Paquinalaya

Do you ever get to that point where you've run out of fresh ingredients, you have a few random leftovers in the fridge and some enormous bags of various items from Costco in your freezer? Like a 5 pound bag of sweet potato fries? Yeah, we're there. We had 3 onions, no fresh produce, some frozen shrimp and a single remaining chicken sausage. And a few pantry staples - like quinoa. While I had no intention of putting this meal on my blog, it was so simple and delicious I decided I have to! It's like a Paella, or a Jumbalaya, so we're calling it:

Paquinalaya

Ingredients: 
2 sweet onions, sliced
12 shrimp, thawed and rinsed (raw or fully-cooked)
1 or 2 chicken sausages (your choice, we used sweet Italian from TJ's)
1 cup quinoa (cook it in broth for better flavor)
Corn Salsa (also from TJ's)

Directions:
1. Prepare the quinoa according to directions on the package.
2. Slice the onions and cook in a non-stick pan until caramelized ~ about 25 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent burning, and you can add a little oil along the way.
3. Add the shrimp and the sausage to the onions and cook thoroughly - until the shrimp are pink all the way through. If they are fully cooked, wait and add them right at the end and cook them only until they are hot.
4. Serve by filling a plate first with quinoa, then the onion mixture, and finally top with the corn salsa.

Ross said this smelled and tasted like something he would eat in a restaurant. I took that as a compliment. The caramelized onions and corn salsa provide such flavor that you really don't even need salt or pepper. There were no leftovers - so good! This is now going to become an intentional meal, not just a thrown together meal.

Fortunately it was a CSA Box day - so now we have a plethora of fresh ingredients, including corn, kale, tomatoes and much more! More on that later.

Have a great night!