Quick Meal - Shrimp Roll

The Husband has been craving a Shrimp Roll and they're surprisingly simple to make.  A lot of recipes I looked up called for Tarragon in the mix while others left all seasoning and let the Shrimp be the main flavor.  I do not have fresh New England Shrimp in my house so I decided to add the Tarragon to give it an extra flavor.  Don't do it!  I wasn't familiar with Tarragon before this and now I know why, it tastes like liquorice.  And while I don't like the taste normally, it especially does not blend with a Shrimp Roll.  Dill or Thyme would have been a better choice. 

Ingredients:

6 Shrimp

1 Tbsp Mayonaise

1 Tbsp Celery, Chopped

1/4 Lemon, Juiced

2 Leaves Tarragon, Chopped

2 Hotdog Rolls

Boil the shrimp until they are pink throughout.  Transfer to a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking.  Cut each shrimp into 4 or 5 pieces and add to a bowl with the rest of the ingredients.  Mix well.

Fill the hotdog roll with the mixture and enjoy.  This is a light and refreshing quick lunch option served with a side of chips.  Now I want to go to Maine!

Quick Meal - Thai Peanut Quinoa Burrito

After a long day of work, and then a long hike up and down the pipe line in the Sourlands, the last thing I want to think about is cooking a meal.  That's why these quick meals are so important to me while I'm getting ready for our trip to Colorado.   But they can be good for anyone looking for something easy, delicious and most of all good for you.  Microwave meals are not your only option when you want to make a single serving lunch or dinner in just a few minutes.  And to be honest, before our roommate moved in, I had banished out microwave to the basement.  It wasn't a useful cooking tool in my kitchen. 

Today I made a Thai Peanut Quinoa Burrito.  You could easily replace the quinoa with chicken, tofu, shrimp or anything else you heart desires.  I picked quinoa because I had some left over.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cooked Quinoa

1 1/2 Tbsp Peanut Butter

1/2 Tbsp White Vinegar

1/2 Tbsp Soy Sauce

1 tsp Honey

1 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil

(add about a teaspoon of Sriracha if you like some heat)

1 Tortilla

1/4 Cup Coleslaw Mix

Mix the first 6 ingredients until well combined.  Top the tortilla with coleslaw mix and then with the qunioa mixture.  Enjoy this protein packed meal after a workout or any time of the day.  This really hit the spot!

Quick Meal - Grilled Shrimp with Rice and Grilled Zucchini

Now that its getting nicer out, I decided it was time to start using my grill!  So for a Quick Dinner idea, I wanted to whip up a quick marinade for some shrimp skewers!

Here's what I had around the house:

About 12 Shrimp

1/2 an Orange,

1 tsp Honey

1 1/2 Tbsp Soy Sauce

2 Cloves Garlic

1 Small piece of Ginger

1 tsp Olive Oil

1 tsp Ground Corriander Seed (optional)

1 Zucchini

Salt and Pepper to taste

I forgot to add the Soy Sauce to the picture!  I always have low sodium soy sauce in the house.  The regular stuff is SO SALTY!

I ran 1 piece of garlic and the ginger over our microplane zester.  It makes almost a paste out of the garlic and ginger which is easier to mix into a marinade. 

 I lightly salt and peppered everything and let it sit while I heated the grill, cut the zucchini and got the rice started. 

I added the oil, corriander and last garlic clove to my rice cooker and turned it on.  I like to get everything cooking a bit first before I add the rice.  The corriander adds a bit of extra flavor to the rice that I really like.  Feel free to leave it out!

I then add the rice for a bit and stir it around in the oil and seasoning before adding the water.  I really love having my rice cooker (which doubles as a steamer).  It makes perfect rice every time, and I don't have to watch over the stove!

Once I got the rice started, I added my zucchini to my skewers and placed it on the grill. 

I love having my Misto for times like this.  A quick spray on each side of the zucchini made sure it didn't stick to the grill.

I went back inside and started adding my shrimp to the skewers.  After a few minutes, I flipped the zucchini and added the shrimp to the grill. 

Next time I'll make two veggie skewers per person since the portions.  But everything was delicious!  I love cooking on the grill! 



Quick Meal - Shrimp Burrito

I had a great hike in the Sourlands this weekend.  It's a small local mountain in Hillsborough that I've been hiking for years now.  The past few weeks I've been training to climb a much larger mountain, Longs Peak in Colorado.  I've never climbed with a pack on before so it's been a bit of a process getting ready.  I feel great and can't wait for May!

After my hike I only had about an hour to get ready to go out again and I was starving!  I had to make something quick so I could still have time to get showered and ready.  I did a quick survey of the fridge and came up with this:

1 Small handful of spinach

6 Shrimp

2 Tbsp Salsa

1 Tortilla

1/2 Avocado

Cheese



Lightly chop the spinach and toss into a pan with a light spray of olive oil or Pam.

Once the spinach has wilted slightly add the shrimp with a bit of salt and pepper. 

Cook the shrimp until it turns pink and add the salsa.  Stir it around a bit to coat everything.  

You can't see here, but I added  half of an avocado to the tortilla before topping it with the spinach, shrimp salsa mixture.  I topped everything with a bit of shredded cheese.

This really hit the spot!  It was super tasty and really filling!  The whole thing came together in just a few minutes!  I ate this on the front porch and enjoyed the amazing weather before I had to run to work!