Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp

I have been on a curry kick as of late.  But it's offically over. lol. I guess having eggplant curry and now shrimp curry in the same week was TOO much curry for this household.  This shrimp was soo good and once I'm in the mood for curry again I'll be making this dish.  It is another recipe from Gina's weight watchers website I was dying to try and I'm so glad I did.  Hope you enjoy it as well.

Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 1/4th • Points: 3 pts
Calories: 146.1 • Fat: 6.1g • Protein: 19 g • Carb: 2.6 g • Fiber: 0.4 g 

• 1 tsp oil
• 4 scallions, whites and greens separated, chopped
• 1 tbsp Thai red curry paste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 6 oz light coconut milk
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• salt to taste

In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil on medium-high. Add scallion whites and red curry paste and sauté one minute.

Add shrimp and garlic, season with salt and cook about 2-3 minutes.

Add coconut milk, fish sauce and mix well.  Simmer about 2-3 minutes, until shrimp is cooked through.

Remove from heat, mix in scallion greens and cilantro.

 Serve over rice and enjoy!!

Spicy Shrimp & Veggie Pasta

 So I couldn't decide what was for dinner and I opened my fridge and realized I had quite a few veggies about to go bad.  Honestly the old me (as in yesterday) would've just said "Oh well, bye bye veggies, go bad for all I care." but the 'trying to be healthy' me (as of today) was like "whoa veggies, you're not dying on my watch!!" did I mention that I hadn't defrosted anything prior to dinner. Sometimes I can be forgetful...oops.  So I had to think of something that I could defrost quickly and instantly I thought of shrimp. I mean c'mon. Who doesn't love them some scrimpies right? The only thing I could think of was to mix all the veggies and shrimp together and toss it with a light sauce and mix it with some pasta. You can use any pasta but I already had a box of wheat spaghetti already opened.  This is a very light sauce made with white wine, chicken broth and some cream. It's not thick at all and I made it just enough to coat the pasta and add some flavor.  I'm trying to eat light people. It took everything in me not to add tons of butter and flour to thicken it up. :( The main flavor was pretty much in the veggies and shrimp. I topped it with some grated Parmesan cheese, oregano and a squeeze of lemon. I would suggest you do the same to get the full effect. :)  You don't have to use all of these veggies, and can omit or add any veggies you think would go best. I just REALLY had to use them asap.

Ingredients
6 oz. pasta of your choice, I obviously used spaghetti. (half of a box) but if I had others on hand such as
bow tie, corkscrew or penne I probably would've used those.
1 lb shrimp shelled and deviened, I used frozen.
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper1 zucchini cubed
1 yellow squash cubed
1 jalapeno seeded and minced
1 shallot diced
3 garlic cloves minced
3 cups mushrooms sliced
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tomatoes
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup fat free chicken broth
2 Tbsp heavy cream
top with grated Parmesan, oregano and a squeeze of lemon juice. 
cook pasta according to package directions.

Season shrimp with salt and pepper and add a pinch of red pepper flakes.  Heat a large skillet on medium heat until hot and add 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil.  Add shrimp and saute about 2-3 minutes until pink.  Remove from pan and set aside on a big enough plate or bowl to fit other veggies.

In same pan, add 1 Tbsp olive oil & 1 Tbsp butter. Add zucchini, yellow squash and jalapeno. Saute 3 minutes making sure to stir so they cook evenly.  Add in shallot, minced garlic and saute about 30 sec.  Remove from pan and set aside with shrimp.

I did not want to keep dirtying pans & in order for all of my veggies to cook evenly I just cooked them in 'batches' in the same pan.  But I literally just used 1 pan and a big plate on the side to transfer the finished veggies and shrimp. You can throw everything in a big mixing bowl too.  So in the SAME pan add 1 Tbsp butter & 1 Tbsp olive oil.  Add in the mushrooms, season them with 1/2 tsp garlic powder. I swear it's not too garlicky. :)  Saute for about 3-5 minutes until done.

After the mushrooms are done go ahead and move those onto that big plate you have nearby which should already have all of the other veggies and shrimp on it.

In the same pan, deglaze the pan with 1/2 c white wine. Let simmer for about a minute and add 1/2 c fat free chicken broth along with 2 Tbsp heavy cream.  Let simmer another minute. It's a really thin light sauce enough to coat the pasta so don't get freaked out when the sauce doesn't thicken. If you want a thicker sauce you can adjust it to your liking. 

Remember that big plate or bowl that we've been tossing everything aside to? You can finally add them back to the pan along with 2 diced tomatoes. Let simmer about 2 minutes. 

Drain your pasta and mix together. I just tossed my shrimp veggies and pasta in the pot it was boiling in.

Top with fresh or dried oregano, grated parmesan cheese and a squeeze of lemon juice.

You can also make this more tomato based if you prefer. Don't say I didn't warn you it's spicy.

EAAASY Garlic Butter Crab Legs!

                  There is something so comforting in crab legs. lol. I don't know if it's because it takes sooo damn long to get to that succulent meat that you savor it more, or that the juices get all over your fingers and you're just so happy to get messy and lick all that butter up....well...I am at least. ha ha. Out of all seafood, crab legs are my favorite! When I was 7 we went to a family reunion in Maryland.  Being so young I didn't know they we're known for their crab! I remember walking out to the back porch and I saw TONS of boxes by the tables, I was thinking "what the heck are we eating?"...I walked closer and saw hundreds of blue crabs. I didn't want to try it. Seeing a hard rock with claws wasn't very appealing to a 7 yr. old. My mom of course had to crack them for me and immediately I saw the poop and guts...umm...yeah mom, that will make me want to eat it!!...NOT!. She then cracked a leg for me and it was heaven in my mouth and down hill from there! I probably had her crack the legs off of twenty crabs!! From then on we went to the seafood markets every couple months and LOAD up on crabs, and of course my mommy would do all the hard work for her daughter and gave me the best part...that succulent crab meat!! I prefer crab legs for the obvious reason, MORE MEAT!! I used snow crab because my ass can't afford king crab legs. lol. But for those of you who can, more power to you. My husband loves crab legs just as much as me so last year I thought I'd treat us at home instead of paying $20 for 1 pound at a restaurant!. I asked around at work how to cook crab legs and everyone said steam them with old bay. I don't have a pot big enough to fit the legs so I messed around with baking them. Soo glad I did, it's so simple, quick and Deeelish! I use this mix every time I make them now! recipe as follows.

BUTTERY GARLIC SNOW CRAB LEGS

2 pounds snow crab legs
1 tsp lemon juice (or more to your liking)
1 stick of unsalted butter
3 cloves of garlic minced
parsley flakes (I just eye ball how much I want)
1 tsp kosher salt

For those of you who are cooking challenged, an easy way to get the skin off of garlic is to lay your chopping knife over it and smash it with the palm of your hand.   The skin peels right off...just a tip.

1. Melt butter, garlic, salt, parsley flakes and lemon juice in pan over low medium heat.

 2. Meanwhile cut a slit in the crab legs with a sharp knife from end to end. This will help the butter garlic mixture soak into the crab meat and be extra juicy!!

3. Once you are done, go ahead and take your butter garlic mixture if it's fully melted and brush all over the legs, pour remaining mix on top.

 Bake in oven at 325 for about 20 minutes, turning them at the halfway point. If your legs feel hot and are starting to dry out, go ahead and remove them. Serve with melted butter on the side if desired.