Mango shrimps sleeping on an arugula bed

I went to the grocery store today and picked up some goodies including "President's Choice Blue Menu Mango Vinaigrette." I had the intention of using it as a meat marinade today but I had no meat...instead I found a dozen jumbo shrimps in the freezer. Thus, mango shrimps was born! I bought one bunch of arugula and had forgotten that if I don't get the organic baby arugula, it's SOOOOO bitter. However, the sweetness of the mango sauce evens it out.

Ingredients (serves 2):
12 jumbo shrimp, thawed
2 leaves of chopped fresh basil
sea salt, pepper, garlic power, paprika to taste
2 tsp. of soy sauce
3 tbsp. of mango vinaigrette
6 leaves of arugula
1 tsp. of lemon juice

Directions:
In a bowl, marinade shrimp with basil, sea salt, pepper,paprika, lemon juice and stir.
Heat sauce pan with olive oil at med-low heat, put shrimp in and cook for 2 minutes while continually stirring. Pour in mango vinaigrette and it's OK to be generous! Add soy sauce and keep stirring for 2 more minutes.

Wash and cut arugula leaves and plate it. Put shrimp on top. I added some strips of proscuitto on top as well to balance out the strong taste of arugula.

Veal Chop and Herbed Vegetables

I would have to say that I'm quite proud of this dish. The presentation is nothing fancy but it does it's job. On the other hand, the taste was spectacular. Again, this recipe is not difficult as I don't really believe in slaving away for a good meal. A good meal should be made with a few simple steps. I would have to say that this dish is restaurant worthy, again, maybe not in presentation but the taste...wow.

Ingredients:
For the Veal:
1 Veal Chop (It was on sale at the grocery store!)
A few sprigs of chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
1 clove of chopped garlic
1 tsp. of balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. of fig infused white vinegar (totally optional, I was just being fancy)
1 tsp. of dried rosemary

For the vegetables:
You can use whatever you like. In this dish, I used:
2 red potatoes, chopped into wedges
2 carrots, chopped into wedges
1/4 of a red onion, chopped into wedges
1/4 cup of chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tsps. of paprika
1 tsp. of brown sugar
3 tsps. of flour (to coat the veggies)
2 tbsps. of olive oil

Directions:
For the veal:
Marinate veal in all the ingredients listed above for as long or as little as you'd like. The ingredients that I have chosen for the veal are pretty strong in flavour that they actually don't require much marinating time. However, if you have the time to let it sit, by all means because the meat will be extra flavourful.

Heat a pan, add 1 tsp. of olive oil, add a bit of chopped garlic to be infused in the oil (Chinese trick). When the pan is ready, pan fry the veal, give 2 minutes to each side for a medium rare.

For the vegetables:
In a mixing bowl, add veggies and all the ingredients listed above. Mix, mix and mix some more. Then in a baking pan, add olive oil to the pan. Put the vegetables in the pan and drizzle olive oil on top of the veggies.
Pre-heat oven to 350 C for 10 minutes, then bake the dish for 30 minutes at 350C.

*You can add some veggie/chicken broth to the vegetables if you want them to be more tender.

Chicken Breast Whatchamacallits

This was dinner a few nights ago. Again, I don't really like to plan in advance, because it is more interesting to create with what you have in the fridge. I don't have a name for this dish, or at least nothing creative, so this dish will remain nameless until I or anyone else can come up with something worthy to name it.

Ingredients:
1 large chicken breast sliced into thin sheets
Proscuitto slices
1/4 chopped red onion
1/4 cup of feta cheese cubes
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of arugla, chopped
2 tsps. of soy sauce
1/2 cup of chopped parsley

Directions:
Marinate sliced chicken breast with your choice of herbs, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Let it sit for a bit while you make the topping.
For the topping:
In a bowl, mix together red onions, feta cheese, arugula, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste, you can add some garlic powder too, I did. =)
Place chicken breasts on a baking tray and add the topping on top of the chicken breasts.
Add a slice of proscuitto to top it off.
Pre-heat oven to 350 C for 10 minutes.
Bake chicken at 350 C for 25 minutes.

Enjoy!