Shrimp Fajita Bowl

If I have shrimp and avocado in the house, this is going on our menu for the week! My husband loves the taste of it and I love that it comes together so easily and can be so versatile… and I happen to think it’s delicious too!

You can pretty much sub in and out almost everything in this dish. Don’t love shrimp, use chicken or steak or just double the veggies. Only have onions and not peppers? It’s still delicious! Not a fan of quinoa? Sub in a chewy brown rice or even skip it altogether. Do you want to use romaine lettuce instead of iceberg? Do it. You don’t need to just use the toppings I suggest either. Throw salsa on there or some limey greek yogurt… whatever your taste buds like. See? Lots of different ways to do this and I bet you’ll think up even more than I’ve listed.

This recipe says that it serves 4 but my husband always goes for a second round (he’s a big strong man 😉 ) and I basically take the last helping and throw it in the fridge before he comes looking for more. You can refrigerate the quinoa, shrimp, onions and peppers together so they can be heated up together the next day. Throw them on a bed of lettuce, top them with whatever you’d like an it’s an awesome lunch or dinner already waiting for you.

I pretty much use my homemade spice rub on everything. I haven’t made one meal where we were like ‘oh… that’s NOT delicious on this’, but you are more than welcome to season however you’d like. Told you it’s versatile! You can easily use your favorite taco seasoning in place of the rub.

I’m a tail off the shrimp kid of girl these days. Although leaving the tail on for presentation purposes is great… my family doesn’t care about that on a weeknight when we are just trying to enjoy our delicious food. You are more than welcome to leave yours on and enjoy the pretty tails before you dig in!

Shrimp Fajita Bowl

By Lindsay Gosselin Serves: 4 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1c quinoa, uncooked*
• 1 lb raw shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed
• 2 tbsp homemade spice rub
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 large onion, peeled and cut into thin strips
• 1 red or orange bell pepper, seeded, cored and cut into thin strips
• 1 head of iceberg lettuce
• 1 large or 2 small avocados
• 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
• sour cream

Instructions

1

Start with the quinoa. Cook according to package directions (mine normally says 1 c quinoa to 2 c water simmering on the stove for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally).

2

While the quinoa cooks, prep the onion and bell pepper.

3

In a large pan, heat 2 tbsp olive oil on medium to medium high heat. Add in the strips of onions and peppers. Cook until vegetables start to soften and get nicely browned, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4

While the quinoa and veggies cook, remove the core from the iceberg lettuce and slice the lettuce into strips (I like to make it the same size as the onion and pepper strips, but you go crazy with whatever shape you’d like!). Set aside.

5

In a medium bowl, add the shrimp, homemade spice rub and remaining 1 tbsp olive oil. Toss until the shrimp is coated.

6

Heat a large saucepan on high heat. Wait 2-3 minutes until the pan is hot and add the shrimp. I would do this in 2 batches so that you don’t overcrowd your pan. Overcrowding makes them steam more and won’t help get those lovely brown marks on each side. Cook 1-2 minutes on each side and remove when just cooked through.

7

Just before serving, scoop the avocado out of its skin and into a small bowl. Use a fork to smash it up a bit (leave it chunky if you like it chunky. Smash it til it’s smooth if you prefer that texture).

8

Once everything is cooked… it’s time to assemble. Distribute the ingredients evenly into 4 serving bowls. Start with the shredded lettuce, then add quinoa, onions & peppers, shrimp, smashed avocado, chopped cilantro, and a dollop of sour cream to each bowl.

9

Now is the best part, grab a fork and dig in!

Notes

*You can use anything in place of the quinoa or just completely leave it out. Rice would be great or even keep the quinoa out and stuff all of these ingredients into some delicious corn tacos shells for fajita tacos… yum!