pin to present: shrimp quinoa bowls

The first thing I unpacked at the new house was the kitchen... partly as I'm the dorky organization lover who enjoys doing such things, but partly as when the kitchen is functional, life feels pretty functional. For the first real meal cooked in the new kitchen, then, it seemed fitting to go with a Pinterest inspiration that requires knowing where all manner of kitchen supply are (skewers, food processor, lime juicer, etc.) and sounds fancy and new but gives me an opportunity to use an old standard that always makes me feel at home: my beloved latte bowls. So when Peter's parents came over for dinner, I decided to try out these shrimp and veggie quinoa bowls.

recipe and image: Annie's Eats

Verdict: new recipe success. Even if it does stress me out a little to be making a new recipe when I'm having guests (lesson learned). Not too suprised we liked it as we do love a quinoa bowl meal - see below for other excellent ones I've pinned and done - but what really sold me on trying this recipe was the "garlic mojo sauce." It was a little labor-intensive, but soooo good. Most definitely saved the rest to see what else I can pour it over. No surprise, then, that I noticed at the bottom of the post that part of the recipe was adapted by my favorite Rick Bayless.

A couple of changes I did to this recipe worked well: feta instead of cojita was tasty, and sauteeing/roasting the veggies in the oven worked just as well as grilling (better, in my case, since we have a tiny grill and can't fit the shrimp skewers and veggies at the same time). The only issue was my quinoa... the Trader Joe's frozen packs that normally work so well and give me perfectly cooked quinoa in 3-minutes just failed this time around. Not sure whether to blame then or my unfamiliar microwave... hazards of new kitchen cooking, I guess.

balsamic grilled veggies with quinoa (blogged here) | sriracha chicken quinoa bowls (blogged here) | one-pan Mexican quinoa bowls (blogged here)

And for some more favorites! Thanks to all who linked up their Pinterest-inspired projects/recipes/outfits/etc. last month. Here are a few that especially caught my eye... and I hope you'll come share anything on Pinterest that's caught your eye next time around, on Thursday, July 30.

pop of hot pink outfit by Megin Time | mojito fruit salad by Just Jacq | Pinterest beauty hacks by Gretch Runs