SRC - Indian Spiced Shrimp

I wish that I could upload an app so that all of you could smell the wonderful scents surrounding me. MMMM!!

Welcome to another month for the Secret Recipe Club!

My secret blog this month was Chocolate & Chillies, run by Asiya. Asiya shares many family recipes from India on her blog. I fell in love with so many of her recipes but since I am low carbing again, I had to pick a recipe that would fit within my cooking guidelines.

I managed to find the most delicious recipe - Indian Spiced Shrimp. It was perfect as is. The only change that I made was to add a bit of minced garlic to the shrimp.

It's quick and easy to whip up. Perfect for a quick lunch or dinner or even as an appetizer for a party.

  
Indian Spiced Shrimp

1 pkg frozen shrimp (approx 30-40 pieces), thawed and shelled
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp lemon juice
2-3 tbsp minced fresh cilantro - you can omit but it adds great flavor to the dish

Mix all ingredients, except the shrimp, in a plastic bag. Add shrimp and marinate for 30 minutes.

Using a wok, stir fry the shrimp until heated through. Brush with oil, intermittently.

Top with a sprinkle of freshly chopped cilantro.

Delicious served hot. I also enjoyed it cold out of the frig the next day.

This recipe will definitely be going into my low carb rotation!

 

Beer Battered Fish

 Welcome to another addition of the Secret Recipe Club!

I cannot believe that another month has come and gone so quickly. Where do the time go?

I was assigned the blog, Lavender and Lovage to cook or bake from this month. Karen's blog is full of delicious French and English recipes.With St. Patrick's Day falling in March, I had my heart set on finding a dish that would work to celebrate the holiday and complete my SRC recipe. While skimming over several recipes from Karen's blog, I came across her recipe for Real English Fish and Chips - what could be more perfect than pub fish for St. Patrick's Day?!?

Let me tell you, if you enjoy beer battered fish -either on a plate or a bun - you must try this recipe. I chose haddock as my fish of choice and with just a couple of steps in the breading - flour and beer- this dinner comes together rather quickly. I couldn't find a traditional dark Irish lager so I chose Yuengling, a beer from my hometown area off Pittsburgh, Pa.

For the chips, however, I took the easy way out and cooked frozen fries. ;)

Beer Battered Fish

6 haddock fillets
1 c. flour for batter
extra flour for dredging the fish
1 tbsp lemon pepper seasoning
1 can of Yuengling beer - at least 8 oz.
1 tsp. baking soda
juice of 1/2 lemon + the other half for garnish/to
squeeze on fried fish
malt vinegar - optional but a favorite of mine.

I cooked the chips (fries) ahead of time and kept them warm in the over.

To Prepare the Fish:

Pour some extra flour + 1 tbsp lemon pepper seasoning into a large, flat container that will allow you to lay the fish fillets flat to dredge them.

In a large bowl mix together the 1 cup of flour,  the baking soda, salt and pepper. Slowly stir in the beer until you have a batter that resembles pancake batter. Add the lemon juice, if desired. Set aside until ready to use.

Prepare hot frying oil - either in a heavy frying pan or in a deep fryer. Line a baking sheet with paper towels to hold the fish when it has finished frying. I served our fish on sheets of newspaper lined with waxed paper to give it a pub look. My kids got quite a kick out of that!

Working with one fillet at a time, dredge each piece into the flour, making sure to completely cover each fillet. Dip the fillet into the batter, turning to cover it completely. Immediately drop the fish into the hot oil.

Watch the fish closely so not to over cook it. Each fillet will cook for about 3-4 minutes. The color of your fish will vary from light to dark depending on the beer that you use. Using Yuengling resulted in a darker colored fish.

Remove the fish and place it on the baking sheet lined with paper towels.

Serve with lemon wedges and/or malt vinegar.  Delicious!

Secret Recipe Club: Rutabaga Chips - Low Carb, Too!

Do you know what a rutabaga is? Do you know how to cook them?

If not, you're missing out on a great tasting root vegetable that's full of vitamins and minerals - and the best part is that its relatively low carb, too!

You can cook them and serve them as mashed potatoes, chunk them up and throw them in a crock pot with a roast or cut them up and serve them my favorite way - as fries or chips!

When I received my Secret Recipe Club blog this month, Gastronomical Sovereignty, I was hoping to find a recipe that was low carb or one that I could change to make low carb. I was thrilled when I came across Kristy's recipe for rutabaga chips!

