Mediterranean Grilled Shrimp Quinoa Salad

I've decided to start a new routine; the Thursday of every week is 'Quinoa Salad Night.'  I started this new tradition yesterday, so here you go.  My first weekly quinoa salad recipe!

I found the base for this recipe on Spoonful of Flavor, then did what I always do and dramatically 'enhanced' it.

This quinoa salad was delicious, and very easy too!  The only ingredients that require any cooking are the shrimp, bell peppers, green onions, and tomatoes, so it's great for during the summer when the absolute last thing you want to do is turn on the stove or heat up the oven.

For the dressing:

⅓ cup olive oil

¼ cup red wine vinegar

1 lemon, juiced

1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

For the salad:

½ lb. raw shrimp

2 TBSP olive oil

1 lemon, juiced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp oregano

Salt and pepper

10 mini bell peppers

1 bunch green onions

1 cup halved cherry tomatoes

1 ½ cups cooked quinoa (½ cup quinoa, 1 cup water)

1 (15 oz.) can garbonzo beans, drained and rinsed

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

3 persian cucumbers, quartered then thinly sliced

4 radishes, finely chopped

⅛ cup parsley, torn into bits

⅛ cup basil, torn into bits

⅛ cup oregano, torn into bits

Whisk together the dressing ingredients and let them sit for 30 minutes.

In a small bowl toss the shrimp in the olive oil, lemon juice, 1 clove of the garlic, oregano, and a light sprinkling of salt and pepper.  Let them marinate for at least 20 minutes.

Preheat a small pan coated in olive oil.  Sauté the remaining 1 clove garlic until is begins to bubble.

Add the tomatoes to the pan and sauté until they have slightly softened and are just beginning to brown.  Turn off the heat.

Preheat a BBQ to medium/high.  In a grill basket, toss the peppers and shrimp until the peppers are fully coated in the shrimps marinade. Grill the peppers and shrimp until the peppers are softened and the shrimps bodies are touching their tails.

Lightly grill the green onions until they begin to brown, then finely chop them.

Cut the tops off of the roasted bell peppers, then roughly chop them.

In a large bowl, toss together the dressing, peppers, green onions, tomatoes, quinoa, garbonzo beans, feta cheese, cucumbers, radishes, parsley, basil, and oregano.

Serve a bowl of the quinoa salad topped with sliced avocado and several shrimp.  This is a perfect meal for those summer days when you want to be outside but also want to put a delicious meal on the table!  If you want to do all of your cooking outside, you can cook the tomatoes in a grill pan on the BBQ instead of on the stove.

Mediterranean Grilled Shrimp Quinoa Salad

For the dressing:

⅓ cup olive oil

¼ cup red wine vinegar

1 lemon, juiced

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

For the salad:

½ lb. raw shrimp

2 TBSP olive oil

1 lemon, juiced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp oregano

Salt and pepper

10 mini bell peppers

1 bunch green onions

1 cup halved cherry tomatoes

1 ½ cups cooked quinoa (½ cup quinoa, 1 cup water)

1 (15 oz.) can garbonzo beans, drained and rinsed

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

3 persian cucumbers, quartered then thinly sliced

4 radishes, finely chopped

⅛ cup parsley, torn into bits

⅛ cup basil, torn into bits

⅛ cup oregano, torn into bits

Whisk together the dressing ingredients and let them sit for 30 minutes.

In a small bowl toss the shrimp in the olive oil, lemon juice, 1 clove of the garlic, oregano, and a light sprinkling of salt and pepper.  Let them marinate for at least 20 minutes.

Preheat a small pan coated in olive oil.  Sauté the remaining 1 clove garlic until is begins to bubble.  Add the tomatoes to the pan and sauté until they have slightly softened and are just beginning to brown.  Turn off the heat.

Preheat a BBQ to medium/high.  In a grill basket, toss the peppers and shrimp until the peppers are fully coated in the shrimps marinade. Grill the peppers and shrimp until the peppers are softened and the shrimps bodies are touching their tails.  Lightly grill the green onions until they begin to brown.

Finely chop the green onions.  Cut the tops off of the roasted bell peppers, then roughly chop them.

In a large bowl, toss together the dressing, peppers, green onions, tomatoes, quinoa, garbonzo beans, feta cheese, cucumbers, radishes, parsley, basil, and oregano.

