Summery Salsa & Shrimp Couscous

When it comes to meals for myself, I like fairly easy recipes and something that can be eaten again as leftovers… and as for not wanting to add to the baby bod poundage, healthy is a ‘bonus’-bonus right now πŸ˜‚

I also really like shrimp.

That’s why this recipe hits THE spot πŸ‘ŒπŸ»

It’s fairly simple to throw together, especially after the first time and it has a very summery freshness to it that I love.Β It would also be super easy to change up and tweak to your personal desires… which is also a plus for me, because I can follow a recipe once but after that, it typically strays πŸ€“

 

Serves 4 portion aware woman who aren’t overly starving.

(What I’m trying to say by that, is it can feed four pretty easily but it’s for sure a lighter style mealπŸ€ͺ)

Scroll past pictures fro recipe.

 

Preheat oven to 450

For the salsa –

Make first and refrigerate, so that it has some time to blend πŸ˜‰

1/2 cup mango, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
1/2 cup chopped pineapple
1/2 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup salsa
2 Tbsp lime
Salt and pepper

Shrimp –
2 cups worth of thawed Shrimp
2 Tbsp lime
Salt and pepper
2 decent sized cloves of minced garlic
(I always go heavier but we are pretty generous garlic seasoners in my family πŸ€ͺ)

Base –
1 cup Couscous
1 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp garlic seasoning…I have used the β€˜rosemary garlic blend’ from epicure and also β€˜Johnny’s garlic spread’
Salt and pepper

Topping –
Shredded lettuce if desired

Directions –
After mixing the chopped salsa ingredients, place in the refrigerator.

Prepare the shrimp and base mixtures in their own bowls.

Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil and oil it.

Spread the base mixture in the dish and layer the shrimp on top, pouring the extra liquid from the shrimp on top as well.
Cover with another piece of foil and pinch closed.

Cook for 12 minutes.

(This can also be made on the BBQ using all the same steps minus the baking dish and just using a foil packet)

Remove and top with the chilled salsa and some shredded lettuce to not only add to the veggie intake but it also gives a little texture affect πŸ˜‰

Then, devour at as polite a speed that one can devour at! πŸ˜‰

*Side note*

The salsa can be kept for at least a day, it just gets discoloured so it doesn’t LOOK nearly as appealing πŸ˜‰

Meandering Through My Week

(Meander; To wander aimlessly) 😜

Sunday May 14th –



It was a damp, dark day and the long dresses Mom and I chose to wear, may not have been the best Sunday attire if we wanted easy exits out of the mud ridden vehicles 😏

After attending that mornings church service, Mike sold our Mazda and we went to Amy’s for a Mother’s Day brunch 😊

Yep, the Mazda lasted almost a whole month, so of course it was time to be rid of it πŸ˜‹

The brunch was fairly tasty, though the chocolate covered strawberries were probably my highlight πŸ˜‰πŸ“

Once home, the day of rest continued on the couches, sleeping between the occasional bursts of thunder.

Dad had to head back to his work location, so we said our goodbyes until the next weekend he planned to come back on and then we three headed to Becca’s for some of her amazing turtle cheesecake 😍

(No worries Dad wasn’t left out, he got some packed to go πŸ˜πŸ˜‰)

In case I foolishly forget come my birthday, someone remind, I want that cake as my gift!
πŸ˜œπŸ‘ŒπŸ»πŸ’•

Monday May 15th –




A pointless day if ever there was one.

For me anyways 😜

I priced a few items for an upcoming garage sale, made a few more cement things (it’s a slow production rate when I only have one container 😝) and ate lunch, before going back to bed… not immediately or anything. There was lots of odds and ends unmentioned between my waking and re-sleeping. Honestly.

I awoke just before Mike returned from work, which is good, because he doesn’t need to return to a sleeping wife… that would make his work day seem even worse probably.
(See how thoughtful I am?πŸ˜‹)
No, it’s just that he probably wouldn’t have brought back iced coffees had he known my biggest achievement of the day had been a nap😎

I did help with supper to redeem myself and Michiel got to BBQ the burgers πŸ”

After a mostly sunny day, hail and heavy rain poured down for a few moments and then the night turned stormy.
We got a call from our neighbour to be, telling us that the side door on our house was open.
So Mike when to make sure it was the wind and not an intruder.
The frame is kind of rotten, so thankfully it was just the wind that had opened it πŸ˜¬πŸ’¨

Tuesday May 16th –



Suite One Studio‘ makes our morning coffees even better… if that’s possible πŸ˜‰ πŸ’•β˜•οΈ

Her mugs and dishes could make me drool, WITHOUT food or drink on them so yes, I would advise you to look at her stuff just to have some guaranteed happy thoughts in your dayπŸ˜‹

I had things to do which included making a chef salad for lunch for us three (Mike was busy working on the house and needed nourishment) and then my cousin came over so I could try doing her hair for an upcoming grad.

Two hours and an updo later, we had a wavy/curled side bun and hopefully a satisfied cousinπŸ˜‰





Wednesday May 17th –




I woke with Mike gone and assumed he’d went to the house, as work is slow in the woods right now.

So I mooched off of the lunch Mom was making herself and she dropped me off at the house to deliver Mike lunch and see if I could be of any assistance.

I hauled some garbage out, took some nails and screws out of boards we could reuse and then stood around playing ‘fetch his measuring tape, fetch his hammer’ until I got sick of that and went home to wash the grime off my hands (I can’t stand dusty feeling hands) before deciding I should be a good daughter and mow the grass, even though it was cold ish out πŸ˜‹

It was still enjoyable, headphones in and sun on my back here and there.
I also got to see some of the fresh spring violets… just before I mowed over an entire patch 😬

I know it’s hard to tell, as grown up as I am and all, but there is a little girl in me still and she couldn’t mow the whole patch down before stopping to pick some πŸ˜‰πŸ˜œ

Then it was back to the house to deliver some coffee and a vacuum so Mike could lay the plywood for the bathroom πŸ˜πŸ‘ŒπŸ»πŸš½

And then back home to quickly get supper going for us.

Pineapple Chicken  was served along with dill carrots and a Greek/Mediterranean couscous.

(I think of Greek and Mediterranean flavours as the same things, though I know that’s probably wrong… I mixed up some stuff the box called Mediterranean and then added Greek seasonings from epicure and a dash of Greek salad dressing, so it was confused couscous😜 😬)

Mom decided she doesn’t like the texture of couscous… but Mike and I like it for a change from rice😊
What are your thoughts on couscous?
Have you tried it? Liked it/hated it? πŸ˜‹

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