The Incredible Morphing Shrimp

Laissez les bons temps rouler!!

In French that means, "let the good times roll".  Today is Mardi Gras.  It honor of the day I wanted to give y'all a cajun recipe.  But there was a problem.  My shrimp morphed.  

You read right.  Morphing shrimp.

The don't acually change shape {even though that would be cool and creepy at the same time.}  My recipe morphed.  

Here's how a recipe morphs:

Original Recipe:  Cajun Shrimp

Morph #1:   Original recipe had too much sodium.  I decided to reduce it

Morph #2:   Without seasoning, it's just plain shrimp.  I needed to add flavor.

Morph #3:   I'm tired of plain dry shrimp.  It needs to be moist
Final Recipe:   Cajun inspired boiled shrimp 

Cajun Inspired Boiled Shrimp


Ingredients
1.5 lbs medium shrimp, peeled
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 T minced garlic
1 packet 
1 cup water (you could substitute seafood stock for the flavor boost and water)


Directions

1. Saute onions and green peppers with the garlic until soft
2. Mix together flavor boost and water in a separate bowl (or in the measuring cup) 
3. Add shrimp and water mixture to pan
4. Bring to a boil and cook until shrimp is pink and the water has reduced a bit

Serve over rice

This recipe takes about 30 minutes.  It's quick and simple and I love recipes like that. You could even turn this into a soup by increasing the liquid and adding more vegetables.  Look at me!  Morphing these poor shrimp again!

Do you ever morph recipes?  Does one recipe become something completely different?  What was the last recipe you morphed? 

Mushroom Quesadillas. No Stove Required!

Mushrooms, the meatless meat.  I love, love, love mushrooms.  I have so much love for them that I had to use the word 3 times!  I think I use mushrooms in almost all of my savory dishes.  I probably eat more than 2 pounds a week.    They have a whole bunch of nutritional benefits.  Did you know that mushrooms are the only vegetable with vitamin D?   And 3 oz of mushrooms provide 3 grams of protein!  

Enough mushroom love.  On to recipe love!!  If y'all remember, I lived with only 1 burner on my stove for about 2 years.  I didn't get a 4 burner stove until my birthday.  During those 2 years I learned how to do things a bit differently in order to get every part of dinner done in a timely fashion.  One trick I learned was to saute mushrooms and onions in the oven.  It takes longer but, it frees your stove (and you) to do other things.  

Please pardon my photo.  My quesadilla completely fell apart when I tried to take it off the baking sheet.

Mushroom Quesadillas

Ingredients
12-16 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 (14 oz) package lite tofu, sliced 
1 cup fat free shredded cheddar

4 (or 8) tortillas (I used Ole spinach and herb fat free tortillas)


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Spray a baking sheet with pan spray, place the mushrooms and onions evenly on it an spray them with more spray
3. On a separate sprayed pan lay the tofu
4. Bake the tofu for 15 minutes, turn and bake for another 15, until it's brown on both sides
5. Bake the mushrooms for 45-60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes
6. When the tofu is done cut it into large pieces
7. If you are only using 4 tortillas on one half of each of the tortillas layer 2 tablespoons of cheese, 1/4 of the mushroom mixture and 1/4 of the tofu and another 2 tablespoons of cheese. Fold in half and microwave 30-60 seconds until the cheese melts
8. If  you are using 8 tortillas: Lay down 4, evenly spread 2 tablespoons of cheese on the top of the tortilla, then 1/4 of the mushrooms, 1/4 of the tofu and another 2 tablespoons of the cheese.  Top with another tortilla and microwave for 60 seconds until cheese melts

For more information on the benefits of mushrooms and a bunch of recipes check out
MushroomInfo.com.

What's your favorite mushroom recipe?

L is for Lazy Leftover Soup

If you could eat only one food for the rest of your life what would it be?  I was surprised when Kaylee told me that hers was soup.  I have a feeling that October is going to be a very soup-y month in the house due to this fact. 

