Wow! You guys surprised me. I guess I’m in the minority when it comes to when I clean the lint trap out!

This means Craig is one up on me, but I think I scored one after tonight’s dinner!

Chili, Lemon, and Basil Shrimp with Israeli Couscous

When I first saw this recipe featured on Kristin’s blog (Iowa Girl Eats), I knew it wasn’t going to be long until it end up on our dinner table!

As I often do, I changed things up a tad from the original recipe, but it was still delicious!

Chili, Lemon, and Basil Shrimp with Israeli Couscous

Serves 2

For the couscous:
Olive oil
1/2 cup Trader Joe’s Harvest Grain Blend
1/2 lemon, zested and juiced
1 cup chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the shrimp:
2 large cloves garlic, minced
Pinch red pepper flakes, to taste
1/2 pound cooked shrimp, deveined and tails removed
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a medium-sized saucepan, heat a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat. Add the couscous and saute for 2 to 3 minutes, or until toasted. Add the lemon juice and stir until the lemon juice evaporates. Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil, and cover pot with lid, simmering for 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat and keep warm until ready to serve.

In a medium non-stick pan, heat another drizzle of olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and the red pepper flakes and cook gently until the garlic is golden and fragrant. Pat the shrimp dry, and add the shrimp to the pan. Stir shrimp in with garlic until heated through. Stir in basil and lemon zest.

Season the couscous and shrimp to taste with salt and pepper. Serve the shrimp on a bed of couscous.

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Here is the package of Harvest Grains Blend from Trader Joe’s I used! An awesome mix of grains!

I also had a salad full of randomness from the fridge.

After this delicious meal, I just had to have one of these cookies I made over the weekend.

Loaded Oatmeal Cookies from Jenna (Eat Live Run)

Full of dried cranberries, chocolate chips, and walnuts, these were some of the best cookies I’ve had in a long time!!

Workout

This morning I knew it was going to be a cold one, so I put on three layers of pants! I have to say it helped, but it sure was bulky!!

I felt like I could hardly move my legs, but at least they weren’t bright red this time when I was done.

I ran 4 miles this morning in 35 minutes. It was an okay run–nothing exciting happened, which isn’t always a bad thing. I was realizing this morning I haven’t seen any moose in the longest time. I’m not sure what’s up with that?!?!

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A curve ball from life. . . .

One minute I’m focusing on what I’m teaching for the day and planning lessons for the rest week when then life throws me a curve ball. . . . a totally unexpected phone call from my parents saying my grandma passed away.

So now instead of fretting about lesson plans for the week, figuring out plans for the weekend, and worrying about every other little thing in life, everything is suddenly put on hold. Now I’m focusing on flying to Minnesota to be with my family for a few days.

It is crazy how quickly things chance in an instant.