Cajun Shrimp Cauliflower Alfredo Linguini

Cajun Shrimp Cauliflower Alfredo Linguini

20 Minute Meals 30 Minute Meals Cajun and Creole Cauliflower Food Gluten-free Main Course Pasta Recipe Seafood Shrimp

Unknown 06:34 Add Comment

Today I have a tasty cajun style blackened shrimp cauliflower alfredo linguini dish for you! This is basically an alfredo pasta dish with the alfredo sauce made lighter by using cauliflower rather than cream and it's just as nice and creamy and good! Some cajun seasoning is added to the sauce to add the cajun flavours and the shrimp is also seasoned with it before it is quickly blackened, by cooking it in a heavy bottom pan/skillet at a fairly high temperature, and added to the pasta and the creamy cauliflower alfredo sauce. Even with the extra step of steaming the cauliflower, this cajun shrimp cauliflower alfredo linguini comes together in no time making it a nice and quick and easy meal that is perfect for busy week nights and it's also impressive enough to serve to guests!

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Taco Lime Grilled Shrimp

Taco Lime Grilled Shrimp

20 Minute Meals 30 Minute Meals Gluten-free Grill Low-carb Main Course Recipe Seafood Shrimp

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The taco lime grilled shrimp from the creamy avocado zucchini noodle pasta with taco lime grilled shrimp was so good that I just had to break it out into it's own recipe! I mean it's so nice and easy to make and oh so finger licking good! You can use it is a ton of different recipes from tacos, to quesadillas, to pastas, etc. or you can even just eat straight off the skewer (that's where the finger licking comes in!)! You pretty much just need to marinate the shrimp in a mixture of lime juice and a tasty homemade taco seasoning, skewer it and grill it up! There is just no way to go wrong with grilled meat on a stick and this taco lime grilled shrimp is sure to please!

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Thai Peanut Chicken Avocado Burritos

Thai Peanut Chicken Avocado Burritos

20 Minute Meals 30 Minute Meals Avocado Chicken Food Gluten-free Low-carb Main Course Mexican Recipe Texmex Thai

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After teasing you a while ago with photos of these tasty Thai style peanut chicken and avocado burritos on Instagram, I finally bring you the recipe and it was well worth the wait! (I often post previews of upcoming recipes on Instagram so follow Closet Cooking on Instagram to see what's coming!) These burritos were inspired by the thai peanut chicken saute that I made recently and I could not help but think that succulent chicken would be simply divine in grilled burritos along with cool and creamy avocados and of course the tasty spicy Thai peanut sauce not to mention plenty of ooey gooey melted cheese! Oh my! If you are starting off with already cooked chicken and you have the peanut sauce made (or store bought) then these burritos come together in no time flat making for quick and easy meals or even midnight snacks! :) I hope that you enjoy these peanut chicken and avocado burritos as much as I do; my only recommendation would be to make a double batch because if you are like me you will practically inhale them!

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Quick and Easy Beef and Pepper Stir-fry

Quick and Easy Beef and Pepper Stir-fry

20 Minute Meals 30 Minute Meals Beef Chinese Food Gluten-free Low-carb Main Course Recipe

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Today is the Lunar New Year, also sometimes called the Chinese New Year, and since it's a work night I thought that I would share a recipe for a tasty, quick and easy beef and pepper stir-fry! This steak and pepper stir-fry takes only 20 minutes to make, that's just as much time as it takes to cook the rice to serve it with, so it's definitely a great meal for a busy work night! Despite being nice and easy to make this recipe is just packed with flavour starting with the usual suspects including soy sauce, garlic and ginger with some chili sauce for heat and a finish of sesame oil for those amazing aromatics! I also like to throw in a not so secret ingredient that adds something special and right now my favourite is sweet soy sauce which has a caramel-y sweet flavour that just makes the dish shine but other equally great ingredients include hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar or even molasses; so change it up for something new every time! No matter how you make it this quick and easy beef and pepper stir-fry is sure to please!

Enjoy the Lunar New Year!

