Baked Shrimp and Artichoke Bottoms with Lemon Butter, and Herbed Breadcrumbs

I love shrimp for dinner. It is easy and healthy so I was inspired to make this dish. These stuffed artichoke bottoms are impressive appetizers but also make an elegant main course for two. You can use a jar of artichoke bottoms or prepare fresh artichokes. I wanted to simplify the recipe for an easy weeknight dinner, so the already prepared artichoke bottoms were perfect.

Shrimp has an impressive nutrition profile. It is quite low in calories, providing only 84 calories in a 3-ounce (85-gram) serving, and is very low in carbs. Approximately 90% of the calories in shrimp come from protein, and the rest come from fat. It is perfect and delicious, I always have a bag of frozen jumbo easy to peel and deveined shrimp in the freezer for a quick inspired dinner. Tip: If you are making this dish for a dinner party or family celebration you can make it ahead of time and just pop it into a preheated oven when you are ready. Express Your Love Through Your Food!

Ingredients

For the breadcrumb mixture:

3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

3 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme

1 Tbs. chopped fresh oregano

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cups unseasoned panko bread crumbs

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

½ cup unsalted butter

Ingredients

For the artichokes and shrimp

6 large artichokes, trimmed down to bottoms or 1 jar with 6 large artichoke bottoms

12 Jumbo shrimps, peeled and deveined

2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

Pinch of salt

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Freshly ground black pepper

3 Tbs. olive oil

1 large clove garlic chopped fine

3 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F degrees

Prepare Shrimp:

Peel the shrimp and remove tails, pat dry with paper towels.

In a medium bowl place shrimp and add olive oil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic, parsley and lemon juice. Stir to combine and set aside while you make the delicious topping.

Herbed Topping:

Melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the parsley, thyme, oregano and garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add the panko bread crumbs, salt, pepper and olive oil. Stir to combine and set aside.

Assemble and Bake:

Lightly oil or spray with nonstick spray an 8×10-inch baking dish and arrange the artichoke bottoms stem side down in the dish. Season with salt and pepper. Place 2 shrimp in the center of each artichoke bottom, including any remaining oil. Top each with the breadcrumb mixture and squeeze the juice of one lemon over the entire dish. Sprinkle with any remaining parsley and bake for 20 minutes.

Turn broiler to high and broil for 1 minute or until the breadcrumb mixture is nicely browned. (DO NOT WALK AWAY). Be sure to watch so the topping does not burn. Serve hot with lemon wedges and your favorite side dishes. I served with steamed asparagus. Expressing You Love Through Your Food!!! Enjoy! #myinspiredrecipes #shrimp #shrimpartichoke #bakedshrimp #easyshrimpdinner

Blueberry, Almond and Applesauce Torte... An Inspired Dessert

This time of year, blueberries are abundant and not very expensive. I happened to have 3 pints in the fridge and wanted to make something for dessert. I decided to take my yummy almond and applesauce torte and add blueberries... it is a great alternative to this recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1-1/2 cup Almond Flour

1 cup Flour

1-1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

1-1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

4 Large Eggs

1 tsp Almond Extract

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Cup unsweetened Applesauce

8 oz Mascarpone Cheese

1 pint Blueberries

1 tbsp Flour to dust blueberries

Powder Sugar to dust on top after cooling

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 F. (Note: Adjust the cooking time to 325F when baking in a copper pan. Because of how efficiently copper conducts heat, the Torte will bake faster in a copper pan. I used a 11"x 2-1/2" round copper pan)

Prepare a baking pan with baking spray or use shortening dusted with flour.

Put the dry ingredients: almond flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a mixer or food processor. Thoroughly mix the ingredients together.

Add in the egg, mascarpone, applesauce, almond extract and vanilla extract.

Mix the ingredients together until smooth and blended.

Place blueberries in a bowl and add flour toss gently to coat. Gently fold into the batter.

Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake.

Bake until the cake is fairly firm when you press lightly at its center and a toothpick inserted in the middle has no wet batter sticking to it, about 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave on the counter to cool completely. Once cool invert onto a serving platter and dust with powdered sugar.

The best way to enjoy this is to refrigerate the Torte for a minimum of 3 hours and enjoy cold, dust with more powdered sugar if desired. Another serving suggestion is to make a cream cheese sauce and pour over each slice.

ENJOY!!! Express Your Love Through Food!

A Simply Delicious Herb and Garlic Roast Pork Loin... So Easy, Moist and Delicious!

I was looking for some way to elevate the taste of a traditional pork loin roast. Typically, salt, pepper and spices are thrown on a roast and its cooked until done... Usually it is overdone, dry and boring. So what to do? Recently I planted a "kitchen" container garden with rosemary, thyme, sage and oregano... I was inspired. What resulted was a delicious, moist roast that changed my view on roast pork forever. This recipe will serve 4 and provide enough for leftovers to make yummy pork sandwiches.

INGREDIENTS

4 pounds pork loin, untrimmed

3 onions peeled and cut in half

4 whole carrots peeled and cut in half

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper

1 lemon

Butchers twine

Marinade

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 anchovy fillets

1 lemon

4 cloves garlic

4 sprigs fresh rosemary

4 sprigs fresh thyme

4 sprigs fresh oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Prepare marinade by combining garlic, rosemary, thyme, oregano, anchovy, salt, pepper and juice of 1 lemon in a food processor. Process until well combined, marinade will be slightly chunky. Set aside.

Tightly tie the pork loin with six pieces of butcher’s string, evenly spaced over loin. Spoon marinade over the entire pork loin and let rest in the refrigerator for 2 hours. After 2 hours, remove from refrigerator and bring to room temperature.

In a large bowl, combine the halved onions and carrots with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss with white balsamic vinegar. Once thoroughly combined, layer the vegetables in the bottom of a roasting pan.

Set loin roast on top of seasoned vegetables in the roasting pan. Squeeze the juice of one lemon over roast. Place in a preheated 425-degree oven for 55 minutes or until internal temperature is 140-145 degrees. If pork begins to brown too quickly, make a tent with aluminum foil and loosely cover roast.

Note: After 45 minutes, check the internal temperature to make sure the pork is not over cooking. When done the temperature should be 145 degrees, you can take roast out of the oven when the internal temperature is 135 degrees. The pork will continue to cook and come up to temperature as it rests

When done remove from oven and move pork loin to a cutting board. Cover lightly with foil and let rest for 15-20 minutes.

Keep vegetables in a warm place until ready to serve. Remove strings and slice the roast into 1/2-inch slices. Place slices on a large platter and arrange roasted vegetables around pork loin. Garnish with fresh sprigs of herbs and lemon wedges. Give the slices a final drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

Serve with your choice of vegetables. I served with small baked potatoes and steamed green beans. Express your love through food. ENJOY! #roastporkloin #sundayfamilyroastpork #simplemoistporkloin