Pastry Wrapped Jumbo Shrimp

HAPPY NEW YEAR’S EVE!

It’s almost time to say goodbye to 2024 and welcome 2025. The beginning of the year is all about renewal. Come January 1, you might consider redecorating your entire home, getting more organized, or even preparing a list of resolutions. You may even be planning a bit of needed vacation time but to celebrate the arrival of 2025 there’s one element you should never overlook: appetizers.

Shrimp are one of my favorite seafood ingredients to cook with, they’re quick to cook, absorbent to any kind of spices and flavoring you use and they are super delicious! 

Contrary to what you might think, you don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen to get appetizers that are tasty and impressive. Using just a handful of ingredients, you can whip up a batch of these puff pastry wrapped shrimp stuffed with a mix of cheese, bacon and parsley that are sure to please any palate on New Year’s Eve. 

WISHING EVERYONE THE BEST IN THE COMING YEAR & THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST IN FOLLOWING OUR BLOG!

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Pastry Wrapped Jumbo Shrimp
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
  2. Stir the cheese, parsley & bacon in a medium bowl. Spoon about 2 teaspoons cheese mixture down the center of each shrimp. Fold the sides of the shrimp over the filling.
  3. Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Cut the pastry sheet crosswise into 18 (1/2-inch wide) strips. Starting at the top, wind 1 pastry strip around 1 shrimp, slightly overlapping the pastry & ending just before the tail. Repeat with the remaining pastry strips & shrimp. Place the pastries onto a baking sheet.
  4. Bake for 15 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown.

Creamy Roasted Red Onions

All onions are not created equal so using the best onion for the job can really add a depth of flavor to your meals.

Onions are the workhorses of the kitchen and the foundation of so many billions of dishes across the globe that we forget how lovely and delicious they are all by themselves.

For most of the year, you’ll find red storage onions at the supermarket, which are pungent and spicy. In the summer months, you’ll often find fresh red onions, which are much milder, and lack a bit of the ‘onion-y’ flavor you’ll find in their yellow and white cousins.

The main difference between red onion and white onion is that red onions are a little spicy in taste while the white are comparatively sweeter and less mild.

It is a well-known fact that almost all dishes feel and taste incomplete without the presence of onion in them. Stuffed onions are an impressive side dish and a perfect complement to any main dish. 

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Creamy Roasted Red Onions
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Rating: 5
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Onions
Servings
Ingredients
Onions
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Rate this recipe!
Instructions
Onions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
  2. Peel onions, trim the root ends so they will sit upright & cut about 1/2-inch from tops. Rub onions with olive oil & season with salt. Bake for 50 minutes. Remove from oven & allow to cool slightly.
  3. Gently remove the centers leaving a shell of about 2-3 layers. Return a slice of the center to form a bottom. Coarsely chop onion centers.
Filling
  1. In a bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream, salt, herbs de Provence, garlic powder, minced garlic & chopped onions. Spoon filling into onion shells.
Topping
  1. In a small bowl, combine Panko, butter, cooked bacon & parsley. Spoon carefully over onions.
  2. Bake for 30 minutes or until filling is heated through & bread crumbs start to brown. Serve immediately.

‘Leftover’ Turkey & Rice Enchiladas

Most families have a roundup of classic holiday dishes that they make every year. Those dishes provide plenty of leftovers for days (maybe even weeks) after the holiday has passed. It follows that during the holiday season, the meals start to look the same. We love leftovers, we really do, but every meal enjoyed after Christmas Day starts to seem identical. That is, until you plan a boxing day feast with a spicy twist? These tasty enchiladas are a saucy, cheesy way to use up any leftover turkey from your Christmas dinner.

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Turkey & Rice Enchiladas
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course Main Dish
Cuisine Mexican
Servings
Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Mexican
Servings
Ingredients
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Coat a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
  2. Cook rice. Allow to cool slightly. Stir together rice, half the cheese, stuffing, turkey, green onions, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Spread 1/2 cup of gravy on the bottom of prepared pan.
  3. Divide filling down the center of each tortilla. Roll each tortilla up tightly and place seam-side down in baking dish. Top with the remaining gravy and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
  4. Bake, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes, or until tortillas are lightly browned and the filling is heated through.
  5. Top with cranberry sauce and sprinkle with parsley.