Month-of-One-Pan Meals: Shrimp Rice Pilaf

Welcome to my annual Month-of Recipes on this blog. Go rummaging in the attic here and you’ll find past recipe months for appetizers, chicken, soup, mini-desserts, and more. The way it works is, for each day in February I post a recipe that fits the category. This month is one-pan meals, excluding pizza, most casseroles, and slow cooker recipes.

Are you enjoying this month of menus? If so, it would be a huge favor if you would share links to recipes you like on social media. Bloggers depend on readers. So please share the word and the recipes you especially enjoy! Thanks so much. Now, on to our regularly scheduled show!

You know how I’ve told you that you can serve some of these meals with leftover rice or noodles? Well, this recipe has noodles and rice built into it. That’s a nice principle to know. Some of the previous recipes this month could have used instant rice (or broken noodles) as an added ingredient, providing those extra carbs that some in your family crave.

I adapted this recipe (as is my wont), from Eating Well’s Rice Pilaf with Shrimp to make it even easier and faster by using pre-cooked shrimp and adjusting for our taste with extra green onions. My reason for using pre-cooked shrimp? That’s what I had in the freezer. Now, to be clear, raw shrimp is better and not that much longer to cook (once you peel and devein—not my fave job), so choose what you want.

Rice Pilaf with Shrimp (serves 4)

4 teaspoons olive oil

½ cup sliced green onions

¼ cup prosciutto, chopped

¾ cup noodles, broken into small pieces

¾ cup instant brown rice

¼ cup dry white wine

1 cup baby lima beans, frozen

1 ½ cups chicken broth

1 pound shrimp (if using frozen, thaw first)

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon dill

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add green onions and prosciutto and cook, stirring frequently, until onion are translucent, about 2 minutes.

Add noodles and rice, stirring often, until noodles begin to brown, about 3 more minutes.

Add wine, stir, and cook until evaporated, 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Add lima beans and broth and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes longer.

While noodles, rice, and beans are cooking, toss shrimp with remaining oil and lemon juice.

Scatter the shrimp in an even layer over the pilaf, drizzling remaining lemon juice and oil over the shrimp. Cover and remove from heat (if using pre-cooked shrimp. Cook 5 minutes more if using raw shrimp).

Remove from heat and let stand, covered for three minutes. Still in dill and season with pepper. Serve immediately with crusty bread and a salad if desired.

DH’s Rating: 5 Tongues Up

Him: “This was really good. Did you think so?”

Me: “Yes, I liked it, too. Different”

Him: “I don’t usually like lima beans, but they were different in this. 5 Tongues Up or whatever you want.”

Month-of-One-Pan Meals: Coconut Shrimp

Welcome to my annual Month-of Recipes on this blog. Go rummaging in the attic here and you’ll find past recipe months for appetizers, chicken, soup, mini-desserts, and more. The way it works is, for each day in February I post a recipe that fits the category. This month is one-pan meals, excluding pizza, most casseroles, and slow cooker recipes.

We love Asian flavors, so I try to incorporate dishes several times a month without resorting to my old stand-by: stir fry! Much as we love it, we need a change once in a while.

Coconut shrimp is satisfying on so many levels. Perfect for Fishy Friday, coconut shrimp has a sweet crunchiness that is pleasing to the palate. And it’s not as fatty as steak or pork, or even chicken. I baked brussels sprouts and egg rolls along side to make it a meal with carb and veggies, but you could use of some more of that extra rice I told you to keep on hand.

Coconut Shrimp (4 servings)

10 brussels sprouts, halved

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 vegetable egg rolls from freezer section of grocery store.

1 pound of large shrimp, peeled and deveined ***

1/3 cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon salt

3 egg whites, beaten until foamy

2 cups coconut flakes

Sweet and sour sauce for dipping

Preheat oven to temperature required for egg rolls.

Trim and halve brussels sprouts and coat with olive oil.

Place egg rolls on baking pan alongside brussels sprouts. Leave room in the middle for the shrimp to be added later.

While the egg rolls and vegetable are baking, prepare the shrimp.

Mix cornstarch and salt in a shallow bowl. Put whipped egg whites in a separate bowl. Put coconut in a third shallow bowl.

Dredge shrimp in cornstarch mixture, dip in egg whites, then roll in coconut. Press coconut into shrimp on all sides. Put on a plate to the side.

15 minutes before egg rolls are done, lower oven temperature to 400 degrees. Add shrimp to pan and put back in oven for an additional 7 minutes. Flip shrimp over and cook for another 8 minutes or until coconut is lightly toasted.

Remove from oven and serve immediately. I serve with sweet and sour sauce on the side.

***Note: I think you could use extra large pre-cooked shrimp, but adjust the cooking time considerably! Also, use those egg yolks in scrambled eggs the next day.

DH’s Rating: 5 Tongues Up

“We’ll be having these leftovers for lunch this week, won’t we?”

“Yep, that’s what I was planning. Is that okay?”

“Oh, yeah.”