Frozen Stuff In A Wok {a trader joe's recipe}

If you aren't fortunate enough to live near a Trader Joe's grocery store, I'm sorry in advance for rubbing it in. I know how you feel. This is the first time I've ever lived near one myself, and I love it. So much in fact, that a few times a month, I make a 25 minute drive into the city from the 'burbs to do my shopping. Lately, though, life has been crazy and I've kinda dropped the ball on grocery duty.

Graham crackers in the check-out line, and a car nap on the long drive home. Shopping is hard work when you're two.

A few nights ago, at dinnertime, I realized that I had nothing to cook for my boys because I was incredibly overdue for a big grocery shop. The cabinets were bare, and the fridge contained little more than a few yogurt cups and some string cheese. (And Sriracha. Because we always have Sriracha.) We were on the verge of going out to eat at a restaurant when I opened the freezer and decided to do one final sweep. Surely we must have something. And there it was: Trader Joe's Fully Cooked Shrimp. A full bag of it.

Experimenting in the kitchen is not typical for me. Generally, I need an exact recipe to follow, and all ingredients accounted for. Substitutions scare me. Needless to say, I'm no chef, and nobody really wants me getting too adventurous when their stomach is growly.

But here I was with this bag of shrimp and a sudden desire to whip up something for my boys rather than schlepping out to a restaurant. (When I bought that shrimp, I thought I'd use it on a salad one day for lunch. Ha! Glad that never happened.) Luckily, I always keep the freezer stuffed to the gills with veggies, so I pulled out all of my half-used frozen vegetable bags, threw all the contents in a wok with some olive oil, and voila! Dinner.

The result was surprisingly delicious! So good, in fact, I thought I'd share. Since this may be the only time EVER I actually create a recipe myself! It took less than 10 minutes, so stock your freezer next time you go to TJ's, and be ready for your next dinner time emergency...

Frozen Stuff In A Wok:

1 bag Trader Joe's Large Cooked Shrimp
1 bag Trader Joe's Fire Roasted Vegetables with Balsamic Butter Sauce
Trader Joe's Soycutash (partial bag)
Trader Joe's French Cut Green Beans (partial bag)
Sriracha

So I basically just stir-fried the shrimp in olive oil for a couple of minutes, then added the veg until everything was nice and hot. I seasoned it a bit with salt & pepper, but most of the flavor comes from the balsamic butter sauce in the Fire Roasted Veggie mix.

And then of course we topped it with Sriracha. Because everything tastes better with Sriracha.

Easy-Peasy Quiche Recipe

What's cookin,' mamas? Aren't toddlers the funniest little characters when it comes to their food preferences? From minute to minute, you just never know what they will agree to eat, or even just "try." One night, Marty will practically inhale his bowl of spaghetti, and then ask for more (in sign language, because he is still making us wait to hear that sweet little voice of his). Three nights later, I'll make spaghetti again because I am getting desperate for him to eat anything other than cottage cheese, and he won't even taste it. The same exact noodles, the same exact sauce. Nope.

I've given up on trying to figure out the rhyme or reason (or lack of) behind my toddler's mealtime behavior. And while maybe some parenting experts would say that I should require him to eat whatever is served, I just don't. I mean, there are many, many nights when I'm really not in the mood for spaghetti, so I figure he just gets that from me. Fortunately, cottage cheese can always be counted on in a pinch. Three meals a day, regardless of what other foods he has rejected, he will eat cottage cheese. Every. Single. Day. And I'm okay with that. At least it's not french fries.

There are a handful of recipes that I keep in constant rotation because they are Marty's favorites, a.k.a. foods he will mostly always try/eat without too much begging on my part. (Side note about "trying" food: if I can get him to try a bite of something, he will almost always realize that it tastes good, and finish his serving. I may or may not be guilty of shoving a bite in his mouth when he isn't looking and holding his trap shut until the taste registers.)

My sister-in-law's quiche recipe tops the list. In addition to the fact that my child always scarfs down a huge helping every time I make it (so far),  this particular recipe is one of my favorites for the following reasons:

1) Easy-peasy. The prep for this recipe is super simple and quick. Basically, you just mix everything together and dump it in a pie crust. Pretty soon, I think I will even let Marty "help" me make this one. I'm sure he'd love to pour in the flour, sprinkle the cheese, and stir it all up.

2) Healthy!! This dish is packed with protein and vegetables. Marty may not enjoy eating his veggies normally, but when they are hidden inside a big ole egg pie, he doesn't seem to notice.

3) Variety. Since you can use any combo of meat/veg/cheese that you choose, you can make this recipe often and still enjoy plenty of different flavors. I used leftover ham after Easter, I've used Jimmy Dean Turkey sausage crumbles (yum!), and sometimes I like to clean out my fridge and throw in all of my veggie bits and pieces. Meatless Monday, anyone?

4) Spoonless. Okay, maybe that isn't a word, but I love the fact that Marty can feed the quiche to himself without my help. He is still workin' on those spoon skills, but has become quite good with a fork. This food is a little spongy, and just perfect for fork-stabbing, or eating with fingers.

Easy Peasy Quiche Recipe (introduced to me by my sweet sister-in-law)

3 eggs

1Tablespoon Flour

2/3 cup Milk

1 cup shredded cheese (any kind)

2 cups total of any combination of fully cooked meat and/or raw vegetables, chopped (turkey sausage, bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms is our favorite)

1 unbaked pie crust (I use the frozen ones from Trader Joe's, so I have to remember to let it thaw out in advance. Refrigerated ones are better if you are in a hurry.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Press pie crust into a 9 inch round pie pan

Mix all ingredients in a bowl

Add salt and pepper or your choice of seasoning to taste (I use Trader Joe's 21 seasoning salute for just about everything).

Pour mixture into pie crust and bake for 50-60 minutes, until set and no longer jiggly in the middle. I like to let the top get slightly golden and crispy. My oven takes almost a full hour, but depending on what meat and veg you are using, time may vary slightly.