Healthy Shrimp Scampi!

Here is a Really Quick and Healthy Version of Shrimp Scampi That Everyone Will Love! 

Ingredients 

1 Pound of Shrimp (Cooked or Uncooked, if uncooked make sure to clean, and devein shrimp)

1 Medium Lemon (for Zesting and Juice)

2 Tbspns. of Fresh Chopped Cilantro (1/2 Tbspn. Reserved for Garnish)

1 Tbspn. of Fresh Chopped Thyme

1 Tbspn. of Fresh Chopped Basil 

1/2 Tbspn. of Paprika (to your taste)

1/4 Tspn. of Red Pepper Flakes

1 Tbspn. of Kosher Salt

1 Tbspn. of Cracked Black Pepper

6  Peeled Cloves of Garlic (or less if is your preference)

1/2 Cup of Low Sodium Fat Free Chicken Broth (if you have fresh chicken stock use this)

1 Tbspn. of Olive Oil 

1/2 Tbspn. of Cornstarch Dissolved in 3/4 Cup of Warm Water to Thicken Sauce 

1/4 Cup of Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese (if desired)

2 Plum Tomatoes Diced

1 Medium Red Bell Pepper-Sliced

1 Medium Green Bell Pepper-Sliced

1 Medium Red Onion-Sliced 

1 1/2 Cups of Sliced Mushrooms (variety is your preference)

1 Box of Fettuccine

Directions:

First, I always work on getting my Herbs all chopped up and in little prep bowls to make it easier when I need to use them at the stove. Chop your Basil, Thyme, and Cilantro as rough or fine as your prefer, place in separate prep bowls and set aside. Next, peel the 6 cloves of Garlic, then take a hand held grater over the top of a small prep bowl and grate the Garlic into the bowl. Remember to have the tip of the Garlic on the grater and grate down to the base of the clove. I love doing this to essentially "mince" the Garlic without all the hassle of using a Garlic press and it is much easier clean up which I am always for! 

Now that the Herbs and Garlic are prepped it is time to move on to slicing up the vegetables! After rinsing and drying the Plum Tomatoes, you are going to dice them up. I find it is easier to dice up the Plum Tomatoes by cutting them in half length wise, then turning the halves length wise proceed to cut the tomato length wise several times depending on how big it is. Once you have sliced the half of the Plum Tomato several times turn it horizontally in front of you and begin to dice it slowly. Place the diced Plum Tomato in it's own small prep bowl. 

For the Bell Peppers and the Red Onion clean and slice the vegetables in thin slices so they will cook easily. Again, place the freshly sliced vegetables in a prep bowl. With the Mushrooms also clean them with a damp paper towel and remove the stems. Then slice approximately 1 1/2 cups of Mushrooms (more or less to your preference) and place in a prep bowl.

For the Shrimp, as I stated above you can always buy previously steamed/cooked Shrimp at the market if you are worried about over or under cooking fresh Shrimp. The only prep to be done on the cooked Shrimp is to go ahead and remove the tails off of the Shrimp and toss into a prep bowl. Now if you buy fresh Shrimp make sure that you remove the shell, legs, veins (or if you are lucky the Shrimp may already be cleaned at your local market) and then rinse them and place in a prep bowl. 

Now the cooking begins!! In a large frying pan pour in the 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil and move it around the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat on the frying pan up to medium low. While you are waiting for the Olive Oil to heat, fill a medium sized pot with water to cook your pasta in and place on the stove at a medium high heat. 

As soon the olive oil starts to warm in the frying pan, place the grated Garlic in the pan. Using a wooden spoon move the grated Garlic around in the frying pan as it is cooking. After, the Garlic begins to become fragrant add the sliced Red Onion into the frying pan along with the Kosher Salt and Cracked Black Pepper. Once you have tossed the Red Onion around in the Garlic and olive oil add the Red and Green Bell Pepper, Mushrooms along with the diced Plum Tomatoes to the pan.

After the vegetables are incorporated in the pan with the Garlic and Olive Oil add the chopped fresh Herbs of Cilantro, Basil and Thyme. Next add the 1/2 Cup of Low Sodium/Fat Free Chicken Stock to the frying pan. While allowing the vegetables to cook for a few minutes, the water should be boiling for the pasta. Add the pasta to the water and follow the cooking directions on the package of the pasta to determine length of cooking with your preference of aldente pasta.

