Thai Curry Coconut Shrimp, revisited

MMMMMMM shrimp! MMMMMMM Curry! Need I say more?

Tonight's dinner was one that I've enjoyed more than a few times since I first tried it back in April. It is a fantastic one from my new favorite website, www.skinnytaste.com.

Here's the link to my original post: http://kittygram.blogspot.com/2012/04/red-thai-coconut-curry-shrimp.html

and here's a pic!

Smokey Grilled Shrimp

MMMM! I wanted a quick fix lunch today, since it was already after 1:30 when I thought about lunch! (Sidenote: It's nice that I actually "forgot" to eat till then - I've never been one to "forget" to eat!) This recipe was a very quick fix. About 10 minutes start to finish. I only had 1/2 lb of shrimp, but otherwise, all ingredients are exactly as Bree @ skinnymommy.com listed. Oh, and because I don't get the grill going for just one food, I made this on the stovetop.

I calculated that each of the 3 servings has 2 original Weight Watchers Points.

I give this one 5 stars!!

Smokey Grilled Shrimp

3/4lb jumbo shrimp
1/4 cup organic ketchup (I didn't have organic, so I used the regular stuff)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 TBs worchestershire sauce
1 tsp apple cidar vinegar
1 TBS agave
Salt
Pepper

Peel and devein the shrimp and season with s+p. Heat a grill or grill pan sprayed with organic non-stick to medium-high. Stir together the remaining ingredients and then start to grill the shrimp “painting” on the sauce on both sides. Grill about five minutes total, turning once.

Garlic and Red Pepper Pasta

I think summer is upon us! It's near 90 degrees today, then sun is out, and barely a cloud in the sky. Yay, summer!!! I've anxiously been awaiting its arrival for how many months now?!? It's good to have it back again!

This recipe was quick, easy, light, and tasty! Seriously, is there anything better than pasta, garlic, red pepper flakes, and Parm? MMMMM! Delish!

I used "real" butter, so I adjusted the points to 8 in my case. Worth. Every. Bite.

Garlic and Red Pepper Pasta
from eat-yourself-skinny.com

Servings: 6 Serving Size: 1 cup Calories: 301 Fat: 15 g Carbs: 6.8 g Fiber: 0.8 g Protein: 4.3 g Old Points: 7.1 pts Points+: 5 pts

1 box of spaghetti
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
3/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. light butter
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 pinches red pepper flakes
1 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste

Boil water and cook pasta per box instructions until al dente. Meanwhile, saute olive oil, butter, garlic and red bell pepper on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add lemon juice, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and allow to simmer until ready to toss.

Drain pasta and immediately toss with Parmesan cheese. Add the sauteed garlic sauce, sprinkle some extra Parmesan cheese on top and garnish with some fresh parsley.

Creamy (Without the cream) Wild Mushroom Pasta

Creamy Wild Mushroom Pasta
found on www.sparkpeople.com, originally from www.caring4cancer.com


The "cream" in this recipe comes from blending some of the mushrooms and broth together. This creates a thick, rich texture for the mushroom sauce without the saturated fat and calories of real cream.

Serves four as a main dish.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
10 ounces wild mushrooms; use as many different types of mushrooms as you like, such as shiitake, maitake, portobello, straw, enoki, oyster, chanterelles, cremini, morel, porcini, matsutake, etc.
1½ cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried ground rosemary (dried herb)
1 teaspoon dried ground thyme (dried herb)
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
¼ cup grated fresh parmesan cheese
12 ounces (dry weight) whole-grain pasta; any whole-grain pasta, such as wheat, spelt, buckwheat, kamut, or rye, will work well for this recipe

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to boil while preparing the other ingredients.
Clean and coarsely chop the mushrooms.
Mince the garlic and grate the fresh parmesan cheese.
In a deep skillet or stove-top pan, heat olive oil and garlic over medium heat until the garlic just turns golden.
Add low-sodium vegetable broth and mushrooms; return mixture to a simmer (low boil).
Add rosemary, thyme, black pepper, and half of the parmesan cheese and stir.
Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to instructions (usually 8 to 10 minutes).
While pasta is cooking, stir mushroom mixture at a simmer for 5 to 7 minutes.
Very carefully (it's very hot!) remove approximately 1 cup of mushrooms and broth and place in a blender.
Very carefully (it's very hot!) blend the mushrooms and broth. Use a lid on the blender; place the lid lightly and lift several times to vent the steam as you blend. This will prevent the lid from blowing off the blender due to steam buildup.
Return blended mushrooms and broth to pan; stir to combine with mushroom mixture. Reduce heat until pasta is ready.
Drain pasta and mix pasta and mushroom sauce together. Stir to combine ingredients and coat pasta.
Dish onto plates and sprinkle each serving with a bit of the remaining parmesan cheese.
Serve and enjoy!

Serving suggestion: For a nice meal, serve with salad or cooked greens.

Per serving*: 458 calories; 73 grams of carbohydrates; 19 grams of protein; 10 grams of fat; 10 grams of fiber; 130 milligrams of potassium; 570 milligrams of sodium**

Easy Meatballs Stroganoff / Family reunion

So this past weekend was our annual family reunion. I don't go often, in fact in the past 10 years, this is probably only the 3rd or 4th one I've been too. It was really good to see everyone, but sad when you look around, and see that Aunt so and so, or Uncle so and so, isn't there. This past year I lost at least one aunt and one uncle, and even though I don't often go, their absenses were very much noticed.

And then there are all the "new" people. Young adults getting married and bringing their new spouses. I had to ask a few times, who is that? And little kids growing up - oh my. It's been almost 8 years since my great-neice Caitlyn was born. Holy cow. Time flies!!

Food is always abundant at my family reunions. My family has a lot of fantastic cooks! I never seem to know what to take. I love making potato salad, but so does everyone else. I get tired of making the same 7 layer salad for every get together (although it's really good!). So I made this simple meatball stroganoff. When it was time to go, all that was left on the bottom of the crock pot was about 1/2 cup of the sauce mixture.



Easy Meatballs Stroganoff

2 bags purchased frozen regular beef meatballs
2 cans Campbells Cream of Mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup milk

Add all ingredients to crock pot. Stir to combine. Set crock pot on high and cook for 2 1/2 hours.

Can also be served over egg noodles or rice.