I have always liked Ree Drummond's (aka The Pioneer Woman) recipes. Her recipes are always so delicious and easy to follow. Last week, I decided to get some shrimps for dinner. We don't often have shrimps for our meals and I thought I'd change things up a bit. And I immediately thought of an episode of "The Pioneer Woman" where Ree made this super easy Oven Baked Lemon Garlic Shrimps.

It was so quick and easy to prepare. And because I like to keep after meals clean up to a minimum, I popped in a tray of broccoli that was drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with black pepper, salt and oregano leaves together with the shrimps in the oven.

In 20 minutes, dinner was ready and boy, were the shrimps delicious! I served the shrimps and broccoli with some bread for the kids to dip into the hot and bubbly butter sauce. They absolutely loved it!

Oven Baked Lemon Garlic Shrimp
by Miss Crumbs A Lot, adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Recipe
Ingredients
2 lbs Raw Shrimps (deveined, shells on)
1 cup Cold Butter (2 sticks)
1/4 cup Chopped Cilantro
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
4 cloves Garlic
Juice of 1 whole Lemon
Bread for serving

Cooking Method
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Arrange the shrimps in a single layer on a baking tray.
2. Cut the cold butter sticks into small chunks and place them in a food processor. Add in 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper. 4 cloves garlic and juice of 1 whole lemon. Pulse until they are combined.
3. Sprinkle the cold butter crumbles over the shrimp.
4. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes or until the shrimps are cooked (opaque looking) and the butter sauce is hot and bubbly.

Makes 4 servings

Y'all! I did not expect this recipe to be such a hit with the family and I am really excited to share it with all of you. I came up with this dish because a couple of weeks ago, we were having a conversation with our kids about what we used to eat at dinners with our families when we were kids. And Kian told Bella & Jamie that one dish that his dad loved to make when he was a kid, was Shepherd's Pie. So, I thought it'd be great to make that dish for him, to bring back some childhood memories and also to let the kids try out this classic dish.

As some of you may know, we are still on the Slow Carb Diet where we cut out carbs, dairy and sugar except for one cheat day a week. Well, I couldn't wait till Saturday (which is usually our cheat day) to make this dish so I decided to challenge myself a little and make a low carb version of it.

I pulled out one of my old recipes that is an absolute favorite with the family, Ginger Soy Minced Beef, and modified it slightly for the pie filling. And, instead of using mashed potatoes, I used mashed cauliflower. It was really a simple dish and I never expected it to be this popular. I actually thought the kids might not enjoy it as much and was prepared to break out the mac & cheese back up. But it was so good, and healthy too, that we had no leftovers! A whole 2.5 qt casserole was gone! This is for sure, going to be a frequent dish in our household.

Asian Low Carb Shepherd's Pie
by Miss Crumbs A Lot

Recipe
Ingredients
2 whole Cauliflower Heads
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Garlic Powder
2 lb Minced Beef (90% lean, 10% fat) *I usually get grass-fed beef as well
2 cloves Garlic (minced)
2 oz Ginger (minced)
1 Onion (finely diced)
8 oz Edamame Soy Beans
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
3 tbsp Oyster Sauce
2 tbsp Shaoxing Chinese Cooking Wine
1 tsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tsp Dark Soy Sauce
1 tsp Sesame Oil
1 tsp Shallot Oil
Dash of White Pepper Powder.

Cooking Method
1. Prepare the cauliflower mash first. Cut cauliflower into small chunks and place them in a deep dish. Steam cook them for 10 to 15 minutes or until they are soft.
2. Drain any excess liquids and place cooked cauliflower in a food processor. Add in 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp garlic powder. Blend until a smooth mash is produced. Set aside.
3. Prepare the sauce by mixing 3 tbsp oyster sauce, 2 tbsp Shaoxing Chinese cooking wine, 1 tsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp dark soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp shallot oil and a dash of white pepper powder together in a bowl and set aside.
4. In a cast iron pot or a pot with a heavy bottom, heat up 2 tbsp of vegetable oil. Add in minced garlic and ginger, stir fry for a few minutes until it is fragrant.
3. Add in finely diced onion and continue stir frying until the onions are translucent.
5. Add in minced beef and stir fry further, breaking up the meat as you fry until the meat is cooked. Add in 8 oz edamame soy beans, the prepared sauce and mix well. Allow it to simmer for a few minutes.
6. Place the cooked meat mixture in a 2.5 qt casserole dish or oven proof deep dish and spread the cauliflower mash evenly over the top.
7. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.

​Makes 4 Servings

It has been more than 2 weeks since we returned from our Spring break vacation and one of the hardest thing for me after a week long holiday is to try and get right back into our routine and diet. It certainly did not help with the long Easter weekend that we just had. While it has been an amazing time spent with family and friends, it was difficult to exercise control with those yummy chocolate eggs that the Easter bunny left behind for us.

So, determined to still eat healthy while trying to get out of this funk, I made one of my go-to dishes, White Bean and Broccoli Meatballs. They are so quick and easy to make, even when you feel like you need a vacation after a vacation, these little puppies are still not difficult to churn out. You can make a large batch, store them in the refrigerator or freezer and make several meals out of them.

Kian and I prefer to keep our meals low carb, so these White Bean and Broccoli Meatballs are perfect as I omitted breadcrumbs in this recipe. We love them over a bed of zoodles (spiralized zucchini noodles) that we sauté with pesto while Bella and Jamie enjoy theirs with pasta in Alfredo sauce. It makes such a flavorful and satisfying  meal. You can even toss the meatballs in Go-Chu-Jang sauce (Korean hot and sweet sauce) and have them as an appetizer or side dish.

White Bean and Broccoli Meatballs
by Miss Crumbs A Lot

Recipe
Ingredients
2 lb Ground Beef (85% lean, 15% fat)
8 oz Broccoli
1 19 oz can White Cannellini Beans
1 Egg
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp White Pepper Powder
1 tsp Dried Oregano
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Powder

Cooking Method
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Using a food processor, chop the broccoli until it is a fine mince and set aside.
​3. Rinse and drain the white cannellini beans and grind them with the food processor until a smooth mash is formed. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, minced broccoli, mashed white cannellini beans, egg, salt, white pepper powder, dried oregano, garlic powder and onion powder. Mix well.
5. Shape them into 1 inch round balls and place them on a baking tray.
6. Bake at 375 degrees on the middle rack for 20 minutes. The broil on high for 5 to 7 minutes or until golden brown on the middle rack.
7. Serve with your favortie sauce or choice of pasta or sauce.

Make approx. 60 meatballs.