Tag: lime juice

Jalapeño Shrimp Cakes

These shrimp cakes are light and delicious, made with jalapenos, scallions, and cilantro then topped with a little fresh lime juice and a few slices of avocado. Serve this over a bed of greens for a quick, light summer meal.

It’s really starting to feel like summer around here, temperatures are expected to hit 90 today. I can actually smell summer in the air, which gets me sooo excited!! After a long weekend of going to BBQ’s and too many glasses of sangria, this week I am keeping it low carb and light. I love shrimp, it’s naturally lean and cooks in minutes, which makes it perfect for a quick weeknight meal.

I’ve attempted shrimp cakes in the past, but always had issues with them holding together well so this time I decided to pulse the raw shrimp in the food processor and that worked out perfect. I left some of the seeds from the jalapeno to give it a little heat but you can leave them out if you don’t like spicy food. My plan was to grill them, but the patties were a bit delicate and I decided to saute them on the pan instead which worked out perfect. Topped with fresh lime juice and a few thin slices of avocado on top, this was flavorful and light.

And by the way, don’t miss out on a chance to win a fantastic Blendtec Blender (2 winners) with my Countdown To Summer Pin-It-To-Win-It Contest^[1] happening right now!

Jalapeño Shrimp Cakes
gordon-ramsay-recipe.com
Servings: 4 • Size: 1 shrimp cake w/ avocado • Old Points: 3 • Weight Watcher Points+: 4 pt
Calories: 173 • Fat: 5 g • Carb: 5 g • Fiber: 2 g • Protein: 24 g • Sugar: 1 g
Sodium: 321 mg • Cholest: 172 mg

Ingredients:

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined (weight after peeled)
1 large jalapeño, seeded and minced (for spicy, leave the seeds)
1 garlic clove, minced
3 medium scallions, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons panko (use GF crumbs for gluten free)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

For topping:

4 lime wedges
1/2 medium avocado, sliced thin

Directions:

Dry shrimp well with a paper towel then place the shrimp in the food processor along with jalapeño and garlic then pulse a few times until almost pasty.

Combine the shrimp in a large bowl with remaining ingredients and mix well to combine.

Using rubber gloves (easier with gloves), form shrimp into 4 patties.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat and spray with oil. Add the shrimp cakes to the heated grill and cook 4 minutes without disturbing, then gently flip and cook an additional 4 minutes.

Serve with fresh lime juice and top with thin slices of avocado.

Makes 4.

References

^{^} Countdown To Summer Pin-It-To-Win-It Contest (sweeps.piqora.com)

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Grilled Chicken with Black Bean Mango Salsa

Grilled chicken breast, seasoned with cumin and spices and topped with a fresh salsa made with sweet mango, protein-rich black beans and lots of lime and cilantro for flavor.

Let’s face it, grilled chicken can be pretty boring, but not if you serve it with this zesty salsa. You may want to even make this salsa on it’s own, it makes a fantastic dip if you serve it with chips – seriously good! Sometimes, I even throw in some diced avocado – yum!

This is perfect to make for a weeknight dinner, it’s quick and light, high in fiber, protein, and gluten-free.

Grilled Chicken with Black Bean Mango Salsa
gordon-ramsay-recipe.com
Servings: 4 • Size: 3 oz chicken, 2/3 cup salsa • Old Pts: 5 • WW Points+: 6 pt
Calories: 261 • Fat: 6 g • Carb: 24 g • Fiber: 5 g • Protein: 30.5 g • Sugar: 8 g
Sodium: 71 mg (without salt) • Cholest: 0 mg

Ingredients:

16 oz (2) boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed, sliced in half lengthwise
salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
3 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
juice of 1 lime

For the Black Bean Mango Salsa (makes about 2 1/2 cups):

1/4 cup red onion, chopped
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt, to taste
1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
1 ripe mango, peeled and diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced
1 jalapeño, chopped (keep seeds if you want it spicy)

Directions:

Season chicken with salt and pepper and place in a large non-reactive bowl with remaining ingredients, toss well to coat and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

In a medium bowl, combine the red onion, lime juice, olive oil and season with salt, to taste. Mix well then combine with the remaining ingredients; refrigerate until ready to serve.

Heat the grill or a grill pan to medium high, discard the chicken marinade and grill the chicken breasts about 3 minutes on each side, or until the center is cooked through. Transfer to a cutting board and slice the chicken on the bias. Serve the sliced chicken topped with mango black bean salsa.

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Skinny Queso Dip

A zesty chunky cheese dip with chunks of tomatoes, hot peppers, garlic, onions, lime juice, cilantro and spices. Get the chips ready, this stuff is good while it’s hot!

Skinny queso, it sounds like an oxymoron, right? This is a perfect appetizer to serve for the Superbowl, I’m adding this one to the list.

I stumbled on this recipe on Slender Kitchen^[1] and curiosity got the best of me so I decided to try it out. To be honest, while I was cooking it I had my reservations. It wasn’t until I scooped some up with my chips that I found myself going for more. Luckily I had a house full of people to help me dip away, and they all gave it a thumbs up.

I served it with Beanitos black bean chips, love them! You can use any light baked chip you desire. For those of you on Weight Watchers, 1/4 cup of this dip is only 3 points plus which is pretty good considering how much cheese is in here!

A few things to note: I personally thought this was best right after making, it was all cheesy and stringy. Later I microwaved the leftovers to see how it would re-heat and it was no longer stringy like it was when I first made it so this is definitely something you want to make and eat right away.

Skinny Queso Dip
gordon-ramsay-recipe.com
Servings: 11 • Size: 1/4 cup • Old Points: 2 pts • Weight Watchers Points+: 3 pts
Calories: 92.5 • Fat: 4.5 g • Protein: 6.5 g • Carb: 7 g • Fiber: 0.7 g • Sugar: 2 g
Sodium: 143 mg (without salt)

Ingredients:

1 cup skim milk
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp canola oil
1 cup minced onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 poblano pepper, diced
1-2 jalapeños, seeded and diced
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
10 oz can Rotel tomatoes with chiles, diced and drained
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
salt and black pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ancho chili powder
1 3/4 cups shredded reduced fat sharp Cheddar, Sargento

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup of the milk with 3 tbsp of cornstarch to create a slurry; set aside.

Heat a large saucepan on medium heat; when hot add oil. Add the onions, garlic, poblano, and jalapeno and cook until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Season with salt, to taste.

Add the chicken broth and the rest of the milk. Bring to a boil and cook for about 3 minutes to reduce slightly.

Add the slurry (cornstarch mixture) to the pan and stir; simmer a minute until it bubbles and thickens, then reduce heat to low.

Add the drained tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Remove from heat and add the cheese; stir until it melts completely. Serve immediately.

Makes 2 3/4 cups.

Adapted from Slender Kitchen^[2].

References

^{^} Slender Kitchen (www.slenderkitchen.com)
^{^} Slender Kitchen (www.slenderkitchen.com)