Bouillabaisse

This is a great healthy recipe that is so easy to prepare.  I was rushing around last week and needed an idea for dinner.  I had frozen shrimp, scallops and sea bass and remembered my bouillabaisse recipe that never fails.  All I had to do was stop for the clams and I had a complete meal.  Because of my limited time, I cooked the sauce in advance then just heated it up 15 minutes before dinner and added the fish.  You can easily substitute any fish of your liking as well.

Sorry for not having a picture, I was really busy.

Enjoy…

 

Serves 6

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Estimated Values per Serving:

Calories: 300                        Fat: 2.5 grams

Sauce ingredients:

Olive oil cooking Spray

1 leek, chopped

½ onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons flour

1 bottle of clam juice (8 ounces)

½ cup white wine

2 cups fat free chicken broth

1 cup diced tomatoes (can be canned)

½ teaspoon saffron

2 tablespoons fresh parsley

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

1.    Heat deep sauté pan on medium low heat and spray with cooking spray.  Sauté onions and leeks until soft.  Add garlic and flour and sauté for an additional minute.

2.    Add clam juice and raise heat to medium.  Let come to a boil and add wine, chicken stock and tomatoes.  Cook until it comes back up to a boil.

3.    Lower heat to a simmer and add saffron, parsley, thyme and pepper.

4.    Simmer for 1 hour (covered).

Fish:

1 pound fillet fish (i.e. tilapia, cod, sole)

1 pound scallops

1 pound shrimp – deveined, shelled and tails off

1 dozen clams

Directions:

1.    Add fish fillet cook for 5 – 7 minutes, add shrimp, scallops and clams and cook until clams have opened, the shrimp have turned pink and scallops are firm, about 5 minutes.

Serve with rice.

 

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Savory Lobster Cheesecake

Now you may say to yourself “lobster cheesecake?!?” but trust me this is a winner.  My mother and father decided they wanted to get steamed lobster for dinner but they didn’t want just steamed lobster.  Since they are on low carb diets I could not make a sauce and put it over pasta or rice so I thought quiche.  As I was working out the recipe it morphed into a savory cheesecake.  You can use fresh lobster meat or you can use canned.  Also to make it a little less expensive, you can use crab meat or crab legs.  I know it sounds weird but it was really delicious & light.  Enjoy……

Lobster Cheesecake

Savory Lobster Cheesecake

Preheat oven 350^o

Serves 8

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Lobster Cleaning: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Estimated values per serving:

Calories = 166                       Fat = 2 grams

Ingredients:

32 oz Lobster meat (crab meat, shrimp or crab legs can be substituted)

8oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese (softened)

2 cups egg substitute

1 T Worcestershire Sauce

1 t Onion Powder

1 t Paprika

1 T Bacon Bits

2 T Cream Sherry

Pepper & Salt to taste

1/4 cup plain bread crumbs

Directions:

1. Clean steamed lobsters and remove all lobster meat and coarsely chop. Set aside in a mixing bowl.
2. Beat cream cheese, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, onion powder, paprika, and cream sherry on high speed until creamed.
3. Lower mixer to low speed and slowly add egg substitute into mixture until well combined.
4. Fold bacon bits and lobster meat into mixture until well incorporated.  Season with salt & pepper.
5. Coat a 9 inch spring form pan (cheesecake pan) with cooking spray.
6. Spoon bread crumbs into pan and move pan around so that sides and bottom of pan is coated with bread crumbs.  Discard any loose bread crumbs.
7. Spoon lobster mixture into prepared pan and bake 1 hour or until mixture no longer jiggles in pan.
8. Remove pan from oven and allow to cool 10 – 20 minutes.  Remove from pan, cut and serve.

