serves 4 {Adam and I ate the entire thing ourselves!}
from Steamy Kitchen’s Healthy Asian Favorites

Ingredients:
1 lb fresh salmon fillet
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
3 tbsp sake
2 tbsp honey
2 tsp cooking oil

Directions:

• Combine the soy sauce, mirin, honey, and sake in a resealable plastic bag. Add the salmon and mix well to coat. Place in the fridge to let marinate for 1 hour or up to 8 hours.
• After salmon has marinated, remove from fridge and bag, reserving the marinade. Heat the cooking oil in a large skillet or frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add the salmon and sear for about 2 minutes per side. Turn the heat to low and add the remaining marinade. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes, until cooked through.

Time:
active time — 15 minutes
total time — ~3 hours

Shrimp and Goat Cheese Quesadillas
serves 2


Ingredients:
4 flour tortillas
8 raw shrimp (frozen or fresh, deveined with tails off)
1/2 cup frozen sauteed pepper and onion mix
1/2 cup shredded pepperjack cheese
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
pinch of chili powder
pinch of salt
pinch of cayenne
salsa and avocado slices for serving

Directions:

• Heat up the frozen bell pepper and onion mix in a skillet over high heat for about a minute. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
• In the same skillet, spray with cooking spray and crank up the heat to high. Add the shrimp and cook quickly for about thirty seconds. Add the cayenne pepper, salt and chili powder and toss to coat. Immediately take off heat (shrimp cook fast!).
• Scatter pepperjack cheese and goat cheese on two tortillas and then top each with four cooked shrimp and a little bit of the onion and pepper mix. Lay other tortillas on top and cook each in a greased skillet over medium heat until the cheese has melted and the tortillas are golden brown and crispy.
• Let cool and then cut into four slices with a scissors. Serve with avocado slices and salsa.

Time:
10 minutes

Shrimp Enchiladas Verde
serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 lb frozen cooked shrimp (cocktail shrimp are great for this!), defrosted
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
28 oz green enchilada sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream (reduced fat is fine)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 4-oz can diced fire roasted green chilies
8 oz shredded “Mexican Blend” cheese (or Monterey Jack)
12-14 corn tortillas
verde salsa for serving
fresh cilantro for serving

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Roughly chop your cooked shrimp and place in a large bowl with 1/4 cup enchilada sauce, cumin, chili powder, salt, cayenne pepper, diced green chilies and sour cream. Mix well until everything is well combined.
• Pour about 2/3 cup enchilada sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Soften your corn tortillas by placing each in a hot skillet for about 10-20 seconds each side. Then, place about 1/4 cup shrimp filling into each hot tortilla along with a sprinkle of cheese. Roll up tortilla and place seam-side down in the pan. Repeat until you have used up all your shrimp filling. (You might have a few extra enchiladas that don’t fit—place them in a small pan).
• Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the pan and sprinkle cheese on top. Cover with tin foil and bake for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.
• Serve with extra salsa, hot sauce and fresh cilantro.

Time:
45 minutes

In a Hurry Shrimp n’ Grits

Ingredients:
1/4 cup dry stoneground grits
1 cup water
pinch of salt and pepper
1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 tsp butter
1 slice thick cut bacon
5 large raw shrimp, tails off
1/4 cup sliced green onions
2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

• Bring the water to a boil on the stove and add the grits, salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook until grits are creamy and all water has been absorbed, about 15 minutes. Take off heat, stir in cheese and butter and set aside.
• While the grits are cooking, fry the bacon over low heat in a large cast iron skillet. When bacon is crispy, remove from pan and crumble (don’t pour out grease). Turn up the heat and add the shrimp to the pan, cooking for about 30 seconds until shrimp turn pink and curl up. Remove shrimp to a plate to keep warm and add sliced green onions, garlic and crumbled bacon, cooking for another 30 seconds.
• Pour green onion mixture on top of grits and top with shrimp. Enjoy!

Time:
25 minutes