Strawberry Dumplings

Just in time for Mother's Day, a decadent, wonderful dessert!  It won the Grand Prize in a Reddi-Wip Contest, so I'll give you that version first, followed by an even richer, more sinful version.  Both are heavenly (and super easy, too).
Scroll down for a photo of me holding a plate of them.  I'm sitting on the staircase of our house in Iowa, and our third son, Cassidy, can hardly wait to dig in!

16 square wonton wrappers
8 fresh strawberries, trimmed and cleaned
oil for frying
powered sugar
Reddi Wip

Place one strawberry on each of 8 wonton wrappers.  Moisten edges of the other 8 wrappers and cover strawberries, pressing to seal edges and form dumplings.  Fry in skillet over high heat, turning wontons frequently, five minutes or until golden brown.  Drain dumplings, dust lightly with powdered sugar, and serve with Reddi Wip.

OR...
Use filled strawberries!  Simply beat 6 oz. of softened cream cheese with 1 & 1/2 Tablespoons of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.  Then hollow out the berries and pipe this creamy mixture into them.  (You'll have lots of filling left-- use it for additional berries that you don't fry.)

Easy Shrimp Scampi

Happy Shrimp Scampi Day! 

Yes, I am celebrating this little-known holiday, and you should as well.  Cooking Contest Central  at http://cookingcontestcentral.com/contests/category/deadline/ has asked me to post a Shrimp Scampi recipe for you and I jumped at the chance to show you just how simple (and fast!) this dish can be.   I have created the most slam-dunk easy recipe for Scampi that you have ever seen.  It’s so simple—just two ingredients—that I can’t even enter it in a contest.  It would be like entering breakfast cereal in a contest—you pour it in a bowl and you add milk—uh, okay, we all knew that.

So believe me, even non-cooks can make this, and dazzle their guests.  Granted, shrimp are not cheap.  Prawns and jumbo shrimp are even less cheap.  But they’re a whole lot less expensive than certain cuts of meat, and way below the cost of crab or halibut these days.  Choose whatever size shrimp you like, and then watch them as they cook so that you can serve them just as they become pink and opaque.  Do not overcook seafood.  Ever.  I have spoken.

WORLD’S EASIEST SHRIMP SCAMPI

Enough Shrimp for 4 people (3-4 jumbos per person, or 8-10 small guys per person, your choice)—peeled and deveined

4 Tbsp. bottled pesto sauce

OPTIONAL: ¼ Cup butter, if you want the sauce to be thinner for bread dipping (if tossing with pasta, double butter and pesto)

OPTIONAL: a squeeze of fresh lemon

Directions:  If you read any scampi recipe, you will notice that the sauce ingredients read like the label on a jar of pesto sauce.  So why not just use pesto sauce? This is a great step-saver!  If you want it more garlicky, I guess you could add more, but never overwhelm delicate seafood flavors with sledgehammer spices.  Please.  Heat the pesto sauce in a skillet over medium-low heat.  If you want to thin it with butter, or even more olive oil than is already in the pesto, now would be the time to add that.  Place the shrimp in the skillet, add a squeeze of lemon if you wish, and let them cook just a minute or two per side, then turn them, watching until they are fully opaque.  Ta-da!  The shrimp are done and so are you.

Note: Some people like to leave the tails on because they think shrimp are prettier this way.  HOWEVER… this only leaves you two choices, both undesirable in my opinion.  Choice Number One: You must cut the tails off with a knife, leaving some shrimp inside the tail and wasting that delicious shrimp meat.  Or, Choice Number Two: You will pick up the shrimp, lightly bite the tail to release all the meat, but then end up with greasy fingers.  I vote for completely peeling the shrimp before you cook them, which makes life much easier for your guests.

             

Italian Quick Bread

Quick breads are so dreamy, are they not?  They're always moist (or should be), and make wonderful gifts, as well.  They're perfect for impatient people who don't want to wait for dough to rise, then rise again.  I made this one up for an olive contest, and though it didn't win, you're going to love it.  It's literally bursting with those yummy Italian flavors everyone adores.  Unless you hate olives, in which case you can give BOTH loaves away.  Your friends will love you for it.

5 Cups flour

2 Tablespoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons dried basil

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 Cup FINELY grated mozzarella cheese

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

1 (12.5 oz) bottle green Spanish olives, with juice

1 Cup plain yogurt or sour cream

4 eggs

½ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons honey

1 Cup pine nuts

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, stir flour, baking powder, baking soda, garlic powder, basil, oregano, fennel seeds, and cheeses.

2. Using kitchen shears, coarsely cut olives in the jar.  In another mixing bowl, combine olives (with juice), yogurt, eggs, oil, honey, and nuts.  Add to dry mixture but do not overbeat.  Pour into 2 greased 9x5-inch loaf pans and bake for 70 minutes.  Cool 10 minutes in pan, then invert onto cooling rack. 

Makes 2 loaves.