Rainbow Shrimp Quinoa

This was one of those last-minute meals, where I realized that I needed to make a meal quick and I could only use the stuff on hand.  So here is what I came up with after brainstorming while looking through the fridge, freezer, and pantry....

Here's what you need:

1 C quinoa

2 C water

1/2 lb shrimp, thawed

1/4 C fresh green bell peppers, chopped

1/2-3/4 C fresh red/ yellow/ orange peppers, chopped

1/3 C fresh broccoli, separated in small pieces

1 onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. fresh ginger grated

1 tsp. Turmeric

1 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. oil

In a medium sauce pan, heat water to boiling.  Add quinoa and oil.  Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes, until quinoa is fluffy.  Remove from heat.  

To thaw off shrimp, run over luke-warm water in a strainer.

Cut shrimp lengthwise in half., set aside. 

Chop garlic and onion.

Grate ginger.

Cut broccoli into small pieces.

... and chop the peppers, here is everything all together. 

In a skillet over medium heat, add oil and all vegetables. (leave the shrimp out for now)

Cover with a lid. Stir occasionally. As veggies start to soften, add turmeric and salt. This is turmeric.  I will be doing a spotlight about this soon.

It kind of gives everything an orange tint.

When the broccoli is soft, add shrimp.  

Cook until the shrimp is pink, then remove from heat.

Add quinoa to the mixture in the pan and stir.  

Once everything is combined well, serve and enjoy!

Chocolate Frenzy!

I had a girls night at my house last night with all the girls from work.  All week, I was excited to make these cupcakes with my own chocolate covered pretzels on top.  After I was done dipping the pretzels, I couldn't stop there, oh no.  I remembered that I had some delicious organic strawberries in the fridge, so I went on a chocolate dipping craze!  So here is the simple recipe for the chocolate covered pretzels.

1 cup chocolate chips (I think milk chocolate is better than semi-sweet in this case, but use what you have)
2 Tbsp. cooking oil

In a microwave safe bowl, add chips and oil.  Microwave on high at 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval.  When chocolate is melted, start your dipping!

I used a tooth pick for the pretzels so my hands wouldn't get messy

Let excess drip off into the bowl.  Then lay pretzel on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. 

For the strawberries, just grab the leafy part.  (make sure you pre-wrinse them, and let them dry completely before dipping.  Any moisture added to the chocolate will cause the chocolate to get lumpy and harden)

Gently lean the strawberry side to side until most of it is covered.  Let excess drip off into the bowl.  Then lay strawberry on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.

Place baking sheet in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to harden the chocolate. Then, bring back out to add white chocolate if you have some.  Melt white 1 oz. white chocolate in microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring.  When melted, dip a butter knife in the chocolate, and wave knife over the strawberries and pretzels.  

Place baking sheet back in the fridge for everything to harden.  Store in the fridge until time to serve.  Keep in the fridge after serving too.

So while these look super fancy, aren't they just way easy to make?

You may think that eating these strawberries right away is best, but I just had some more today and oh my goodness! They taste WAY better after letting them sit for a day!

How to Get Your Man to Eat Like a Girl

I must say, when I saw this article, the title intrigued me.  There are some really great tips in here!

This link is a great read for all peeps out there:
How to Get Your Man to Eat Like a Girl

So bad news time... it's midterm week. That means I have little time to cook, or even blog this week.  So I'll be posting great links throughout the week instead :)

Oven Baked Onion Rings

You can thank my husband for this recipe... He wanted to have onion rings with dinner.  They were pretty darn delicious though (and perfect for Monday night football!), and you don't have to feel bad about eating them! Here's what you need:

1 large onion

1/2 c flour

2 eggs

2 cups Panko bread crumbs

2 Tbsp thyme

2 Tbsp oregano

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat baking sheet lightly with cooking spray.  In one medium bowl, combine flour, salt, pepper, and paprika.  In another medium bowl, lightly beat eggs.  In third medium bowl, combine bread crumbs, thyme, and oregano.

Slice onions about 1/2 inch thick

Coat onion in flour and shake off excess.

Then dip in egg and let excess drip off

Then coat with bread crumb mixture. It may be easier to just place onion in the bowl and shake the bowl around to coat the ring, that way your fingers won't get too messy. 

Place onion rings on the baking sheet and bake in oven for 30 minutes. 

Enjoy! 

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches

This is a great Monday night football meal, and it doesn't take too long to make! As long as you can keep the meat lean, this sandwich is a great healthy choice for a dinner! Here's what you need:

1 onion

1 1/2 green peppers

1 Tbsp. oil

1 c mushrooms sliced and broken up

2 round sirloin steaks

6 slices provolone cheese

4 submarine rolls

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Chop onion and peppers to large but thin chunks.  

 Slice steaks to thin strips, trimming the fat along the way.

Over medium heat, add oil in skillet. Then add onion and pepper.

 Once onion and peppers start softening, add mushrooms.  

 Open bread on baking sheet and lightly spray the inside with oil cooking spray.  Place in oven for about 15 minutes, when bread is toasted on the outside , but still soft on the inside.

 When  all veggies beginning to soften, add meat.

When meat is brown, add cheese slices.

 When cheese slices have melted, gently transfer skillet contents, trying to keep the cheese on top, to the bread slices.

 You know how on all the fast food commercials, when they have the melted cheese strands in between the the two slices?... yep, thats's right :)

Sauted Rainbow Chard

Again, another quick and simple side dish.  All the colors in this dish pack a huge load of nutrients too! 

Here's whatcha need:

1 bunch of rainbow chard (or Swiss)

2 garlic cloves

1/2 onion

1 Tbsp. oil

salt to taste

Rinse chard.

Separate stems from the leaf. Then chop stems into smaller 2-3 inch pieces, and chop leaves a couple times to make them slightly smaller.

Crush garlic with the flat side of a knife. This ruptures more of its cells, releasing more of it's medicinal properties, it also makes it easier to remove the skin.

Dice the onion.

Over medium heat, pour oil and let it heat up.  Then add garlic, onion, and stems from the chard. Saute until chard stems become soft.

Then add leaves on top. Cover with a lid and let the steam cook the leaves down. Stir occasionally and add salt if desired. 

Your finished product should look like this. The chard leaves cook down SO much!

Serve as a side dish and enjoy!