A tasty and healthy way to use left-over chicken, beef, salmon, or shrimp. Add whatever vegetables you have on hand to create your own unique dish. Serve it with our favorite Nordstrom dressing – link provided below.
Versatile Rice Bowls
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 1 lb cooked chicken, beef, salmon or shrimp
- 1 1/2 cups brown rice, cooked according to directions Jasmine Brown Rice gives a great nutty flavor
- 1 avocado, cubed
- 3/4 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- Kosher and fresh ground pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds Trader Joe's carries good spiced pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 cup Lime Cilantro Dressing or any dressing you prefer We like the Nordstrom dressing recipe*
Instructions
- Set Oven to 400°
- Spread sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and toss with olive oil and salt & pepper
- Bake for about 40 minutes, until potatoes are cooked.
- Divide rice among the 4 bowls. Next divide remaining ingredients. Top with dressing and pumpkin seeds.
Not only does this appetizer make a beautiful presentation, many steps may be made in advance of your simple celebration. You can either serve this as an appetizer or put 3 on each plate and make it a first course.
Shrimp, Avocado and Sun-Dried Tomato Crostini
Servings 9
Ingredients
- 1 sourdough baguette sliced into 18 pieces
- 1 ½ Tbsp olive oil
- 18 X-large raw shrimp shelled and deveined
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
- 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
- 4 ounces low-fat cream cheese room temperature
- 1 tsp fresh dill minced
- 1 tsp red onion diced
- 1/2 ripe avocado sliced into 18 small slices
- 18 pieces sun-dried tomatoes cut into small pieces
Instructions
Baguette (can be made earlier in the day)
- Preheat oven broiler.
- Place 18 slices on baguette on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Put 1 Tbsp olive oil in a small bowl and brush oil over each baguette slice.
- Broil until slices turn slightly brown. This will be a quick 1 -2 minutes.
Shrimp (can be made earlier in the day)
- Heat 1/2 Tbsp olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat.
- Add shrimp, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
- Cook shrimp until it turns pink and curls, about 4 minutes
- If you are not assembling the appetizer at this point, refrigerate the shrimp and take out about 30 minutes in advance to let it get to room temperature.
Cream Cheese Mixture
- Place cream cheese, dill and red onions in a small bowl and stir.
Assembly
- Place baguette slices on a platter. Spread the cream cheese mixture over each piece.
- Next place a shrimp, avocado slice and sun-dried tomato over the cream cheese and serve.
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This meal is ready in less than 20 minutes and has a nice refreshing flavor. Using brown rice makes this a healthier version of a typical rice bowl.
Healthy Asian Shrimp Bowl
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup brown rice
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 pound shrimp about 24 count, peeled, deveined, tails left on
- 8 ounces snow peas ends and strings removed, chopped in 1-2 inch pieces
- 2 inch piece of ginger peeled and sliced into matchsticks
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 avocados cut in chunks
Sauce
- 1/8 cup soy sauce
- 1/8 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Instructions
Sauce
- Place all sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk.
- Set aside until ready to serve.
Shrimp & Rice
- Boil water in a small saucepan.
- Add brown rice, stir and cover. Simmer for about 20 minutes, until rice is tender.
- Season with salt and pepper, fluff with a fork. Set aside with the lid on to keep rice hot.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large, non-stick frypan.
- Once hot, add shrimp, snow peas, ginger and red pepper flakes.
- Cook, stirring occasionally until shrimp curls and turns pink - about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Place rice in 4 bowls, top with shrimp mixture and avocado. Serve sauce at the table.
Notes
This meal goes great with a salad topped with ginger dressing.
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This entrée is not only easy, it is visually pleasing and absolutely delicious. It is one of our absolute favorite recipes on this site!
Layered chicken cutlets
Servings 2
Ingredients
- 2 boneless chicken breast halves about 1 pound
- 2 egg whites slightly beaten
- 1 large ripe tomato sliced thinly into 6 slices
- 1/4 cup fresh basil sliced
- 1/2 avocado thinly sliced
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup Italian panko bread crumbs
- 2 Tbsp olive oil more for drizzling
- Balsamic vinegar for drizzling
- 2 lemon wedges
- Freshly ground pepper and salt
Instructions
- Place three tomato slices on two dinner plates. Next layer basil and avocado. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
- Slice each of the chicken breasts in half, lengthwise with a serrated knife.
- Mix the parmesan cheese and panko on a plate.
- Slightly beat the egg whites in a small bowl. Dip the chicken into the egg whites and then press into the parmesan mixture.
- Heat olive oil over medium high heat.
- Place chicken breasts in hot oil and cook about 2-3 minutes on each side, until chicken is cooked through.
- Place 1-2 chicken breasts on top of avocados and serve with lemon slices.
Notes
The only thing you need to serve with this entrée is good bread!
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This colorful and burst of flavor side dish will accompany your grilled meat or seafood simple celebration with perfection!
Mango & Avocado Side Dish
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 1 large mango peeled and sliced
- 1/3 cup red onion thinly sliced
- 1/2 large jalapeño seeded and minced
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 Tbsp fresh mint leaves torn
- 1/2 avocado peeled and sliced
Instructions
- Add all ingredients except for avocado
- Stir and set aside
- Add the avocado and serve.
What makes these sliders so tasty is all the yummy ingredients added to the ground chicken. Another simple, easy recipe from The Simple Celebration!
