It has been a crazy busy week with school starting and working 3 days this week in my classroom. I still feel that a homecooked meal makes everyone happy (including me). I love to cook and making a new dish for my family is one of my favorites. This week I tried two new dinners. My family enjoyed both of them so here they are...
Potato-Ham Bake
2 lbs Yukon gold potatoes, SLICED
2 8 oz tubs light cream cheese spread with chives and onions
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup finely shredded parmesan chesse
2 tbs black pepper
2 Tbsp snipped fresh tarragon (I used dried)
1 lb cooked boneless ham cut into bite size pieces (Costco sells the best cooked ham)
2 lbs fresh asparagus spears, trimmed and cut in 2 to 3 inch pieces
Preheat oven to 400. In a covered saucepan cook SLICED potatoes in a small amount of lightly salted boiling water for 5 to 7 minutes or just until tender. Drain: Remove potoatoes from saucepan: Set aside.
For sauce in the same saucepan (because who wants to wash more dishes) combine cream chesse, mile, half the parmesan cheese, and pepper. Whisk over low heat until mixture is smooth and cheese is melted. Remove from heat; stir in tarragon.
layer potatoes, ham, asparagus, and sauce in a 3 quart rectangular baking dish. Cover with foil.
Bake for 20 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes more or until heated throughly. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
Baked Shrimp Curry
2 lbs fresh or frozen peeled, cooked shrimp
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 tbsp all purpose flour (I use rice flour for my gluten intolerance)
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 cups half and half, light cream or milk (I used coconut milk)
2 tbsp dry sherry (optional)
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp fresh ginger (I used ground 1 tsp)
1/8 tsp worcestershire sauce
4 cups rice or quiona
Thaw shrimp; if frozen. Rinse and pat dry. Preheat oven to 400. In a saucepan melt butter. Stir in flour, curry, paprika, and nutmeg. Stir in half and half or milk (all at once). Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir one minute more. Stir in shrimp, sherry, lemon juice, ginger and worcestershire sauce; heat through. Transfer to an ungreased 2 quart casserole dish. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Serve with rice or quiona.
* I added steam veggies to the quiona and then chopped up peanuts and had shredded coconut to top the dish with. Next time I am going to add some almond or peanut butter to the sauce for a new taste.
Happy Cooking friends!
