Southern Feast

I've been making some repeat offenders lately (spaghetti, chili, etc.), but this week I had a hankerin' for some soul food. Monday was a work holiday for me and since my boyfriend had to work, I thought I'd treat him to a Southern feast when he got home. The menu was Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, truffled macaroni and cheese, mustard greens, and cornbread. This is the food I grew up on, so recipes weren't required. However, the one complaint about this meal is that everything takes about the same amount time to cook and I'm just one little girl with 2 hands. You should've heard me screaming "Ow!" while trying to flip the popping steaks while mixing cornbread without letting the preheated oil in the oven ignite into flames. But meals where a lot is going on at once make me feel accomplished when I get to sit down and eat 'em. This one was well worth it and the boyfriend most definitely agreed. In fact, I think he said he was "the luckiest boy in the world for having a girl who could cook stuff like that." I'd have to agree... ;)

BTW, have I mentioned lately how heinous I find those plates? Heinous!

Spicy Shrimp & Pasta Casserole

A One Pot Shot success! Finally! Hooray!

I went back to trusty FoodNetwork.com and found this recipe from Paula Deen. It sounded so strange that I decided I just had to try it, especially since it included a few of the bf's favorite things-- angel hair pasta and salsa. I bet he never thought he'd get those 2 items together and I certainly never thought I'd mix them! It has some Italian, Mexican, and Greek flavors going on, but it works. Trust me. It works. As a general rule, seafood and cheese do not mix. Except in this recipe. I found that it's not cheesy at all, just creamy. A few things I did differently...

-I accidentally ended up with mozzarella instead of Swiss cheese. I don't think it made much difference, but next time I would go for Swiss.
-I used Greek yogurt instead of plain because I like that little tang.
-I used a full box of angel hair because I wanted lots of leftovers. In retrospect, I probably should've upped the liquids a bit more, but it turned out fine anyway.
-I used hot salsa. We like it hot.
-I tossed my shrimp in salt, pepper, cayenne, and red pepper flakes. Again, we like it hot. And the title of the recipe is "spicy" but it only calls for "mild salsa." No ma'am, Ms. Paula. I want some spice!

I served it with a side salad and roasted broccoli and cauliflower.

My picture taking skills are terrible, especially when I'm hungry. I snap a pic and dive in. And since I'd decided to send my gluttonous January out with a bang, we topped this meal off with a lazy version of a hot fudge brownie sundae. Little Debbie brownie + chocolate syrup + zap in microwave for 25 seconds + vanilla ice cream + more hot syrup. Mmmmm!