[UPDATED July 1, 2012: This ain’t a new recipe (it’s from over a year ago), but it continues to be popular and the old photos were all kinds of horrible, so I updated this post with new pics. Enjoy (again!)]

Frozen shrimp can be a godsend when you don’t know what to cook for dinner. Tonight when I woke up, I putzed around the kitchen in a daze until I remembered I had a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer. Bingo!

Here’s what to wrangle up to serve 2 people:

• 1 pound large frozen shrimp (21-25 per pound)
• 1 tablespoon Tabil seasoning (the recipe is available on my iPad app)
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons macadamia nut oil (or coconut oil), divided
• handful cherry tomatoes
• handful fresh basil leaves (optional)

Here’s the process:

Dump the bag of frozen shrimp in a colander and run cold water over them for around 5 minutes or until defrosted.

Peel the shrimp and devein them by cutting a shallow slit down the back and pulling out the icky black intestine.

Toss the drained shrimp with Tabil seasoning, salt, and a tablespoon of macadamia nut oil.

Heat up a large skillet on medium high and add the remaining tablespoon of macadamia nut oil.

When the pan’s hot, sear the shrimp in two batches making sure they aren’t overcrowded…

…about a minute on each side.

Remove the shrimp to a serving platter and toss the cherry tomatoes into the empty pan. Roll the tomatoes in the grease until they’re warmed through and add them to the shrimp.

Chiffonade the basil…

…and sprinkle it on the shrimp and tomatoes.

Didn’t I tell you this dish was simple?

Today I was too lazy to cook, so my day of eats consisted of thrown-together leftover proteins ‘n veggies from my fridge and a semi-Paleo lunch out.

For breakfast, I nuked myself another beef donburi with leftover carne asada, cauliflower “rice,” and winter squash puree.

After a full morning at the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose, our family noshed at International Kabob House. The menu explicitly states “PLEASE NO SUBSTITUTIONS,” so we didn’t even bother asking to swap out the rice, pita, or tabbouleh salad. We knew we’d just have to pick around the carbs.

Fitbomb and I shared a lamb souvlaki…

…and kabob house combo.

The food was tasty but there were tons of carby land mines to eat around. If you’re in the neighborhood, and want to give International Kabob House a try, get a gift certificate for 80% off. You have until the end of the year to get the disccount - just enter promo code: CLEARANCE.

For dinner, I made some salads with leftover carnitas, salad greens, shredded carrots, shredded red cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, and avocados.

Fitbomb dressed his salad with some salsa verde and I drizzled some extra virgin olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar on mine.

I gotta make sure I have more leftovers in my fridge — but that would mean more cooking. Bloody hell.

Here’s my Paleo version of beef donburi: leftover braised beef brisket over cauliflower fried “rice.”

I needed a really easy, quick, and satisfying breakfast because Fitbomb and I were frantically getting our house ready for our younger son’s birthday party. Yep, December is a really busy month for us.

Tonight, our good friends came over to unload us of some of the crap we’ve been piling up in our house for the last few years. To thank them for taking our garbage, I made them dinner:

seared sous vide sockeye salmon (15 minutes at 130 F),

cauliflower fried “rice,”

braised green beans with tomatoes and onions,

and spicy sautéed mushrooms with anchovy.

Here’s my plate (including roasted carrots with aged balsamic vinegar):