spicy lime shrimp + green beans with cilantro lime rice

At this time of year I'm craving pumpkin bread, warm stews and chicken and dumplings (best recipe for that here) that so many of us are, but those things are hardly easy on the waistline and I have a deadline (20 more pounds to lose by Christmas!) so I whipped this up for dinner last night and it was warm and satisfying. I ate it without the rice, sprinkled with some cilantro, and it was delicious! It seriously took 15 minutes from start to finish. A quick and healthy dinner that's not too spicy but full of flavor.

adapted from here
1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp*
1 1/2 pounds green beans*
1/2 cup sliced bell peppers (I used a combination of red, orange and yellow)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
2 limes, juiced
1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup long-grain white rice
salt and pepper, to taste

Cook rice (I used my rice cooker but do whatever you normally do/what the package recommends).

While the rice is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and bell peppers and saute for 1 - 2 minutes. Stir in green beans and saute for 3 minutes. Add shrimp, chili powder and season with salt and pepper (about 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper). Let saute, stirring often, for 5 minutes until shrimp is pink and opaque. Turn off heat and stir in 3/4 of the lime juice.

After the rice has cooked, fluff with a fork and add cilantro, the rest of the lime juice and salt and pepper (you can also add a bit of butter if you're so inclined). Serve shrimp and green beans over rice.

* This is one of those meals that I was able to make super fast because I had frozen shrimp and frozen petite green beans. I prefer fresh ingredients just as much as the next person, but sometimes it's really handy to have frozen stuff on hand. Tip: I did semi-defrost the shrimp before cooking.