Cooking, Asparagus, Pickling,

So today I made Instant Pot Lazy Lasagne Soup. It was good despite a couple of small alterations because I didn't have the specified ingredients. I used yoghurt instead of cream and Egg Noodles for the pasta (much quicker and no messing), of course I had to halve the recipe as it would not have fit in a 3 quart machine. However, delicious as it is, I don't think I will  make it again until next winter. It is definitely a cold weather meal. Matt complained about the strings of cheese which I do agree, can be a bit of a pain to ensure they end in your mouth, however, I enjoyed them. The recipe calls for salt free broth, I used the salted stuff and I still found I needed to add salt at the end. It seemed odd to me to use beef and then chicken stock but it worked OK.

ladydog commented she had offered to bring me asparagus from Florida but as I have been informed, most of the asparagus we get in the stores, coming from Mexico, is 3 days old anyway. Until the beginning of May when the local asparagus is available. Guess who is drooling. Not long now.

I recently discovered how delicious pickled celery is, had shoved a few pieces in with something else to fill up the jar. So, today, I pickled a whole jar full of the stuff. I will have to wait a couple of days to eat it though. Of course once the season starts I will be pickling some asparagus and will make sure to do it in a hot water bath so it keeps outside the fridge.

So here's a nice simple little recipe so you don't have to do much for an appetiser.

Bacon Wrapped Barbeque Shrimp

These are spicy and wonderful! As close as I can get to a restaurant version to which I am addicted.

16 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 slices bacon
barbeque seasoning, to taste

1. Wrap shrimp with 1/2 slice of bacon, securing with a toothpick. Be sure and use the large shrimp--the cooking time for the shrimp and the bacon is similar. If you use medium-sized shrimp, you might want to precook the bacon a little--over cooked shrimp are tough and rubbery--and a real shame.

2. Preheat the oven to 450°F  (230° C).

3. Line a jelly roll pan with extra heavy duty foil, and place baking rack in the pan. Place the shrimp on the rack, and sprinkle heavily with the barbecue seasoning. Turn and sprinkle second side. Set aside for 15 minutes. The bacon will turn from creamy white to a little opaque, and the seasonings will soak in.

4. Bake in the preheated oven until bacon is crisp and shrimp are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. The rack keeps the shrimp from sitting in the draining bacon fat. With a little luck, you won't tear the foil--you can throw that away and only have to scrub the rack.

Yield: Serves 2 as an entrée and 4 as an appetizer.


Source: AllRecipes

Have a great day