Citrusy Paprika Shrimp Quesadillas
These quesadillas are easy, delicious, and summery! They were a huge hit with my family and will be with your if you love seafood. I saw the recipie in my RRay Magazine.


INGREDIENTS

1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), for drizzling
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked sweet paprika (half a scant palmful)
1 teaspoon onion powder (1/3 palmful)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (eyeball it)
Salt and pepper
Juice of 1 lime
A small handful of cilantro or flat leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
1 slightly underripe avocado, pitted, removed from skin and very thinly sliced or diced
1/2 lemon, juiced
8 large tortillas, heated to soften slightly
2 plum or vine-ripened tomatoes, seeded and diced
4 scallions or green onions, very thinly sliced or chopped
2 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Cooking spray
Note: you will need metal skewers to prepare this recipe or just pan cook

Serves 6
PREPARATION

Pre-heat an outdoor grill, indoor griddle, grill pan, or pan (what I did) to medium-high heat.

Coat the shrimp lightly in EVOO, then season with the smoked sweet paprika, onion powder and garlic powder; season with salt and pepper (I also added Cayenne for a kick). Thread the shrimp onto metal skewers or skip the skewers if you are lazy like me & are doing it in the house. Grill until pink and firm, about 2 minutes on each side. Douse with the lime juice, then remove the shrimp from the skewers and chop; sprinkle with the cilantro. Dress the avocado with the lemon juice.

Build the quesadillas on the tortillas in assembly line fashion: On one half of each tortilla, arrange the shrimp, tomatoes, scallions or green onions, avocado and cheese. Fold over the other tortilla half, then spray lightly with cooking spray. Grill, turning once, until crisp and the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve.

PS I used the low fat Monterey Jack and it was still really good.

Tortellini with Jalapeño Chicken Sausage and Zucchini

So this was one of those surprise meals. You know, the ones that you kinda know the ingredients you have or want to use but you aren't sure what combo you are going to do. I got most of the ingredients at Trader Joe's (TJ's) but I'm sure you can look around and find them else where. So this one is really easy and a bit spicy but my kids loved it because the sausage looks like hot dogs... 

Tortellini with Jalapeño Chicken Sausage & Zucchini

*1 package of Jalapeño Chicken Sausage (TJ's), cut long ways and chopped

*1 lb of Tortellini (I like the TJ's kind)

*1/4 cup sour cream

*1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (some to mix in and some to sprinkle)

* salt & pepper, soy sauce, EVOO, 1 TB Basil

*4 zucchini, cut long ways and chopped

*1 lemon

*1 small onion finely chopped

Boil your pot of water for the Tortellini and cook when ready.

Sauté the onion in a little olive oil and a dash of soy sauce. When they are soft, add the Jalapeño Chicken Sausage and crisp a little. Then add the zucchini stir frequently. By now the Tortellini should be done, drain it but pour a couple tablespoons of pasta water into the veggies & meat. Put a lid on the mixture and cook a bit.

Put the Tortellini back in the pot and add a "glug" of EVOO, 1/2 of the cheese, and the sour cream. Added about a tablespoon of cubed (frozen in cubes from TJ's) basil.  Mix it all together. Scoop the Tortellini and top it with the veggies and meat. Sprinkle cheese, grind some pepper, and squeeze some lemon and you are done!