Shrimp in Wine Sauce with Angel Hair Pasta

Shrimp in Wine Sauce with Angel Hair Pasta

Shrimp in Wine Sauce with Angel Hair Pasta

Serves 6

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Estimated values per serving:

Calories = 320                      Fat = 5 grams                        Points: 6

Ingredients:

8 ounces high fiber angel hair pasta

1 ½ pound shrimp – peeled and deveined with tails removed

1 clove garlic – minced

1 tablespoon reduced calorie butter spread

1 8-ounce package sliced mushrooms

½ cup white wine

1 cup marinara sauce

4 8-ounce bottles of clam juice

1 cup Cannellini Beans

6 ounces baby spinach

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Boil a large pot of water and add pasta.  Cook for about 3 – 5 minutes, drain and rinse in cold water.  Keep pasta in a little cool water until ready to add to the sauce.
2. Heat large skillet on medium high heat, spray with cooking spray and add shrimp and garlic.  Sauté for 3 – 5 minutes until shrimp turns pink.  Remove from pan and cover to keep warm.
3. Add butter spread and mushrooms and sauté for 5 – 7 minutes until browned.  Add white wine and reduce by half.
4. Add sauce and clam juice and simmer for 5 minutes.  Add beans, spinach and cheese and cook for 1 minute until spinach is wilted.
5. Add back shrimp and toss in pasta that has been drained of water.  Toss to warm shrimp and pasta and then spoon onto serving platter.

Sausage and Seafood Paella

Sausage and Seafood Paella

Serves 8

Sausage and Seafood Paella

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Estimated Values per Serving:

Calories: 285                        Fat: 5 grams                          Points: 6

Ingredients:

1 – 12 ounce package of hot or mild chicken sausage

1 cup onion – chopped

½ cup celery – chopped

2 cloves garlic – minced

1 teaspoon saffron threads

2 cups reduced fat chicken broth

1 cup long grain rice

1 cup canned diced tomatoes

1 cup frozen peas – defrosted

1 pound shrimp – shelled, deveined and cut into bite sized pieces

1 pound small sea scallops

Directions:

1. Remove outer casing from chicken sausages and coarsely chop. 
2. Heat a large skillet on medium heat and spray with cooking spray.  Add chicken sausage and sauté for 3 – 5 minutes until browned.
3. Remove sausage from skillet and set aside.  Spray same skillet with cooking spray again and add onion and celery.  Sauté for 3 – 5 minutes until browned.  Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. 
4. Combine saffron threads in the chicken broth and stir until saffron dissolves then add to skillet with rice.  Set stovetop heat to low and simmer for 20 – 25 minutes, until liquid has dissolved.  Add diced tomatoes, peas, shrimp and sea scallops.  Cook for 3 – 5 minutes until fish is cooked. 
5. Add rice and sausage to skillet, heat and then serve.

Asian influence for tonight…

I was in the mood for an Asian flavor for dinner and here is what I came up with:

Sauteed Shrimp with Roasted Cabbage

Asian Sautéed Shrimp with Roasted Cabbage

Serves 4

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Preheat oven 425o

Estimated values per serving:

Calories = 290                                              Fat = 4 grams

Ingredients:

1 small head of cabbage – shredded

1 ½ pounds shrimp – skinned, deveined with tails removed

2 cloves garlic – minced

¼ cup rice wine vinegar

¼ cup low fat chicken broth

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon Hoisin sauce

½ teaspoon chili garlic sauce

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon cornstarch

½ tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Place shredded cabbage on a roasting pan in a single layer.  Roast 35 – 40 minutes until tender and slightly browned.
2. During the last 10 minutes of roasting the cabbage, heat a large skillet on medium high heat, spray with cooking spray  and ads shrimp. 
3. Sauté shrimp for 5 – 7 minutes until pink.  Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. 
4. In a small bowl, combine vinegar, chicken broth, ginger, Hoisin sauce, chili sauce, soy sauce and cornstarch and stir together.
5. Add sauce mixture to skillet and cook until bubbly and slightly thickened.  Remove from heat.
6. Remove cabbage from the oven, spoon onto a serving platter and pour shrimp and sauce on top.  Top with sesame seeds and serve.