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Balsamic Honey and Mustard Pork Chops

Balsamic Honey and Mustard Pork Chops

20 Minute Meals 30 Minute Meals Food Gluten-free Main Course Pork Recipe

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For todays recipe I use what I sometimes feel is an under appreciated ingredient, pork chops, and these balsamic honey and mustard pork chops are far from ordinary and certainly not boring! The pork chops are marinated in a tasty sauce that starts with the classic honey and mustard flavour combo to which balsamic vinegar is added along with garlic, soy sauce and sriracha for some heat. The 'secret' ingredient in the sauce is some blackberry jam which adds a hint of fruitiness and since you can change the flavour of the jam whenever you want you get a completely new dish each time.

To make these pork chops, you just need to marinate them in the sauce, cook then in a pan (or on the grill) and then cook the remaining marinade down into a thick and tasty sauce to serve over the chops. Not including the marinating time this recipe takes less that 20 minutes to make so if you marinate in the morning then dinner is ready in less than 15 minutes at night! I've made these balsamic honey and mustard pork chops so many time recently and I'm sure that they will become a staple in your meal rotation!

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Thanksgiving Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Thanksgiving Grilled Cheese Sandwich

20 Minute Meals 30 Minute Meals Food Grilled Cheese Sandwich Recipe Sandwich Turkey

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Now that the Thanksgiving dinner is done with it's time to get to the fun part, enjoying the leftovers in tasty new dishes! I am a big fan of grilled cheese sandwiches and I was thinking that it would be nice to make a Thanksgiving leftover grilled cheese sandwich except instead of using slices of bread, why now use the stuffing/dressing? The basic idea was to press the leftover stuffing/dressing down into the pan in the basic shape of a slice of bread, top it with cheese, leftover roast turkey, cranberry sauce etc. and grill it up until the cheese has melted and the outsides are nice and golden brown and slightly crispy! I was thinking that the whole idea was based on the stuffing/dressing as bread so it was not going to hold up that well so why not sprinkle even more cheese on the outside so that it would melt and caramelize and hold the 'bread' together a bit more. Even with all of the cheese holding this grilled cheese sandwich together it's still going to be one monstrous sandwich that is eaten with a knife and a fork! I topped the Thanksgiving leftover grilled cheese sandwich off with some gravy and cranberry sauce and a side of garlic mashed potatoes making for one really tasty lunch for the day after Thanksgiving!

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Chicken Enchilada Chilaquiles

Chicken Enchilada Chilaquiles

20 Minute Meals 30 Minute Meals Avocado Breakfast Egg Food Gluten-free Main Course Mexican Recipe Texmex

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It's time for another quick and easy chicken dinner, chicken enchilada chilaquiles! Chilaquiles is a Mexican dish where tortillas are fried until golden brown and crispy before being tossed in salsa and cooked until they start to soften and optionally topped with things like cheese and crema. I like to kick chilaquiles up a notch, making them even more hearty, with the flavours of chicken enchiladas, starting with an enchilada sauce, as the salsa, to which I add shredded chicken, corn and black beans. From there I top the chicken enchilada chilaquiles with onions, cheese, crema, avocado, cilantro and even a fried egg! Of course you can top these chicken enchilada chilaquiles with your favourite chicken enchilada toppings and I won't tell anyone if you enjoy them for breakfast, dinner or even a late night snack!

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Coconut Shrimp with Sweet Chili Sauce

Coconut Shrimp with Sweet Chili Sauce

20 Minute Meals 30 Minute Meals 6 Ingredients Appetizer Food Gluten-free Main Course Recipe Seafood Shrimp Thai Vietnamese

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After rounding up my tastiest shrimp recipes I realized that I had not shared one of my favourites, coconut shrimp! Coconut shrimp are large shrimp served coated in a crispy golden brown panko breadcrumb and coconut mixture that are just asking to be dipped into some sweet chili sauce or better yet pineapple sweet chili sauce! I sometimes like to add a touch of lime zest to the breadcrumb mixture for a hint of citrus and you can always kick up the sweet chili sauce with something like apricot preserves if the pineapple sweet chili sauce does not float your boat. (I think the coconut and pineapple flavour combo is just fabulous!) This coconut lime shrimp is the perfect finger food for your next dinner party, it's also great on game night and to be completely honest, I like to make a large batch and just eat it as a meal!

