, Davinci Herb Gouda and yummy crackers....sounds like a good snack to me!

Porkchop Skillet Delight

Tonight I made a porkchop skillet dish. It turned out ok. It was filling and tasted good but it didnt knock my socks off or anything. It was almost like a stew the way it turns out.

The recipe calls for carrots, potatoes and small onions to be chopped up so I started on those early.

Then the porkchops that you are using have to have all the fat cut off of them. I was a little sad about doing this since the fat is usually the tastiest part! But definately a more healthy way to cook.

Now its time to brown those yummy 'chops. Cooking them over medium high heat and turning only once you leave them in the skillet for 5 minutes. I seasoned mine with some garlic salt and some cajun seasoning just because I like a little kick to my meat.

Once the pork is slightly cooked you dump in all the veggie deliciousness. I am pretty sure I need a bigger pan to cook in!!

The next step is to bring it all to boiling and then let it simmer for 30 minutes. Here is where I ran into issues because I didnt have a big enough pan. My porkchops cooked much faster than everything else. Sometimes when you are cooking you have to get creative so my solution was to turn my oven to 200 degrees and let it heat up then turning it off (my ghetto oven doesnt have a warm setting) so its nice and warm. I put my porkchops on a plate and let them warm in my oven.

While the porkchops stayed warm I turned my stove up to high and got all the veggies boiling. I let them boil for 10 min so the potatoes and onions cooked and because I had added beef broth earlier the juices were fantastic!

Once that was done boiling I served everything together. I will say that the porkchops were a little too dry so I will be trying this recipe with a bigger pan next time. All in all it was pretty tasty and VERY filling. I wouldnt say it was my favorite recipe to make but the onions gave everything a really yummy flavor.

I have included the recipe below for anyone that wants to try this one...this might be better as a crockpot recipe?



4 pork loin or rib chops, 1 inch thick

1/4 cup beef or chicken broth

4 medium potatoes, cut into fourths

4 small carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces

4 medium onions, cut into fourths

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Chopped fresh parsley, if desired

Remove fat from pork. Spray 12-inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Cook pork in skillet about 5 minutes, turning once, until brown. Add broth, potatoes, carrots and onions to skillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender and pork is slightly pink when cut near the bone. Sprinkle with parsley.

Beer Battered Fish

This was my very first time making beer battered fish. I was a little nervous as I have never fried anything in oil before. I also had no clue what kind of beer to use but posted the question on Facebook and the unanimous answer was Budweiser.
The recipe starts by telling you to "heat" oil. It doesn't say what temperature in this recipe so I thought well the hotter the better right? WRONG!! Heat means barely hot, just hot enough to slowly cook whatever it is you want to fry. I made the mistake of heating my oil way to much and when I dropped the fish in it burned immediately!

The fish on the left is what happens if you get too zealous with "heating" your oil. EEK!

Next the recipe tells you to take good 'ol Bisquick mix and coat your fish, like so:

It then has you mix the ingredients for your batter. It says if its too thick to add more beer but I found that the consistency was just fine. I tasted a little and you can for sure taste the beer but not in an over powering way, more like an after taste.

Mine was not thick by any means but it wasn't runny either. Right in between seemed perfect. Once that is ready you dip your fish in making sure all surfaces are covered. The recipe says to let the excess drip off but I wanted lots of batter on mine so I didn't.

Once all that is finished you are ready to fry up some fish!! The recipe says to fry the fish for two minutes on each side. Make sure to flip only once! I found that having the heat on a little lower and frying a little longer gave the fish a better flavor.

The fish on the right is what a good piece of fried fish should look like! Maybe even a little lighter!

To drain all the oil off I just put a paper towel on the serving plate and let it soak it all up. I would say eat right away as its better. The batter tends to get a little soggy if you wait. My boyfriend Chris took the left overs for lunch the next day at work and said it was VERY soggy so I would say this is an eat all of it that night meal. I served mine with curly fries and ranch dressing (I forgot to grab tartar sauce!) and it was a meal fit for a king. I got the official boyfriend approval and will for sure be making this again!!

If you want to make this please look below, I have included the recipe. Let me know what you think!

Vegetable oil

1 pound fish fillet

3 to 4 tablespoons Original Bisquick® mix

1 cup Original Bisquick® mix

1/2 cup beer

1 egg  

1/2 teaspoon salt

      Heat oil (1 1/2 inches) in heavy saucepan. Lightly coat fish with 3 to 4 tablespoons of Bisquick mix. Mix remaining ingredients with hand beater till smooth. (If batter is too thick, stir in additional beer, 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency.) Dip fish into batter, letting excess drip into bowl. Fry fish about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown then drain.

Welcome to Feasts and Fiction

Welcome to my blog! This is a blog about cooking and everything that goes with it. I also was just given a Kindle as a gift from my awesome boyfriend so I am going to discuss the books I read and my views and thoughts on them. I would love input on any recipes and books so please follow along and I hope you enjoy!!