I Googled...

Dinner discussion that we had on vacation...

So, when you eat shrimp, peeled and deveined.... it's totally clean and delicious, non?

So....what about peel and eat shrimp? They aren't deveined....

Which leads me to google this:

So...still unsure. I guess I've been eating a lot of shrimp poop in my life.

p.s. you don't ever ever ever want to see my google search history. It holds all of life's questions you don't want to ask... but google always answers. ;-)

Shrimp Verde

A.K.A. Green Shrimps. Probably one of the easier recipes I've made, simply for the fact there are 4 ingredients. Shrimp, rice, Salsa verde, and chicken broth. Probably everything is in your pantry minus the shrimp. Super uber delicious.

Cook rice according to directions with 1 cup broth, 1/2 c salsa verde. Let those flavors get all up in the rice. I love the Trader Joe's organic brown basmati (quick cook). It is done in around 20 minutes. P.S. as a side tip, if you want any extra flavor with anything that is usually boiled in water, flavor it up with your favorite broth or add any seasonings you like. Adding the salsa verde from the get go really gave the rice a great flavor.

 Olive oil on med-high heat.

 Oh yes, one more ingredient if you are garlic lovers like us, I add 2 of these beauties into pan right in with the shrimp.

 I use Trader Joe's Argentinian Red Shrimp from the frozen section. It's peeled, deveined, and cooks up really nice. They are a little bit bigger too.

 Right after you add shrimp, add rest of the salsa verde (1/2 c) into the pan along with the shrimp with a little salt and pepper (just a pinch or two).

 Let them simmer for 2-3 minutes until pink and your shrimp will be done. Be careful to not overcook your shrimp or it'll taste like rubber. Shrimp cooks incredibly fast so don't think just because it's just a couple of minutes they won't be done...promise, they will be!

 I just serve up the rice and shrimp all together and enjoy.

Here's the rundown:

1 16oz. bottle of mild salsa verde (still gives it a nice kick)
1 lb shrimp peeled and deveined
1 cup quick cook TJs basmati rice
1 cup chicken broth
Optional 2 cloves garlic

Cook rice according to directions on package until done (substituting salsa verde and broth for the water)
1 tbsp olive oil in med/high heat pan. Add shrimp, s&p, garlic and salsa verde. Simmer and flip shrimp for 2-3 minutes each side until slightly pink.

Serve together and enjoy.

Joey and I were huge fans of this and will make it again soon. Inexpensive and delicious, and took about 20 minutes start to finish, and there were plenty of leftovers to dig into the next day!

Gifts for Mom

Moms are super special - including mother-in-laws, friends that are moms, moms-to-be, dog moms, caregivers, the list goes on and on. Show the moms in your life some love this Mother's Day. Here are a few gift ideas!

1/2/3/4/5

1- Ring Dish - This cute dish holds rings, knick knacks, loose change, etc. I have a similar one next to my sink and when they are sweet and whimsical like this one, the receiver of this gift will always think of you when they see it!

2- Spirilizer - need I say more? Turning veggies into noodles will make any mom happy!

3- Tea Towels - I am a huge fan of tea towels that add color and sweetness to any room. There are so many more on that link that are so beautiful!

4- Cookbook - I love the Skinny Taste cookbook and website so much, there are so many great things for anyone to make, and for the mom in your life, this could save her during the week figuring out what to make for her family - plus cutting through the repeats and trying something new that is still healthy!

5- Apron - Aprons make any mom, great cook or not, look like they know what they are doing in the kitchen! ;-) This comes in all types of colors and is durable and high quality.

Show the moms in your life some love this year!

My First Garden

I've been talking about growing some vegetables of my own for a while now, and had an idea of how I wanted to do it. I got started with research early and was able to set up my first vegetable garden this year. I hope it turns out, cause it was a ton of work!

First, getting the ground ready was the toughie. Luckily, with all the rain the ground was nicely saturated so it was easy to dig and till the ground in the area that I saw had good sun most of the time (obviously not in picture below!).

Then I wanted to have a small garden to start with. I found a 4x8 garden "kit" at Home Depot for less than $100. If I tried to build myself, it would have been a hot mess and well over $100 due to mistakes. This was really easy to build and took me about 15 minutes total!

Not pictured, but still essential to the project, adding soil. RESEARCH, read the reviews, its the best advice I can give. This is still really brand new, so I don't have my review yet, but I chose an organic soil that had rave online reviews.  I put a couple of bags down, watered, raked, then put another bag down, watered and raked. I kept doing this until I thought there would be plenty for the plants to root in. I added around 8 inches high, with my 32 sq ft boxes. I used about 7 bags.

Now to the good stuff!  I got my starters from a local greenhouse and they all had convenient detailed instructions on how far apart and how deep to plant them. I just followed the instructions as best I could, so help a girl out and cross your fingers and hope I did it right!

These are my pots with the herbs we use most!

Cilantro

Mint

 Basil

And here are the garden choices. I went for 'relatively easy' to start with for my first time, so it might look way simple, but you gotta start somewhere, right!?

Lettuce

 Cucumbers

 Summer squash

 More summer squash

 Bell peppers

 Tomatoes

 Cherry tomatoes

 More lettuce! I heart salads, and I think I will feel a huge sense of accomplishment if I get to eat a salad that I personally grew! I also have some jalapeños that I didn't take pics of (it would have been a picture of soil, so sorry!)

 All together now:

Checking out the goods.

That's it for now, a cage for keeping the critters out is built and I owe that to my sweet Joey and his best friend Scott. They know how to keep a gal happy!

If you have a garden, what do you have growing?