Delicious Fried Shrimp Dinner

When I want to make something special around here, I make shrimp. Everyone loves it and we don't eat it so often that it feels like an everyday meal. I love shrimp salad, shrimp tacos, and seafood stew, but my husband's all time favorite is fried shrimp. I think I made it for him the first or second Valentine's Day we were married and since tomorrow is our anniversary, I thought I'd share this simple recipe.

1 pound medium to large shrimp (your preference)
1 cup flour
paprika
salt
vegetable oil

If you buy already peeled and deveined shrimp, that's great, but I still always like to wash mine and make sure there is nothing left behind. After washing, pat dry with a paper towel. Mix 1 cup of flour with a dash or two of paprika and salt (around a teaspoon). Stir well. Dredge the shrimp in the flour mixtrue and place on a plate while heating the oil to medium high heat.

Fry on each side until golden and remove from oil and place on a plate lined wtih a paper towel. Serve with mashed potatoes and a fresh green salad.

Fresh Mex Quinoa Salad

I'm finding quinoa popping up more and more on restaurant menus and recipe posts in the blogosphere, which just gets me more excited about using it. (Want to know what quinoa is? See this post.) This summer I came up with a salad that I really have enjoyed because it's filling and fresh. And it keeps for a few days in the refrigerator which makes it nice to make ahead of time and put in portions to take to work for lunch or on a picnic.

I must say I've never measured exact quantities . . . it's a little different each time, but delicious the same.

Ahead of time cook your quinoa and black beans and cool. (I usually do this the day before and then let them cool completely and store in the refrigerator overnight). For quinoa: rinse and add 2 times amount of water to quinoa. Reduce heat and cover for 15 minutes).
Prepare the following:
roma tomatoes
green pepper
cilantro
fresh corn from the cob (or frozen corn)

Mix the chopped ingredients with the quinoa and drained and rinsed black beans.

Then squeeze generous amounts of lime juice along wtih plenty of salt, pepper, and cumin to desired taste. I do quite a bit of cumin and salt and a little black pepper. Mix thoroughly and serve with avocado and cilantro on top.

Does anyone else out there use quinoa? I'd be excited to hear how you use it. I've tried it as a side at restaurants with a bit of mint in place of rice and it was absolutely delicious. Share your ideas in the comments section!