Awesome super easy Shrimp Pasta!

Tonight I really didn't want to cook a difficult meal. I happened to still have one bag of wild GA shrimp left in the freezer from last fall, and we are getting 20 lbs. of shrimp next week so it needed to be used. So I did a quick search for shrimp pasta recipes that included the ingredients I happened to have around the house. The recipe I found tastes amazing!!! Enjoy!

Shrimp Lemon Pepper Linguini

• 1 (8 ounce) package linguine pasta
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• salt to taste
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add linguine, and cook for 9 to 13 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, and saute garlic about 1 minute. Mix in chicken broth, wine, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat, and simmer until liquid is reduced by about 1/2.
3. Mix shrimp, butter, parsley, and basil into the saucepan. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, until shrimp is opaque. Stir in the cooked linguine, and continue cooking 2 minutes, until well coated.

Garden Plan is Completed for Spring.

I took the time over the weekend, between Halloween festivities and Football games, to work out my garden plan. This winter we will be expanding our family garden to 25 by 30. I also took the time to design and plan my chicken coop. We have decided that we are going to have between 10 and 20 chickens for eggs. I am hoping with in the next few years for my home to be a mini farm. Working towards a self sustaining existence is our goal.


Please Remember that tomorrow is Nov 2nd. Go out and vote. Make sure your voice is heard!!!

Roasty Toasty Pumpkin Seeds!

I remember every year what my favorite thing about pumpkin carving is! Pumpkin seeds! When roasted fresh they are a wonderful, tasty, and healthy snack! They are very versatile as well. They can be made savory, sweet, spicy, or mixed up. Enjoy!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

2 cups or one pumpkins worth of seeds.
2 tablespoons of the spice or spices of your choice.
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons coarse sea salt (disregard if you are making sweet seeds)

Rinse pumpkin seeds in water, and drain on paper towels to dry. Toss with remaining ingredients, and spread on a baking sheet.

Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes or until crisp. Cool. Store in an airtight container.

Fresh Basil drying.

Since tomorrow I am getting carrots from Liberty County High School's horticulture dept. plant sale, I decided it was finally time to cut some of my basil to dry and clean out a couple of my planting beds. The basil plant that I have is huge, it is the size of a small tree. It already, just being cut smells wonderful, so spicy! I cannot wait for it to dry to cook with! Now its time to get ready to take the munchkin to her school's Fall Festival!

Grape Jelly and Local Honey.

Over the summer my Momma and I took the time to make some wonderful grape jelly and grape juice from our own grapes, they are muskadine and have a wonderful tart flavor! Though canning might not be for every one it is for us. While I was growing up we would can everything from tomatoes to green beans. It was wonderful for us to get back to what we both love to do!

Jelly Canning Recipe

4 cups grape juice ( takes about 3 1/2 lbs. of grapes and 1/2 cup water)
7 cups sugar
1 pouch liquid pectin

Juice: Sort, wash, and remove stems from fully ripe grapes. Crush grapes, add water, cover, and bring to boil on high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 mins. Extract juice. To prevent formation of tartrate crystals in the jelly, let juice stand in a cool place overnight, then strain through 2 thicknesses of damp cheesecloth to remove crystals that have formed.

Jelly: Measure juice into a pot. Stir in the sugar. Place on high heat and, stirring constantly, bring quickly to full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Add the pectin and heat again to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute. Remove from heat; skim off foam quickly. Pour into sterilized hot jars and seal.

* You will know that the jelly is ready to be put up on the shelves when the top cap doesn't pop.

We also were able to get some pepper vinegar made from the peppers Momma planted in her garden. There are jalapenos, banana peppers, and cherry bomb peppers in it. It is so easy to make. and looks amazing on the shelve!

Pepper Vinegar

5 to 10 peppers cut as to let the flavor release.
Quart Jars
Apple Cider Vinegar

Place peppers in jars. Boil Vinegar.Fill jars with hot vinegar. Seal. Allow to sit on the shelve for at least 3 months before use so that the flavor can fully mature.

On a final note for today's blog, as many of my friends and family know I am constantly plagued by seasonal allergies. Many people know that a herbal home remedy that has been around for ages is using local honey to get the pollen from your area in to your system. I have finally found a local honey in my area. The honey from Boyd Family Honey Farm is wonderful. It has a great consistency and because of the flowers the bees collect pollen from it has a wonderful almost buttery taste. I have been told the flavor is from the flower of the saw palmetto. So, please support local businesses and buy organic local products!

I have been sorely lacking in my responsibility to my blog... Bad me slap hand. But I come bearing a new recipe that was a super hit at Jaguars tail gating a couple weeks ago. It won some guy a bet too, for the first pumpkin to be seen this season!!! This recipe isn't super easy and does take some pre planning, but believe me it is worth it!!!!

Pumpkin Souffles

8 mini pumpkins
4 large eggs
4 tsp. flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 small block of pepper jack cheese shredded. (I used the helluva good cheese)
Salt and pepper to taste (Instead of salt and pepper I used Everglades seasoning, you can find it in the baking isle with the rest of the spices.)

Preheat oven to 350. Place uncut pumpkins in a large shallow dish and add 1/4 cup of water, cover tightly with foil and bake for 40 mins or until tender. Let cool. Reheat oven to 375. With a knife remove tops from the pumpkins remove and discard seeds, then scoop out the flesh leaving a 1/4 inch shell. Place 4 cups of pumpkin flesh in mixing bowl. Separate eggs stirring yolks into pumpkin flesh and placing whites in a separate bowl. Stir flour and baking powder into pumpkin and then stir in the cheese. Season pumpkin mixture. Whip egg whites into stiff peaks. Fold into pumpkin mixture. Spoon souffle mixture into pumpkin shells. Place on baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 mins., or until puffed and set.

Its finally starting to get cooler here in the SEGA (Southeast Georgia) area. So my first thought this morning was mmmmmmm I want Chili. So i am making my version of chili which is a very very meaty rich yummy mixture! What is your favorite cold weather food? Let me know and maybe I will make it and post it!

Meaty Chili

Needed:

Crock Pot
Stew Pork
Stew Beef
Tomato Puree
Dark Kidney Beans
Pinto Beans
Packaged Chili Seasoning
Water
Your seasonings to taste.

How to:

1. Cut stew meats into bite sized pieces, put in crock pot.
2. Open cans or beans and tomatos and add to crock pot.
3. Add seasoning package and stir it all together.
4. Add enough water to cover mixture and stir.
5. Set Crock pot to high and let cook for 3 to 5 hours. Stir every once in a while.
6. Serve with Corn bread and enjoy!!!