shrimp & veggies, an easy crockpot meal + salad dressing
Welcome to my new series: Three Things I Made My Family This Week.
Because if I can come up with three healthy, easy meals or side dishes in a week that everyone actually eats, I’m calling that a success.
Each week I’ll share a few recipes that are simple, family-friendly, and ideally use something growing in the garden.
The garden is producing just enough food to make me feel accomplished but not enough to actually survive off of it, so I’m in my favorite season of cooking: simple meals with a few fresh ingredients that make me look more organized than I actually am.
Here are three things that made it onto our table this week.
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Green Lemon Shrimp & Zucchini
This is one of those “I have zucchini and a bag of shrimp… surely this will work” dinners. Spoiler: it did.
It’s light, fresh, takes about 15 minutes, and is one of those meals that somehow tastes like summer.
Ingredients
- 1 bag cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 medium zucchini, sliced into quarters
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1–2 teaspoons Greek seasoning
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Optional:
- Ranch seasoning instead of Greek seasoning
- Fresh parsley from the garden
- Cooked jasmine rice for serving
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the zucchini and cook for 6–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender and lightly golden.
- Stir in the cooked shrimp, Greek seasoning, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
- Cook for another 2–3 minutes, just until everything is heated through.
- Serve on its own or spoon over warm jasmine rice.
A little note: This is also really good with a sprinkle of parmesan and whatever herbs are threatening to take over your garden.
Crock Pot Alice Springs Chicken
This is my “everyone fend for yourselves… except not really because Mom remembered to use the crock pot” meal. If you want the oven version you can find that here.
It has all the flavors of the restaurant version but requires almost zero effort.
Ingredients
- 2–3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup bone broth
- Salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms, sautéed
- 1 cup grated cheese (I used Monterray Jack this time)
- 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1/2–3/4 cup Ken’s Honey Mustard Dressing
Instructions
- Place the chicken in the crock pot.
- Drizzle with olive oil and add the bone broth.
- Season with salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic salt.
- Cook on Low for 5–6 hours or High for 3–4 hours.
- During the last 30 minutes, top with the honey mustard, cheese of choice (I used Monterray Jack this time), sautéed mushrooms, and cooked bacon.
- Let everything finish cooking together until the chicken is tender.
Serve it with:
Fresh heirloom tomatoes from the garden & sweet peas.
For the tomatoes I slice them, pat them dry, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and drizzle with balsamic glaze.
That’s it.
Homemade “Kraft-Style” Zesty Italian Dressing
I have no issue buying salad dressing but every now and then I get the urge to pretend I’m the kind of person who always has homemade vinaigrette in the refrigerator.
This scratches that itch.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup canola oil or light olive oil
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon sugar or honey
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Add everything to a mason jar.
- Immulsify for about 30 seconds.
- Refrigerate for at least 20–30 minutes.
- Shake again before serving.
We used it on:
- Chopped salads
- Cucumber and tomato salad
- Pasta salad
- Marinating chicken
- Sub sandwiches
If you want it even closer to the classic bottled version:
- Use white vinegar.
- Use canola oil.
- Add an extra pinch of sugar.
You can also…
- Swap in avocado oil or olive oil.
- Add fresh grated garlic.
- Squeeze in a little lemon juice.
- Stir in a sprinkle of parmesan.
A Few Summer Dinner Thoughts
I’ve finally accepted that my summer meal plan is less “carefully curated menu” and more:
What needs to be picked from the garden?
What can I cook in one pan?
Can I avoid going back to the grocery store?
If the answer to all three is yes, we’re calling it a win.
And if you have a recipe that uses up approximately 47 zucchini, please send help. I have a feeling this is only the beginning.
See more of the easy recipes our family loves here.
