Weekly Recipe Roundup 6

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted one of these! It's not because the kitchen has been closed or there haven't been any winners, they've just all been no-recipe, easy, quick-fixes that scream summer to me. I'm not sure why that is but when summer comes, the recipes go and I just cook from memory or taste. With that said, I do have a couple recipes to share with you - 2 sweet, 2 savory.

Sesame Orange Shrimp and Chicken Stir-Fry - I actually rated this on Cooking Light's site because I thought so highly of it. It's authentic, quick, you'll probably have most of the ingredients, and it was a crowd-pleaser. Colin literally ate every morsel of rice from his plate, as did Wes. The end result is a tad soupy but that just gave you more gravy, if you will, to spoon over the rice. Definitely a keeper.

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia with Tomato-Basil Cream Sauce - Don't let the long title unnerve you. The recipe actually comes together quite easily and the cream sauce is the icing on the cake. This was just as good the next day, as the cream sauce had soaked into the fish overnight.

Kathie's Zucchini Muffins - Another Cooking Light recipe from the most recent issue. Wes is always looking for a quick breakfast to take on the road to work. When I found this recipe, I thought it would be perfect for him. I haven't tried one yet but my sister did and although she asked if they had bran in them (probably the whole wheat flour), she said they were good.

Walnut Cake with Praline Frosting - I made this for my Dad's birthday last week because love walnuts - any kind of nuts really. I didn't want a sheet cake so I used 2 9-inch pans. I was skeptical at first because the 2 cakes were about 2mm tall after baking. I made my own caramel icing (basically doubling this recipe and then deleting the corn syrup and adding a drop of almond extract). Much to my surprise, the cake turned out really well and everyone really enjoyed it. I guess if it's got sugar, butter, and flour, it can't be that bad!