Garlic Butter Shrimp

Who loves garlic butter shrimp? I do! It’s also a super easy dish to make with few ingredients. I always have frozen shrimp in my freezer so this was an easy go-to meal to make, especially after not having been to the grocery store in almost a week!

GARLIC BUTTER SHRIMP (serves 2-3)

Ingredients:

·       20 shrimps, deveined with tail on

·       4 tbsp butter, melted

·       ¼ cup olive oil

·       8 cloves of garlic, minced

·       ½ tsp salt

·       ½ tsp black pepper

·       1 tsp red pepper flakes

·       ½ lime or lemon, juiced + additional slices for serving

·       1 tomato diced (optional)

·       ¼ cup chopped cilantro (for garnishing)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Make a shallow cut on the back of the shrimp. Line an 8 or 10-inch cast iron skillet with shrimp. In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients together (except for the tomatoes and cilantro). Pour marinade over the shrimp. Add diced tomatoes on top.

Bake for roughly 15 minutes. Oven times vary so make sure you check the shrimp around 10-12 minutes in.

Serve over rice or pasta. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and garnish with slices of lime or lemon.

Garlic Noodles with Parmesan

I only learned how to make garlic noodles recently after having it out at a restaurant and I was immediately hooked! I could not stop stuffing my face with noodles! The recipe only involves a few ingredients and is so simple to make. Garlic noodles is the perfect weeknight dinner or side dish. And it’s addictive. You won’t be able to stop making it. Sometimes I unintentionally end up making it because I run out of groceries and these ingredients are all I have on hand. Try it and let me know what you think! I have a reel up on Instagram if you want to see the video of the garlic noodles being made.

GARLIC NOODLES WITH PARMESAN (serves 4):

Ingredients:

1 lb thin spaghetti pasta

4 tbsp olive oil

12 cloves of garlic, minced

4 tbsp unsalted butter

4 tsp soy sauce

4 tsp sugar

3½ tbsp oyster sauce

3 cups of sliced scallions

¾ cup Parmesan

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add garlic and butter. Lightly toast. Add sugar and oyster sauce and mix. Lower heat. Throw in sliced scallions and lightly cook. Toss in cooked pasta, coating it with the sauce. Add soy sauce. Turn off heat. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese in layers directly in the pan and toss again. Garnish with additional fresh scallions and more cheese.

Pan-Seared Steak with Mushrooms & Asparagus

Sponsored by Aspen Ridge® Natural Angus Beef

I love a good steak and I especially love making it myself because it is super easy to do. It makes me feel kind of fancy and it looks really impressive too. I have partnered with Aspen Ridge® Natural Angus Beef to show you how to make a beautiful steak dinner at home. Their beef is Certified Humane®, has no added hormones, and no antibiotics ever. Because of its high quality, USDA Prime beef is generally sold in hotels and restaurants, but Aspen Ridge Prime beef is now available at your local Pavilions in Southern California!

I prefer a NY Strip cut and I like to cook my steak in a cast iron skillet to create a nice outside crust. It takes less than 10 minutes to cook the perfect steak at home! This is so much easier, more satisfying, and less expensive than dining out. Using Aspen Ridge Beef, you can create a delicious meal for that perfect date night in, special occasion, or celebration. In my case, it was a nice little weekend treat all for myself. My neighbor happened to walk past my door as I was cooking, and he immediately texted me to ask what I was making because he could smell my steak from outside and he thought it smelled so good! Even though I appreciated the compliment, I didn’t share my steak with him. I ate it entirely by myself! It was so delicious!

I paired my steak with a couple easy side vegetable dishes—sauteed garlic butter mushrooms and grilled asparagus. They cook quickly and complement the steak. If you have another vegetable you prefer or enjoy your steak with crispy roasted potatoes instead, that’s fine too. Pair your steak with whatever your belly craves.

Pan-Seared Steak with Garlic Butter Mushrooms & Asparagus (serves 2)

Steak Ingredients:

• 1 lb. of Aspen Ridge® Natural Angus Beef NY Strip, about 1¼ inch thick

• 2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed

• 2 sprigs of fresh Rosemary

• 2 tbsp butter

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

• salt

• pepper

Garlic Butter Mushrooms:

• 12 oz of mixed mushrooms (I use a combo of crimini + shiitake), stems removed and thinly sliced

• 2 cloves of garlic, diced

• 2 tbsp parsley, chopped

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• ·¼ tsp ground black pepper

• ¼ - ½ Tsp sea salt

• 1 tbsp butter

• 2-3 lemon wedges

Asparagus Ingredients:

• ½ lb of skinny asparagus spears, bottom stems trimmed

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• salt

Directions:

Place NY strip on a plate. Pat dry. Season generously with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. You may not need to finish the steak in the oven if your cut is no thicker than 1¼ inch and/or if you prefer your steak on the medium to medium-rare side. I like to have the oven on just in case the steak is thicker than I expected, or if the outside of the steak has already developed a perfectly brown crust but the inside is still not cooked to my desired temperature. Finishing the steak in the oven allows the steak to continue cooking without burning the outside.

