Hi all! We made a delicious dish the other night for dinner and wanted to share it with you! We were looking for something light and healthy and this was perfect.
Adapted from Gimme Delicious Servings: 4
Ingredients
Olive oil
Butter
Shrimp, deveined, and tails removed
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
Grape tomatoes, halved
3-4 cups baby spinach
3/4 – 1 cup light cream
1/4 cup freshly grated Romano &/
Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Start by heating large skillet – when heated to medium high/ hot, add equal amounts olive oil & butter to coat the bottom.
Once heated & shimmering, add the shrimp & some salt & pepper.
Toss the shrimp & sauté them in the oil & butter for approximately 3-4 minutes.
With a slotted spoon, remove the sautéed shrimp & set aside.
Add the tomatoes & sauté for about 2 minutes.
Then, add the garlic & the spinach. Toss and sauté for approximately 2-3 minutes. You want your spinach to be a lovely, bright green… & not overcooked.
Add the light cream & cheese(s).
Mix together till they make a nice & creamy sauce.
Reduce to a low heat, add the shrimp you set aside & toss everything together until the shrimp are well coated with the sauce.
Taste the sauce & adjust the seasonings to your personal preference.
Serve immediately & Enjoy! We even serve it right in the pan we make it in! 😉
Take a look… We loved it! You could even make this and toss with pasta. Let us know if you do!
I was the Preschool and Lower School Director at The Swain School from September, 1987 – June, 2008. Food / Cooking being a Passion of mine…. For the School’s 60th Anniversary, I volunteered my time to compiling an Anniversary Cookbook! To this day…. People still comment to me about how they refer to it for some favorites!
The cookbook is out-of-print so….
I will be sharing some of the recipes on this blog that I / our family submitted and some of our favorites from our Swain friends!!
Submitted by The Lipsky Family: “TRUE” CAESAR SALAD*
created by Caesar Cardini at Caesar’s Hotel in Tijuana, Mexico in 1924
2 heads of romaine, washed, dried
and refrigerated at least 8 hours
3/4 cup garlic flavored oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground
1 large lemon, halved
6 – 8 drops Worcestershire sauce
2 coddled eggs
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup croutons
wooden salad bowl
GARLIC FLAVORED OLIVE OIL
put 4-5 cloves of garlic in mixture of 1 1/2 cup olive oil and 1/2 cup vegetable oil
cover and let set 4 -5 days – remove garlic.
CODDLED EGGS
bring water to a boil, add eggs.
Remove pan from heat – after 1 minute remove eggs from water and set aside.
CROUTONS
take 2 day old bread – remove crusts – cut into 25 squares.
Place in roasting pan and dribble with 3/4 cup garlic flavored oil, flip to coat.
Bake at 350 (degree oven) for 30 minutes, flipping cubes every 5 minutes.
SALAD
Place romaine in salad bowl and toss with 1/2 cup oil (using a waving motion).
Add salt and pepper, toss again.
Add lemons, Worcestershire sauce, break eggs over salad, add remaining 1/4 cup oil and cheese and toss again.
Add croutons last and toss lightly.
After gathering ingredients, make this in front of your guests at the table. Arrange leaves on a dinner plate stem side out – this makes it easier to eat with fingers!!
*Submitted by The Lipsky Family to The Swain School – 60 Years of Traditions and Family Recipes in 1989
As a family, Lenten Meals to us are an opportunity to enjoy “meatless” meals. And, I do mean — ENJOY! During the Lenten Season, we make an effort to eat “meatless” two times a week — on Wednesdays and Fridays. I will do my best to post some of our favorites during these next few weeks!
Growing up in a four row-home complex surrounded by family members (through birth & adopted)…. grandmothers, aunts, uncles and cousins…. during the time when every Friday was meatless, I have many a recipe for “meatless” / “lighter” meals. Many are the “normal” fare…. Macaroni & Cheese, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Spaghetti in a meatless red sauce, Fish Dishes, Egg Dishes, Crepes (palacinka)….. But, some are very “ethnic” in nature. As you will notice as I share them with you through my posts. I expect at times, you may be taken back asking yourself —- “Really?” As to the likes of our Slovenian “Turnip Pie” for example. And, then you will make it, taste it and delight in its deliciousness!
