Shrimp and Grits

We have been having a ton of tasty new dishes lately, but I just haven't had a chance to sit down and post about them! Everyone else in my house is sleeping, so I'm trying to get some cleaning and blogging done while I have some alone time! This is actually the most recent thing we've had, and I'll admit I feel a little guilty not posting something older, but this was so incredibly good I didn't want to wait.

A few years ago we went on vacation to Myrtle Beach, SC with my mom and aunt. Boy #2 was only an itty bitty baby! While we were there we drove down to see Fort Sumter and Charleston for a day. The husband is a good ol' Southern boy and loved seeing such an integral site in the "war of northern aggression." We found a place for dinner before heading back to Myrtle Beach, and the husband had shrimp and grits. They were AMAZING. I came home wanting to make some, saved a recipe on Food.com and then proceeded to never, ever make it. Now fast forward to a week or so ago, and I was flipping through Cooking Light from a couple months ago and saw a recipe for crawfish and grits. Crawfish are hard to come by here in the desert, but I knew that shrimp was on sale, so I figured I could switch it up a bit. Grits proved slightly easier to find than crawfish, but it was still not an easy search. Or rather, non-instant grits proved difficult to find, but as everyone knows (or everyone who's seen "My Cousin Vinny") no self-respecting southerner (or self-respecting wife of a southerner) would ever make instant grits. So if you want non-instant grits, head to Trader Joe's, not Safeway. FYI. ;)

Shrimp and Grits
Adapted from Saucy Crawfish With Whole Corn Grits from Cooking Light, August 2012

Grits:
3 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk, divided
1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels
1 chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup uncooked regular grits
2 ounces reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese (about 1/2 cup)
3 tablespoons light sour cream

Shrimp:
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped andouille sausage or kielbasa (about 1.5 ounces)
2/3 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons tomato paste
12 ounces shrimp
1 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
1/4 cup light sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives, divided


1. To prepare grits, combine 1/2 cup milk, corn, and chipotle chile in a blender; process until the corn is coarsely chopped.

2. Combine remaining 3 cups milk, 1 1/2 cups water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Gradually add grits, stirring with a whisk. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 11 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Add corn mixture; cook an additional 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; add cheese and 3 tablespoons sour cream, stirring until cheese melts. Keep warm.

3. To prepare shrimp, place flour in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat; cook 4 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Remove flour from pan; set aside. Wipe pan clean.

4. Return pan to medium heat. Add oil and sausage to pan; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, thyme, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add reserved flour, tomato paste, and shrimp; cook until shrimp are pink, stirring frequently. Stir in 1 cup milk; bring to a simmer, and cook 2 minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in 1/4 cup sour cream. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon chives over shrimp mixture. Stir 3 tablespoons chives into grits; serve with shrimp mixture.

*****

Since I was a grits cooking novice, the husband stepped in and helped me out a bit with them. He used to be a master grill operator at the Waffle House, so he knows a thing or two or twenty about cooking grits. I should add that I didn't really follow the grit cooking directions above. I did at first, but after 11 minutes my grits hadn't thickened at all, so I turned the heat back up and kept the cover off my pot. That worked much better, and the husband said he didn't know why you'd cover it and turn the heat down in the first place.

This was simply amazing and delicious and fantastic and tasty. I went a little overboard plating grits, but it worked out. They were so tasty with the added kick of the chipotle pepper in there and the fresh corn and creamy from the cheese and sour cream. The little chunks of andouille sausage mixed in with the shrimp was fantastic too. If you're not a fan of spicy, this dish probably isn't for you, but we loved it. I probably wouldn't serve this to my kiddos because they'd complain about too many aspects of it, but it's definitely something I'd make for the husband and me again!!

Blue Cheese Stuffed Pork Chops with Pears

Have I mentioned how done I am with P90X?! I'm tired of my precious afternoon quiet time being taken up with stupid Tony Horton. I like the workouts, but I'm just annoyed I have to spend Boy #2's naptime every day doing them. You've probably noticed I haven't updated the ol' blog here in almost a month. The husband has been helping me meal plan, so we've had some tasty dinners, I just haven't had a chance to update anything. Sigh. I made a list this morning of posts I want to write, and the total was 17! SEVENTEEN!! Thankfully the husband took today off work and took Boy #2 out for some quality daddy time so I could work on my blog. God bless him!

