There are just a few things things I look for in a weeknight dinner:

1. Fast (ready in 30 minutes or less)

2. Tasty

3. Healthy

I usually can get two out of three of these, but rarely am I able to get all three in one dish. Like, if it’s fast and healthy, it probably tastes like cardboard. Or if it’s fast and tasty it’s probably because I loaded it up with salt, butter and cheese. Or, if it’s tasty and healthy, it took me like two hours to make. Not okay when all I want to do is watch Criminal Minds.

In fact, I spend at least an hour scouring the internet and my cookbooks to find recipes that meet these three criteria so I can plan out my dinners and grocery list for the week. It’s a chore, I tell ya. But, much like wiping down the toilet (barf) on a relatively regular basis, it is alas a necessity. Healthy food is important, y’all.

Enter my new favorite nom, this shrimp and avocado rice bowl.

You guys this is gooood! So good, in fact, that I’ve eaten it for dinner two nights in a row. I actually didn’t have edamame like the recipe called for, so I subbed frozen peas (that I thawed but did not cook, just tossed with the hot rice to warm ‘em up) and some chopped green onion, and I have to say that I think my substitution was for the best. I loved the sweetness of the peas and the bite of the green onion. I ate this warm the first night and had the cold leftovers the second night. I’m not sure which I like better. They were both great.

I plan on making this in a big  batch for lunches next week and using quinoa instead of rice. Also, I did use fresh shrimp when I made this the first time, but for an even easier prep, you could just buy the precooked, frozen shrimp and add the spices that you would add to the shrimp to your dressing instead. You probably have to read the recipe to make that last sentence make sense.

Anywhoziwhatsit, what fast, tasty and healthy recipes do you have up your sleeve? I’d love to get that extra hour back; then I can maybe even wipe down the toilets. Fun!

First of all, let’s get something straight. I refuse to call the pasta you see below bowtie pasta. Do you know that the first time I ever ordered it at a restaurant, I was at a Darryl’s with my parents and I ordered the bowtie pasta, except that I did not call it bowTIE pasta, I pronounced it bowTEE pasta. emphasis on on the O. Go ahead, say it out loud. To this day, my mom says she cannot order bowtie pasta in a restaurant for fear of ordering bowtee pasta. And neither can I.

Anywhizzle, I used farfalle pasta to make this dish for dinner last night and it was delish. I allow myself one highly indulgent, carb loaded, cheesy, greasy dinner per week and this definitely met that criteria. I will be making it again, maybe next week, and I highly recommend you do the same.

There is bacon:

And healthy stuff like leeks and garlic and… erm… egg yolks:

And le peas:

And le pasta, doi:

(oops, I mean la pasta)

And a husband that brings you a bourbon while you are cooking if you are lucky:

And there’s also parmesan cheese and parsley that all comes together to look like this:

And it is wonderful. I can’t believe I’ve lived this long without carbonara in my life. For shame.

Also, Cole was looking at me so cute while I was chopping up the bacon, so I couldn’t resist giving him a piece. He insisted I make a video of it.

Please excuse the garlic bits that are stuck to my fingers and the partially open drawers. This is real life here, people.

Happy weekending, mofrickas!