Shrimp two ways

By now you may have noticed that when I cook for my family, I usually have to cook a couple of variations to please everyone. Tonight was no exception.

Tonight was another night that we did not plan out dinner. These are my favorite types of nights. I LOVE making up my own meals with whatever ingredients we have on hand. Granted, I was not snowed in and had all afternoon to head to the grocery store to pick up extra ingredients, but what's the fun in that? I feel like making up my own meals will just give me extra practice for module 5 (starting in only 2 weeks!) where we will be given ingredients to work with and no recipes.

I had 3 proteins to choose from today: shrimp, lamb chops, and chicken. I feel like we always have chicken, so that was automatically eliminated. My mom doesn't eat red meat, so I also eliminated the lamb. That left SHRIMP. Here are the 2 recipes I came up with (they both turned out great!!)

Shrimp for the boys:
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. olive oil
About 20 shrimp, peeled & de-veined
2 15-oz cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 head broccoli, steamed
salt and pepper, to taste
salt-free Italian seasoning, to taste
1/4 cup fresh basil, torn
Whole Wheat Israeli Cous Cous for serving

1. Heat a large saute pan over high heat. Add the olive oil. Saute the onion until translucent. Add the garlic and cook briefly. Add the shrimp and saute until almost cooked through. Season with salt, pepper, and seasoning.
2. Add the diced tomatoes and broccoli. Tear in the basil at the end. Cook on low heat until everything is heated through and cooked. Taste and season.
3. Serve over whole wheat cous cous. Bon Appetit!

Shrimp for the Girls:

1/2 cup sliced onion
2 cloves garlic
2 T. coconut oil
About 10 shrimp
1 small package fresh spinach
1/2-1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
8 oz shitake mushrooms
1 can artichoke bottoms (or hearts)
salt and pepper to taste
salt free blend seasoning to taste
chicken broth, as needed.
whole wheat Israeli cous cous, for serving

1. Heat a large saute pan over high heat. Add coconut oil. Saute onions and mushrooms until water is evaporated and onions are slightly brown. Add garlic. Cook 2 min. Season with salt.
2. Add shrimp, tomatoes, and artichoke. Season with more salt, pepper, and seasoning. Add a little chicken broth to pick up the pieces at the bottom of the pan and to add moisture.
3. Add spinach at the end and cook on low heat until spinach is wilted and shrimp are cooked through. Taste and adjust seasonings.
4. Serve over Israeli cous cous (I also added a sprinkle of crushed red pepper). Bon Appetit!

I mentioned in my last post that I was helping Chef Chad out with an Italian Easter baking class on Saturday. I have two recipes from that class that I will be making later on in the week for Easter. I'll make sure to post the recipes and pictures of the results!