Cranberry Cocktail

Great for holidays!! My kids love this juice and love to use fancy glasses!


1 64 oz bottle of cranberry juice cocktail (I used cran-apple)
1 liter bottle of lime Perrier water

Gently stir together. Cut lime wedges to garnish glasses.

Linguine with Shrimp Scampi

This is very good! I sprinkled some fresh grated parmesan cheese on top, too (which the recipe doesn't call for). Also if you are serving this to young children, I would recommend omitting the red pepper flakes- they tend to make it a tad spicy!

Linguine with Shrimp Scampi

Canola/vegetable oil

Salt

6 tablespoons butter

5 tablespoons olive oil

9 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup chopped parsley

grated zest of 1 lemon

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 lemon, thinly sliced into rounds

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

12 ounces linguine

Drizzle some oil in a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the linguine and cook until al dente, 7-10 minutes. Meanwhile, in another large heavy bottomed pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium low heat. Add the garlic. Saute for 1 minutes. Don't burn the garlic. Add the shrimp, salt and pepper and saute just until shrimp turns pink, five minutes. Remove from heat. Add parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices and red pepper. Toss to combine. Drain pasta and toss with sauce and serve.


From Food Network's Barefoot Contessa

Spicy Corn Chowder

This is not that spicy- it is tasty- and it was not too spicy for my kids- who are 4, 5 and 6!

1/2 lb bacon, chopped
1 small-medium onion, finely chopped
1 roasted red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups chicken stock
2 large red potatoes, diced
1 cup milk
16 ounces frozen corn
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
Salt and Pepper to taste

Saute bacon until crisp and browned and the fat is rendered. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel and reserve. There should be about 4 tablespoons of bacon grease in pan. Add the onions, garlic and red pepper to pan. Saute until tender and translucent, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in the flour until thoroughly combined. Cook the flour about 1 minute. Stir in chicken stock, potatoes, bay leaf, milk, corn and cayenne. Simmer about 10-15 minutes, until potatoes are soft. Garnish with crispy bacon.