When making my meal plan for the week, I try to plan less involved meals for weeknights. Why? Because if I try to plan some elaborate feast for a Wednesday night, something inevitably will come up. You don't believe me? Two weeks ago, I was in the kitchen preparing dinner and I looked back and noticed a squirrel in my living room. Not in a tree, not outside the window, but in.the living.room. After putting on my rain boots and grabbing a canvas bag and a bottle of Windex (it solves everything, right?) to open the front door. Unfortunately, my threatening window cleaner spooked the squirrel and it ran through our fireplace and back into the walls where from where it came. Quite obviously, everything went back into the fridge and Animal Control and the neighborhood pizza place were called immediately. The moral of this story? Plan a meal that can still be made when you find wild animals running through your house something unexpected comes up.

Long story - well, long, this dish fits the bill of a quick (and healthy) weeknight meal. It took fifteen minutes from start to finish. The shrimp was a little on the spicy side for me (but perfect for Justin), so you may want to reduce the amount of red pepper flakes if you want a little less of a kick.

Pan-Seared Shrimp with Ginger-Hoisin Glaze

2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
2 tsp. water
3 scallions, sliced thin, divided
1/2 Tbsp. canola oil
3/4 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8-1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp. sugar

Stir together hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, water, and 2 scallions in small bowl. Set aside.

Heat oil in 12-inch skillet with a lid over high heat until smoking. Meanwhile, toss shrimp, salt, red pepper flakes, and sugar in medium bowl. Add shrimp to pan in single layer and cook until spotty brown and edges turn pink, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat; using tongs, flip each shrimp and let stand until all but very center is opaque, about 30 seconds.

Add the hoisin mixture and toss to combine. Cover skillet and let stand until shrimp are cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve immediately with remaining scallion on top for garnish.

Source: adapted from elly says opa!, originally Cook's Illustrated

Justin and I went out for Chinese food last month. I ordered my fail-safe Orange Chicken, and Justin ordered Mongolian Beef. He convinced me to try a bite, and then was sorry he did, as I ate his whole meal! When I saw this recipe a couple weeks later, I immediately put it on my meal plan for the following week. This recipe was very easy to make, and I had almost everything in my pantry already. I will make this again when I'm craving my new favorite Asian dish.

I received this recipe in my email a couple weeks ago and was salivating at the thought of making it. I finally found time and it was just as good as I thought it would be. (It didn't hurt that dinner was on the table in less than 20 minutes!) I'm not a huge salad eater, but I loved the Asian inspired dressing - it reminded Justin and I of the ginger dressing they serve in Japanese restaurants. It was the perfect compliment to a nice piece of tilapia and went perfectly with my Sesame Noodles.

Sauteed Tilapia with Honey-Scallion Dressing

For the Dressing:
2 1/2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. green onions, chopped
1 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. dark sesame oil

For the Fish:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
4 cups gourmet salad greens

To prepare dressing, combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Set aside.

To prepare fish, heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle fish evenly with salt and pepper. Add fish to pan and cook 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Arrange 1 cup greens on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with 1 fish fillet and drizzle each with 2 Tbsp. dressing.

Source: adapted from Cooking Light, August 2006

I love anything with Sesame - sesame chicken especially - and I have been hoarding two recipes for sesame noodles for some times now. I laughed when I realized they were the exact same recipe! So I figured, it must be good, right? This recipe couldn't be easier to prepare and was just what my taste buds were looking for. Flavorful, yet not overpowering - the perfect Asian side dish.

Justin, on the other hand, didn't think it was quite as perfect as I did. He thought it lacked a very important ingredient - peanut butter. (As a side note, until recently, I didn't realize most sesame noodle recipes had peanut butter in them - good to know!) Seeing as how I am fatally allergic to the creamy (or chunky) goodness, I couldn't exactly try it out to see if Justin was right. So if you are a purist like me, this recipe is perfect as is. If you are more like Justin, add a little peanut butter and let me know what you think!

I have been salivating all day thinking about cooking shrimp fried rice along with sesame chicken for dinner tonight. It was definitely worth the wait. It was really simple to make, used only one skillet (well one skillet and one pot to cook the rice), and tasted just like take out. We loved it! I was planning to use a combination of two recipes (most fried rice recipes have the same ingredients, just different proportions), but I ended up changing a lot to fit our tastes - and was very pleased with the results! I will definitely be making this when I am craving a little Chinese.

Shrimp Fried Rice

1 cup uncooked enriched white rice
2 cups water
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. butter or margarine
5 Tbsp. canola oil, divided
2 large eggs, beaten
12-15 shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup uncooked vegetables (I used a mix of peas, carrots and green beans)
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. sesame oil
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Combine rice, water, 1/4 tsp. salt and butter in stock pot. Bring to boil, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. (Do not stir or remove lid while cooking; it will make the rice gummy.) Stir and remove from heat.

Heat 1 Tbsp. canola oil in large wok over medium-high heat. Add the eggs, and stir until just cooked. Remove the eggs from the wok, and set aside on a plate.

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in the wok, season shrimp with salt and pepper, and cook for 4-5 minutes, flipping frequently until just cooked. Remove shrimp to plate, and cut into small pieces.

Heat the remaining 3 Tbsp. of oil in the wok. Add the vegetables and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the rice and stir-fry for 2 minutes, or until heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the eggs, shrimp and green onions. Add the soy sauce and sesame oil and continue to stir-fry for 1 minute. Serve immediately.

Source: Me! (Loosely adapted from Curtis Stone)