For the most part I think soup is a very easy meal.  Not necessarily quick, but, it's easy.  The family is normally happy with the canned stuff but, canned soup is loaded with sodium. I have been searching for years for a nonfat canned soup and you can't find them!  So the other nite when the kids asked me to make soup for dinner I had to make myself soup from scratch.  {Which is what I normally do}

I searched the fridge for  vegetables to go into my soup.  I found all the vegetables that were in need of using and threw together this "stupid simple" soup.  Honestly, if you want to make it a super "stupid simple" recipe then just skip steps 1-3.

Throw Everything in the Pot!!

Vegetable Soup

Serves 2 (the calories are so low that you can eat it all yourself if you want to)

Ingredients
1.3 cups Vegetable Broth 
1-1.5 cups water
5 cups kale
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4-8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 small zucchini, diced
2 T garlic

Directions

1. Heat sauce pan on high and spray with nonstick spray
2. Throw all the vegetables (except kale) and garlic in the pot
3. Saute for approximately 5 minutes until the onions and carrots start to soften
4. Add broth, water and kale
5. Bring to a boil then reduced and simmer 20-25 minutes until everything is soft.

Honestly you can throw whatever vegetables you have left in your fridge.  What do you do with your veggies when they get close to dying? 


For some more great customizable soups check out these links:
NY Times: Soup Matrix by Mark Bittman
NY Times: More on the Soup Matrix by Mark Bittman

C is For...Chick'n Ranch Wraps

My mom is an awesome cook.  I really wish I could still eat the foods I grew up on.  But, like I've said before, I try and alter as many recipes as I can.  So far, I've been able to replicate about a handful.  This recipe is a very simple one {which is rare for mom's recipes} but, it's very delicious.

I made it Fat Free Queen AND vegan friendly.

Chick'n Ranch Wraps
1 bag of Quorn Chick'n Strips
2-4 T ranch dressing
1 head romaine lettuce, cut thinly
1 roma tomato sliced paper thin
 6 tortillas

                                                                   
Directions

1. Heat chick'n and toss with dressing
2. Lay a tortilla down, put some lettuce, onions and tomatoes, then top with chick'n
3. Fold bottom over filling then roll, leaving the top open.

Wham, Bam, Thank you 15 minute dinner!  

Recipe Redux -- Sowing Seasonal Seeds

The Recipe Redux theme this month was "Sowing Seasonal Seeds".  As we all know seeds are not fat free so, I don't use them often.  I honestly wracked my brain trying to figure out what I could make using seeds.  Then I realized something...MUSTARD is a seed!  Did you know that??  Many other spices are seeds too but, mustard is the one I chose for today's recipe.  

I love fish.  I could never be a vegetarian due to my extreme love of seafood.  Steelhead trout and salmon are the only 2 type of fish {that are not of the "stick" variety} we can get Sunny to eat.  She only eats it because it's pink. 

Mustard Topped Stealhead Trout
Adapted from Olga's Flavor Factory

Calories: 230
Fat: 10.2 g
Protein: 30.8g
Carbs: 1.7g

Ingredients
3 T + 2 tsp Dijon mustard (I used Publix brand with horseradish)
2 T sugar free syrup
1 T rice vinegar
1 T lemon juice
1 T horseradish or a few shakes of hot sauce (both optional)

1 lb Steelhead Trout

Directions

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl except for the trout
2. Heat broiler on high.  Line a pan with tin foil and spray with pan spray
3. Lay trout skin side down and broil for 5 minutes
4. Slather mustard on the trout and broil for another 8-9 minutes.

I have two suggestions for this dish.  The first one is that if you like spicy mustard then make sure to add hot sauce or horseradish.  The mustard gets very muted when it's cooked.  The other problem was that the fish skin doesn't get crispy like I like it.  I would suggest getting skinless fish if you don't like limp skin or, you could try cooking it for the first 5 minutes skin side up then flip it when you put the mustard sauce on it.

Do your kids like fish?  What kinds will/won't they eat?