Cilantro, lime and hot pepper are the key to marital bliss

Really.

When I made this, my husband grinned, lavished me with compliments, ate seconds AND did the dishes afterwards.

Need I say more?

It's so, so easy and would have been about a 15 minute meal if I hadn't bought whole shrimp, which needed deveining and shelling and decapitating. Next time, I'll go for the frozen kind, I think!

(Take out the meat and this is still tasty, a great vegetarian/vegan option for those so inclined.)

Many thanks to Gina whose recipe was my starting point.

Cilantro-lime shrimp stew with Tabasco rice

2 tomatoes
1/2 bunch cilantro, divided
3 green onions
1/2 bell pepper (green, yellow, or red)
3 garlic cloves
olive oil
500 grams shrimp, deveined, etc...
salt, to taste
red pepper flakes, to taste
Tabasco sauce, to taste
lime juice (about 2)
1 cup coconut milk (or more if you'd like)
rice
water

Dice all the vegetables. In a saucepan, prepare your rice according to package directions with one change: add several good shakes of Tabasco to the cooking water. While the rice is cooking, pour a tablespoon or so of olive oil into a deep skillet and cook the bell pepper five minutes. Add the garlic, 2/3 of the green onions and 1/2 the cilantro, cooking until the garlic is fragrant (about 4 more minutes). Dump in your tomatoes, coconut milk, salt and hot sauce/peppers. Allow to cook for 10 minutes. While the sauce is simmering, check the rice. If it's done, put it into a serving bowl with the rest of the cilantro, green onions and the juice from one lime. Stir to combine and set aside. Return to the sauce, and add the shrimp and the rest of the lime juice, cooking until the shrimp turn pink, and serve over the rice.

*I had some leftover salsa in the fridge, which I dumped into the sauce at the end...this is a great recipe for cleaning out the fridge!!!