So, get ready for some massive updating!

This was originally going to be a family dinner, but I suggested to the husband we have a date night dinner instead a few nights before Boy #2 turned three back on the 19th. I wasn't sure how excited my kids would be about it. This was in last month's Cooking Light, which I haven't read yet. The husband and I were meal planning and I just looked through the index to get some ideas. It sounded tasty, and I had blue cheese and an abundance of pears. I had a Costco trip planned, and I love their pork chops, so it was a pretty easy decision to add it to our meal plan.

Blue Cheese Stuffed Pork Chops with Pears
Source: Cooking Light, October 2011


4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops, trimmed
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled blue cheese
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons butter
1 ripe pear, cored and cut into 16 wedges

Cut a horizontal slit through thickest portion of each pork chop to form a pocket. Stuff 2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese into each pocket. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper evenly over both sides of pork. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add pork to pan; sauté for 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove pork from pan, and let stand for 5 minutes.

Melt butter in pan; swirl to coat. Add pear; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Sauté 4 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Serve with pork.

Nutritional Information
Amount per serving
Calories: 246
Fat: 13g
Saturated fat: 5.5g
Monounsaturated fat: 1g
Polyunsaturated fat: 4.8g
Protein: 24.4g
Carbohydrate: 7.3g
Fiber: 1.4g
Cholesterol: 81mg
Iron: 0.8mg
Sodium: 493mg
Calcium: 98mg

*****

The magazine had this pictures with some roasted Brussels sprouts, which we love, so I figured that was an easy side dish. When we saw the magazine, the husband and I both thought this sounded tasty, but it really blew us away with just how awesome it was. I got a perfect sear on the pork chops, so the outside was a little crunchy and the inside was perfectly cooked. The creamy, tangy blue cheese was awesome with the sweet pears. At first, before tasting it, I was wishing I had made some kind of pan sauce to go with these, but after taking my first bite I realized they really didn't need it. There was a lot of ooh-ing and aah-ing as we took bites of our dinner. Even better, it was SO EASY to make. If you've never bought pork chops at Costco, let me tell you that they're huge. Each one was around eight ounces. I asked the husband if he'd want me to slice them in half to get to the recommended four ounce portion size, but we figured at just 246 calories, it was fine to leave them big. Plus for just 500 calories this was really filling and tasty.

Did I mention these were tasty and awesome? Just in case you missed it above I wanted to reiterate. We will definitely have these again!

I love the sight of ooey, gooey cheese dripping out of meat!

Grilled Chicken Tostadas

In case you haven't noticed, I get bored making the same things all the time. We're not a "Thursday night is pork chop night" kind of family...or at least I'm not that kind of cook. I've mentioned I'm trying to cook the majority of our dinners either using the grill outside or the crockpot so I can avoid heating up my house too much in the insanely hot Phoenix summer. I've been on the lookout for new grilling recipes, so I was excited when I saw this one in a daily recipe email I get from Cooking Light. I love finding things to cook on the grill that aren't usually cooked on a grill, and tostadas seemed to fit the bill!

Grilled Chicken Tostadas
Source: MyRecipes.com via Cooking Light

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon 40% less-sodium taco seasoning (such as Old El Paso)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Cooking spray
6 (8-inch) flour tortillas
6 cups packaged coleslaw
1 (7-ounce) can green salsa
4 cups chopped tomato
1/4 cup sliced ripe olives, chopped
1 1/4 cups fat-free refried beans
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
6 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup unsalted pumpkinseed kernels, toasted (optional)

Prepare grill, or heat a grill pan over medium-high heat.
Brush chicken with juice; sprinkle with seasoning and sugar. Place chicken on grill rack or grill pan coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side or until chicken is done. Cool slightly. Cut chicken into 1/4-inch strips; set aside. Place tortillas on grill rack or grill pan coated with cooking spray; grill 30 seconds on each side or until golden brown.
Combine coleslaw and salsa; toss to coat. Combine tomato and olives; toss gently.
Spread about 3 tablespoons beans over each tortilla; divide chicken evenly among tortillas. Top each serving with about 2/3 cup slaw mixture, 2/3 cup tomato mixture, 4 teaspoons cheese, 1 tablespoon sour cream, and 2 teaspoons cilantro. Sprinkle each serving with 2 teaspoons pumpkinseeds, if desired.

