Shrimp and Quinoa Salad

This Saturday is not the one I had planned, but I'm trying to make the best of it.  I have a cold and have been confined to the couch watching Law and Order: SVU for the majority of the day, but I did manage to get out to gather some ingredients for a baking project that I'll try and tackle later this evening-stay tuned!

Anyway, I pinned a recipe ages ago and decided to give it a try tonight, but I made a few alterations.  I found the inspiration at this blog, but after looking it over, I mostly just made it up as I went along.  This salad was flavorful, had a wonderful mix of textures, and was packed with healthy ingredients!  I waited way too long to try it, don't make the same mistake.  I also think it would be delicious without the shrimp if you wanted to make it vegetarian, but then I would up the quinoa to 3/4 c. instead to up the protein content.

What you need:

2 c. shrimp (I eyeballed this, probably could have thrown a few more in!)

1/2 c. quinoa, uncooked

1/4 red onion, diced

1 can corn kernels, drained and rinsed

1 can black bean, rinsed

1 avocado, cubed

1 clove garlic, minced

5-6 good sized leaves of basil, cut into ribbons

olive oil for sauteing shrimp

Vinaigrette

juice from 1 lemon

1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

3 Tbsp good olive oil

salt and pepper

Start by cooking the quinoa according to the package, I used a tri-colored variety and it calls for a 2/1 ratio for liquid to grain.  Get that going, then saute the shrimp in a little olive oil and the garlic, just until they are pink- it only takes a few minutes.  While that is cooking, mix up your other ingredients, except the basil, in a large bowl.  Season it all with salt and pepper and then make the dressing.  I just added all of the vinaigrette ingredients to a small jar and shook it up, but you could whisk it if you want.  I only used half of the dressing and put the rest in the fridge for another day.  Once the quinoa and shrimp are cooked, add them in to the mix and stir it all together.  I sprinkled my bowl with the fresh basil just before eating so it didn't get warm or lose that bright green color.  

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I did.  It was a delight!

Stressed? Hungry? Dinner is easy tonight!

Tonight, I had no plans to blog.  I'm totally busy, stressed, and exhausted these days getting ready to go back to school.  But, then I thought, maybe people don't just want to see my well thought out, I went to the grocery store just for this ingredient kind of foods.  Maybe, just maybe my readers are busy too and would appreciate seeing a dish that I made up on my ride home, mentally scanning my fridge.  

This is my version of vegetable fried rice with shrimp.  It's quick, easy and tastes good.  A little bit sweet, a little bit salty, and very filling.  Good stuff, I'm telling you!  So, here's what you need.  All are things I have either in my freezer or fridge most of the time, except in the most desperate of times.  That's when I have corn flakes for dinner.  Judge away, it happens.

1 pouch of Trader Joes frozen brown rice (This is awesome, fast, and great for quick meals)

1 egg

olive oil

6ish shrimp, uncooked (I used my frozen Trader Joes ones from the last recipe)

Shredded carrots chopped or one carrot peeled and cubed (like 1/4-1/3c)

1/4-1/3c of frozen peas

1 small shallot diced

light or regular soy sauce

Trader Joes Sweet Chili Sauce (My FAVORITE sauce :)

pepper

Ok, first things first, get a medium saute pan over medium high heat and go around the pan twice with the olive oil, then slice the top of your rice pouch and pop it into the microwave for 3 minutes.  Once the skillet is hot, crack an egg and it should start cooking right away.  Start mixing it around and scrambling it up right away, I like to use a rubber spunula (as Rachel Ray calls it) but a wooden spoon would work too.  I usually add some pepper at this point, too.  No salt, because the soy sauce is salty!  Once it's cooked, go ahead and add the shrimp.  While they are cooking a little chop up your veggies, unless you already did that.  After about a minute or two, drop your veggies.  Toss them all together and when your shrimp curl up a bit and pink-up, you are ready for the next step.  It should look pretty much like the picture below.

  Then add a little more oil and the package of rice.  Mix it all together, and once it is all evenly distributed, add some soy sauce.  I think it's about 3 tbsps, but do it to taste, it's your dish!  Give it another minute, then serve and top with the sweet chili sauce, as much as you like.  I like a lot, so I add plenty.  Then curl up and enjoy!

Now I'm off to play ukelele
with my friends. Later!

Spaghetti Squash Magic:Spaghetti Squash with pesto and shrimp

Oh, Spaghetti Squash, how do I love thee.  This is one of the vegetables that I had never used before this summer, so I did my new favorite thing.  I grew some.  They didn't do well, thanks to the darn squash bugs, but I did get one good one, and that got me hooked.  What could be better than a vegetable that masquerades as pasta?!

So ever since my plant died, I've been hunting them down at the farmer's market and experimenting with them.  Last night's dinner was definitely my favorite.  In fact, it was so good that I turned down cheesesteaks with my friends because I couldn't wait to make it again tonight!  Here is what you will need.  (Keep in mind, this fed me, but one good sized squash would feed 2 people, I used mine for both last night and tonight.)

1 good sized spaghetti squash (like 8-10 inches long)-this will feed 2, or 1 person for 2 days of this
2 TBSP(ish) of pesto (I had some in the fridge so I used that, along with some fresh basil and lemon basil from my garden, but you could make your own)
2 TBSP fresh chopped basil or lemon basil
1 TBSP olive oil
5-6 baby heirloom tomatoes or cherry tomatoes per person-cut in half
Juice from half a lemon
5-6 shrimp per person (I used uncooked frozen ones from Trader Joes, because they are quick and easy)
3-4 TBSP grated parmesan cheese
A big pinch of shredded mozzarella cheese
2 TSP raw pine nuts
salt and pepper 

Start by pre-heating your oven to 375 and poke some holes in your squash with a knife or a skewer, so it doesn't explode.  Roast it on a sheet pan for an hour.  Once you take it out, let it cool for about 10 minutes, then cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and shred the squash with a fork to get all of it out.  I wish I had taken a picture of this, but since I roasted yesterday and I didn't know I'd be blogging, it didn't happen.  Sorry.  It's cool looking, though!  Just like spaghetti!


Ok, now get a big saute pan over medium heat with a little olive oil.  Once it's warm, toss in your shrimp.  If they are frozen, like mine were, stand back because the little bit of ice on them will make the oil pop.  Ouch! I season mine with a little salt and pepper. Let those cook a little on each side, maybe a minute each before you throw the squash in the pan.  After the squash, add the pesto and toss it all together.  Give it a minute or two, then add the lemon juice, fresh basil, the cheese, and last the tomatoes.  While this is all coming together and the cheese is melting in (YUM), dry saute the pine nuts in a little pan or I use my smallest sauce pan over medium low heat until they are just a little golden brown.  

I then put it all in a bowl, add a little extra parmesan cheese, and top with the pine nuts.  It is fresh, light, and smooth, but the pine nuts add some awesome crunchy texture.  Serve with some good crusty bread and enjoy!  

I won't always do this, but from my calculations, this runs about 470 calories per serving (not with the bread).  Not bad!






Update:
I made this again with a squash from my garden and with arugula pesto instead!  Here are a few pictures, and if you want to try it, just replace the basil with arugula (mine was from my garden as well) and then I also added peas.