You can probably tell by now that we like quinoa, a lot. It’s such a great way to put a spin on a dish and make it healthy. For example, Cheesy Shrimp and Grits. Not exactly a healthy dish, right? Wrong!

When  you sub quinoa for the grits and add a little sautéed chard it’s becomes packed with nutrients, subtracts from the calorie count and still has the same great creamy, smooth, fantastic flavor!

A Southerner might think we are crazy for doing this little swap. Heck, Chrissy isn’t even Southern and she thought I was crazy. I had to do some very serious convincing but it paid off.

So maybe it’s not exactly an authentic Southern dish but don’t knock it till you try it people. I am not one to repeat a recipe very often but this one is definitely getting made again and again and again.

Lemony, garlicy, and shrimpy. A thesaurus would be nice since those aren’t even real words, but you get the picture. Speaking of the picture…

Add a few giant pieces of turtle food chard to the pan with all the left over delicious shrimp bits and lemon juice from the sauté.

Plop your creamy, cheesy quinoa into your newly thrifted, super cool, $2 crock bowls. You’re jealous of my awesome second-hand find, aren’t ya?

Top it with some chard then add the luscious shrimp.

Side note: I hadn’t ever had chard before but now I want it with every meal. Yes,  yes, I referred to it as turtle food but for realz, it has the same consistency as spinach but it is much more flavorful! Moving on.

Cheesy Shrimp n’ Quinoa

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 cup green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups broth or water
• ¾ cup shredded sharp cheddar (Dubliner was excellent)
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 cups chard, roughly chopped

Directions

Add water or broth and quinoa to a pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese and milk.

Season shrimp with salt and pepper. Add olive oil and shrimp to a pan and cook until shrimp for 3-4 minutes, until shrimp are just slightly pink. Add lemon juice, parsley, green onions and garlic and sauté for 3  more minutes. Put shrimp mixture onto a separate plate.

Add chopped chard leaves to the pan and sauté 3-4 minutes, or until wilted.

Serve chard and shrimp mixture on top of the cheesy quinoa. Enjoy!

From the Little Yellow Kitchen,

Lauren