Nutritional Information
Amount per serving (6 servings total)
Calories: 361
Calories from fat: 23%
Fat: 9.2g
Saturated fat: 3.6g
Monounsaturated fat: 1.5g
Polyunsaturated fat: 1.2g
Protein: 28.7g
Carbohydrate: 43g
Fiber: 6.8g
Cholesterol: 65mg
Iron: 3.7mg
Sodium: 844mg
Calcium: 221mg

*****

For some reason, the husband and I decided we'd have these for dinner after the kids went to bed--a random, middle of the week date night. It worked out well to mix up the slaw and tomatoes/olives while the chicken was on the grill, then once the chicken was cooked through and the tortillas were crisped, all we had to do was assemble.

We both REALLY liked these. And they were so filling. I was a little skeptical about the slaw mixture, but it worked great and was super tasty. I don't know if my kids would like these or not, but just because the last few times we've had tostadas, they haven't been very happy with it. These are something I would definitely make again...a great quick, healthy, light summer dinner!

Herbed Chicken Breasts with Tomatillo Salsa and Queso Fresco

This was another from my new favorite cookbook, The Best of Cooking Light Everyday Favorites. I had queso fresco left from the yummy Roast Chicken Chimichangas and thought this sounded super tasty. It could also easily be made low carb by skipping the breading portion and just grilling the chicken instead.

Herbed Chicken Breasts with Tomatillo Salsa and Queso Fresco
Source: The Best of Cooking Light Everyday Favorites

Salsa:
2 quarts water
1/2 pound tomatillos (about 10 small), husks and stems removed
1 garlic clove
1/2 to 1 serrano chile
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup coarsely chopped onion
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Chicken:
3 (1-ounce) slices white bread
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled queso fresco cheese
Cilantro sprigs (optional)
Lime wedges (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare salsa, bring water to a boil. Add tomatillos, garlic, and chile; cook 7 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Combine tomatillos, garlic, chile, chopped cilantro, onion, lime juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a food processor or blender; pulse 4 to 5 times or until coarsely chopped. Set aside.

To prepare chicken, place bread in a food processor, and pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1 1/2 cups. Arrange crumbs on a baking sheet; bake at 350° for 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely.

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Combine 1/2 teaspoon salt, cumin, and red pepper; sprinkle evenly over chicken.

Place breadcrumbs in a shallow dish. Place egg in another shallow dish. Dip chicken in egg; dredge in breadcrumbs.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 4 minutes on each side or until done. Top chicken with salsa, and sprinkle with queso fresco cheese. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and lime wedges, if desired.

Nutritional Information
Amount per serving
Calories: 364
Calories from fat: 26%
Fat: 10.7g
Saturated fat: 3.2g
Monounsaturated fat: 4.5g
Polyunsaturated fat: 1.6g
Protein: 47.1g
Carbohydrate: 17.7g
Fiber: 2g
Cholesterol: 162mg
Iron: 3mg
Sodium: 770mg
Calcium: 169mg

*****

I used whole wheat bread for my breadcrumbs because that's what we had. The salsa was super tasty and smelled so good. I had looked up the recipe on the Cooking Light website and saw some people complained that they didn't like that the queso fresco didn't melt onto the chicken, but I really liked that about it. This was super tasty and pretty easy. The salsa could easily be made ahead of time, too. I heated up a can of black beans as our side and sprinkled some queso fresco on top of them when I plated. Mmmmm...tasty!!

Roast Chicken Chimichangas

I've rediscovered a fantastic Cooking Light cookbook I've owned for quite awhile...The Best of Cooking Light Everyday Favorites. Everything I've tried from it has been awesome.

I flipped through it back for Cinco de Mayo to find some kind of Mexican entrée we could have. This looked really easy and didn't require a lot of ingredients which are two automatic pluses in my book!

