Bitchin' BBQ Shrimp

I guess I would have to say that this is my signature dish. This is one of the dishes that people request from me the most and it sometimes becomes an event the first time I make them for the summer. They got their name from the very first time I served them. One of my friends took their first bite and exclaimed: "These are Bitchin' Shrimp!" And yes, yes they are!

Bitchin' BBQ Shrimp

1 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 lemon, juiced
2 tbsp. Tapatio (Tapatio is my favorite, but you could use any hot sauce)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. oregano
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tbsp. tomato paste
3-4 lbs. med. shrimp (peeled and deveined)

Mix all ingredients together, pour over cleaned shrimp. Marinate in refrigerator 1-4 hours. Skewer and BBQ over med. heat 4 minutes per side, or until done.

Mango Salsa

I was planning a movie night with a small group of my friends and since I've been hearing a lot of grumbling about when I was going to make my famous Bitchin' BBQ Shrimp again I decided I might as well do it for movie night. For some reason I really wanted to make Mango Salsa to go with it. I don't usually serve this salsa with my shrimp, but mango's have been on sale a lot lately and I happened to have two of them that were ready to be eaten, and I figured it would probably go well with the shrimp especially if we made them into tacos. I will of course follow this post up with a post for the shrimp...they deserve their own post after all, they are that good!

Mango Salsa

2 ripe mangos chopped (small chunks are best)
1 lg. cerano chili (seeded & chopped)*
6 green onions, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
juice of 3 limes
juice of 3 oranges, or 3 tbsp. orange juice concentrate
1/4 bunch of cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Mix and serve.

*1 chili will make it just have a slight spicy bite to it, still pretty mild, you can adjust the heat of your salsa by adding another 1/2 or 1 whole chili.

PB Nana Poppers

I've had a few requests for some particular recipes on the blog, including a few more "low-calorie" desserts. As I've mentioned in my previous post, I'm going through the Hungry Girl cookbook I received this month, so you may be seeing a few of my experiments posted up here, including this one. This book has an entire chapter devoted to Cool Whip Free, and for some reason my book kept falling open to one recipe in particular. It was nothing fancy, but every time I flipped through the book, it caught my eye. It's easy, tastes great and obviously low in calories (only 108 per serving!)!

PB Nana Poppers
Hungry Girl 200 under 200

1 banana (sliced into 20 slices)
2 tbsp. Cool Whip Free
1 tbsp. reduced-fat peanut butter

In a small bowl, combine Cool Whip and peanut butter. Spread mixture on 10 of the banana slices and top with additional 10 slices. Place in freezer for at least 1 hour. (mine took more like 1.5 hours) or until frozen.

Serves 2 (5 poppers per serving)

I really did love this recipe, I've thought of other ways to change it up, and the one that's floating through my mind right now is to roll the poppers (along the sides) in some of those mini chocolate chips. This would obviously change the calorie count, but probably only by about 50-70 calories per serving. Let me know if you try these and any adaptations you make!

Redhot Chick'n Salad

I love buffalo chicken wings. They are one of my favorite "bar" foods and I can hardly resist ordering them when I do go out to a place that has good wings, but they're not really that good for you. I know, you're shocked! Deep fried chicken, buttery hot sauce, tastes great, but not good for the diet! For my birthday I got the Hungry Girl 200 under 200 cookbook and one of the first recipes I tagged as a "must try" was the redhot chick'n salad. Because I like spicy food, I of course added more of the hot sauce, almost double in fact, and I think when I make it next time, I'll probably add even more. I like it hot!

Redhot Chick'n Salad
from Hungry Girl

6 ounces cooked skinless lean chicken breast, cubed
3 tbsp. fat-free mayonnaise
3 tbsp. chopped celery
3 tbsp. chopped carrots
2 tsp. reduced-fat Parmesan-stype grated topping
1 1/2 tsp. Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce (I used 2 1/2 tsp...and would probably go up to 3 next time)
1/2 tsp. dry ranch dressing mix

In medium bowl, combine mayo, Frank's, and ranch mix and stir well. Add chicken, celery and carrot to the mayo mixture and stir. Sprinkle parmessan topping and stir again.

This makes two servings and I scooped it into whole wheat tortillas for a wrap which worked great for lunch!

Baked Zucchini Fries

A couple of posts ago (the Chili Rubbed Pork Chops post) I mentioned that I had made some zucchini fries to go along with the chops and so I figured I'd post that recipe as well for those who were interested. And since it seems like I've been on a small zucchini kick with the soup in my previous post!

Baked Zucchini Fries

1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1 1/2 tbsp. flour
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup panko style bread crumbs
2 medium zucchini, cut into chunks and then into strips
2 large egg whites, whipped until frothy

Preheat oven to 425 oven. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. In a small bowl, mix together the Italian seasoning, flour and salt. Place breadcrumbs in another bowl. Dredge the zucchini in the flour mixture, then dip in egg whites, and finish by dredging in the breadcrumbs. Place coated zucchini on coated baking sheet and repeat until all the zucchini is done. Spray top of zucchini with cooking spray and roast in oven for approx. 12 minutes, or until done and crispy on the outside.

Cream of Zucchini Soup

I was on my own for dinner last night, and we had a large pack of zucchini that needed to be used, so, I decided to try my hand at a new soup. I have to say that although I liked it, the flavors could be stronger. I think I'd add more garlic and maybe I didn't use enough zucchini...other than that, it was simple, it was easy and it tasted fresh. I'd make it again!

Cream of Zucchini Soup

1/2 small onion, quartered
2 cloves garlic
3 small zucchini skin on cut in large chunks
32 oz fat free chicken stock
2 tbsp lite sour cream
salt
pepper

Combine chicken broth, onion, garlic and zucchini in a medium pot and cook on medium heat. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover, and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the sour cream. Using an immersion blender, purée until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients, and adjust seasonings to taste. Serve hot.

Optional: Top with 2 tsp parmesan cheese

Chili Rubbed Pork Chops

It's grilling season around here, well, let's be honest, in California it's almost always grilling season! We don't have many months where we can't get out to the yard to fire up the grill, but around our house we still tend to follow the basic grilling season timeline. Anyway, almost every recipe I make during the summer months, I think through if I can grill it. Here, there was no thinking, grilling was a must with the chili rub I put on these pork chops! I served these up with some baked zucchini fries which were a great compliment!

Chili Rubbed Pork Chops

20 oz. lean pork loin, or chops
2 tsp. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. packed brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. table salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

In a small bowl, combine spices. Lay pork chops out on a plate and rub with spice mixture on both sides. Place pork chops in fridge for 1-24 hours. Coat grill with cooking spray and heat to medium. Grill pork chops until done (internal temperature reads 160 degrees)

Pasta Salad with Baby Spinach

This recipe was conceived over IM. It was my night to cook dinner and I had thawed out a whole chicken and had it seasoned up and in the crockpot before I left for work. The only problem was that I was feeling very "uncreative" with a side dish or vegetable. So, I IM'd my sister and asked her what I should make with my chicken for that night. What followed was a back and forth conversation that eventually turned into this recipe.

Pasta Salad with Baby Spinach & Mixed Greens
5 oz. Baby spinach
8 oz. Whole wheat pasta (i.e. penne, bowtie, etc.)
12-15 cherry tomatoes, halved
4 tbsp. sliced black olives
2-3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1.5 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp. shaved parmigiano reggiano cheese

Cook pasta in salted water, drain and rinse under cold water. In a large bowl, combine pasta, spinach, mixed greens, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Toss well. Top with shaved parmigiano reggiano.