Southwestern Cauliflower Rice Bowl with Shrimp

I had a moment of frustration in the kitchen. I knew I only had an hour to get done about 600 things on my To Do List before my kiddo had soccer practice, one of the most important things that needed to get checked off being dinner prep. Of course I thought I had everything I needed in my fridge and alas, when I went to go grab it all to start prepping, I was missing several ingredients.

This is the negative of kinda, sorta meal prepping. Sometimes you think you have all the stuff you need from your shopping trip 5 days ago, only to discover that you used those things in the past 5 days on other recipes. Or (and this is my personal favorite, yes I’m being sarcastic), you find an amazing recipe online only to lose it. You can’t remember the correct name to pull it up in your search history, or you didn’t write it down, and you can’t find it. At all.

Now it’s time to improvise. This is when I feel super lucky that I have a family who doesn’t mind eating the wild ideas that come out of my head in these moments. Thank goodness too because this was a total fly by the seat of my pants moment.

It did take some prep, so if you’re looking for dinner in a hurry, in all fairness this might not be the recipe you need. If it is a recipe you’re wanting to work into your weeknight rotation though, it is super easy to throw together once you do some prep.

Here’s my Pro Tips for Prepping:

*Get the cauliflower rice pre-made or process it in the food processor beforehand.

*Dice up all the veggies

*Clean up the shrimp or buy shrimp that’s already cleaned up

You could even do most of this the night before or morning you plan on cooking everything, and then it’s just a matter of throwing all the things into the various appliances to cook it.

Don’t forget with this one to season the every living LIFE out of the cauliflower. Don’t be afraid to use the salt on it. Cauliflower is one of those things that tastes like dirt by itself to most people. But it absorbs anything you put on it, so don’t be afraid to be a little heavy handed on the seasoning because in the end, the cauliflower will absorb it all and it won’t taste like cauliflower.

Southwestern cauliflower rice bowl with shrimp

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Serves: 4 people

4 tablespoons of olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons of ghee

1 onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 4oz can of diced green chiles

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 head of cauliflower, riced (or pre-riced cauliflower)

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

1 14 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained

1 lb of shrimp

1 packet of taco seasoning

salt to taste

Prep the Sweet Potatoes: After you peel and dice the sweet potatoes, grab your air fryer and spray with non stick spray, then preheat to 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Put in all of your sweet potatoes, toss with olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the taco seasoning. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes, tossing once halfway through until fork tender. Set aside.

Put the shrimp in the air fryer, toss with salt and 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and 1 tablespoon of taco seasoning. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, tossing once, until cooked through. Set aside.

Prep the rice: While the sweet potatoes are cooking, grab your big skillet, and melt the ghee over medium heat. Add in the onion, red bell pepper, and garlic, sautéing until veggies are tender. Add in the green chiles and 2 tablespoons of the taco seasoning, sautéing for another 5 minutes or until tender. Put the cauliflower rice into your skillet with the remaining taco seasoning and sauté until cooked, around 8 to 10 minutes. Add in the black beans and mix until well combined.

Once the rice is heated through, add the sweet potatoes and shrimp into the skillet, mixing until heated through.

Serve while hot topped with cilantro, shredded cheese, avocado, sour cream or anything else that sounds delicious! Enjoy!