Ground Chicken Sliders
Servings 3
Calories 543kcal
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup chopped celery
- 1/4 cup chopped yellow onions
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
- 1/4 cup olive oil mayonnaise
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/8+ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/8+ tsp fresh ground pepper
- 1/3 cup feta cheese crumbled
- 1 lb ground chicken breast
- 1/2 cup panko style bread crumbs
- 6 slider buns
- 6 slices tomatoes from small round tomatoes
- Sliced avocado
- Stone ground mustard
- Arugula
Instructions
- Gently stir together the first eight ingredients.
- Add chicken breast and panko. Mix using your hands.
- Make the mixture into 6 slider size patties.
- Make a small indentation into each patty to avoid shrinkage while cooking.
- Grill patties until chicken is cooked through - about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Serve with slider buns, tomatoes, avocado, mustard and arugula.
Notes
Assumes 2 sliders per person. You can also make these in to 3 large patties and either grill or sauté them in a pan.
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Welcome back to The Simple Celebration! Our website/blog has been under construction for the past few months and we are now ready to head back into the kitchen to create tasty and simple recipes. We are excited to share these recipes with you on our new site; we hope you like our new look! Happy Cooking from Vicki and Mary-Ellen … Keeping all celebrations simple and delicious!
We are starting with an easy tomato salad recipe that is full of beautiful colors and a satisfying crunch.
Heirloom Tomato, Burrata, and Candied Pecan Salad
Servings 4
Calories 350kcal
Ingredients
- 2 large heirloom tomatoes of different colors thinly sliced and cut in half
- 2 large balls of burrata cheese cut into 6ths for each ball
- 1 ripe avocado sliced
- 1/3 cup candied pecans Trader Joe's sells great candied pecans, roughly chopped
- Kosher Salt to taste
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 Tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 Tbsp balsamic glaze
Instructions
- Arrange tomatoes, burrata and avocado on a large platter. Top with pecans, salt and pepper.
- Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic glaze.
Notes
If you want to make this a main course, simply add grilled chicken or cooked shrimp. Serve with a baguette and don't forget the wine!
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This dish comes together in no time. As a plus, nearly the entire recipe can be made in advance!
Mediterranean Shrimp Salad
Calories 308kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lb large cooked shrimp tails intact (if frozen, defrost in cold water)
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 1/2 Tbsp drained capers
- 1/3 cup pitted Kalamata Olives halved
- 1/4 cup minced fresh chives
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 1/2 cup crumbled Greek feta
- Kilauea Black Sea Salt or any sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- good quality olive oil
- avocado cubed
- spring lettuce mix
Instructions
- Mix together the first 7 ingredients and season with the salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour enough olive oil to moisten the dish.
- This portion of the recipe can be made several hours in advance.
- Immediately before serving, add the avocado and gently stir.
- Serve over mixed greens along with pita crisps, bread, or crackers.
This is a basic salsa recipe. You can add other ingredients you have on hand to change it up. We used avocado, chipotle, and fresh corn to create a salsa “bar.”
Fresh Tomato Salsa
Servings 8
Calories 12kcal
Ingredients
- 2 large vine-ripened tomatoes larger seeds removed and diced
- 1 jalapeño pepper seeded and diced
- 1/2 red onion diced
- 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
- Juice of one lime
- 5 drops of hot sauce
- Several shakes of cumin
- Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl and cover for at least 3 hours to let flavors meld.
- Serve with tortilla chips.
Additions to the Salsa
1. Avocado – cut up one avocado into chunks
2. Chipotle – dice one chipotle chili in adobe sauce
3. Fresh corn – cook 2 corn ears in boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove from water, cool, and cut kernels from the cob.
The steak in this recipe is marinated in beer for hours, hence the “drunken” title. We came across the recipe in the latest issue of Bon Appetite magazine and gave it a try with some Simple Celebration tweaking. How about making tonight a taco night? First, open a beer (off to a good start?).
Drunk Steak Tacos
Servings 4
Calories 662kcal
Ingredients
- 1 pound skirt or flank steak
- 1 12- ounce bottle of Mexican beer
- 4 Tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- 2 large plum tomatoes
- 1/2 chipotle chili in adobo, chopped
- 3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
- 8 white corn tortillas
- 1 avocado sliced
- 1 cup Fresco cheese Mexican crumbling cheese
- 8 lime wedges
Instructions
- Combine beer, 1 Tbsp lime juice , salt & pepper in a resealable gallon bag.
- Add steak and combine well. Chill for at least 3 hours.
- Heat oil in a small skillet. Add onion and garlic and sauté for 4 minutes. Let cool.
Salsa
- Heat up the grill and grill tomatoes until charred on all sides. Once cooled, remove seeds from tomatoes.
- Place tomatoes, onion mixture, 3 Tbsp lime juice and chipotle chili in a food processor. Season with salt & pepper and pulse until smooth. Place in a small bowl.
Grilling
- Remove beef from the marinade and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper and grill until medium rare - about 3 minutes a side.
- Let sit on cutting board for 10-15 minutes then thinly slice against the grain.
- Grill the tortillas about 30 seconds per side.
Assembly
- Serve beef, salsa, cheese, avocado, lime wedges and tortillas on plates and bowls and let everyone make their own tacos.
Notes
We like to serve this with wedges of watermelon and of course, more beer!
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