Barnett passionate about family, career

Lauren Daniels Barnett has lived in Philadelphia all of her life. Barnett’s parents are Jill Powe and Johnny Daniels. Barnett grew up with an older brother Clint Daniels. Barnett and her brother still have a close relationship.

Barnett works at the Philadelphia Public Schools as a speech-language pathologist. She attended East Central where she got an associate degree in science and then went on to get a bachelor’s in speech pathology at Mississippi State.

After getting her bachelor’s, Barnett went on to get her master's at Mississippi State in communication sciences and disorders. 

“My goal is to be able to make a difference in the lives of every client/student I have the opportunity to with my career,” said Barnett. 

Barnett hopes to one day be able to give students and clients a voice and to help them communicate to the best of their ability. Barnett has been with Philadelphia Schools for two years now. 

Barnett is married to Zach Barnett, who is a body shop tech at Shan’s Paint & Body. 

The Barnetts have been married for three and a half years and have two sons. Hollan Kemp Barnett is two. Hollan Kemp likes dinosaurs, Mickey Mouse and watching his favorite movies and television shows. Layton Barnett is four and he loves for others to talk and interact with him. He also loves his little brother. 

The family attends Salem Baptist Church. In her free time, Barnett loves shopping, spending time with her family, and going to the beach. 

Barnett is passionate about her job and being the best mom to her children and the best wife to her husband.  

Her favorite food is oysters and she loves making three-cheese baked oysters. Her mother influenced her cooking. Barnett loves everything that her mother cooks. Her favorite dish her mom makes is chicken spaghetti. 

 Her favorite part of cooking is trying new recipes. Her least favorite part about cooking is how time consuming it can be.

THREE-CHEESE BAKED OYSTERS

•Fresh shucked oysters

•5 ounces

cream cheese,

softened

•2/3 cup shredded white cheddar

•1/3 cup cooked crumbled bacon

(or bacon bits)

•1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach,

thawed and squeezed

•1 clove garlic,

minced

•1/4 teaspoon

crushed red pepper

•1/3 cup

grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Set the oysters on the baking sheet.

2. Squeeze the spinach to remove all excess liquid. In a medium bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, white cheddar, bacon, chopped spinach, garlic, and crushed red pepper. Mix well.

4. Spoon a dollop of cheese filling over the top of each oyster. Sprinkle the tops with parmesan cheese.

5. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the cheese is golden. Serve warm.

PARMESAN CRUSTED CHICKEN

•1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips or ritz crackers, panko or breadcrumbs

•1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips or ritz crackers, panko or breadcrumbs

•1/3 cup parmesan cheese

•2 Tablespoons dry ranch dressing

•1/4 cup unsalted butter (melted)

•3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

2. Slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally to create 6 fillets.

3. In a bowl, combine the crumbs, parmesan cheese and ranch. Dip chicken in the butter, and then roll in crumb mixture to coat. Place on a sheet pan.

4. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cooked through the center. Serve over brown or white rice with vegetables if desired.

CREAMY 

MOZZARELLA SHRIMP PASTA

Pasta

•8 oz penne pasta (for gluten free version, use gluten free brown rice pasta)

Shrimp:

•2 tablespoons olive oil (drained from sun-dried tomatoes jar or just use regular olive oil)

•1 pound shrimp (without shells, and deveined)

•3 garlic cloves minced

•1/4 teaspoon salt

Creamy Sauce:

•4 oz sun-dried tomatoes (without oil)

•4 garlic cloves minced

•1 cup half and half

•1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded (do not use fresh Mozzarella, use pre-shredded Mozzarella)

•1 tablespoon dried basil (if using fresh basil you can add more)

•1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes crushed, add more to taste

•1/8 teaspoon paprika

•1/2 cup reserved cooked pasta water (or more)

•1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

How to cook pasta

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve some cooked pasta water. Drain the pasta.

How to cook shrimp

1. Note:

if using sun-dried tomatoes in oil (in a jar), make sure to drain sun-dried tomatoes from oil, before using them. Reserve 2 tablespoons of this drained oil for sauteing the shrimp as described below:

2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil (reserved from the sun-dried tomatoes jar - see the note above, or use regular olive oil) in a large skillet on medium-high heat.

3. Add shrimp with minced garlic.  Cook the shrimp on one side for about 1 minute, until shrimp turns pink or golden brown on that side. While it cooks, sprinkle salt over the shrimp to cover every single shrimp.

4. Make sure not to crowd the shrimp in the skillet, otherwise, moisture will form and shrimp won't sear right.

5. After 1 minute, flip the shrimp over to the other side and cook for about 30 seconds or 1 minute more.

6. The shrimp should be golden color or pink on both sides and not overcooked.

7. Remove the shrimp to a plate, being careful to leave all the oil in the skillet.

How to make creamy Mozzarella sauce

1. To the same skillet, add sun-dried tomatoes (drained from oil and sliced into smaller chunks, if needed) and more minced garlic.

2. Saute sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil (remaining from shrimp) on medium heat, stirring, for 1 minute until the garlic is fragrant. The skillet should be hot.

3. Add half and half to the hot skillet with sun-dried tomatoes and bring to boil.

4. Add shredded cheese to the skillet, and quickly stir in while boiling. Immediately reduce to simmer.

5. Continue cooking the sauce on low simmer heat, constantly stirring, until all the cheese melts and the creamy sauce forms.

6. If the sauce is too thick, add a small amount of half-and-half or reserved cooked pasta water.

7. Add basil, crushed red pepper flakes, paprika. Stir.

8. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt gradually, stirring on low heat and tasting (you might need slightly less than 1/4 teaspoon).

How to assemble shrimp pasta

1. Add cooked pasta to the sauce and reheat gently on medium heat.

2. Add the cooked shrimp, stir it in.

3. Taste, and season with more salt, if needed.

4. If the sauce is too thick, add a small amount of half-and-half or reserved cooked pasta water.

5. Let everything simmer on low heat for a couple of minutes for flavors to combine.

6.

Note:

Make sure to salt the dish just enough to bring out of the flavors of basil and sun-dried tomatoes.