Roast Chicken Chimichangas
Source: The Best of Cooking Light Everyday Favorites

2 1/2 cups shredded roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled queso fresco cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
1 (16-ounce) can fat-free refried beans
6 (8-inch) flour tortillas
Cooking spray
1/2 cup bottled green salsa

Preheat oven to 500°.
Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl; toss well.
Spread 1/4 cup beans down center of each tortilla. Top each tortilla with 2/3 cup chicken mixture; roll up. Place rolls, seam sides down, on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Coat tops of chimichangas with cooking spray. Bake at 500° for 7 minutes. Serve with salsa.

Calories: 380
Calories from fat: 23%
Fat: 9.7g
Saturated fat: 3.1g
Monounsaturated fat: 4.1g
Polyunsaturated fat: 1.6g
Protein: 28.8g
Carbohydrate: 42.5g
Fiber: 6.5g
Cholesterol: 55mg
Iron: 3.8mg
Sodium: 728mg
Calcium: 157mg

*****

Instead of using some roasted chicken I threw a couple chicken breasts on the grill while my family was swimming then just shredded the meat once they were cooked (the chicken, not my family). These were so easy to make. Throw everything in a bowl, spread some beans on a tortilla, spoon some chicken mixture down the middle, fold, and bake. I was kind of surprised that the serving size was just one, but they were really filling.

We all really liked these. REALLY liked them. The husband actually asked if we could have weekly chimichanga night. I loved how easy these came together and that we all loved them. This will definitely be in regular rotation in our house.

Flank Steak with Cilantro-Almond Pesto

By this point, the husband and I have both just about given up on doing Phase One of the South Beach Diet (i.e. no carbs). He quit a few days ago, I decided once I hit my pre-Christmas weight I'd go back to having good carbs. However when I did my meal plan for the week, we were both still gung ho about no carbs. None of the recipes I had marked in my South Beach Diet cookbook sounded interesting to me (or not many at least), so I figured I might as well try some of my go-to recipe websites for low carb ideas. MyRecipes.com came through for me with a few ideas. I had recently bought some London Broil and figured I could substitute that for the Flank Steak called for in this recipe. The idea of a cilantro pesto--and a pesto that didn't have olive oil as an ingredient--intrigued me.

Flank Steak with Cilantro-Almond Pesto
Source: MyRecipes.com

3/4 cup fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted
1 tablespoon chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 garlic clove, chopped
3 tablespoons plain fat-free yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 (1-pound) flank steak, trimmed
Cilantro sprigs (optional)

Prepare grill.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a blender; process until finely chopped (about 15 seconds). Add yogurt and juice; process until smooth.

Grill steak 6 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices. Serve steak with pesto. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.

Nutritional Information
Calories:209 (47% from fat)
Fat:10.8g (sat 3.9g,mono 4.9g,poly 0.8g)
Protein:24.6g
Carbohydrate:2.4g
Fiber:0.6g
Cholesterol:57mg
Iron:2.5mg
Sodium:152mg
Calcium:36mg

*****

This was ridiculously easy. The only difficult part was grilling the london broil. It's such a thick cut of meat I wasn't realy sure about the cooking time. I think the first side went about eight minutes on the grill, and the second side was around six or seven. It actually could have been on there a little longer because the middle was pretty rare. Of course, it didn't help that it was dark out and I couldn't tell how done the meat was. Note to self: invest in some sort of grill light.

I loved the flavors of the pesto. So did the husband. I don't think the kids tried any of it. We agreed it would be really good smeared on tortillas and then the meat used like fajita meat. This is definitely something I'd make again--low carb diet or not--because it came together really fast and was super tasty! Plus the pesto ingredients (aside from the jalapeno) are all things I generally have on hand.

Some pieces of meat may have still been mooing...


Cilantro-Almond pesto...yum!

Prosciutto and Gruyere Strombolis

I get a daily email from MyRecipes.com with a featured recipe of the day. Sometimes they look great and then find their way into my Recipes folder in Outlook, other times they meet the sad fate of the Deleted Items folder. When this one showed up one morning I had a sudden flashback because I had made these years and years ago. In fact, when I first made this may have been one of the first times I'd ever used prosciutto. I don't remember when it was exactly, but it was two houses ago, so it was some time between February 2003 and September 2005. It was a Cooking Light recipe, and how I forgot about it, I'm not sure. It's really yummy and really easy, which, as you know, is a combination I love!!