Here’s our favorite recipe for…
Broccoli Cheese Soup
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 medium onion, chopped
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
4 Tablespoons flour
2 cups half-and-half
2 cups vegetable broth, homemade or store-bought
1 small head of broccoli, washed, cutting mainly, bite size, florets for the soup (you can buy the florets at your local grocery and use the stems if you wish)
1 cup carrot, julienne thinly or grate
salt and pepper, to taste
8 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
In a saute pan, melt your butter and saute the onions. Set aside.
Melt the additional butter in the same pan and whisk in the flour for approximately 5 minutes.
Stirring constantly, slowly add the half and half.
Cook for approximately another 1 – 2 minutes.
Then, add the vegetable broth — as you continue to whisk the ingredients together.
Reduce your heat and simmer this for approximately 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, add the sautéed onions, broccoli florets and carrots.
Cook over a low heat until the vegetables are tender.
Approximately, 20 – 25 minutes.
Taste and add salt and pepper to your preference.
At this point some people like to puree it in a blender or use your infuser blender (my favorite!).
We just eat it like this because the florets are bite size.
The soup should be a nice consistency.
Over low heat, now add the shredded cheese stirring until it is well blended.
Serve it in a hollowed out mini round bread or just serve it with some delicious crusted bread!
Top with a little of the shredded cheese and as always…..
Meatless Meals 3:Lenten Meals: Mary Ann’sCrab Imperial– Adapted from a covetedCossie Snyder’s recipe!
During Lent, it was a given, Cossie Snyder’s in Allentown, Pennsylvania is where you would find Bob, our girls, my mom and myself on a Friday night. Marie Geletkanych, co-owner with her husband, would wait on our table. A lovely woman, knew us by name and we always ended our meal with the most delightful of conversations. And, some Irish coffee! :)!
Enjoying Cossie Snyder’s because of Marie’s hospitality was one thing but, another…. they had good food! Lobster tails, fish, crabcakes, Crab Imperial — were some of our favorites on their menu. Mom always got breaded fish, the girls and I enjoyed their Lobster tails! To this day, I will say — It was the best or could compete with any lobster tail in our area or anywhere we have eaten to date. The reason I say that…. they knew how to make them! They were perfect! Not undercooked and not over cooked — and, always served with drawn butter!
Bob’s favorite, on the other hand, was their Crab Imperial. He loved it so much I would call Marie right before New Year’s Eve and she would make some for us to serve at our annual New Year’s Eve – Make A Favorite Food Wish – Feast at our house.
Cossie Snyder’s has since closed and to find Crab Imperial anywhere is a difficult task to say the least. I’ve searched for recipes and recently found an article and some notes in our local newspaper — The Morning Call. Google it — it was fun to read!
************************************************************************************ The Morning Call – March 11, 2009
The Recipe You’ve Been Waiting For — Crab Cake Recipe finally Revealed By Diane Stoneback
Marie Geletkanych always said she’d take her recipe for crab cakes — a signature dish at the former Cossie Snyder’s Corner in Allentown — with her to the grave. She closely guarded her secret during the 34 years she and her husband Robert owned the seafood and steak restaurant at Seventh and Washington streets. She made the crab cake mixture early in the morning, before anyone else was in the kitchen. Not even Robert, who cooked everything else on the menu, was entrusted with making the crab cakes.
1 lb. jumbo lump crab meat (fresh or pasteurized) 2 stalks of celery grated (about 1/3 cup) 1/4 cup grated sweet onion 4 slices fresh white Wonder bread, crusts removed and then cut into very small cubes 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. pepper 1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning 2 Tbsps. parsley flakes 2 tsps. Worcestershire sauce 2 hard-boiled eggs, shelled and then grated 5 Tbsps. Hellman’s mayonnaise 1 egg, raw for breaded crab patties, you’ll also need: Flour One beaten egg Bread crumbs. Gently sort through the crab to find and remove any shells.
************************************************************************************ And, there it was!!!! Right before everyone’s eyes! In Black and White!! Such excitement! People in our area got sooooo excited! Here’s another note I found:
************************************************************************************ The Morning Call March 18, 2009
Crab Cake Recipe Prompts Store Rush By Marion Callahan
Heckenberger’s Seafood in the Allentown Farmers Market sold a week worth’s of fresh lump crab meat in one day, and owner Ray Adams knows the reason behind the rush. Adams said customers lined up for crab meat last Thursday, eager to make Cossie Snyder’scrab cakes, a coveted recipe that was revealed in last Wednesday’s Morning Call. Marie Geletkanych’s crab cakes were a signature dish at the former Cossie Snyder’s Corner in Allentown. She closely guarded her secret recipe during the 34 years she and her husband Robert owned the restaurant at Seventh and Washington streets. ************************************************************************************
Sweet story…… But, back to the Crab Imperial!!!
