Pinterest Yummy Recipe Challenge #3: Valentine's Day Cilantro Shrimp and Rice

Tuesday morning my day started out like this:

My V-Day surprise I walked into @ 7:00 a.m.
Sweet note included and all!

But yesterday my day started out like this:

While drinking more than a normal amount of wine on Valentine’s Day sounded like a lot of fun, the day-after headache was not so much fun. But nonetheless, every sip was worth it because Valentine’s Day marked 4 years since day 1 for Jeff and I. Yup it’s true, on the most cliché love holiday EVER, I met my Mr. Right. So what exactly did we do on such a special day? We cooked in our kitchen, ate at our own table, and drank our own wine. And it was perfect.

Since our diet is typically heavy with chicken and ground turkey, I decided we should bring out Pinterest recipes and whip up something that we rarely cook – shrimp. Menu for the evening: grilled shrimp with cilantro, lime, and peanuts and a side of cilantro lime rice. Can you say YUM!

Photo and recipe can be found HERE at marthastewart.com.

Photo and recipe can be found HERE at skinnytaste.com.

The recipes are both extremely simple, and tasty simple recipes are my absolute favorite!

GRILLED SHRIMP WITH CILANTRO, LIME, AND PEANUTS

Step 1: Chop everything you need to chop.

Step 2: Zest limes into bowl. Squeeze in juice from one lime. Whisk with sauce and sugar.

Step 3: Brush shrimp with oil and lightly season with salt and pepper. Grill shrimp on high heat until firm and pink, 2 to 3 minutes per side. (This was Jeff’s job. He put them on foil for the grill to make life easy.)

Step 4: Toss shrimp in mixture, extra lime juice, cilantro, peanuts, and green onions.

Notes and Considerations: You do not have to follow the recipe exactly to create a delicious meal. We actually substituted the fish sauce for a Worcestershire/soy/teriyaki and it was delicious. We think the sauce could have even had a little more kick. Also, we would have preferred peeled shrimp for the simple fact that it’s annoying to peel shrimp during a nice meal. With peeled shrimp, you could marinate them for a day or two in the sauce mixture, grill them, and then toss again once cooked. It would be delicious.

CILANTRO LIME RICE

Step 1: Add rice, water, salt, and oil into a pot. Boil on high until most of the water evaporates.

Step 2: When the water just skims the top of the rice, reduce to low and cover for about 15 minutes. Then turn off flame and keep covered for five more minutes.

Step 3: Add cilantro, lime juice, and additional oil to the rice and toss until mixed.

Notes and Considerations: Well there aren’t really any since it’s so easy. If you want to make it even easier, make plain Jane rice and then add cilantro and lime. Done. I’ve done that before with flavored rice and it was yummy.

So what’s my verdict on this all? These recipes are delicious and easy and everyone should give them a chance. I’m pretty sure this style of food and these techniques will be new additions to our cooking. And the best part is that the recipes aren’t really needed after the first try because the concepts are simple enough to repeat by memory.... Not to mention that I was able to use my nifty tools.

Mission grilled shrimp with cilantro, lime, and peanuts and a side of cilantro lime rice was a success! Stay tuned for more Pinterest recipes we attempted last night: Chick-fil-A nuggets and one pot mac n' cheese.

Today I'm linking up with It’s a Keeper Thursday: Recipe & Project Swap.