MIA? I think NOT!

Sorry, y'all...I swear I'm not MIA or AWOL.  I took Tuesday off and spent it with my daughter...running errands, dentist appointments, and ice cream...you know, the usual.  My excuse for yesterday, well, meetings, meetings, and it was my night with the boyfriend...so instead of wrting, we spent family time together.

I know, I know...how could you go an entire week without writing?  Well, I've been super-de-duper busy, y'all!  I did, however, promise a brand new recipe and I'm here to, finally, share it with you all.

Who doesn't love seafood?  When you eat the way I do seafood is an amazing option; it's always lean, very low in calories (well, depending on how you prepare it), and has such amazing flavor.  This week I was craving shrimp, but not just any shrimp...I needed, I wanted...shrimp scampi.  Here's what I came up with:
  

Shrimp Scampi

1 lbs uncooked shrimp
2 tbsp garlic
1/2 of a lemon, juiced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock (I used organic)
1 tbsp parsley
1 tsp Italian seasonings
black pepper and sea salt to taste

Add the olive oil to a hot pan and then add the garlic, let it simmer for a couple of minutes (make sure it doesn't burn).   Add your parsley and Italian seasonings to the garlic and let that simmer for a minute.  Then add your lemon juice, veggie stock, black pepper and sea salt.  Let it all come together, let the flavors mingle, while simmering on medium heat.  Add the shrimp a few minutes later and cook the shrimp until pink and curled up.  Put over spaghetti squash, shirataki noodles, or leave it on the side and add a nice helping of veggies.  I had about one cup of shrimp with a side of broccoli (around a cup to a cup and a half) and I was satiated the rest of the night.  My daughter ate it over linguine and went back for seconds.  The sauce IS watery, but the flavors mingled with the pasta and she just adored it.  My son had mac n' cheese...don't ask.  Ha!

Last night I made tacos (taco salad for me) and made it with my usual homemade taco seasonings.  My son asked if it was a new recipe and if it was "homemade?"  I told him I yes, it was and he declared they were the "best tacos...ever!"  I'll share my taco spice recipe with you next time, though!  
My food list today goes a little something like this:

*8am - 3 hard boiled eggs, banana, and a small handful of almonds and cashews
*10am - 7 strawberries
*12pm - shrimp scampi with steamed broccoli
*2pm - 1.5 cups of watermelon
*6pm -  pork chops, grilled aspragus, and homemade apple sauce (no sugar added, only honey)

On a completely unrelated note - A HUGE shout out to my momma, Karen, on her 60th Birthday today!!  She's currently in Florida, somewhere on the panhandle; I hope she has a wonderful day.

Here are the cupcakes I made her, for her birthday...they were delish...and yes, I indulged!