Shrimp and Quinoa

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Hello everyone! It’s almost Spring! When it becomes spring, I always think about seafood recipes because I am from the South and it’s usually time for anything seafood. I also think about shepherd’s pie, but that will be a later post. However, life has been chaotic with everything that is going on in the world plus school, work, and motherhood.

So, with my last half of this semester about to begin and I am still doing my exercises, I wanted to share a healthy recipe. I have been working out for awhile now and have been really devoting to eating healthier. I am also becoming lactose intolerant, so I have been really needing to step up my game on creating recipes that will both be delicious and good for myself and for my family.

But first, let me share on how I came up with this recipe. I know that there are probably the same dishes out there, but I liked how I added my own little twist. I am from the South and one of my favorite dishes is Shrimp and Grits. I love the cheesiness and the buttery grits with the luscious butter and seasoned shrimp. Well, since I am wanting to get healthier and I haven’t had the dish in a LONG time, I figured it was time to make it.

I did some research and found that quinoa can be a substitute for things like grits in dishes. And since quinoa is better for you, I decided to try it and instead of calling it Shrimp and Grits, it is now Shrimp and Quinoa. See what I did there lol?? I loved the way that it turned it out, so that is why that I wanted to share it.

Now onto how I cooked it. First, I started with making the quinoa. I followed the directions on the bag, so it takes about 5 minutes to cook. After the quinoa cooked, I added a little bit of cream, salt, pepper, and Gouda cheese. I used Gouda because I thought it would be a great addition to the flavor of both the quinoa and shrimp plus I also like Gouda. However, you can play with different types of cheeses to see which one you prefer. I also added the cream because the quinoa started to become a little dry, but you don’t have to add the cream.

Second, I started on cooking the shrimp. The shrimp was already precooked, so I just heated them up in a skillet with butter, juice from a lemon, a little olive oil, mince garlic, salt, pepper, and Cajun seasoning. I only cooked them until they were heated through, so about 3-4 minutes.

To plate this, I put a scoop of the cheesy quinoa in a bowl, added the shrimp, and then I added some of the juices from cooking the shrimp (the butter mixture) with a little bit of parsley.

And in the end, it was delicious, it was healthy, and it was husband approved. My daughter did not want to try it, unfortunately. However, she did try the quinoa the next day and she liked it. So, at least I will take that the quinoa is kid approved.

Here is the recipe:

Shrimp and Quinoa

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cooke Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

For the Quinoa:

  • 1 cup Quinoa
  • 1/4 cup of heavy cream (optional)
  • about 1/2 cup of Gouda cheese cubes (or as you prefer whether it could be cheesy or not as cheesy…I am the kind of girl who likes the cheesiness factor to be in the middle)
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

For the Shrimp:

  • 1/2 to 1 lb. of precooked shrimp
  • 2 tablespoon of olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
  • juice from 1/2 to 1 lemon (depending on how much shrimp you have)
  • Salt, pepper, and Cajun seasoning to taste (about 1 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning and salt, then 1/2 teaspoon of pepper)

Directions:

    1. Start with making the quinoa. Follow the directions on how to cook the quinoa, which is getting the water and quinoa to boiling. Then, let it simmer or turn off the heat for 5 minutes.
    2. When the quinoa is cooked, add the cream, cheese cubes, salt, and pepper. Keep stirring everything until the cheese is fully incorporated.
    3. After you make the quinoa, start on cooking the shrimp. Start by heating up the olive oil and butter until it has melted. Then, add the minced garlic and cook for a couple minutes until the aroma of garlic hits you.
    4. Then, add the seasonings (Cajun, salt, and pepper) and mix until everything is incorporated. Add the shrimp.
    5. As the shrimp is cooking, add the lemon juice and stir until the shrimp is heated through (about 3-4 minutes).
    6. Finally, add the quinoa to the bottom of a bowl, add the shrimp, and then add the butter sauce (optional). Then, top it off with some parsley. Viola…Shrimp and Quinoa!

Simple, easy, and takes less than 30 minutes….uh, yes, please!! This dish is so good and it could be semi-healthy, but I like to think that it is healthy. I hope you all enjoyed reading on my little update and I hope you enjoy this recipe! As always, I hope you all have a great weekend and I will see you in the next post!

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Featured In: Food | March 13, 2020
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