Lemon Pepper Shrimp Pasta

We have definitely been on a pasta kick lately. And boy, do we love this pasta. It's like a flavor explosion when it touches your tongue. Lemon Pepper, garlic, basil, pepper and did I say lemon?

First you start with some Pancetta. If you don't have Pancetta, bacon will do. But Pancetta is so worth it...

Fry it crisp..

Enters the shrimp...mighty tasty with the pancetta flavor. (I won't use the word grease.)

Season them with a little basil, and let them get slightly brown on each side. Remove from pan.

Add a little olive oil if needed and toss in the garlic. It only needs to saute a minute or less. You don't want it to burn.

Then, throw in your mushrooms with the garlic and enjoy the aroma....WOW.

After the mushrooms are tender, remove those from the pan as well. Let the pan keep it's heat and pour in the wine. This deglazes the pan and gets all those bits off the bottom so they can stick around for the good part - the sauce.

Add the mushrooms and garlic, lemon zest (I love lemon zest!!), lemon juice, chicken broth, salt pepper and butter. It will reduce in half...

and throw in the pasta. Gently stir and let the pasta soak up the sauce. Toss the shrimp and pancetta in at the last...and enjoy.

Lemon Pepper Shrimp Pasta

• 4 ounces Pancetta
• 8 ounces pasta of choice
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• Mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup Chicken Broth
• 1/2 cup white wine (drinking wine)
• 1 lemon, juiced
• zest of 1 lemon
• Shrimp
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 tablespoon basil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Cut Pancetta into small pieces, saute in large pan. Remove from pan and place shrimp seasoned with basil. Cook about 1-2 minutes on each side and remove from pan. Add olive oil if needed and saute garlic for 1 minute, add mushroom and cook until tender, remove. Pour wine into pan and stir the bottom to deglaze and get all bits off bottom of pan. Add chicken broth, mushroom garlic mixture, lemon juice, butter, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid is reduced by about 1/2.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in salted water, drain. Add to sauce mixture and stir. Let pasta begin to soak up sauce. Toss in shrimp and Pancetta and serve.

Fruit Salsa!!

Summer is here, and there's nothing better than refreshing fruit on a hot summer day. This salsa recipe is absolutely amazing and addictive!!

You could use any combination of fruit, or preserves. I used Sugar Free Strawberry. I also serve mine with Cinnamon Grahams, but to be perfectly honest, I could eat this right out of the bowl with a spoon and have no regrets.

Enjoy....Terri

Fruit Salsa

• 2 kiwis, peeled and diced
• 2 Fuji Apples, peeled, cored and diced
• 8 ounces Raspberries, cut in half
• 1 pound Strawberries, sliced
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor
• Cinnamon Graham crackers

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, apples, raspberries, strawberries, brown sugar and preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes. Serve with cinnamon graham crackers. (Best if served the same day).

Cajun Chicken Pasta

This recipe is such a "go to" recipe for us. It is very easy to make, yet impressive. It only takes about 30-40 minutes start to finish. Here are the cast of characters:

Lots of veggies in this dish. Green pepper, Red Pepper, fresh Mushrooms, Garlic and Green Onions. Yummy!!

You can just taste the Basil and Lemon Pepper from here.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Pasta of choice (I use Rigatoni)

1 package Boneless Chicken Breasts (cut into cubes)

3 tbsps Cajun Seasoning (more if you dare)

2 Tbsp butter

1 Green Pepper, chopped

1 Red Pepper, chopped

8 fresh mushrooms, sliced

4 cloves Garlic, chopped

3 green onions, chopped

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp lemon pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

2 tbsp parmesan cheese

Cook pasta until done, drain. Meanwhile, place chicken and cajun seasoning in a bowl together and toss to coat. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute chicken in butter until no longer pink. Add peppers, mushrooms, garlic and onions and saute under tender.

Reduce heat and stir in heavy cream. Season the sauce with basil, lemon pepper, salt and ground pepper and cook until heated through.

In a large bowl, toss pasta with chicken and sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan and serve. Enjoy!!

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

I can give you four good reasons for wanting to polish off a basket full of these: their tender texture, their resemblance to your favorite sour cream cake, the haunting flavor of poppy seeds, and the jolt from lots of lemon juice in both the batter and the icing. The key is to use fresh lemons, not bottled lemon juice. Enjoy!!

For the Muffins:

- 3/4 cup sugar

- grated zest and juice of one lemon

- 2 cups all purpose flour

- 2 teaspoons baking powder

- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

- 1/4 teaspoon salt

- 3/4 cup sour cream

- 2 large eggs

- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

- 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled

- 2 tablespoons poppy seed

For the Icing:

- 1 cup confectioners sugar

- 2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter or spray 12 muffins molds, or line with paper muffin cups.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of lemon strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and melted butter together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. (don't over mix the batter). Stir in the poppy seeds. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops are golden. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold. Cool the muffuns completely on the rack before icing them.

To Make the Icing - Put the confectioner's sugar in a small bowl and add about 1 1/2 of tbsp of the lemon juice. Stir with a spoon to moisten the sugar , then add enough additional lemon juice. Drizzle over muffins.

Adapted from the book Baking - from Dorie Greenspan.