Cherry Tomato Shrimp Scampi

I successfully ate shrimp for 7 meals last week. I’m not sure you can constitute that as successful, but regardless I did it. When I tested this shrimp scampi recipe earlier in the week I didn’t think about the fact that I’d be away for the weekend near water aka a surplus and desire to eat as much fish as possible. A spontaneous dinner date to a favorite seafood spot in town didn’t help either. After meal 7 I think I can confidently say I’ll be taking a siesta from shrimp for a bit, but you can bet when I’m ready again this recipe will be the one breaking my shrimp fast.

This recipe comes together so quickly. The white wine butter (I use ghee) sauce is kind of insane. Just hold the pasta, add crusty bread, you’ll be wanting to sop up every last bit. I also added tomatoes for a pop of color and flavor amongst the shrimp. Pair with an easy green salad, I just did butter lettuce, avocado slices, leftover parsley from the shrimp and a vinaigrette, and your meal is done.

Cherry Tomato Shrimp Scampi
yields 3 servings | recipe adapted from BevCooks

Ingredients:
1 lb. large frozen shrimp, thawed, peeled, and deveined
2 Tbsp. ghee (or butter)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ shallot, finely chopped
½ cup white wine (I used sauvignon blanc)
10 oz cherry tomatoes
3 tbsp. chopped parsley
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 lemon, zest and juice
Salt and pepper
Crusty bread and a green salad, for serving

Directions:
Over medium heat, melt the ghee and olive oil in a large pan. Add the garlic, shallot, and tomatoes, and sauté for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the wine and crushed red pepper to the pan, and give it all a stir. Turn the heat to medium-low, put the lid on your pan, and let the tomatoes, garlic, and shallot simmer for about 5 minutes, until the tomatoes begin to wilt.

Once the tomatoes are starting to soften, add the shrimp to the pan and season generously with salt and pepper. Squeeze half of the lemon into the pan and let the shrimp cook for about 1-2 minutes per side until pink. Stir in the lemon zest and parsley and give it a taste. Adjust seasoning as needed.

Serve in a low bowl with toasted crusty bread and a green salad!

Annie

This recipe was prepared in the Phantom Chef 11” Deep Fry Pan, a new favorite line of kitchenwares!

I Tried Every Trader Joe's Salad Kit and Want You To Know My Favorite

Okay so maybe not every salad kit. I suppose Caesar salad and coleslaw would fall into the “salad kit” category, but those seemed like a cop-out. I also omitted the saute kits. I limited this research to the tall skinny (do you know what I mean?) salad kits intended to be more of a meal or hefty side. I tried a majority of their current offerings. The only one I didn’t try was the Peanut and Crispy Noodle Salad Kit, because of #peanutallergy.

First, a few tips for eating Trader Joe’s salad kits. Tip #1, I recommend tossing the pre-packaged dressing. They give you way too much to dress the amount of the salad in the bag. Salads are typically a healthy option, but the salad dressing can make a salad go from good to bad, quick. Every dressing I saw in these kits had sugar in them. Not that I don’t eat sugar, but I don’t want to expend my sugar consumption in a salad dressing. A little olive and vinegar is all you need. I noted how I dressed each salad as I reviewed them.

Tip #2, beef them up with extra greens. I brought these salads for lunch most days and they are the perfect amount to get 2 servings out of one bag. At $2.99 to $3.99 a bag, a $2 or less lunch is a win. However, I would add to their volume by buying an extra bag of spinach to make the salad a little bigger.

Tip #3, add protein/healthy fats. These are all great with avocado, some shredded rotisserie chicken, chopped up turkey burger, chicken sausage, shrimp, salmon, you name it.

Sesame Crunch Chopped Salad Kit
bok choy, savoy cabbage, red cabbage, carrots, sesame sticks, cashews and nori seaweed flakes with toasted sesame ginger vinaigrette

This kit was surprising. The flavors were bolder than I thought and the nori seaweed flakes gave it an interesting kick. I would buy again, but it wasn’t my favorite. It would be a good green addition to an Asian meal. For instance, paired alongside TJs coveted Mandarin Orange Chicken or potstickers.

I added avocado and used coconut aminos to dress my salad.

Southwestern Chopped Salad Kit
green cabbage, romaine, cotija cheese, roasted pepitas, tortilla strips, green onion, cilantro and a southwest avocado dressing

This salad is a Trader Joe’s staple and comes up on several lists for the top items to try at TJs. My friend Maddie who inspired this whole blog post told me it was her favorite, but wanted me to research the other options out there to help her break out of her routine of buying this same salad every time. For good reason, it’s great and would make for a great side dish to Tex Mex or barbecue.

I added avocado and used salsa for the dressing! It would be great with shredded chicken, grilled shrimp or taco meat.

Tahini, Pepita & Apricot Slaw Kit
shredded carrots, broccoli stalks, green cabbage & kale with a tahini orange dressing

You had me at tahini. I stinking love tahini. Even though the only tahini part of this salad was in the dressing…which I threw away. The apricot was also the subtle star of this salad show.

