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Hey there! I'm Holly. A 40+ year old insurance-nerd wife, mom, beauty lover, and about a million other things in between.
This is the place where I share about our lives, what I'm currently loving, books I'm reading, plus-size style, beauty recommendations, health + fitness endeavors and anything else I'm finding interesting at the moment.
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Tag Archives: marinade
Coconut Lime Shrimp Skewers
In our house shrimp is always a welcomed weeknight dish. By the time we get home from the gym it is usually after 6pm and our appetites are ravenous. If I haven’t prepared something on the weekend, I need our post-gym dinners to get on the table quick! This recipe goes from skewering to eating all in under a half an hour.
I love citrus based shrimp marinades (this one is a fave!) but shrimp is so delicate that you can’t let it sit in citrus too long or it begins to cook. While Melissa’s Ginger Lime Shrimp recipe is my go-to when I have an 40 minutes to prep/marinate, I wanted to find something that I could let sit overnight without risking the shrimp getting chewy and cooked by the citrus. This way I could prep it on a Sunday and have Post-Gym protein ready to go on the grill right when we got home on Monday — no waiting required. Then I found this recipe — similar flavors, but a slightly more forgiving marinade. Yay, coconut milk! Totally awesome in a weeknight pinch!
Check it out:
| Coconut Lime Shrimp Skewers |
Author:
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 Tablespoon grated lime zest
- 2 Tablespoons lime juice
- 1 (14 oz.) can Coconut Milke
- 2 lbs shrimp (21-26 ct) peeled and deveined
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl combine first five ingredients. Add shrimp, tossing to coat and chill, covered, at least one hour but up to 24.
- Meanwhile, soak skewers if using wood for up to an hour.
- When you are ready to cook, prepare a grill on high heat (450-550 degrees) and place 3-5 shrimp on skewers.
- Grill, turning once, until flesh has turned pink and is slightly charred. About 3 minutes each side.
- Serve garnished with salt, a squeeze of lime juice and extra lime wedges on the side.
- Enjoy!
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The flavors almost had me convinced I was enjoying a tropical vacation on a Monday night. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalmost. 🙂
Get This In Your Kitchen: Carmen’s Gourmet Dressings & Marinades
Carmen’s Gourmet Sauces & Marinades have solved one of my major life problems — and deliciously, I might add. And for the record, no one is paying me to say that. You see, one of the hardest things about going Paleo was reading the ingredient labels on all of the bottled salad dressings and packaged marinades I enjoyed and then picking my mouth up off the floor when I realized how much crazy stuff was in there. While I didn’t really have a problem giving up “processed convenience food” since we weren’t really eating that much anyway, the bottled dressings were my achilles heel. This was especially difficult because we were eating A LOT more salad and A LOT more meat.
I did end up adapting and finding some enjoyable recipes for dressings and marinades from scratch, but every once in a while I like to be able to reach into my fridge and grab a little salad topper or have fun with a marinade that I don’t have to measure and mix up myself and Carmen’s is hands down my FAVORITE brand! While every bottle is not 100% strict paleo, their ingredients mostly include local San Luis Obispo Olive Oil, vinegars and herbs and spices — it’s about as close as you can get. Their flavor combos are fun, the ingredients are high quality and the convenience factor wins me over every time.
Garrett loves the Habitual Habanero on just about everything — especially taco salad! I’m partial to the Gorgonzola Thyme on a good cobb salad. When it comes to meat, he Serrano is great on chicken and the kalamata olive dressing? Please! YOU KNOW I love a good greek salad. That one calls my name on the regular. Our favorite little Olive Oil store in San Luis Obispo has them sitting out with bread for dipping if that’s your bag, and Garrett has even fried up an egg or two using them and can’t get enough. Super versatile to have around is what I’m saying and while they aren’t your typical $3.99 bottle of Hidden Valley Ranch, you get what you pay for in quality without fillers.
We stocked up this last weekend when we were on the central coast, but lucky you — you can purchase them online. It’s a fun little treat for your palate! And if you want some creative inspiration their website has all sorts of fun recipes.
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So now that I’ve told you my favorite convenience salad dressings/marinade I want you to tell me your favorite ones from scratch. You know you have a good recipe waiting to be shared, don’t you? I need all the help I can get.
Grilled Maple Mustard Chicken Thighs
Yep, it tastes as good as it looks! Even on a paper plate! (Food Blogging Fail…BAHAHAHAH!)
I mentioned on this week and last week’s menu a little recipe for Maple Mustard Chicken Thighs and you all — IT IS A KEEPER!
I’m a super fan of marinades that you can easily make on hand with ingredients you normally have lying around. I’m also a fan of marinades that are man pleasing and delicious. This one satisfies all of the above.
I used chicken thighs because I am having a love affair with them. Have you enjoyed chicken thighs lately? I always thought they were kind of slimy and gross looking, but then I realized — oh wait, that’s ALL CHICKEN! But chicken thighs have the added benefit of holding up wonderfully on the grill because they are so juicy! The outside gets nice and crispy, while the inside stays completely delicious and doesn’t dry out. They are worth trying in this marinade if you haven’t! That said, it would also go lovely with chicken breasts, so never fear if you aren’t feeling adventurous.
Chicken thighs as an adventure? My life is really a Thrill-A-Minute ain’t it?
So I took the original recipe and changed a few things to make it slightly more Paleo friendly (substitutes for refined sugar and tweaked the mustards due to what I had on hand) but the truth is this recipe is a bit of a sweet treat. But the other truth is — it is AWESOME! So use that information for good or for evil!
I love this recipe is best on the grill, but it would also be enjoyable cooked in a pan or baked. I have done both and it’s quite adaptable. Also, it is November, so you know — choose the cooking method that best works for your weather situation!
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Maple Mustard Chicken Thighs
Adapted from Cooking Light
Ingredients
9-10 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs (or 4 Breasts)
1/3 Cup of Stone Ground Mustard
3 TBS Honey
3 TBS Maple Syrup
3 TBS Yellow Mustard
1/4 Onion, grated
1 TBS Apple Cider Vinegar
2 tsp Coconut Aminos (or Soy Sauce if you use that)
1 tsp black pepper
Method
1. Mix up all those ingredients in a little Pyrex. It won’t look glamorous, but it will be good.
2. Marinate your chicken for 2-12 hours. (I’ve even done it the night before I grilled and left it in the fridge. Lazy man marinating!)
3. Before you grill (AND THIS IS IMPORTANT) season your chicken with salt. I used probably about 1/2-1 tsp.
4. Grill! (or pan fry, or bake!)
When I grill chicken thighs I generally do it over fairly high heat and do 5 mins with the grill open, 3-5 minutes closed, flip and 5 minutes with the grill open. Depending on the size and thickness of your thighs you may need additional time, but this works pretty flawlessly.
Oh, I forgot Step 5
5. EAT THEM WITH EVERYTHING! Vegetables, salads, cold out of the fridge — it’s all delicious baby!
