Licking the Plate Worthy Bangin' Shrimp

Here's a little pre-story to this post. I came up with the name for this blog when I first started blogging on the Weight Watcher's website. I named it Licking the Plate of Life, because early in my Weight Watcher's journey, I kept finding myself licking the plate or tray of Smart One's meals in pure hunger to try and get every last bite of food and calorie in my body (reference the this WW blog post). As I began to look at food differently, this activity stopped and I thought to myself, I'm now licking the plate of a healthy life instead, hence the name of my blog!

Now, since I tell you that, I must say that this recipe had me glancing around, realizing I was home alone, and simply put,...licking the plate.

First, I have to send a huge THANK YOU out to my friend Robin for sending me the idea and recipe for the bangin' shrimp sauce. I'm officially hooked.

So here we go. The shrimp sauce is light mayo, thai sweet chili sauce, siracha, and green onion. I used 5 tbsp mayo, 3 tbsp chili sauce, 1 tsp siracha. I cut up my green onion and reserved it on the side to toss with everything at the end.

Since I'm little miss lazy pants and didn't feel like peeling, de-veining, and steaming shrimp, I took a short cut and used a bag of Gorton's Frozen Garlic Grilled Shrimp. I wasn't sure how to garlic would go over, but it turned out awesome. I chose to cook them in the oven  because, like I said, I was feeling lazy and they actually taste great this way. 

(pic is of finished shrimp)

I also steamed some broccoli in my Pampered Chef microwave steamer (jeez, I really was feeling lazy) and sauteed the green onions for a few minutes in a skillet. 

Once the broccoli and shrimp was done, I threw everything together in a skillet over medium heat and added the sauce. I tossed it together and let it simmer and sizzle for about a minute to get nice and hot. 

It turned out to make about 3 cups worth. I counted that 1 cup/serving would put you right around 4 WW points. 

Since it was only about 4 points, I took it upon myself to eat 2 servings (and lick the plate) instead of serving it over rice. But I thought it would taste good with some brown rice on the bottom. 

In any way, it is definitely my new favorite recipe, and a sauce I will be using not only on shrimp. Robin gave me the tip that using greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise lowered the points value even more and that she tried it with chicken and broccoli.

So, if you plan on coming over for dinner anytime soon, you can be pretty sure this recipe in some form is going to be hitting the dining room table. 

Adventures in Pinterest Cooking #4

Last night I got home from work and was starving. Since the roommate was out, I decided to try a new recipe. This way I wouldn't embarrass myself when disaster strikes (which it is bound to do when I try a new recipe).

I haven't been to the store this week, so I was working with what I had in the fridge and on hand. I remembered I had some shallots and that I love shallots, so I went searching on Pinterest for an easy pasta recipe using shallots. Within minutes I had in hand a recipe for Angel Hair Pasta with Shallots, Garlic, Broccoli & Lemon (Pinterest never disappoints)!

So I got started. I managed to cut everything without taking off a finger, although I did drop the slippery lemon approximately 2 times as it rolled off the counter. Here's your ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil (for in pan), 1 box angel hair pasta (prepared per box instructions), 2 cups chopped broccoli, 1 large shallot diced, 3 garlic cloves diced, 1 tbsp of butter, 1/2 cup of white wine, & 1/2 lemon (for juicing)

First I sauteed the shallots until they softened on medium for about 5 minutes.I added the broccoli and sauteed another 4-5 minutes. Then I added the garlic for another 2 minutes and then the white wine until it reduced by half (a few more minutes). Finally I added the lemon juice and butter and stirred until the butter was melted.

  

          

After the pasta was cooked and drained, I added it to the pan and stirred everything well. Then I plated the pasta. I had some Manchego cheese leftover from another recipe, so I grated that on top for a little extra flavor. 

Now, I'd like to say that this tasted as good as it looked. But really it didn't. Which is why I haven't referenced the Pinterest recipe/blog I got it from. I have no doubt, it was operator/untrained chef error on my part. I did think that the broccoli, shallot mixture was good, it just seemed to not come together when the wine was added and everything was mixed with the pasta. It needed more. 

Perhaps, it needed a stronger cheese, maybe more garlic, I'm not sure. But if you want to original recipe and want to show me up and do it right drop me an email. :)