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Maple Dijon Apple Cider Grilled Pork Chops

Maple Dijon Apple Cider Grilled Pork Chops

20 Minute Meals 30 Minute Meals Food Gluten-free Grill Low-carb Main Course Maple Pork Recipe

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Today is officially the first day of Fall and it's still warm enough out to do some grilling so these maple dijon apple cider grilled pork chops are a great way to usher in the new season! As long as it's warm enough out I like to grill the pork chops for this recipe but it works just as well pan fried and either way they get smothered in a tasty maple dijon apple cider sauce just brimming with sliced apples. The sauce has a base of apple cider sweetened with maple syrup along with plenty of dijon mustard before adding some miso paste, soy sauce, sriracha and garlic to round things out. If you have the grill out feel free to grill the apples otherwise you can saute them until they are just starting to turn tender but are still a little crisp. (You can use either tart apples or sweet apples depending on how you like it!) No matter how you slice it, these maple dijon apple cider grilled pork chops are sure to become a staple in your fall recipe lineup!

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Chicken and Avocado Burritos

Chicken and Avocado Burritos

20 Minute Meals 30 Minute Meals Avocado Chicken Food Gluten-free Low-carb Main Course Mexican Recipe Texmex

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Today I have some tasty chicken and avocado burritos for you! They are so easy to make, you simply wrap the chicken, avocado, cheese, salsa verde, sour cream and cilantro up in a tortilla, grill it and enjoy! Just make sure to put the cheese on the top or bottom of the burrito so that is melts and gets all nice and ooey and gooey when it's grilled. Feel free to serve these burritos with extra salsa and sour cream for dipping! These burritos don't take long to make, they are nice and portable, filling and most importantly, packed full of flavour!

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Caprese Stuffed Avocados

Caprese Stuffed Avocados

20 Minute Meals 30 Minute Meals 6 Ingredients Appetizer Avocado Food Gluten-free Low-carb Main Course Recipe Salad Vegetarian

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During the summer one of my favourite things is all of the fresh ripe tomatoes and basil and the combination of the two is absolutely fabulous! Things get even better when you add some fresh mozzarella and touch of balsamic vinegar to the mix, caprese salad style, and I often like to throw some diced avocado in as well. These caprese stuffed avocados are a slightly different take on that idea where an avocado half is filled with a mixture of diced tomatoes and fresh mozzarella tossed in a homemade basil pesto served on a bed of salad greens all topped with a drizzle of balsamic reduction! The combination of the cool and creamy avocado, juicy tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh basil pesto and tangy balsamic vinegar is simply divine; pure summer on a plate!

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Sweet Chili Chicken Salad

Sweet Chili Chicken Salad

20 Minute Meals 30 Minute Meals Chicken Food Gluten-free Low-carb Main Course Recipe Salad Thai

Unknown 14:45 Add Comment

Armed with my shiny new sweet chili dressing it was time to use it and it only seemed natural to use it in a chicken salad since the idea came when I was enjoying a chicken satay salad in spicy peanut dressing . I decided to go with a lettuce base for this salad and then I filled it out with some ingredients that I commonly use in Thai style dishes including bean sprouts, carrots, red peppers and cucumbers. Next up is the chicken and to make things easy I used shredded chicken so you can use any leftover chicken that you may have. The salad is then garnished with chopped peanuts, sliced chilies and some fresh herbs including one or more of the following: cilantro, mint and Thai basil. I have to say that the resulting salad has to one of the best that I have had in a while! It is so fresh, juicy, crunchy and full of flavour provided by the amazing sweet chili dressing ! One thing that I noticed is that the dressing clings to the chicken nicely ensuring that the chicken in nice and moist and very tasty!

