Let me make this very clear: I am not a chef, I have no desire to be one. I am also not a nutritionist. I took one nutrition course in college, which was interesting, but that’s it’s. I’m not looking to become a cooking blog or even a mom-cooking-for-kids blog. I don’t *really* know what I’m doing but I do know that it’s been hard for me to find meal inspiration lately that fits our family and so I thought maybe other mommas could use some tried-and-true recipes and meal ideas.

When I check out recipes or meal plan, I’m looking for health-ish meals that the whole family will like (momma is NOT a short order cook!) that do not require dozens of ingredients and/or special ingredients. They also cannot be too time or labor intensive, which I realize is a bit relative, my biggest thing is I can’t have to just be cooking for an hour straight! I do a lot of prep at other points during the day (like cutting veggies during naptime) to make that witching hour better. You know, that horrid time when the baby needs a catnap and the toddler is hangry and older kids need homework help and the pot boils over and the doorbell rings and where the hell is your father?!???!!   Oops, I digress…

Anyway, I’m going to occasionally share some of our meals/recipes and hopefully they help some mommas! The only “order” to these is if I make them and then have time to type them out. 🙂 Also, sometimes I don’t really measure so my recipes don’t have perfect measurements. #sorrynotsorry

So, without further ado… drumroll…

SHRIMP & BROCCOLI

This one is easy, healthy, and a favorite with all five of us (baby doesn’t count yet!). I serve over brown rice, which I always make in my InstaPot! The best part – I can have all of these ingredients on hand at any time, so this is one I call back on often when I haven’t planned anything else!

You need…

1 lb bag of frozen shrimp

Broccoli, I like to have equal amounts shrimp and broccoli…I just eyeball it! You can use fresh or frozen…I prefer fresh because I like it to remain crunchy, but often use frozen for ease.

Several Cloves of Garlic, diced (probably normal people would use 2-3…I use like 6-8!)

Ginger, diced, about 1 teaspoon

Soy Sauce, 4 Tablespoons

Honey, 2 Tablespoons

Cooked rice of choice

Use a fork to mix garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and honey in a large mixing bowl. Add shrimp and broccoli and toss well to coat.

Meanwhile, heat oil of choice in a large skillet (I only use cast iron, if you use nonstick, you won’t need the oil) over medium heat. You want probably the biggest skillet or wok you own for a thinner layer and more even, and quick, cooking. Add the entire contents of the bowl – shrimp, broccoli, and all “sauce”. Cook over medium, for a couple minutes, then flip shrimp and cook a couple more minutes until shrimp is cooked thru (no longer translucent). Time really depends a lot on how packed in the shrimp are and what size shrimp you get…I generally get what’s on sale!…so adjust time accordingly. Overall, this cooks in 5-15 minutes. Serve over rice and enjoy!

That’s it! This is super easy, relatively healthy (I use low-sodium soy sauce and organic ingredients), and my family destroys it! I usually have to either double the recipe or make something else to go with it – we like to quickly boil some frozen edamame or frozen dumplings.

Let me know if you try this!