Serve a bowl of the quinoa salad topped with sliced avocado and several shrimp.  This is a perfect meal for those summer days when you want to be outside but also want to put a delicious meal on the table!  If you want to do all of your cooking outside, you can cook the tomatoes in a grill pan on the BBQ instead of on the stove. 


To see more of my pictures you can find me on Instagram at @audreygracephotography.

Creamy Smoked Salmon Pasta Casserole

I think this is my new fall comfort food.  I'm not even kidding.

One of my favorite combinations is pasta, asparagus, and goat cheese, (what isn't good with goat cheese), and adding smoked salmon just made it better.  The nice thing about this dish is that although it has a cream sauce, it's healthy because the cream sauce is made out of potatoes and cauliflower!  And don't worry, it doesn't taste like a vegan who's trying too hard.

For the casserole base:
1 onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp thyme (dried or fresh)
Salt & pepper
White wine
3 cups 'Cream' Sauce
Chicken Stock
10 oz. asparagus, lightly blanched
8 oz. smoked salmon, cut into ½" pieces
1 ½ lb. cooked fusilli pasta
4 oz. Quattro Formagio cheese blend from Trader Joe's, or your favorite stretchy cheese
5 oz. Goat cheese

For the 'Cream' Sauce:
(This will make more than you need, but it's a great sauce to have on-hand.)
1 russet potato, peeled & boiled
1 cauliflower, boiled
5 oz. Goat cheese
¼ cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBSP white wine
1 lemon, juiced
2 TBSP cream
1 TBSP sugar
Salt & pepper to tasteChicken Stock

Put all of the sauce ingredients in a blender and blend into a thick, creamy sauce.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and add chicken stock as needed to achieve the correct consistency.



Now onto the casserole base.

Preheat a large pan coated in olive oil.  When the oil begins to sizzle, add the garlic and onion and sauté until the onion turns a light golden brown.

Add the mushrooms and thyme along with a sprinkling of salt and pepper and a large splash of white wine.  Sauté until the mushrooms are golden brown and meaty in texture.

Add the 'cream' sauce to the mushrooms, adding chicken stock as needed to achieve a pourable yet creamy consistency.  Once the sauce begins to bubble, turn off the heat.

Cut off the bottom third of the asparagus, leaving the top two-thirds intact.  Chop the bottom third into small, quarter-inch pieces.

In a large casserole dish coated in olive oil, mix together the pasta, smoked salmon, and chopped asparagus ends.

Pour the mushroom/sauce mixture over the pasta, making sure it spreads evenly.

Arrange the leftover asparagus on the top of the pasta and sauce, then sprinkle with the Quattro Formagio cheese and crumble on the Goat cheese.

Bake in a 350* oven for 30 minutes, or until the goat cheese is melted and browned and the sauce is bubbling.

Serve a large scoop of this casserole alongside a salad or steamed veggies.  Trust me, the minute you this, you'll be craving it all day every day!

To see more of my pictures you can find me on Instagram at @audreygracephotography.

Crab & Wild Rice Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

My three favorite foods are broccoli, avocado, and mushrooms, so when I saw a package of five huge portabella mushrooms at Costco, of course I had to get them!  I already had crab leftover from my Safe Sushi, so I decided to make a crab and wild rice filling for my mushrooms.

Now if you're not a mushroom lover like I am, or you have leftover filling, this recipe is also delicious if you spread out the filling in a large baking dish, sprinkle it with parmesan cheese, then bake it for 30 minutes at 400*.  That's what I did with my leftover filling, it came out like perfect little pie pieces and was divine!

Another great way to use this filling is stuffing smaller mushrooms and making the dish an appetizer!  If you get normal mushrooms that are slightly on the large side, then scoop out the stem, they should be just the right size for appetizers.  Of course you won't have to bake them nearly as long as the big ones, so just be careful with that aspect.

5 portabella mushrooms

½ onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 TBSP white wine

1 tsp Sumac spice blend

3 ½ cups cooked wild rice

½ lb. super lump crab meat

2 small eggs or 1 ½ large eggs

1 cup Quattro Formagio cheese blend from Trader Joe's, or your favorite stretchy cheese

Parmesan cheese

Thoroughly wash the mushrooms, then use a small knife to remove their stems.  Finely chop the stems and save them for later.

