Spicy Garlic Shrimp and Green Beans

As much as I love cake batter and chocolate, I do try to live a somewhat balanced lifestyle. I believe in eating real food- real butter, real sugar, real fat. I try to limit my intake of chemicals and "fake" food, and I really try to make most of our food from scratch. But I also love cookies. And cake. And bacon. Oh- and cream. Yes... I do love me some good creamy bacon. Ew... perhaps not creamy bacon, but you get what I mean. So with this love of indulgence, I do try to round out our menus with some lighter meals. This dinner was perfect for one of those "I-ate-twenty-too many-cookies-last-night" days.

I found this recipe on a new-to-me blog and instantly fell in love. Not just with the recipe but also with the blog! I do encourage you to check out the blog linked below. It's awesome. The writer of the blog has a healthy love for food (my kinda woman!) but she also lost 135 pounds and is now super skinny and healthy, plus she loves decadence! Again, my kinda woman. I'm a fan. And best of all my first recipe off her blog was awesome! This dinner was great. It was the perfect combination of flavors. John and I were both swooning, and it takes a lot to make a man swoon over green beans. Serve it with some brown rice and you have a well balanced, healthy, delicious dinner!

Source: Adapted from  Can You Stay For Dinner

Ingredients:
3 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. fresh grated ginger
1 tbsp. oil (sesame preferred, vegetable/olive will work)
2 tsp. chili sauce
2 tsp. cornstarch, dissolved in 4 tsp. cold water
3/4 pound shrimp
3-4 cups green beans, steamed
Sesame seeds

Directions:
1- Combine the first 7 ingredients in a bowl, whisk well to combine (soy sauce through chili sauce).
2- Add to a small sauce pan, bring to a boil. Let the sauce simmer for 2 minutes.
3- Stir in the dissolved cornstarch mix. Return to a simmer, cook until thickened (it should coat a spoon).
4- In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, add the shrimp. Cook until both sides are cooked through. Add the cooked green beans to the skillet, along with the sauce. Stir well to coat. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with brown rice.