I didn’t have any tahini but I 100% would have done a drizzle of apple cider vinegar and tahini if I had it. Instead, I did apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, and olive oil. With it being a slaw and having stiffer vegetables, it needed a thicker creamier dressing to break through them, than just a vinaigrette. I added avocado too of course.

Veggies & Greens Salad Kit
crisp & crunchy blend of veggies including cauliflower & Brussels sprouts with radcchio, kale, dried pear crumbles, pistachios & honey ginger dressing

This salad was an underdog that came out being one of my favorites. It seemed underwhelming with a name like “veggies & greens,” but I was pleasantly surprised. I had forgotten about the dried pear and thought it was dried ginger (which I love). Either way, it was the perfect sweet note. The pistachios were salty and roasted. I wish there were more.

I ate this with avocado and made a simple dressing of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. This is my go-to dressing. Like I mentioned above, this too needed a thicker dressing with all of the stiff greens. I even heated this salad up for 30 seconds in the microwave. May sound weird, but I kind of enjoy eating salads warm and it too helped break down the stiff greens a bit. This would make an excellent easy side dish or with a piece of grilled salmon over the top.

Organic Mediterranean Style Salad Kit
Romaine lettuce, shredded broccoli stalks, radicchio, celery, seasoned flatbread strips, feta cheese, dried tomatoes and roasted chickpeas with a red wine vinaigrette.

This is in rotation as one of my favorite Trader Joe’s Salad Kits! I love greek salads and Mediterranean food in general. The dried tomatoes were a fun surprise and the seasoned flatbread added just a little crunch without being carb-heavy.

Yellow Curry Chopped Salad
Mixed cabbage and carrots with naan chips, cashews, golden raisins & yellow curry ginger lime vinaigrette.

I love a curry moment and had bigger expectations for this salad that what delivered. I actually didn’t toss the dressing that came with this salad, but I did only drizzle a tiny amount. I wanted that good curry flavor, however it lent way more sweet than rich and spicy and savory like I want from curry. The naan chips were also hard as a rock and not quite what I was wanting.

Lemony Arugula Basil Salad Kit
Arugula, rainbow ribbon carrots, almonds and parmesan cheese with a basil lemon vinaigrette.

This is one of the more versatile TJs salad kit. It may be my all time favorite. It’s the perfect base for an entree salad if you beef it up with avocado, and more veggies. I love it as an easy side dish for pan seared salmon.

Buffalo Ranch Chopped Salad
Green cabbage, romaine lettuce, cauliflower stalks, celery, kale, carrots & blue cheese crumbles with a buffalo ranch dressing.

I am not usually a buffalo or a ranch girl when it comes to flavors, but I wanted to give all salad kits a fair shot. I tried the dressing on this salad and it was not for me, so I set it aside and drizzled this with a little barbecue sauce. Delicious honestly, but I love barbecue sauce. Some shredded chicken, extra carrots, and chopped celery would be great added to this salad. If you are a buffalo aficionado, some crock-pot chicken shredded with buffalo sauce would be awesome here.

Suggestions on what my next Trader Joe’s quest should be? Chips? (after lent of course because I gave up these little kryptonites) Dip? Frozen food?

Annie

updated 8/24/20

Bites of My Life

February, hey how are you? Groundhog, how are you? Heard spring is coming sooner rather than later (praise be). It was 78 in Dallas yesterday, so it seems like the groundhog told mother nature to get busy fast. Keep reading for a snippet of last week, I’ll be over here re-watching the Google commercial and dancing in the mirror pretending I’m J Lo.

-I’ve been using Love Wellness’ Good Girl Probiotic since the start of the year. I used to use Arbonne’s digestion plus and have for the past two years. But kind of like face wash, I’m starting to think probiotics are something you need to switch up every now and then.
-Red lentil pasta with store-bought sauce, wilted spinach and dairy-free mozzarella aka my way of eating pasta every day and feeling great about it.
-The reason why I’m smiling so big coming to my Instagram stories later today.
-My coffee order as of late: americano either decaf or regular with steamed almond milk and cinnamon and nutmeg on top. Americanos are one of the cheapest things you can get at a coffee shop and the steamed almond milk makes it feel like a latte.
-This sweater is 4 years old and I chose this past week to wear it errrr 3 times in a row. When it’s good, it’s good.
-SOUP DUMPS!! But more importantly dinner with two people I LOVE at a restaurant I LOVE! If you haven’t been to Royal China, well you know what to do.
-Desert Racer lived up to the hype. The elote mi oh my! And the pork shoulder tots, yup. Perfect for any day, but especially after Saturday’s birthday bar crawl for a new friend!
-This week’s TJ’s salad kit taste testing. A blog post review to come!
-Super bowl // super brisket tacos!!

Annie

Shaved Cauliflower Salad

I had this salad at Americano last week and knew immediately I had to recreate it. My friend Jordan and I walked down to the restaurant at The Joule after meeting Serena Wolf at her book signing downtown. It only made since to have Jordan back over for dinner to test out my recreation.

