Mediterranean Cous Cous

I served this with Spiced Curry Shrimp and Mediterranean Kale and it was wonderful together.

Mediterranean Cous Cous

Ingredents:
2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp ground Cumin
1/4 tsp Salt
3/4 cup water or vegetarian broth (I used the reserved liquid from the steamer when my kale was done cooking)
2/3 cup Cous Cous
2 Tbsp Parsley
2 Roma Tomatoes, seeded and cubed (um... if you don't have tomatoes handy, you can do what I did and throw in a few tablespooons of salsa!!!)
Lemon Juice
Pine Nuts

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil and add cumin. Stir for a few minutes, then add salt and broth (or water) and bring that to a boil. Remove from heat.
2. Stir in the cous cous and cover the pot tightly. Let stand off any heat for 5 minutes.
3. Remove cover and fluff cous cous with a fork. 
4. Add parsley, tomatoes (or salsa!) and a couple of squirts of lemon juice. 
5. Add some pine nuts... You can decide how crunchy you want it to be. I added lots because I enjoy lots of flavor and texture :)

Prep from start to finish: About 7 minutes. Nice and quick! Easy, too!

Spiced Curry Shrimp

Not vegetarian obviously.....
I served this with Mediterranean Cous Cous and Mediterranean Kale.
This makes a marvelous meal (for about 3 people, when served with side dishes)

Spiced Curry Shrimp

Ingredients:
2 lbs Medium Frozen Shrimp, deveined
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons Cumin
1 tsp Curry
1 1/2 tsp paprika
3 tsp cayenne pepper
3 cloves minced Garlic
1/2 cup water
lemon juice
crapload of chopped up cilantro

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil and cayenne, cumin, and paprika in a skillet big enough to fit all deez shrimps. I had the heat on Med.
2. When it heats up, add the shrimps (you can pull off the tails if you like, or leave them on- but this dish is pretty messy to have to pull them off by hand. However, I've heard leaving them on adds a flavor... so it's up to you) and the garlic and stir it for a few minutes.
3.  Add a couple of squirts of lemon juice. Stir for a minute or so-just go by how your shrimp are looking. You don't want them getting over done and rubbery.
4. Then add in the water.
5. Now turn the heat up to 6-7 (Med-High) and stir it and let it bubble rapidly until most of the liquid has evaporated away. It only took maybe 5 minutes or so. I also added in a little more cumin and a lot more cayenne since I wanted them spicy! I tasted a couple as i went along...
6. When most of the liquid is gone, add in the chopped cilantro and toss it all together.
7. You can also use some cilantro as a garnish.

Time that it took me to begin preparing the entire meal until it was served: 1 hour.

Awesome Quiche(s)!

A few months ago, we thought a quiche might be fun to make. WE WERE RIGHT! We just started throwing in all the veggies we could think of, and different cheeses, too. Therefore, I don't think we've ever made it the exact same way twice- so use this is merely a guide :)

If you're serving dinner for 6, with a side salad and some side dishes, this should do you about right.

Ingredients:
2 Deep Dish Pie Crusts from the freezer section at the grocery
1 container of Egg Beaters' All Whites Egg Whites
5-6 eggs
1/2 cup Skim Milk
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 of a medium sized Onion (or... a Leek!)
1 Red or Yellow Bell Pepper
1 package sliced Mushrooms
4-6 Roma Tomatoes (or sub in some cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes)
1 package of chopped frozen Spinach (the kind that looks like a brick) OR a few handfuls of chopped fresh baby spinach
Salt, to taste
1 bag shredded cheddar cheese (I used mild cheddar from Trader Joe's- fantastic)
1 package of diced up ham bits from the deli section (omit for the vegetarian version..... obviously)


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.
Stick the bottoms of the pie crusts with a fork a few times. Then put them into the oven and cook them for 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile....
Chop onion/leeks, bell pepper, and tomatoes into small pieces. Saute in skillet with olive oil a few minutes. Add in mushrooms. Keep sauteeing until tender.

If using frozen spinach, defrost spinach. Squeeze excess water out of spinach.
Dump 3/4 container of egg whites into a big bowl. Add eggs. Add milk. Whisk together.
Add the sauteed onion, pepper, tomato, and mushrooms. Add spinach. Stir again.
If desired, add a little salt, to taste.
Dump in ham bits and stir together.
Add cheese and stir to combine..
When all the ingredients are mixed up, use a deep spoon and spoon the mixture into the pie shells.
Bake for 40-50 minutes at 350 degrees. Quiche is done when it has risen a bit and the middle is solid.

If you like, you can take the quiche out a few minutes before it's done and sprinkle some shredded cheese on top and cook it another 10 minutes. We aren't huge fans of that though... odd.... considering John's cheese obsession and all.

Prep time: 30 minutes. Cook time: 35-45 minutes.