I am absolutely loving the stage that Shea is in right now (almost 17 months). For starters, that has included very restful nights of sleep. The bedtime routine has been effortless and when I say goodnight, she reaches her body for the crib, lays down, and we don’t hear a peep from her until morning most days. It has been wonderful – for all of us. Her bedtime is still around 7pm and by that time, she’s more than ready.
Perhaps with thanks to the sleep routine, she has been in a great mood. She knows how to test boundaries at times, but she’s the perfect balance of snuggly “baby” and independent, curious toddler. She has been loving playing with big Legos (mostly making a mess of them) and her Little People farm. She loves books and enjoys pointing out the various animals that tend to pop up on every page in children’s books.
She’s learning more and more by the day. She can identify her mouth, ears, eyes, nose, teeth, and most fun of all, her belly button. She loves saying “shoe” and helps pick-out her clothes each morning. She brushes her teeth on her own (and with help) and sings “ashes, ashes” over and over again as she has learned to love singing “Ring Around the Rosy”.
She still loves dancing and music, and like most kids, running around in only a diaper. She gives hugs on demand and kisses, too. Even to the dog. She loves being outside and thinks it’s fun to go up and down stairs which she’s actually rather good at.
Also fun is the fact that she’s willing to try just about anything with regard to food. While she continues to go through phases (it was blueberries nonstop for a few weeks and now she won’t touch them), she seems to prefer actual meals. The girl likes flavor, balance, and variety, what can I say?
It was actually Mr. Prevention that pulled these leftovers from the fridge, heated them up, and served them to Shea. She not only liked them, she LOVED them. The peppers, the onion, the shrimp. All of it. She couldn’t get it in her mouth fast enough, so she was handing us her fork to help her out.
I was also pleasantly surprised with this meal. There wasn’t a whole lot of seasoning to the shrimp and next to none on the peppers and onions, but really, the end result was fantastic. The char from the high heat cooking on the vegetables offered tons of flavor and the cabbage, guacamole, and squeeze of lime was the perfect finish.
- 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ¼ cup salsa
- 3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 12 oz tricolor mini sweet bell peppers, sliced
- 1 large red onion, halved and sliced
- ¼ tsp salt
- 8 (6-inch) tortillas
- 1 cup green cabbage, shredded
- 1 avocado
- ¼ tsp garlic salt
- ¼ cup prepared pico de gallo
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
- In a medium bowl, toss the shrimp with the chili powder until evenly coated. Add salsa and toss again; set aside.
- In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high. Once shimmering, add the peppers and onion. Sprinkle with the salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the peppers begin to brown, about 5-7 minutes; transfer to a plate.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan. Once hot, add the shrimp to the skillet and cook, stirring often, until opaque in the center, about 3 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the pepper-onion mixture and heat for 1 minute.
- Meanwhile, mash the avocado using the backside of a fork against the sides of a bowl. Stir in the garlic powder and pico de gallo.
- Serve the shrimp mixture with the tortillas, cabbage, guacamole, and lime wedges.
Have you thought of writing a cookbook? I was just thinking that of all the food blogs I read, I probably make your dinner recipes the most, and they’re reliable very good!! You make good food that’s not too hard or too complicated, and it’s healthy but still something my husband will eat! Just wanted to let you know that you’re really doin great 🙂
Author
Hi Katelyn! I actually have 2 published cookbooks 😉 You can find links to them right from the right-hand panel on my blog if you scroll down the page 🙂 Thank you for your sweet comment!!
Loved to hear your stories of your gorgeous lil girl,Shea. This recipe is absolutely fantastic..i’m gonna do it for tonight’s dinner. Thanks for sharing, Nicole and all the best for the lil one