If you ask me, I would say that Brian had a pretty tasty birthday dinner last night…

Brian’s birthday dinner request was a meal comprised of fish tacos.  I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do to make that happen, but at the grocery store I spotted a small packet of “fish taco seasoning.”  I decided to give the seasoning a try and it was a total success!

I let the tacos marinate in the seasoning mixed with water for one day, then I cooked up the fish on the stove.  Crumbled the fish and filled the tacos with fish, guacamole, lettuce, onion, tomato, and a version of this white sauce.

Brian specifically requested that I make this dish again 🙂  I love it when that happens!

Now, let’s move onto another successful meal!

Nutty Edamame Quinoa Bowl

I had a successful weekend experimenting in the kitchen.

Brian gave me some Pinterest suggestions for meal ideas this week again.  One of the meal ideas being the Thai Chicken Quinoa Bowl from How Sweet Eats.

Typically, I am not one to follow a recipe unless I am baking.  This weekend was no exception.  I thought that this Thai Bowl looked absolutely DELICIOUS, but rather than following her recipe I decided to peak at the ingredients and use the idea to make something similar.

If you ask me….my Nutty Edamame Quinoa Bowl turned out great!  Brian agrees (with a little chicken added for him!)

The salty flavor of the peanut butter combined with the crunchy carrots, the salty edamame, the fresh green onions, and the chewy quinoa make this dish absolutely divine!  Definitely a keeper in my book.

I will say that I do not know if this tastes anything like Jessica’s Thai Chicken Bowl from How Sweet Eats, but they look pretty similar.  Next time, I’ll have to follow the exact recipe to compare to my dish inspired by her Pinterest picture 🙂

Nutty Edamame Quinoa Bow (Inspired by How Sweet Eats Thai Chicken Quinoa Bowl)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of cooked quinoa
• 1 cup of shelled edamame
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 2 tsp hoisin sauce
• 1 Tbsp peanut butter (creamy works best!)
• 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 Tbsp lime juice

Directions:

Combine the quinoa, edamame, carrot, and onion in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, melt the peanut butter then combine the hoisin, vinegar, garlic, and lime juice with the melty peanut butter.

Pour the peanut butter sauce over the quinoa mixture.  Chill and allow the flavors to meld for at least 1 hour.  Enjoy cold! (Can add chicken, shrimp, or any other form of protein if you wish!)

Now It’s Your Turn:

• Do you follow a recipe exactly or do you improvise to create your own version?