Shrimps can be big too…

Island Shrimp

Shrimp may be small in size but big with flavor.  I was inspired by a shrimp recipe in a seafood cookbook that I have and made shrimp with a breadcrumb topping for dinner tonight that came out fabulous.  The whole family said it was one of the best shrimp dishes they have ever had.  You can have some fun with this and substitute shrimp for any other type of fish you like too.

So I encourage you to try this, it’s an easy recipe with amazing flavor.

Island Shrimp

Serves 6

Preheat oven 375^o

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Estimated values per serving:

Calories = 250                                              Fat = 5 grams

Ingredients:

2 pounds shrimp

3 slices turkey bacon – chopped

1 cup Panko bread crumbs (or any unseasoned bread crumbs)

3 scallions – green parts only chopped

2 tablespoons fresh parsley – chopped

4 tablespoons sherry

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons low calorie butter spread – melted

Directions:

1. Place shrimp in a pot and add enough water to cover about 1-inch of the bottom of the pot.  Set the stovetop on high and boil shrimp until they turn pink (about 5 minutes).
2. While shrimp is cooking, sauté bacon in a small sauté pan on high heat until browned.  Remove from heat and cool.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine bread crumbs, scallions, parsley, sherry, cayenne pepper, butter spread and cooled bacon.  Stir until combined.
4. Drain cooked shrimp, peel skins and remove tails.  Evenly distribute shrimp into 6 ramekins.  Spoon breadcrumb mixture on top and bake for 20 minutes.

Fishy…

Mahi Mahi with Shrimp Stuffing

Since it’s just Nick and I at home, I had extra Mahi Mahi from last night, and decided to try something a little different.  The Mahi Mahi topped with shrimp stuffing  recipe came out really tasty and Nick said that the shrimp stuffing reminded him of lobster bisque (from the sherry that is put into the stuffing mixture).

Anyway, here it is and I encourage you to try this fish, it is so good.

Happy fishing!

Mahi Mahi topped with Shrimp Stuffing

Serves 4

Preheat oven 425^o

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Estimated values per serving:

Calories = 340                                              Fat = 7

Ingredients:

½ pound (8 ounces) shrimp – shelled and  deveined with tail removed

1 tablespoon chives – chopped

1 tablespoon cream sherry

1 teaspoon Worcester sauce

1 tablespoon fresh parsley – chopped

½ teaspoon dry mustard

2 tablespoons low calorie mayonnaise

¼ cup egg substitute

7 tablespoons unseasoned bread crumbs

4 – 6 ounce Mahi Mahi fillets

4 teaspoons low calorie butter spread

Directions:

1. Place shrimp in a pot with water and boil for about 5 minutes or until shrimp is pink and cooked through.  Rinse under cold water and place in a food processor.  Pulse for 4 – 5 times until finely chopped.
2. In a small bowl combine chives, sherry, Worcester sauce, parsley, mustard, mayonnaise and egg substitute and whisk until combined.  Pour mixture into food processor with shrimp and pulse for 5 – 7 times until well combined.
3. Pour shrimp mixture into bowl, add breadcrumbs and stir until combined.  Set aside.
4. Heat a large sauté pan on medium high heat and spray with cooking spray.  Add fish fillets and cook for 2 – 3 minutes on each side until browned but not cooked through.
5. Remove fish fillets from sauté pan and place on a baking pan sprayed with cooking spray.
6. Spoon even amounts of breadcrumb mixture on top of each fish fillet.
7. Add 1 teaspoon of butter spread on top of stuffing.
8. Bake for about 10 minutes or until fish fillets are flaky and white in the center.

A Taste From Tennessee

Shrimp and Grits

Last month when we were in Tennessee, I had a the most delicious shrimp and grits dinner at a restaurant.  This dish inspired me and tonight I successfully re-created it while keeping it low fat.

Here it is, you have to check this one out.