NOW I HAD A Recipe…… for crab cakes! Not, Bob’s Crab Imperial…… So, I improvise! I Create! 🙂
Basically, it’s the same recipe with a few, slight changes.
Mary Ann’s Crab Imperial – adapted from a coveted Cossie Snyder’s recipe
1 can jumbo lump crabmeat, picked through for shells 2 stalks celery, grated ( approximately 1/3 cup) 1/4 cup sweet onion, grated 4 slices fresh white bread, crusts removed, cut into very small cubes or non seasoned bread crumbs / panko 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning 2 Tablespoons parsley flakes, minced 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 2 eggs, hard-boiled, shelled and grated 5 Tablespoons mayonnaise 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix all of the ingredients into a large bowl. Butter individual baking dishes and fill 3/4 full.
Bake in a 375 degree oven until a light, bubbly, golden brown!
There are many different names or ways to spell palacinka! Check some of these out below!
Did you figure out why I spell it palacinka? Our heritage is Windish/Slovenian. We make a lot of our foods with Slovenian, Croatian, Hungarian, Yugoslavian and Slovakian influences in mind. My Great Grandmother came to Ellis Island from Yugoslavia when she was 23 years old. Her name can be found at Ellis Island in New York. But that’s another story. 😉
Oh the many things we learned from Great Grammy, Grammy and family!
We learned to eat really well!!! LOL!! ❤
So…..Anyway…..
As a meatless meal during Lent or really anytime of year (because we love it so much), Grammy and Mom would make us palacinkas. These amazing thin crepe-like pancakes were filled with any jelly or jam we chose. For mom, dad and Grammy, they would have a cheese filling. Oh and don’t forget to cover them with some powdered sugar! 😉
What an easy meatless meal it was too! I’ll give you the recipe later lol!
Now that you know what palacinkas are….
Bucca—–What?!?!?!
Bucca is always a favorite in our home! Jackson absolutely loves it! Who am I kidding? I absolutely love it too! Now…
Take the same recipe that I will give you shortly and rip them up in the pan! Then cover it in pancake syrup or a syrup of your choice! Oh YUM!!! I love palacinkas and bucca soooooo much that I have an inner struggle every time I make them just because I don’t know which way I want to eat them! They’re both soooooo good!!!!!! YUM!!!!!
Ok, ok….Here’s the recipe 😉
Palacinka
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 egg
splash of vanilla (shhhhh)
butter to lightly coat the pan between palacinkas (I don’t bother when I use my crepe pan after the first couple, because it has become “seasoned”)
choice of jellies/jams
Combine the 1st 4 ingredients and whisk well, try to get rid of all the lumps. Ah….I throw it all in a blender now just to mix them well. Makes for easy cleanup too. It will be a thin batter, if it is a little thick you can add a little more milk. Then pour roughly a 1/4 cup of the batter into a crepe pan or small nonstick pan. Swirl pan around til the batter covers the entire bottom of the pan. Then when edges brown slightly and you start to see some bubbles (similar to making pancakes), flip with a thin spatula and lightly brown the other side. When both sides are lightly browned…place on a plate, fill with favorite jelly/jam, roll it up and dust with powdered sugar! Enjoy!!!
You can keep them covered with foil and warm on a low temperature in the toaster oven until everyone is ready to eat. 😉
I literally flip the palacinkas in the air…learned how in 8th grade and have been flipping ever since! Jackson gets a kick out of it every time! 😉
Making Palacinkas in the crepe pan 😉 (Just flipped)
This is how Palacinkas look on the plate…now just fill with your favorite Jam or Jelly and roll up 😉 Sprinkle powdered sugar too!
Jackson likes to roll them up and dip them in pancake syrup! 😉
Bucca – All cut up and smothered in Pancake syrup 😉 Yum! Grammy used to make it this way for me! ❤
For Bucca:
Do the same as above, but when you flip the palacinka…start to pull it apart into bite-size pieces with a fork and spatula, then when lightly browned…place on a plate and cover with pancake syrup or syrup of choice. 😉
Seriously….Making Palacinkas and Bucca is that easy. We always at least double the recipe because literally 1 batch feeds only Jackson and I for how much we love it! LOL!
We hope you enjoy Palacinkas and Bucca as much as we do! Let us know below! 😉
LifeDesigning1 
