Why does time fly by so fast during vacation? I had such a fantastic time over the last few days but in between parties, shopping, decorating, baking and cooking I have lost track of time. It’s back to work time and the only comforting thought I have is that Mexico is only a few days away and I’ll be on vacation once again. Yippy! Until then I have a jam packed week of meetings, travel and everything else in between.
In our house the Christmas Tree gets decorated for Briana’s birthday and this year wasn’t different. I am so happy with the way it turned out. I absolutely adore this time of the year and all the beauty that comes with it.
I bought a new train for my slowly growing Christmas miniature village.
And changed the table setting in my dining room.
In preparation for Mexico I am also trying to eat very light and squeeze in as much exercise as I can. After all, my pasty self will be on the beach in a bikini. I need to get a good self tanner again. 
So for dinner last night I made a Quinoa Shepherd Salad to go along with my Spicy Shrimp in Foil Pouches. It was a simple and effortless meal.
Cook the quinoa first by combining one cup of quinoa and two cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer just like you would rice. Don’t forget to salt the water to enhance the flavor of quinoa. I love using my rice cooker for that, its worry free. While quinoa cooks, dice up cucumbers, tomatoes, fresh herbs, avocado and lettuce.
Combine veggies with cooled quinoa and dress with low fat italian dressing. Simple but delicious.
These are the ingredients for the spicy shrimp.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl add peeled and deveined shrimp, spicy garlic chili paste like Sambal Oelek, olive oil, worcestershire sauce, old bay, a little salt and oregano. Top with lemon slices and onion. Mix well.
Fill aluminum foil squares with the shrimp mixture. Top with a bay leaf.
Then seal to form a pouch and bake about 15-20 minutes.
Oh, the juices inside the pouch. Yummmm. It’s hard not to take a piece of bread and mop up the sauce.
The entire dinner was so light yet so satisfying and flavorful. Happy belly
Quinoa Shepherd Salad
Dinner
Cooks in
Ingredients
-
1 cup cooked and cooled quinoa
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1 cucumber, peeled and diced
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1/4 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
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1/2 cup shredded lettuce
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1 avocado, diced
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1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
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1/4 cup low fat italian dressing
Directions
- 1. Combine all ingredients together.
- 2. Stir well and serve
Spicy Shrimp in a Pouch
Dinner, Seafood, Shrimp, Reduced fat
Cooks in
Serves 2
Ingredients
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12 shrimp, peeled and deveined
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1 tsp Sambal Oelek chili paste
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1/4 onion, thinly sliced into rings
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4 lemon slices
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1/4 tsp oregano
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1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
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1/4 tsp olive oil
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1/4 tsp Old Bay
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2 bay leafs
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2 aluminum foil squares, large enough to hold 6 shrimp with mixture
Directions
- 1. Mix all the ingredients together.
- 2. Seal both sides of the foil to create a pocket.
- 3. Divide shrimp equally amongst foil pockets.
- 4. Seal on top so that all sides are closed well.
- 5. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.
- To serve, carefully cut the top of the pouch and empty into a bowl.
