Spiced Shrimp with Israeli Salad and Couscous

We recently subscribed to Hello Fresh, which is basically a meal plan delivery system. They send you fresh food and recipes every week to keep your dinner time from getting too boring.  If you're interested in trying it out, you can get $40 off your first box here.

Our dinner was getting boring, and my husband had had enough of it. So far I have really enjoyed the stuff we've been making.  This one was especially fun to make because I have never had any kind of Israeli dish.  Turns out that it is the perfect meal for this crazy summer time heat (imagine that... Israel).  It is so light and fresh and won't bog you down, and I just couldn't not share it.

Looks pretty close to the picture on the recipe!

What you'll need:

• 20-24oz shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 cup Israeli Couscous
• 2 small red onions, one finely diced, one cut in 1-inch cubes
• 2 Persian cucumbers, finely diced
• 1/2 oz fresh mint leaved, finely chopped
• 4 Roma tomatoes, cored and seeded; two finely diced, two cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 lemons, zested and halved
• 6 oz plain yogurt
• 2 Tbsp southwest seasoning
• olive oil
• salt a pepper to taste

What to do:

Preheat oven.  Set the broiler to 500°F.

Cook the couscous: Heat a large drizzle of oil in a small pot over medium heat.  Add about 2/3 of the diced onion and all of the couscous.  Cook and stir for about 2-3 minutes, or until the onion is soft.  Add 4 cups of water and a dash of salt.  Bring to a boil, then simmer on low for about 15 minutes, or until the couscous is cooked through and water is absorbed. (I actually ended up doing this wrong. I think I cooked it on too low of a temperature and ended up with too much water when the couscous was done cooking.  If this happens, just drain the water out with a colander and return it to the pot.)  Cover and set aside in a warm place.

Make the yogurt sauce: In a small bowl, combine half of the lemon zest and mint, all of the yogurt, a squeeze of lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.

Make the salad: In a medium to large bowl, stir together the remaining diced onion, lemon zest, and mint, the cucumber, diced tomato, a sqeeze of lemon, large drizzle of oil, and salt and pepper.

Cook shrimp and veggies: Toss the shrimp, cubed onion, and cubed tomato in a drizzle of olive oil, all of the southwest seasoning, and salt a pepper.  Spread out evenly on a baking sheet and broil about 5-6 minutes, turning about halfway through.  Everything should be lightly charred when done.

Plate it up! Combine the salad and couscous.  Taste and see if it needs more salt and pepper.  Serve the shrimp and veggies on top of the couscous salad and top with the lemon-mint yogurt (as pictured).

Enjoy!

Here is what Hello Fresh's dish looked like (mine is pictured above):

They used skewers; I did not. I also plated less couscous salad because I cannot eat that much.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: about 15 minutes

Makes about 4 servings.

Super Easy (and delicious) Beef Stroganoff

One of my personal favorites to make, this dish is one that can be thrown together at the last minute if you're in a hurry or just don't really feel like cooking much.  Plus, it's delicious.  Much better than Mr. Helper.

What you'll need:

• 8oz of pasta (typically egg noodles, but I used bow ties this time)
• 1lb ground beef
• 1 cube beef bouillon, crushed
• 1 can cream of mushroom
• 8oz sour cream
• 2oz half and half (milk works, too)
• salt and pepper

What to do:

Cook the pasta in a pot of boiling water and drain.

While the pasta cooks, heat a large drizzle of avocado oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the ground beef to the pan, season with salt a pepper, and chop up into bits as it cooks through.  Drain and return to the skillet.

Add sour cream, cream of mushroom, half and half, and bouillon to the pan.  Stir until well combined and heated through.  Salt and pepper to taste, then stir the cooked pasta into the mixture.

Serve it up, and enjoy!

Makes about 4 servings.

Prep time: about 3 minutes

Cook time: 10-15 minutes.

Super Easy Party Mac n Cheese

Before you continue, let me start off by saying that this recipe calls for Velveeta.  I recently discovered that a bunch of people are fundamentally against Velveeta because "it is not real cheese."  While that may or may not be true, it does contain milk, and it is sinfully delicious.  Plus, it's not like you are eating it every day.  Next time I make homemade mac n cheese with "real" cheese, I will be sure to post it for the Velveeta haters.

Moving on.

This recipe makes a large amount and is great to bring to your next holiday party or family gathering.  It is also highly unlikely you will bring any of it back with you.  I actually almost did not get a picture of it once it was served.  It disappeared pretty quickly.  If you don't need this much, you can easily halve everything.

Yeah. Almost gone.

A. Paprika and crackers missed the photo shoot.
B. That is a 24oz bag of mac. Only use 16 oz.

What you'll need:

• 1lb (16oz) macaroni
• 1 block of Original Velveeta, cubed
• 1 8oz can evaporated milk
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 roll of Town House Original Light and Buttery crackers
• 1 tsp paprika
• salt and pepper to taste

What to do:

The paprika and crackers make an appearance.

In a large skillet over medium low heat, combine evaporated milk, Velveeta, salt, and pepper.  Continue to heat until all of the cheese is melted, stirring frequently.  The milk can and will burn if not tended to.

At the same time, boil macaroni in a large stock pot until done.  Drain.  In a 9x13 pan, stir butter into macaroni until it is all melted and evenly distributed.  Set broiler on high.

Add cheese to pan and thoroughly combine.

In a large Ziploc bag, crush up your crackers and paprika into crumbs and shake up to blend.  A rolling pin works really well for this step.  If you don't have one, you can roll a jar or a canned good over the bag.

Distribute the crumbs over the top of the macaroni and broil in the oven for 3-5 minutes, until the top is nice and toasty.

Serve it up, and enjoy.  Done.  Super easy.

Prep time: 2 minutes

Total cook time: 15-20 minutes

Serves: Everyone