Coat the mushrooms in olive oil, salt, and pepper, then arrange them gills-up on a foil lined baking sheet.

Preheat a large pan coated in olive oil.  Sauté the onion and garlic until the onion turns a light golden brown.

Add the mushroom stems, white wine, and Sumac spice blend along with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper.  Continue to sauté until the white wine is fully cooked off and there is very little liquid in the pan.  Turn off the stove and briefly cool the onion mixture.

Add the wild rice, crab, eggs, and Quattro Formagio cheese to the onion mixture and mix thoroughly.

Fill the prepared portabella mushrooms with the filling, creating a rounded mound.  Use the back of a wooden spoon to pack in the filling as you go.

Sprinkle on a generous layer of Parmesan cheese and lightly press it onto the top of the filling to prevent it from falling off.

Bake the mushrooms in a 400* oven for 30 minutes until the cheese is golden brown and the mushrooms have begun to release their juices.  If the cheese begins to burn, cover the mushrooms with foil and continue the cooking process.

These mushrooms are ideal served alongside a salad, try them with my Garden Salad & Dressing!

To see more of my pictures you can find me on Instagram at @audreygracephotography.

Mango, Coconut, & Passion Fruit Mousse

Two years ago we planted a passion fruit vine outside our kitchen window to fill in a gap of empty wall.  Well, apparently we had more empty wall than we thought, because now the passion fruit vine has climbed all the way around the kitchen window and over our pathway arch.  It looks gorgeous, and the rose it is growing with has never been healthier, but there's only one problem; we have way too much passion fruit!

The vine is giving us a huge bowl of fruit every three days, so we are having to come up with lots of different recipe to use up all of our passion fruit.  Both my mom and I have been brainstorming like crazy, and she came up with the idea of making a mango, coconut, and passion fruit mousse!

For the fruit base:
1 envelope Knox unflavored gelatin
¾ cup passion fruit pulp
1 mango, peeled
½ tsp lime juice
1 cup plain Chobani, or your favorite greek yogurt
7 oz. Coconut Cream from Trader Joe's
½ tsp vanilla extract

For the Italian Meringue:
(you'll only use half of this but you can't make a smaller batch of meringue)
2 egg whites
¾ cup sugar

Dissolve the gelatin in ¼ cup warm water.

In a small saucepan, mix the sugar with ¼ cup water, then use a candy thermometer to heat to 238*.

While the sugar is heating put the passion fruit, mango, lime juice, Chobani, coconut cream, and vanilla in the container of a large blender (I used my Vitamix), then blend into a smooth, creamy mixture.

While the blender is running, slowly add the gelatin until it is all gone, blend for 5 more seconds, then turn off the blender.

Once the sugar is almost heated, whip the egg whites into stiff, glossy peaks.

Once the sugar has reached 238*, add it to the egg whites in a slow, consistent stream while the egg whites are whipping.

Continue whipping the egg whites until they are fully cooled.

Pour the fruit base into a large bowl, then thoroughly fold in half of the egg whites until there are no white streaks.

Pour the completed mousse into parfait glasses, or leave it in the bowl.  I like using the parfait glasses because the mousse sets better, and then you have individual servings of set mousse.

Let the mousse set in the fridge of a full 24 hours.  Don't skimp on this or your mousse will not be thoroughly set!

Serve the mousse with some added fresh fruit, or just on its own!  I assure you any fruit-lover will delight in this decadent dessert.

To see more of my pictures you can find me on Instagram at @audreygracephotography.

Radish Flowers

Yesterday we were at the store getting ingredients for our weekly sushi night, when we saw radishes.  The only time I've ever gotten radishes before is when I had guinea pigs (guinea pigs love radishes), but my mom said that we should get some and make radish flowers to decorate the sushi!

When we got home I looked up a tutorial for making radish flowers, and found this one: Red Radish Waratah Flower.  I love this channel's tutorials and will definitely be using them in the future!  The steps to making this flower are a little hard to explain in writing, so I recommend watching the video for the full tutorial.  Soaking the completed flowers in ice water for several hours is a very important step, it's what makes the flower open up to its fullest extent.

 

I used several of my radish flowers to garnish my sushi along with some iced green onions (you can find the recipe for my safe sushi here).  I definitely recommend making multiple radish flowers, just incase some of them break.

To see more of my pictures you can find me on Instagram at @audreygracephotography.