dinner in 16 minutes?

I dare you.

Mango. I love, love, love mangoes. And shrimp? Match made in heaven. Don't even get me started about it on a pizza. With brie. I know, I know, you're thinking I've seriously lost my mind. But it works. Mango is just so darn buttery, and sweet. Certainly, brie is too. Shrimp could usually use a little bit of fattening up anyways. Wait a second, I'm supposed to be talking about a salad.

Here it is -


See, it's not that pretty, but the 16 minutes included taking a couple photos.

I really did make dinner in 16 whole entire minutes, and it's healthy too. Baby even got his mango cut just for him, a little beef and saucy green beans warmed up too (babies don't eat lettuce or shrimp).

It also helps to have a few bags of frozen raw peeled shrimp on hand to rush the process along. Just try to defrost it in advance; the one thing I often forget.

Mango Shrimp Salad with Mango Dressing - In a Hurry!

Serves 2

For the salad:
454 gram bag of raw-peeled shrimp
extra virgin olive oil
1 large ripe mango
1 carrot
1/4 red pepper
salad greens


For the dressing:
1/4 cup mango
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup blackberry vinegar (balsamic would be fine)
thumb nail-size chunk of fresh ginger
squirt of honey

1. Pre-heat a sauté pan with a couple tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Cook the shrimp until pink. Let cool as much as possible before adding to the salads.
2. Wash the carrot, mango, red pepper.
3. Place salad greens in the bowls. Grate the carrot, and chop the red pepper. Add to the bowls.
4. Remove the flesh from the mango. Place 1/4 cup in a small blender jar. Dice or slice the rest, and add to the salad bowls.
5. Make the dressing: Place all of the ingredients in a small blender jar, and whizzz!
6. Add the shrimp to the salad bowls, and drizzle with the dressing. Serve immediately, and enjoy!
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smoky orange shrimp to share

I love to have friends and family over for dinner. Love it. Usually there is at least some semblance of planning. But sometimes things have to be done on the fly, and improvised a bit. Like when I return home from grocery shopping, and realize that there really is no appetizer, and while being at the beck and call of a new baby, the tummies of others can get put on the back burner. Hence the invention of a shrimp dish that is made to be shared, just so no one is starving by the time the rest of the meal finally arrives. Just plate up the shrimp and hand out the forks. Don't wander too far from the plate because these won't last long. Smoky Orange Shrimp to Share 1 pound peeled and deveined raw shrimp 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil 3 cloves minced garlic 1/2 tsp minced ginger 1/2 tsp smoked paprika 2 tbsp of frozen orange juice concentrate 1 tsp freshly chopped chives 1. In a preheated nonstick skillet, add the olive oil garlic and ginger. Heat on medium-high heat, just until fragrant, and the garlic is lightly brown. 2. Add the shrimp and paprika to the pan. Lower the heat to medium-low, and cook the shrimp for another 30 seconds, stirring nearly continuously to ensure the shrimp are evenly cooked. 3. Add the orange juice concentrate and continue to stir until the shrimp are cooked. 4. Quickly remove the shrimp to the serving plate. Leaving behind some of the sauce. 5. Reduce the sauce until there is just one tablespoon of liquid. Then spoon the sauce over the shrimp, and sprinkle with the chives. Serve immediately, and enjoy!
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sweet and spicy shrimp with edamame

I don't like to fuss. I like things to be good, and very good, but don't like to fuss. But yes, I am fussy. That being said, I like to eat when I'm hungry and not waste time. Sometimes it really does feel as though there just isn't time. This recipe is for exactly those times, when there isn't a moment to spare, but you still want, crave, desire a delicious dinner. Oh, and an all-in-one kind of dinner, without multiple side dishes. Just cook it and be done with it. This is one of those dinners. Shrimp. Edamame. Coconut milk and red curry paste. Then, you have your choice of starch; I used farro linguine. Soba noodles would also be fantastic (even cook even faster!), as well as rice, barley, regular pasta - you name it. But some sort of grain-like substance that can comfortably soak in, and bask in, the coconut sauce, as a sort of vehicle for coconut milk. This is a little bit sweet from the shrimp and coconut milk. The red curry paste is an easy way to get the flavours talking. You can add more, but I used 1 tbsp with 2 cans of coconut milk, and it was present, but not overpowering. Sweet & Spicy Shrimp with Edamame 2 cans of coconut milk 1 tbsp of red curry paste 1 lb of thawed, (previously frozen), uncooked, shrimp 3 cups of frozen, shelled edamame salt to taste 1. In a large saucepan, bring the coconut milk to a simmer. Allow to reduce slightly, to thicken the sauce, at least 3 minutes (more if you are patient). Whisk in the red curry paste, until thorougly combined. 2. Add the shrimp (thaw it first, or the sauce will be thinner). Continue to simmer the sauce with the shrimp on medium-low heat until the shrimp are almost all pink. Then, add the edamame. Continue to heat, just until the coconut milk begins to simmer. Taste, and season according to taste. 3. Serve over the grain or pasta of your choice. I prefer to mix it in the pot, to heat the pasta with the sauce, and get the pasta thoroughly coated. If the pasta is undercooked to begin with, then this makes for great leftovers the next day.
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