Now turn the frying pan down to between Low and Medium heat on the stove. Next, add the Shrimp to the frying pan and toss with the vegetables and herbs. Add the Paprika and Red Pepper Flakes (if desired) to the frying pan. Take the Lemon and zest with your hand held grater over the frying pan, make sure that you only are zesting the skin of the lemon (as the rind of the lemon can add a sour taste to your dinner). Once you have zested the Lemon, cut it in half and squeeze the juice into the frying pan. If you are using cooked Shrimp all you have to do is make sure that the shrimp have warmed all the way through. If you are using fresh Shrimp the key is to keep an eye on the Shrimp and when they turn pink they are done! 

Remove the pasta from the water and into a strainer. While the pasta is cooking some, mix 1/2 Tablespoon of Cornstarch in 3/4 Cup of Warm Water in a small glass. As the broth of the Shrimp and Vegetables is slightly simmering stir in the cornstarch and allow it to come to a simmer again. The cornstarch will help the broth thicken slightly turning into a great sauce for your dish! 

Take out a large serving bowl and place the pasta in the bottom of the dish, then take the Shrimp, Vegetables and their yummy sauce on top of the pasta. Now here you can either mix the pasta and Shrimp/Vegetables together coating the pasta with the sauce (my preference!) or you can leave it the way it is. To finish the Shrimp Scampi off and to impress your family sprinkle the Parmesan Cheese lightly all over the dish along with the Fresh Cilantro held in reserve for a bright cheery garnish! 

As you can see this is a healthy Shrimp Scampi as you are substituting the butter typically used to make the sauce for Chicken Broth. It may seem like there are a bunch of steps to this meal but the prep takes the most time and once everything gets in the frying pan it goes really quick!          

 

Recipe for Italian Kielbasa with Pasta

Ingredients:
1 Package of Butterball Turkey Kielbasa
1 Tbsp. of Olive Oil
1 Medium Red Onion- Sliced Thin
1 Medium Yellow Bell Pepper Sliced Thin
1 Medium Red Bell Pepper Sliced Thin
1 Medium Green Bell Pepper Sliced Thin
4 Large Cloves of Garlic Peeled
2 Tbsp. of Italian Seasoning
2 Tbsp. of Fresh Greek Oregano
2 Tbsp. of Fresh Basil
2 Tbsp. of Fresh Thyme
1 Tsp. of Kosher Salt
1 Tsp. of Cracked Black Pepper
Zest of 1 Small Lemon
Juice of 1 Small Lemon
2/3 Cup of Nonfat Greek Yogurt
1 Box of Penne Pasta

Instructions:
Remove core and clean all of the Bell Peppers of the seeds and membranes then slice the Bell Peppers into thin strips making it easy to saute in the pan. Thinly slice the red onion to be sauteed in the pan with the Bell Peppers. Peel 4 Large Cloves of Garlic (this can either be increased or decreased due to your taste preference) and lightly "whack" the Cloves of Garlic with a knife or spoon so that the clove is somewhat broken open. In a separate bowl combine finely chopped Fresh Basil, Fresh Thyme, Fresh Greek Oregano, Italian Seasonings (if you do not have fresh herbs dried herbs will work just remember they will be a little stronger), Kosher Salt and Cracked Pepper. Chop the two Turkey Kielbasa links into bite size pieces and place in bowl.

In a large saute pan heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat and add 4 whole Garlic Cloves. Saute the Garlic Cloves in the olive oil and just as the Garlic becomes very fragrant remove the Garlic Cloves from the pan. Add the sliced Red Onion to the saute pan and toss with the olive oil to coat it. Next, add the sliced Bell Peppers to the large saute pan and mix with the sliced Red Onion.Sprinkle the Herb Mixture over the sliced vegetables in the pan and mix together. Also, place a large pot of water on to boil to cook the Penne Pasta in following the instructions on the back of the box.   

Taking a grater zest 1 Small Lemon over the vegetables in the pan. After zesting the Small Lemon slice in half and juice the lemon over the vegetables in the pan. After stirring in the Lemon zest and juice with the vegetables in the pan add the Turkey Kielbasa to the vegetable mixture to the pan. Next, make a small well in the middle of the pan and add the Nonfat Greek Yogurt to the pan. Slowly, fold the vegetables and Turkey Kielbasa in with the Nonfat Greek Yogurt in the pan over low to medium heat.

After all of the vegetables, Turkey Kielbasa and Nonfat Greek Yogurt are combined turn the pan down to low for 5-10 minutes. Then remove the pan from the stove and you can either combine the pasta with the vegetables and Turkey Kielbasa or place your Penne Pasta on a plate and layer the mixture over it.

If you want to be fancy you can always hold some of the herb mixture for reserve and sprinkle this around the plate after the Italian Kielbasa with Pasta has been dished up!