Prosciutto and Gruyere Strombolis

1 (11-ounce) can refrigerated French bread dough
2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
1 cup trimmed arugula
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 425°.

Unroll dough onto a baking sheet; pat into a 14 x 11-inch rectangle. Cut dough into quarters to form 4 (7 x 5 1/2-inch) rectangles. Top each rectangle with 1/2 ounce prosciutto, 1/4 cup arugula, 2 tablespoons cheese, and 1 tablespoon parsley. Beginning at short side of each rectangle, roll up the dough, jelly-roll fashion; pinch seam to seal (do not seal ends of rolls). Arrange rolls 4 inches apart on baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes or until rolls are lightly browned. Serve warm.

CALORIES 275 (28% from fat); FAT 8.5g (sat 4.4g,mono 2.1g,poly 0.5g); IRON 2.3mg; CHOLESTEROL 24mg; CALCIUM 158mg; CARBOHYDRATE 34.4g; SODIUM 754mg; PROTEIN 14g; FIBER 1.5g

*****

So according to the website, this was published in Cooking Light's August 2004 issue. One of the reasons I slated this dinner (whenever it was we had it weeks ago) was because I had arugula in the fridge, but by the time I made them the arugula had seen better days. I skipped that part of it and just had prosciutto and gruyere inside them. This was a huge hit with everyone. The boy was strangely excited for this dinner when I told him what we were having. Now that I've remembered this recipe it's something we'll have again for sure. Yum!

sadly I did not take a picture. :(

Mexican Chicken Casserole

So, part of my blog hiatus--other than being sick all last week--was due to a weekend trip the husband and I took to New Orleans for his cousin's wedding. We had a fantastic time eating and drinking...mostly drinking. ;) I had one of the best foods I have ever eaten in my life...Chargrilled Oysters at Acme Oyster House. Lordy mama, were they ever tasty. Grilled oysters on the half shell with a seasoned butter and romano cheese. Wow. I could have eaten just those the entire time we were there.

Anyway, now it's back to the daily grind since the vacation is over and my cold is gone. I'm still trying to stick to the Pantry Challenge, and so far so good. I had a different casserole planned for Tuesday night, but after putting all the ingredients into the Points calculator on the WW website, I realized it was going to be too many. So I checked out the Cooking Light website for some other chicken casserole ideas. I was excited to find this one as it also gave me a chance to make my own corn tortillas with the tortilla press I got for Christmas!

Mexican Chicken Casserole

1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 (4.5-ounce) cans chopped green chiles, divided
1 3/4 pounds skinned, boned chicken breasts
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup evaporated skim milk
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup (2 ounces) tub-style light cream cheese
1 (10-ounce) can enchilada sauce
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
Cooking spray
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1 ounce tortilla chips, crushed (about 6 chips)

Combine broth and 1 can of chiles in a large skillet; bring to a boil. Add chicken; reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until chicken is done, turning chicken once. Remove chicken from cooking liquid, reserving cooking liquid; cool chicken. Shred meat with two forks, and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 can of chiles and onion; sauté 3 minutes or until soft. Add reserved cooking liquid, milk, Monterey Jack, cream cheese, and enchilada sauce; stir well. Stir in shredded chicken; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Place 4 tortillas in the bottom of a 2-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Spoon 2 cups chicken mixture over tortillas. Repeat layers twice, ending with chicken mixture. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and chips. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information
Calories:369 (28% from fat)
Fat:11.4g (sat 5g,mono 3.8g,poly 1.4g)
Protein:35.6g
Carbohydrate:31.3g
Fiber:3g
Cholesterol:79mg
Iron:2.4mg
Sodium:479mg
Calcium:360mg

*****

I think all I changed was using less chicken. Then in turn I added in less of the liquids because I didn't want it to be too saucy. The finished product was FANTASTIC! I could have used more of the sauce. It wasn't dry, but it could have been more saucy. Especially when we've had the leftovers, it could have used a little more sauce. My tortillas came out pretty good for my first attempt at making my own. I don't normally like corn tortillas, but these were good.

This is definitely something I'd make again! The husband and I loved it. I had the boy taste the sauce and he thought it was too spicy, so he got to have a quesadilla instead. It wasn't nearly as spicy once it was all melded together in the casserole, so I think he would have been fine eating it.