Light Shrimp Scampi

I rarely order shrimp scampi at a restaurant because it never seems to taste just right.  Its not garlicky enough, or it is too garlicky; it's too salty; or too greasy.  Sometimes I want to order it as a lighter meal, but it ends up being so heavy because there is so much butter.

Shrimp scampi is actually pretty easy to make, so why not make it at home the way I like it, and in a way that is healthier for me.  I like to use a lot of lemon juice, more than most recipes call for.  You can use less if you prefer.  I use one sauce for the shrimp scampi, and for the green bean side dish. It makes things easier, but the lemony garlic wine sauce just tastes great with both green beans and shrimp.

If you do not like shrimp, you can always use chicken breast instead.  Make sure to cut the chicken into large bite-sized pieces. Then saute the same way as directed for the shrimp, except add on 4 more minutes.

Light Shrimp Scampi

Recipe makes 4 servings

What you need:
- 8oz dry spaghetti
- 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 3 tbsp minced garlic (preferably fresh)
- 3 shallots, finely chopped
- 1 1/4 cup white wine
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
 - half of a 24oz bag of trimmed green beans
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 tbsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp butter spread

What to do:
1.  Cook pasta according to package directions.  Reserve 1/4 cup cooking liquid before draining pasta.

2.  Heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat in a large, sided saute pan.  When oil is hot, add shallots.  Cook 2 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium-low heat.  Add garlic.  Cook 8 minutes, stir occasionally.  Be careful not to burn the garlic.  Add wine and lemon juice, simmer 3 minutes.  Add salt and pepper.  Pour or use a ladle to remove all but 1/4 cup mixture.  Set aside the rest of the mixture.

3.  Heat the 1/4 cup liquid mixture remaining in the saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add green beans.  Cover and cook 3 minutes.  Move green beans to an oven-safe container.  Set oven to Broil, and cook beans for 3 more minutes.

4.  While the green beans are in the oven, heat the large saute pan over medium-high heat.  When hot, add shrimp.  Let cook 1 1/2 - 2 minutes each side, until lightly browned.  When shrimp are cooked, add remaining wine mixture, reserved pasta cooking liquid, parsley, red pepper flakes, and butter.  Stir to combine.  Cook 2 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Veggie-Stuffed Shells with Homemade Meat Sauce

This tomato sauce is similar to my standard recipe, but I made a few changes so I figured I would type it out again.  This sauce recipe does make a large quantity.  I made this is my 5 quart dutch oven.  It was full before I added the meat.  So I had to remove some tomato sauce (about 2 cups) , which I just put in the freezer for another day.  After adding the meat, the pot was full again.  So I will definitely be freezing some of the meat sauce as well (about 2 cups).  I do love having sauces in the freezer for a rainy day (or most likely a stayed-late-at-work day).

Tomato sauce can be really easy to make, but it can also be high maintenance.  You want to make sure the sauce isn't boiling tos much, so you might have to stir every one once in a while.  But its really easy and much less maintenance to put all the ingredients in a slow cooker and turn it on before you head to work in the morning.

The stuffing for the shells is pretty healthy, especially for a cheese mixture.  I use part-skim ricotta instead of full-fat.  I add a little pecorino-romano for added flavor.  If you don't like pecorino, you could add parmesan.  The added veggies help boost the fiber content, and work as a low-calorie filler.  Without the veggies in the mix, you would end up with more ricotta cheese in each shell and therefore more calories per shell.  The filling made enough to stuff 26 jumbo shells.

What you'll need:
Sauce:
- 2 can (28oz each) crushed tomato
- 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 4 oz semi dry white wine
- 2/3 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 4 1/2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 lb lean ground beef

Stuffed Shells:
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
- 1/4 cup finely chopped zucchini
- 1/4 cup chopped spinach
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp ground pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
- 1/2 cup shredded pecorino-romano cheese
- 1 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta
- 1/3 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt

What to do:
Preheat oven to 350.F.

1.  For the sauce: use a slow cooker.  OR Saute onions and garlic in olive oil for  4 minutes; add wine and simmer 3 minutes.  Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer 30 minutes to an hour.

2.  For the shells: cook shells 3 minutes less than suggestion on the box.  Drain but do NOT rinse.  Saute onion, bell pepper, zucchini, and garlic in olive oil over medium heat 4 minutes.  Let cool.  Mix together cooked veggies with the rest of the ingredients.  Stuff par-cooked shells.

3.  Cover the bottom of a large rectangle or square baking dish with meat sauce.  Lay stuffed shells tightly together in rows.  Cover shells with 1 1/2 - 2 cups meat sauce.  Bake at 350*F 25 - 30 minutes.

Quick Spicy Spaghetti and Veggies

This was another throw-together meal from random left over veggies.  It's very easy to do!  Cut veggies into bite sized pieces, saute in olive oil.  Add in cooked pasta and spices, and DONE!

This meal is low calorie and very heart-healthy with a bit of olive oil and lots of fiber from the vegetables.

Quick Spicy Spaghetti and Veggies

What you'll need:
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp low-sodium vegetable broth
- 6 oz whole wheat pasta
- 1 big pinch cayenne
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 2 tbsp chopped green onions
- 1/4 cup pine nuts (optional)
- 2 tbsp parmesan cheese (optional)

What to do:
1.  Cook pasta according to directions.

2.  Heat oil in a skillet, saute onion, zucchini, and garlic for ~ 4 minutes.  Add broth to skillet to steam veggies.

3.  When pasta is cooked, add to veggies and saute for 1 minutes.  Add in cayenne.  Top with green onion. Add nuts and/or cheese if desired.  Recipe makes 2 servings.

For meat lovers, saute 1/4 cup chopped prosciutto with the veggies.

Spaghetti Carbonara

There are a couple ingredients of this recipe that make it high in saturated fat: bacon, cream, and cheese.  There are also a few healthy ingredients missing in this recipe, such as vegetables.  So I changed the recipe a little bit to make it a little healthier, but keep in mind this is still not a low calorie item.  Instead of using all cream,  I used part skim-milk and part cream.  I use lean center cut bacon, but you can also use lean turkey bacon.  I cut back on the amount of parmesan cheese.  I also added a bit of paprika to the sauce for a bit of sweet peppery flavor.  I use Barilla Plus spaghetti because it is higher in protein and fiber compared to regular pasta and has a better taste and texture than whole wheat pasta.

Paprika Carbonara

What you'll need:
- 2 slices center cut bacon, cooked until very crispy and crumbled
- half an onion, finely chopped
- 4 oz Barilla Plus spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp cream
- 1/4 cup skim milk
- 1 tbsp parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tbsp paprika
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 2 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil


What to do:
1. Saute spinach in olive oil until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes; remove and set aside
2. Saute onion about 3 - 4 minutes, then reduce heat to low.
3. In a bowl, mix together the egg, milk, cream, and paprika.  Add egg mixture, bacon, parsley, salt, and pepper, and pasta to the pan with the onion.  Stir together until mixture thickens. Be careful not to overcook. Serve over a bed of spinach.  Sprinkle parmesan cheese.  Recipe makes 2 servings.