Avocados filled with Shrimp

This is a quick and simple recipe and it tastes great. It's easy to make the filling and bring it with the avocados to a party where the avocados can be cut and filled in no time. 

The recipe is based on this one, which uses crab meat instead of shrimps.

Ingredients:
Avocados
Cooked mini shrimp, chopped
Celery
1/2 - 1 Shallots

Mayonnaise
Cream cheese

Lemon or lime juice
Salt

Pepper

Chop celery and shallot very finely in a food processor. Mix with shrimp, mayonnaise, cream cheese, lemon juice, salt, pepper and sea food spice if desired.

Cut avocados in half and take out a little bit of the flesh to be mixed in the filling. Salt the avocado halves. Fill with shrimp filling. Add pepper or parsley to garnish.

Enjoy!

Nine Layer Dip

This dip is usually called 7 Layer Dip (we used this recipe). But when making it for the super bowl weekend, we added some more cheese and avocado and ended up with 9 layers.

8 oz refried beans
1/2 pack taco mix spices
8 oz sour cream
4 oz cream cheese
8 oz mild salsa
1 avocado
lettuce
green onion
1 big tomato
1 green bell pepper
cheddar
black olives

Mix refried beans with taco mix spices and put in a dish as the first layer.
Mix sour cream and cream cheese. Spread over the refried beans.
Mash avocado and add some salt, pepper and lemon juice. Spread over sour cream.
Add a layer of mild salsa.
Add a layer of grated cheddar cheese.
Chop lettuce, green onions, tomato and bell pepper. Make one layer of each.
Top with a layer of  cheddar. And another one if you like. No one will know. They will just think it's one thick layer.
Garnish with black olives.
Enjoy with chips, nachos or bread.
This is also a great left over food.

Spring Rolls

From an Asian supermarket I got rice paper circles and filled them with the following ingredients.

Spring Roll filling:
1 carrot, grated
1 small cucumber, grated
1 green onion, cut into small rings
1/4 red onion, cut into small cubes
chicken (optional)
mushrooms, washed and halved
2 tbsp peanut satay sauce
1 tbsp cream cheese
paprika, pepper, salt
Melt some butter in a pan, add spices. Place green onion, red onion, chicken (optional) and mushrooms an in the pan. Cover and let sit at medium heat for about 5 minutes. Turn over the chicken if necessary. When chicken and mushrooms are almost done, take them out of the pan and add satay sauce and cream cheese to the remaining onions.
Soak the rice paper circles in water for about 5 seconds, then fill them with carrot, cucumber, chicken (optional) and mushrooms. Top with sauce before rolling them up.
Makes about 5 spring rolls, enough for 1 meal or a snack for 2.

The result was very tasty. And I assume, once I get a bit better at rolling them it will also be quite a fast recipe as the cooking doesn't take too long and most of the ingredients are raw. With the sauce inside instead of on the side it's also a perfect finger food for work!

Puff Pastry Roll Filled With Salmon and Spinach

Puff pastry is great! For dishes with spinach, with cheese, with tomatoes, with cinnamon, with nuts and sugar..
..and for salmon! I tried out this German recipe of a Salmon and Spinach Puff Pastry Roll and adapted it a little bit. It's now one of my favorite recipes even though I've only made it twice so far. It's easy and quick to make and tastes really good!

Puff Pastry Roll Filled With Salmon and Spinach
1 sheet frozen puff pastry
1/2 - 1lb salmon
1/2 onion, chopped
1 bunch spinach or frozen spinach
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup cream cheese
salt, pepper
1 egg, whisked
Thaw the puff pastry and roll it out with a rolling pin.
Fry onion in a pan, add spinach and fry for a couple of minutes. (optional: add some flower). Add salt and pepper.
Fry salmon for a couple of minutes and cut into 1-2 inch cubes.
Mix sour cream and cream cheese and season with salt and pepper.
Spread the sour cream mix on the pastry, leaving 1-2 inches. Distribute spinach and salmon on top of the sour cream mix. Roll the pastry with the filling from one side to another, ending without the sour cream mix.
Transfer roll unto a baking dish and brush with the egg.
Bake at 375F for 25-30 minutes until golden.

This yummy roll can be served by itself, or with a simple white sauce.

For the White Sauce:
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
3 cups vegetable stock
1 cup cream
salt, pepper, white wine, lemon juice
Melt the butter, slowly add the flour. Then add vegetable stock and cream until the sauce has the consistency you like. Season with salt, pepper, white wine, lemon juice. Serve with the puff pastry roll.

Another one of my favorite recipes that goes well with this one is Potato and Corn Casserole from Argentina.

And of course veggies :)