Shrimp Fajitas

With Lent coming, I'm going to be looking for more ways to cook seafood. This is one of our favorites - they're super good and incredibly light.

(Sorry, no picture yet! Ask me after Ash Wednesday!)

1 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp
1 green pepper, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 small onion (we're not big onion people, so I sometimes flavor the EVOO with onion flakes instead)
1 glove garlic
Dash salt and pepper
Pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
1 Tbsp. lime juice

Spray skillet with nonstick cooking spray and place over medium-high heat. Add garlic, salt and pepper, and red pepper flakes. Saute onion and peppers until they start to soften, around 4-5 minutes. Add shrimp and saute until fully cooked. Reduce heat to medium and add lime juice. Cook until juice reduces and forms a light sauce. Wrap in fajita shells and serve with your favorite toppings.

Shrimp Pad Thai

This was my first attempt at Thai (cooking or eating), and let me just say that I am hooked. This had a light peanut sauce with just enough kick that I liked it, but it wasn't too hot for my spice-averse husband.

Since I was a Thai newbie, I made very few changes to the original recipe, which you can find here from Cooking Light. (After seeing Cooking Light come after other bloggers, since I didn't make many changes, I'll let you follow the link for the recipe. My only recommendation - make extra sauce.)

Chicken with Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce

I saw this sauce recipe on Cooking Light, and thought it would be fabulous over chicken rather than just plain pasta. Trust me, it is. Plus, it makes for a very light, very filling meal.



1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
Whole wheat egg noodles (if desired)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (if desired)
Salt and pepper to taste
EVOO

For the sauce:
2 tsp. EVOO
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 jar roasted red peppers, drained
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 cup FF half and half
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper

Brush EVOO over both sides of chicken breasts and season with salt and pepper to your liking. Grill until cooked through. Boil water and cook egg noodles.

At the same time, heat 2 tsp. EVOO over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute until the onions are clear, around 2 minutes. Add roasted red peppers and cook until heated through, around 2 more minutes. Increase to medium-high heat and stir in vinegar, cooking until liquid evaporates, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and cool 5 minutes.

Whisk together half and half and tomato paste. Process pepper mixture in a food processor until smooth. Return to pan and cook over low heat until warm. Stir in half and half mixture and heat through. Stir in ground red pepper.

Serve chicken on a bed of egg noodles. Drizzle sauce on top.

WW Info:
7 points for 1 cup noodles, 3 ounces chicken, and about 1/4 cup of sauce

Brie en Croute

Wow, it's really been a long time since I've posted anything! We certainly haven't gone without eating (my scale will certainly attest to that!), so methinks we've spent too much time eating takeout and not trying new recipes. So it's time to catch up!

This is a fantastic appetizer for Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, or really anytime. I originally found this recipe from Pepperidge Farm on the back of the puff pasty box, and it instantly became a favorite.

1 wheel light brie (I like to de-rind the brie, but it's not required)
1/2 sheet puff pastry, thawed
2-3 Tbsp. red raspberry spreadable fruit (any flavor you like)
Sliced almonds (optional)
1 egg
1 Tbsp. water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Unfold puff pastry onto floured surface. Roll into 14-inch square, and cut off corners to make a circle. Spread fruit spread over the pastry, top with almonds, and place brie on top. Brush the edge of the pastry circle with egg mixture. Fold opposite ends over the cheese, press, and seal. Place seam-side down on a baking sheet and brush with egg mixture. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Let stand for 1 hour.

Cheddar Cornbread

I've never been a big fan of cornbread - I always associate it with pinto beans, and I'm not a big fan of those. But it was a chilly chili day, and we were tired of the tried-and-true grilled cheese, so I opted for this substitute, modified from Recipezaar. And boy am I glad we did!

Thanks to the creamed corn, the final result was a bit softer than traditional cornbread. It was easier to eat it with a fork than with your fingers. But it still tasted good!

1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 cups reduced-fat buttermilk
2 large eggs, beaten until the yolks are broken
3 Tbsp. melted butter
1 can creamed corn
1 cup reduced-fat cheddar cheese
Non-stick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400. Spray 8x8 glass baking pan with cooking spray.

Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter. Add liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and stir.

Stir in creamed corn and cheddar cheese, and pour batter into baking pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Pumpkin Muffins Everywhere

I'm not the world's best baker, but I've had the urge to bake pumpkin bread for a while now. So, with it being the Sunday before Halloween, I decided today was the perfect day - until I realized I couldn't find my loaf pan. So, what started out as this recipe from Cooking Light, quickly morphed into these pumpkin muffinettes.


3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2/3 cup canola oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten (until the yolks are broken)
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
Pam (or other cooking spray) with flour

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 2 mini muffin pans with cooking spray with flour.

Combine flour with other dry ingredients (up to the pumpkin pie spice) in a large bowl. In a second bowl, combine oil, eggs, and pumpkin.

Make a well in center of dry mixture, and add pumpkin mixture. Stir until moist.

Spoon batter into mini muffin pans. Bake at 350° for around 20-30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Makes 48 mini muffins.

P.S. - These are really good with just a little bit of the brown sugar cinnamon cream cheese on top.

WW Info:
1 point per muffin
Add additional points for any cream cheese or other toppings

Apple and Brie Paninis

This is fantastic served with tomato bisque, or alone, or however you want to serve it. You can't go wrong with apples and brie!

1 apple, cored and sliced
4 ounces of light brie
2 pieces of ciabatta, halved

Divide apple and brie between two ciabatta halves. Top with other halves, and place on hot grill. (I used the Foreman to easily grill both sides at once.) Serve when hot and melted.