Rutabagas are relatively low carb (approx. 8 carbs per cup), especially when comparing them to the much missed potato. I discovered them on my first journey into low carbing. I get easily bored eating the same vegetables over and over again so I often grab something that's unfamiliar to me (after reading it on a low vegetable list, of course), buy it and then hit the Internet to find out how to prepare it. This was the case years ago. Since then, I've prepared them in all of the ways that I mentioned above - I love them! Often described as having a sweet taste, I think that they have more of a slight peppery taste too them - that's why I love them.

It's a super simple recipe that wields lots of taste!

Rutabaga Chips

For one serving:

1-2 small rutabagas, sliced paper thin
2 tbsp. olive oil
sprinkle of black pepper and all natural Mediterranean spices


Toss the chips with the olive oil, pepper and any other spices of your choice. Lay the chips in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Bake for 5-6 minutes @ 450*. Turn over and bake for another 4-5 minutes, keeping an eye on them to make sure you don't burn them.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Serve with low carb ketchup or low carb ranch dressing, if desired but I find them to be delicious on their own!

 **Tip** Eat the chips as soon as they are cool enough to handle because they will go soggy - and while they are still tastey, they're more like fried potatoes than chips.

Kristy's blog has so many delicious recipe to pick from. Definitely take some time to flip through her blog. The pictures are mouthwatering, too!

Thanks for another great month here at the Secret Recipe Club!

***I have to take a minute to thank my son for helping me to type up this post. I pulled the muscles in my right hand and arm from a fall on Friday evening. He came to my rescue to help me today!**

Don't forget to spread some bloggy love by taking a few minutes to visit all of the blogs in our wonderful blog hops!! 

December SRC - Chocolate Coconut Patties

By the time our reveal for the Secret Recipe Club posts this month, Christmas will have come and gone. I hope that everyone had a joyous holiday!

I was assigned the blog Oh! You Cook to choose a recipe from this month. Dena's blog is full of wonderful recipes! My choice this month was simple - not much more than chocolate and coconut -  but it was just what I was looking for to add to our Christmas treats. If you like Mounds bars, her recipes for Mounds Wannabees is spot on and so delicious! I changed the recipe up just a bit by mixing the chocolate and the coconut together, making patties instead of bars. Either way, the chocolate and coconut is an excellent combination!

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Chocolate Coconut Patties

1 - 14 oz bag  shredded sweetened coconut
8 1/2 tbsp. light corn syrup
1 - 15 oz bag melting chocolate

Line a large baking sheet with wax paper.

Add coconut and corn syrup to a food processor. Pulse 8-10 times, or until corn syrup is evenly distributed and mixture clumps up.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Stir the coconut into the coconut and mix until thoroughly combined.

Shape into patties and lay on the baking sheet to harden. For quicker results, stick the pan into the frig. for 10 minutes.

Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

Makes approx. 45 patties

SRC Group B - Gingerbread Cups

As many of my readers know, I'm a hostess for the Secret Recipe Club. If you don't know what the SRC is all about, take a minute to check it out to see what fun you're missing out on!

There are 4 groups to the Secret Recipe Club and when one of the groups end up with an orphaned blog - a blog who didn't have a recipe chosen from and made for the month - the group hostesses try to jump in and help out. I did just that this month. I was happy to be able to lend a hand to Tina in Group B!

The blog that I baked from is named Six Kilos of Pumpkin. It full of great recipes. I especially enjoyed looking through her dessert recipes. I found the perfect recipe for the holidays...Gingerbread Cuffins with Cream Cheese Icing - nope, Cuffins is not a typo. She describes these treats as a mixture between cupcakes and muffins. After baking them, I can totally understand what she is describing. I decided to stray away from the usual cupcake or muffin this time and instead, I baked the batter in 4 oven-safe cups, perfect single serving desserts. Instead of cream cheese frosting, I'm topping ours with whipped cream. Sorry, no pictures of the whipped cream, we will be eating them for dessert later this evening.

How jealous are you that you can't smell the wonderful scents surrounding me in my little apartment?!?

It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas! :)

Gingerbread Cups

original recipe @ Six Kilos of Pumpkin 

1 c plain flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground cloves

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

7 tbsp. butter, softened

1/4 cup milk

2 tbsp organic maple agave syrup

1 tsp molasses

Preheat oven to 350C. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients, up to and including the brown sugar. 

Stir in the remaining ingredients and mix for 3 minutes with a hand mixer or until the batter is light and fluffy. 

Spoon the batter into 4 large oven-safe baking cups. Bake for 20 - 23 minutes, until a toothpick stuck into the middle of one cup comes out clean.

Serve warm or bring to room temp and top with whipped cream.

Delicious!

Please take a few minutes to visit Six Kilos of Pumpkin to let her know that she is not alone in bloggy land!