Japanese Style Shrimp Stir-Fry

Yesterday, I shared a recipe with y'all for a Creamy Shrimp Stir-Fry and I promised to follow-up today with the recipe for the other stir-fry I made with shrimp.  I had some people mention that they aren't big seafood eaters or that they don't like shrimp in particular, so I encourage you crazy land-lubbers to try out these recipes with pork chops, ground beef, chicken, turkey, tofu, or whatever tickles your fancy!  :)  Cooking should be fun and where is the fun in following someone else's rules?  I view recipes as suggestions.  I love to read over a recipe to see what flavor combinations someone else uses.  I love to take a recipe and tweak it so that it suits mine & Mr. Robinson's taste buds.  Anyway...
Japanese Style Shrimp Stir-Fry  

This was my lunch today and it was so yummu!  I've not had shrimp for two days in a row and I'm totally fine with that, really.  The only thing that would have made this meal better was if I could have eaten it over rice & topped it off with some of that yummy Japanese White Sauce.  Which I have a homemade recipe for...which makes the most amazing white sauce you've ever eaten....which is extremely unhealthy so I did not make any.
...the ingredients....shrimp.whole baby carrots.one small can of corn, drained.onion.diced squashed.diced zucchini.broccoli.a tiny bit of celery.low sodium soy sauce.ginger.garlic.salt.pepper. sesame seeds
I cooked it in a skillet/frying-pan.  Let the veggies saute and cook down for a while before you add the shrimp.  Ta-Da!  A healthy, filling meal that has all of the flavors of Japanese food without the expensive prices and naughty calories or fat.  I have had the best time using different seasonings to create flavors I crave and STILL eating healthy meals!    
Hope you enjoyed!  :)  What's on your plate?

Appreciate The Small Things

It is so important to appreciate the small things in life, isn't it?  One thing I love about blogging is that it gives me the opportunity to document the small things and receive "small things" in comments that  brighten my day.  I came across this story on Facebook this morning and had to share it with you guys.  It really made me stop and think... goosebumps will do that to you.
...

A man stood in a metro station in Washing DC playing a violin on a cold January morning.  For 45 minutes, he played six Bach pieces.  During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that about 1,100 people went through their station - most on their way to work.
Three minutes passed.  A middle-aged man noticed music, slowed his pace, stopped for a few seconds, and hurried off.  A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip by a women who threw the money in without stopping.  A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him play.  He looked at his watch, realized he was late for work, and shuffled off.  The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy.  His mother was rushing him along, but the child stopped to listen.  The mother kept pushing the child to walk.  Several other children tried to stop and listen while their parents forced them to move on.  
In the 45 minutes while the violinist played, only 6 people stopped.  About 20 people gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace.  He collected $32.  When he finished playing, silence took over and no one noticed that the music had stopped.  There was no applause or recognition.  
Nobody knew, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world.  He had just played one of the most intricate and difficult pieces ever written on a violin worth $3.5 million.  Two days before playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where seats averaged $100 each.

This is a real story.  Joshua Bell playing incognito in a metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities.  The goal was to determine if, in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?  do we stop to appreciate it?  do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?       

One possible conclusion from this experiment could be... if we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing some of the best music every written, what else are we missing?

This story gave me chills...I hate to think what all I have missed.  What extraordinary moments have I overlooked because I was busy?   It's the little things, guys.     It's a sleeping puppy sticking the tip of his tongue out for no reason...

It's a really good lunch.
It's waking up in the morning.  
What are your little things? 
I'm linking this post up with the Wish Out Loud Blog Hop!  {You still have 4 days to link up and make a wish!}  My wish is that I stop letting the little things pass me by...I wish the same for you.  

Creamy Shrimp Stir-fry

Y'all know that I've been trying to eat healthier right?
Did you know that I'm about SICK TO FREAKING DEATH of chicken?  So, the other day at Wally~World, I bought some shrimp.  Last night before church, I made my lunches for the week out of a bag of shrimp.  I took two frying pans (but didn't fry anything, heavens, no!), added lots of veggies to each one, half a bag of shrimp, and different seasonings.  I divided them the cooked meals up into 4 lunch-sized Tupperware containers.  My lunch today was SO good and I just had to share! 

Ingredientsshrimpdiced carrotsdiced celerydiced squashdiced grape tomatoesdiced onionsdiced bell peppers, red & yellowbroccolipaprikazesty-lemon seasoninga dash of cayenne peppergarlicbasiloreganoPhiladelphia Cream Cheese 1/3 Fat Savory Garlic Cooking Cream

I cooked all of the above mentioned ingredients in a skillet over medium heat.  You can use whatever measurements you think look good...haha...sorry.  I'm not much for recipes.  I just threw together the veggies I had and the seasonings that sounded good.  The Philly Cooking Creme is SO good!  There are two flavors that are offered with 1/3 the fat as the regular cremes they offer.  It's easy to overboard with this, so be careful.  I just used two spoonfulls of the creme, rather than the whole tub (as recommended for skillet-sized meals) and it tasted amazing.  

I'm still full, 4 hours later!  For me, that's amazing!  Anyway, it's totally healthy & yummy & filling!  What's not to love?!  I'll share the other "recipe" I used for the other half of the shrimp tomorrow....