Heat up a cast iron skillet over medium high heat with vegetable oil for about 5 minutes or until it starts smoking.

Place the steak gently on the hot skillet. Sear the steak for about 3-4 minutes on the first side, creating a deep brown crust.

Using tongs, flip the steak over and cook the other side for another 3 minutes. Add butter, garlic, and Rosemary to the skillet. Cook for another minute, tilting your skillet back and forth, so that the seasoned oil and butter fully coat the bottom of the steak. Turn steak onto its sides and sear all the edges as well. Flip the steak over a couple times. Repeatedly spoon the sauce over the top of the steak as it cooks.

Transfer steak to a cutting board and let it rest for 5 minutes, loosely covered with aluminum foil, before cutting into it. This stove-top cooking method should yield a medium-rare to medium cooked steak.

However, if your steak has already developed a dark brown crust on the outside but the inside is still too rare for your taste, you can transfer the entire skillet to the oven and cook for about 5 minutes more. This is to avoid burning the outside of the steak on the stovetop while continuing to cook the inside. After 5 minutes, remove the steak from the oven. Transfer to a cutting board, cover loosely with aluminum foil, and let it rest for about 5 minutes before cutting into it.

Meanwhile, in the same hot skillet, heat up 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat for a couple minutes. Add trimmed asparagus spears. Sprinkle with salt and cook for about 2-3 minutes, flipping over halfway through. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a separate pan over medium high heat. Add mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lightly cook for a minute. Drain excess liquid. Add butter and garlic. Cook for another minute. Toss in parsley. Turn off stove. When ready to serve, add freshly squeezed lemon juice and drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil.

Plate sliced steak with asparagus. Spoon over sauteed garlic butter mushrooms on top of the steak or serve on the side.

Note: According to foodsafety.gov, the minimum safe temperature is 145°F for steaks.

Yogurt-Marinated Chicken with Tzatziki

You know how I came up with the name Love in My Belly for my blog and Instagram handle? It came to me 8 years ago when I lived in Hong Kong and I was homesick and craving a homemade meal. Most people ate out almost everyday. It’s part of the culture. Plus, kitchens in the average Hong Kong apartments are really small. Street food was not only delicious but was also fairly inexpensive. I had one friend there who loved to cook and often invited me over for dinner. Whenever she did, it made me so happy. I would respond to her Blackberry messages (back when Blackberries were a thing) with a heart emoji followed by “in my belly.” And the phrase Love in My Belly stuck with me ever since.

One of the meals she first made me was yogurt-marinated chicken. She never gave me the exact recipe (because she never measured anything) but she did give me a general idea of the ingredients. I made it a couple times in Hong Kong but haven’t made it since. It has been 8 years and suddenly I felt the urge to make it again. I altered the recipe a little bit and this time, I wrote everything down so that I could share it with all of you! I’m not really sure how to categorize it. This yogurt-marinated chicken recipe has Moroccan and Middle Eastern influences. But my friend originally made this dish with garam masala, a blend of Indian spices. I chose to omit garam masala from the recipe simply because I did not have the spices, but I did keep the ginger paste and the chili from her version and also added lemon and paprika. The recipe is not perfect yet but I thought it was pretty good! The spices are so fragrant and the chicken is so moist and tender.

Yogurt-Marinated Chicken (serves about 2-3)

Ingredients:

• 1¼-1½ lb boneless skinless chicken thighs (you can use chicken breast but I prefer dark meat)

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt

• ½ cup cilantro, chopped (and more for garnish)

• 6 small pearl tomatoes, cut into chunks (optional)

• 3 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 tbsp grated ginger or ginger paste

• 2 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp paprika

• 1 tsp chili powder (½ tsp = mild, 1 tsp = a little spicy. I prefer 1 tsp)

• ½ tsp ground cinnamon

• 1½ tsp salt

• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Tzatziki (optional)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup or small package of full fat Greek Yogurt

• ½ cup cucumber, minced (squeeze all the water out before mixing with the yogurt)

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• ½ tsp extra virgin olive oil

• ½-¾ tsp salt

• 1 garlic, minced

• 2 tbsp chopped dill

Directions:

Mix all of the ingredients (except for the tomatoes) in a bowl. Score the meat and then smother it with the marinade. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let meat marinate in the fridge for several hours or overnight. I marinated mine for 6 hours.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bake chicken for about 30-35 minutes or so. Half way through, add the chopped tomatoes. For the last 5 minutes, broil the chicken. Serve with rice and garnish with fresh cilantro. I served my chicken with garlic onion rice and a side of Tzatziki.

The Tzatziki is not necessary but it is definitely a nice addition if you end up finding the chicken to be a little too spicy for you. The yogurt in the Tzatziki helps tame down the spice. Plus, Tzatziki is a very refreshing and delicious side/sauce. If you choose to serve with Tzatziki, mix all the ingredients above and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. When serving, drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil on top and some freshly chopped dill.