Y’all. This salad is just great. Despite just being cauliflower it’s filling and satisfying. Would be killer with some salmon on it or as a side with barbecue or anything grilled. It’s heavy on the lemon which I personally love for the dead of winter (citrus is so good for you in cold months), but will be just as good this summer.

The key to the salad is the shaved cauliflower. You can use a mandolin, but if you know me, you know my experience with mandolins has not been pleasant…However it will work. I suggest using a food processor fitted with the slicing attachment. It makes this salad incredibly easing by just forcing the cauliflower florets through the food tube. To be honest I had actually never used the slicing attachment, until I made this. I’ve had my food processor for mmm 4 years now and had to take the protective sticker off the slicer. It has now ben christened and I plan to use it far more.

Shaved Cauliflower Salad adapted from Americano
yields 3-4 as a main or 6 as a side dish

Ingredients:
3 cups white cauliflower florets (about one small head of cauliflower)
2 cups of purple cauliflower florets
2 cups of orange cauliflower florets
½ cup raw shelled pistachios
½ cup plump golden raisins
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
2 tbsp. olive oil
1¼ salt, divided
¼ tsp. red chili flakes
1 tbsp. chopped chives, plus more for serving

Directions:
In a cereal sized bowl, pour hot water over golden raisins and let set aside to “plump" for 10-15 minutes. While the raisins are plumping, add pistachios and ¼ tsp. salt in a dry frying pan over medium heat. Toast your pistachios, stirring them around often for about 3-4 minutes, keeping a close eye on them as they can burn easily.

Thinly shave your cauliflower in your food processor with the slicing disk attached or on a mandolin. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and toss with lemon juice and 1 tbsp. of salt. Let sit for 5 minutes to marinate.

Drain your raisins. Into the cauliflower, stir in the olive oil, pistachios, plump raisins, chives and chili flakes. Garnish with extra chives and salt.

Best if made at least 30 minutes before serving so the flavors have time to come together. Will stay good in the fridge for up to 5 days.

TBH cauliflower is hard to measure. The recipe calls for 2-3 cups of florets that will then be shredded. Don’t stress, just eyeball what looks like about 2-3 cups and you can adjust seasonings as needed.

Annie

Turmeric Chicken Zoodle Soup

I originally published this post in January 2017. After partnering with CeCe’s Veggie Co. I knew this was the perfect recipe to use their zucchini noodles in and decided to update the post and photos. Enjoy!

I first developed this recipe in January 2017 right after being gifted a spiralizer for Christmas. While a spiralizer is a great invention, I can’t say I’ve used it much since, well, January 2017. Sorry Santa *cough mom and dad cough*. It was all bright shiny and new at the time, but it’s a bit of a chore to pull out when I’m trying to make an easy dinner.

Enter CeCe’s Veggie Co. They have created packs of already spiralized zucchini, sweet potato, butternut squash, beets, riced cauliflower and more. I’m usually not one to buy pre-cut vegetables or fruit, but this is one I can get behind. I’m willing to pay a little extra for a healthy swap from the traditional noodle and of course for the convenience.

I love using CeCe’s Zucchini Spirals in this soup instead of weighing down what could be a healthy soup with starchy noodles. The turmeric addition gives it that quintessential yellow color and is an added boost to what people think of as a cold-curing meal. Turmeric is anti-inflammatory meaning it helps soothe sore muscles, stomach aches, helps with cramps and bloating, and is a natural detoxifier of the gut. Warning, be careful when using turmeric because it can stain everything! Wash your pots and pans immediately after using them. I’ve been left with a neon yellow woden spoon from the recipe that I’m not sure I can salvage.

Turmeric Chicken Zoodle Soup adapted from Damn Delicious
yields 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks or 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
salt and pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small yellow onion or 1/2 a large onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
3 stalks celery, sliced
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
4 cups chicken bone broth
1 cup water
1 package CeCe’s Organic Zucchini Spirals (or 3 zucchini if you are spiralizing yourself)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 sprig fresh rosemary, some leaves reserved
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions:
This soup comes together quickly so you want everything ready to go. Start by dicing your chicken (or shredding if you are using a rotisserie chicken) and veggies.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Season diced chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Add chicken to the stockpot and cook until golden, about 6-8 minutes. Remove from pot and place on a plate to set aside.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the stockpot. Add garlic, onion, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5-6 minutes. Stir in the turmeric, thyme and add the sprig of rosemary. Let simmer until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add in chicken stock and 1 cup of water; bring to a boil. Stir in zucchini noodles* and chicken; reduce heat and simmer until zucchini is tender, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the sprig of rosemary. Serve garnished with extra rosemary and parsley, if desired.

*If you are meal prepping this soup, omit adding your zucchini noodles until right before you serve. When ready to serve, ladle your soup into a bowl and add a handful of zucchini noodles. As you reheat the soup the zucchini will become tender. The soup will stay good for one week in the fridge.

Annie

Thank you Cece’s Veggie Co. for letting me work with you. While I was compensated for this post, all thoughts and words are 100% my own.