Shrimp and Orzo

I made a shrimp & Orzo salad once for Kirk's birthday picnic (almost 3 years ago when we were little college sweethearts) and it was delicious.  When he passed the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam I  ran to the store in a speedy attempt to make a special dinner before he got home (I had like 45 minutes prep time including a grocery run), I decided shrimp and orzo would be fast and special.

I served it with a tasty rotisserie chicken, dutch crust french bread (so good), fresh pineapple and Henry Weinhard's root beer (one of Kirk's favorites).  This meal was super duper fast and delicious.  I think it surprised Kirk that I was able throw it together so quickly because it was on the table ready when he walked in the door.

Shrimp & Orzo Salad

Ingredients:

• 1/2 box of Orzo
• 10-12 fully cooked Shrimp - (mine were frozen so I thawed them)
  
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1-2 fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 yellow squash, cubed
• 1 zucchini, cubed
• 1/2 cup cherry/grape tomatoes
  
• 1 tablespoons of pesto sauce
  
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

1. Cook orzo according to package directions.  Drain and place in serving bowl.  Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and mix to coat.
   
2.  Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a frying pan on medium heat and add the vegetables.  Add the thyme and salt and pepper to taste.  Cook, stirring frequently.  When the squash is cooked (it'll he browned a bit and tender but still firm) add the shrimp.  Remove from heat, remove the thyme sprigs.
   
3. Add the vegetables and shrimp to the orzo.  Add pesto, then salt and pepper to taste.  Stir to mix.  Let stand for 5 minutes.  Serve warm.

Like I said, this was really easy.  I'm sure I could have looked up a fancy, labor intensive recipe like I did 3 years ago but I was short on time.  Kirk thought it was tasty enough for lunches later and claimed that he loved it.

For dessert, we had a smorgasbord of delectable treats for Raley's and Martinelli's.  I can't remember what all the names were (chocolate decadence and key lime cheese cake were 2 of the 4 I splurged on) but seriously, if you have a Raley's near you you have to try their single serving desserts.  Incredible!
 

Cobbler

Last night I decided to make use of all our frozen fruit and I made a yummy cobbler and some vanilla ice cream for the top.  Then, Kirk told me he needed to bring something to work to make up for the lack of doing dish duty this week (how cute, they gave him a little "chore").  So, I made the same thing for them.  Kirk tells me they ate it all up and LOVED it. 

It was really easy and there wasn't really a recipe (I just tossed some things together) but I'll give you as close as I can to the actual measurements I used!

Cobbler (9x13 pan):

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 6-8 cups of frozen fruit
• I used 2 16 oz. bags of Mixed berries (blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries) and 1 bag of frozen peaches
•  1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup flour
• Zest and juice from one lemon

 Topping:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup oats
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup cold butter cut into cubes

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 350*.  In a large mixing bowl, toss the frozen fruit with sugar, flour, lemon zest and juice.  You may need to add a bit of room temperature water.  I left my fruit frozen but used enough water to make the berries defrost a bit and break up slightly.  They mixture wasn't super wet but it was moist.
2. Place filling into the greased baking dish (I used a 9x13 inch pan) and spread to cover the bottom of the pan evenly.  
3. Mix together all the dry topping ingredients.  Add the butter and mix with an electric or standing mixer until crumbly.  Pour the topping on top of the fruit and spread evenly.  You should be able to completely cover the top of the fruit.
4. Bake for 45-50 minutes.  The filling should be bubbly and seep through the topping around the edges.

Best served warm with ice cream.

One of Kirk's coworker's sent this email to him: "Tell your wife it was AMAZING! And thank you!"  I guess it wasn't a bad way to start a cold, wet Friday.

Chocolate Crinkles

Pretty sure these are typically a Christmas cookie but they are so easy I have to share the recipe.  They take no time at all!

Ingredients:

• 1 box devil's food cake mix with pudding
• 1/2 cup vegtable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

• Heat oven to 350*.  In a large bowl, mix the cake mix, oil, eggs and vanilla with spoon until well blended.
• Scoop dough and shape into 1-inch balls (I used a cookie scoop and didn't even have to shape into balls!).  Roll balls in powdered sugar and place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
• Bake 10-12 minutes or until cookies are set.  Cool on cookie sheet 1 minute then transfer to a wire rack.  Cool completely.

Enjoy!