Shrimp Cobb Salad

Remember how I left 2 days open this week because I had no idea where the course of my life would take me? Remember how one of those days was Thursday? Well, the other one was yesterday. Brain-dead from yard work plus emerging from the last of a booty-kicking cold I suffered from all week, I held up my white flag of surrender and begged for someone else to do the work.

I did stick with something meatless of course, per my commitment. Which brings us to the end of the Great Vegetarian Challenge! It really wasn’t that much of a “challenge” per se, but it was enjoyable to consciously make the effort to not eat the meats for 7 days. I did it!

Now, for our next challenge, we’re going to make our way through half a cow!

Simmer down, the lady jokes.

We’re starting with a pig.

Shrimp Cobb Salad:

(from Cooking Light)

What it took for 2:

· 4 slices bacon (center-cut preferred)

· 16 large shrimp (peeled and deveined)

· ½ tsp paprika

· pinch of black pepper

· cooking spray

· couple of pinches of salt

· 3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

· 2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

· ½ tsp whole-grain Dijon mustard

· 1 (10 oz) bag romaine salad

· 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

· 2 carrots, shredded

· 1 cup corn kernels

· 1 avocado, sliced

Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove from the pan and cut in half crosswise. Get rid of the bacon grease and wipe the pan clean.

Heat the pan over medium-high. Sprinkle the shrimp with paprika and black pepper. Coat the pan with the cooking spray and add the shrimp to the pan in a single layer. Cook 2 minutes, flip and cook maybe another minute. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and toss to coat.

In the meantime, whisk together another pinch of salt, lemon juice, oil and mustard in a large bowl. Toss the lettuce in and coat with the dressing.

To serve, top each salad with shrimp, a handful of tomatoes, corn, carrots, avocado and bacon.