Living off the Land
/Hollaaa and Happy Monday! I realize most of you went back to work today, I hope it went smoothly! I worked sporadically last week and over the weekend so I'm back in the grind but, today was the first day that felt real. By that I mean, I stopped getting 'out of office' responses haha. Anyway, I got back in the swing, finished up work and went to the 6:30pm PWG class which was filled with newcomers. Oye, I always struggle with this! I am a giant proponent of starting a healthy lifestyle, but, man... can it be spread out throughout the year and not just January? Class was PACKED. (But, if you are starting a new routine - Good for you and I hope you keep it up!! Serious!!!!!)
Look how many options I had for dinner tonight!!!!! Random beer, tortillas, cheese, broccoli, old wine, ACV, eggs.
Luckily, I had some really fantastic purple sweet potatoes in the cabinet and a couple of shrimp left in the freezer. This brings me to the theme of this post: living off the land. This is something that I've been doing A LOT lately. All of the holiday parties and gatherings has resulted in a lot of food shopping... food shopping for the gatherings and the parties, but, not everyday meals. Have you guys experienced this, too? I need to start stocking back up on more staples again. In the meantime, I have been trying to be as creative as possible and tonight's meal was actually quite good!
First, I chopped up these amazing purple-skinned sweet potatoes that I cannot say enough about. They have THE BEST flavor. I added them to a pan with chopped broccoli and seasoned it all with extra virgin o/o, cayenne, crushed red pepper, salt, paprika, and rosemary. Popped it in the oven on 400 for about 13-15 mins and then tossed them and set them for another 7-10. They were REALLY crispy, but, I like them that way.
While that baked, I defrosted and marinated the shrimp in soy sauce, sesame oil, shallots, crushed red pepper and, a squeeze of lime juice.
I heated the tortilla on a hot cast iron grill pan. Removed it and added some jalapeños and feta to the tortilla (it would have been so lovely with some red peppers and shredded purple cabbage, but, I was living off the land and the land offered jarred jalapeños and feta)... haha it worked!
Quickly grill the shrimp for a minute or so on each side and place in the tortilla. Top the potatoes/broccoli with a sprinkle of Parmesan, plate and serve! The marinade on the shrimp is so delish and would be great in a stir fry over rice, in a chopped salad, or in a bigger tortilla filled with veggies. It just works perfectly. The potato/broccoli bake is soooo ridiculously easy and something I make several times during the week throughout the winter. I always mix up the spices to change it up.
My point with this post is this -- you can always make a nice meal even if you only have random things in your kitchen. Get creative and see what you can come up with! You won't just save your waistline, you'll also save your wallet. No need for takeout.
Have a great week! xo