Shrimp and Grits

Serves 4

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

4 cups water

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic – minced

1 cup grits

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

1 pound shrimp – peeled, deveined and tail removed

1/3 cup egg substitute

1 ½ cups Panko bread crumbs

3 slices turkey bacon – chopped

2 tablespoons parsley – chopped

½ cup scallions – green parts only chopped

Directions:

1. Boil water in a large pot on high heat.  Add salt, pepper, garlic  and stir in grits.  Lower heat to low and simmer for 20 – 25 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and stir in parmesan cheese.
3. While grits are simmering, dip shrimp in egg substitute then press into bread crumbs.
4. Heat a large non-stick skillet on medium high heat and spray with cooking spray.  Add bacon and cook 2 – 3 minutes until it is beginning to brown.
5. Move the bacon to one side of the pan, then add shrimp into the pan in one layer.  Once shrimp is in, spoon bacon over the shrimp.
6. Cook shrimp for 2 – 3 minutes until ready to be turned over and add parsley and scallions.  Cook shrimp with bacon, parsley and scallions until shrimp are pink and cooked through.
7. To serve, ad about ½ cup of the grits on the bottom of a shallow bowl, spoon grits and mixture on top and serve immediately.

NOTE: some of the breadcrumbs may fall off while cooking the shrimp, just spoon some on top when serving.

Estimated values per serving:

Calories = 385                                                                    Fat = 6 grams

A new Spice of Life

We were in Costco today and I saw a new smoke flavor that looked really good so I picked it up.  I am sure you can find it in the supermarket since it’s made by McCormick.  The spice combination is called “Smokehouse Maple”.  In order to get a real taste for it, I simply sprinkled a tablespoon over 2 pounds of shrimp and grilled the shrimp on an indoor grill.  The flavor is sweet with a hint of smokiness in the background.  After tasting the shrimp, I decided that it would be a great base that can compliment BBQ grill recipes.

Spices are a great way to add a lot of flavor to your meals without adding any fat and almost no calories.  For this reason, I enjoy experimenting with spices.  In the past few years, the food companies have become really creative in introducing new spice combinations that focus on ethnic or American regional cuisine.  By combining many individual spices in one jar, the companies make flavorful cooking easier.  I usually like to further enhance specific flavors and often use the spice combinations as a beginning.

The best way for you to try a new spice combination is to cook something very plain (such as chicken breast, shrimp or steak), sprinkle a little on and grill or sauté it in a pan without adding anything else.  This way you know if you like it and what type of dish it may compliment.

So don’t be shy, go out there and try some new spice combinations; I think you’ll find that your meals come out flavorful , delicious and light.

Enjoy and happy experimenting!!

Chicken and shrimp skillet

I worked all day and didn’t prepare in advance so I needed something that I could put together with ingredients that I ususally keep in the house. Here’s a fairly quick and easy meal:

Chicken and Shrimp Skillet
Serves 4
Ingredients:
5 boneless/skinless chicken breasts – cut into pieces
1 onion – chopped
2 ribs celery – chopped
¼ cup white wine
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 ½ teaspoons BBQ seasoning
½ teaspoon Chipotle seasoning
½ teaspoon Cajun seasoning
½ pound shrimp
1 can (15.5 ounces) black beans – drained and rinsed
1 cup corn
2 cups cooked rice
Directions:
1. Heat large skillet on medium high heat and spray with cooking spray. Add chicken and sauté until browned. Remove chicken, cover and set aside.
2. Reduce heat to medium and add onion and sauté until softened then add celery and sauté for an additional 5 minutes. Add wine, scraping the bottom of the pan and cook until all of the liquid is absorbed.
3. Increase heat to medium and add back the chicken, tomatoes, BBQ seasoning, Chipotle seasoning and Cajun seasoning. Bring the mixture to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. Add shrimp, black beans and corn and simmer until the shrimp has turned pink.
5. Serve with cooked rice.
NOTE: If you do not have the spices readily available in the house, you can substitute the BBQ seasoning with chili powder and Tabasco sauce for the Chipotle seasoning (but reduce to only a few drops of sauce).