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Spicy Peanut Chicken Tacos

Spicy Peanut Chicken Tacos

20 Minute Meals 30 Minute Meals Avocado Chicken Food Gluten-free Main Course Mexican Recipe Taco Thai

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I am kind of obsessed with tacos and I am always experimenting with different ingredients in them so when I made the slow cooker shredded spicy peanut chicken for the spicy peanut chicken rice bowls I naturally though about using it in tacos. One of the great things about tacos is how flexible they are! At their base they are of course tortillas filled with things and I sometimes like to think of them as having a main ingredient such as a meat with one or more accompanying ingredients that are there complement and contrast the main filling. Up next is a salsa or a sauce and finally some herbs and maybe a splash of lime juice to finish things off. With the meat having already been chosen for these tacos as the slow cooker shredded spicy peanut chicken and the 'salsa' as the spicy peanut sauce that left the other accompanying ingredients. I was sure that creamy avocados would go perfectly with the spicy peanut sauce and chicken and that some sweet and tangy onions would complement them all nicely. These tacos would not be complete with some Thai inspired herbs including cilantro, basil and mint and a garnish of chopped peanuts and some extra heat from some birds eye chili were a must.

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Chicken Piccata

Chicken Piccata

20 Minute Meals 30 Minute Meals Chicken Food Italian Low-carb Main Course Recipe

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After having recently made the chicken marsala , it reminded me of another Italian chicken and pan sauce dish, chicken piccata and I could not resist updating the photos for the recipe. Piccata is an Italian method of preparing meat where the meat is cut thinly, breaded and then fried in oil or butter before a pan sauce is made with the drippings, white wine, lemon juice, capers and butter. Next to the amazing flavour of the pan sauce, my favourite thing about this dish is how quick and easy it is to make; all you need to do is cook the meat, add the ingredients for the pan sauce and reduce it. Not only is this dish easy enough to make on a weeknight but it will also not fail to impress any dinner guest!

Note: Normally the chicken is coated in flour before frying but I prefer to omit this step.

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Pizza Quesadillas (aka Pizzadillas)

Pizza Quesadillas (aka Pizzadillas)

20 Minute Meals 30 Minute Meals Appetizer Food Low-carb Main Course Pizza Quesadilla Recipe

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I was immediately captivated by the idea of topping a quesadilla like a pizza when I first came across it a while ago! I mean you really cannot go wrong combining two great things like quesadillas and pizza! Ever since I made the taco quesadilla pizzas I have been wanting to try making pizza pizza quisadillas and I could not hold off on making them any longer! The basic idea is that you make a pizza quesadilla, stuffed with your favourite pizza ingredients including pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni and black olives, and then you top the quesadilla with more of the pizza toppings and quickly bake it to melt the cheese on top!

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Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Alfredo Pasta

Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Alfredo Pasta

20 Minute Meals 30 Minute Meals 6 Ingredients Food Gluten-free Main Course Pasta Recipe Vegetarian

Unknown 13:47 Add Comment

Another thing that I really like about this time of year is all of the red peppers that are around. Not only are they plentiful but they are also cheap and every year at this time I head down to the farmers market and pick up a large basket full of them. By far my favourite thing to do with red peppers is to roast them and luckily roasted red peppers keep well in the freezer so I roast most of the basket and freeze them for use throughout the year. Since I was roasting up a bunch of red peppers anyways it seemed only natural to use some of them right away and I was thinking that a creamy roasted red pepper and goat cheese pasta was a great way to go!

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Bacon Jam and Guacamole Quesadilla topped with a Fried Egg and Bacon Jam Vinaigrette Drizzle

Bacon Jam and Guacamole Quesadilla topped with a Fried Egg and Bacon Jam Vinaigrette Drizzle

20 Minute Meals 30 Minute Meals 6 Ingredients Appetizer Avocado Bacon Breakfast Food Main Course Quesadilla Recipe

Unknown 13:41 Add Comment

Thoughts of bacon jam have been haunting me ever since my first batch ran out a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately it ran out long before I had finished using it in all of the things that I wanted to and I figured that that was the perfect excuse to make another batch! The next thing on my list to try were these quesadillas with bacon jam, guacamole and plenty of melted cheese. Despite the fact that the bacon jam is extremely versatile and can be used in a lot of different ways I seem to keep thinking of it in terms of breakfasts and it seemed only natural to top the quesadillas with a fried egg and have them for breakfast! I was thinking that the fried egg might be a little lonely sitting there on top of the quesadilla all by itself so I jazzed it up a bit with a drizzle of a bacon jam vinaigrette.

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