Spicy Shrimp

If you're following along with this week's meal plan, then you probably expected to see Spicy Coconut Shrimp Soup for tonight's post. So did I. Sometime this afternoon, I had a few minutes between finishing my morning to-do list and putting my daughter down for a nap. Not enough time to begin a new task, like diving in to the ominous baskets of unfolded laundry staring at me from the family room floor, I decided to look over the coconut soup recipe and round up the ingredients for later. That's when I realized that I still hadn't found red curry paste. I went to two stores last week and left both empty-handed. So I Googled it, looking for a red curry paste recipe. I found recipes, but they all sounded pretty involved and also called for ingredients that I didn't have in my kitchen. Continuing the ingredient search, I found that the mushrooms in my refrigerator had "seen better days" and this soup calls for sliced mushrooms. Until I can make this soup the way I want it, I will table it until another day. So, now what to make for dinner? I had already thawed the shrimp for the soup, so whatever I was making needed to use shrimp. It also needed to use whatever I had on hand in my fridge and pantry. After a day of cleaning, I had no desire to drag my two small children through the grocery store. After last night's indulgent Buffalo Chicken Hoagies, I wanted to keep this dinner on the lighter side as well. All of that self-imposed criteria in mind, this light, flavorful (spicy!) shrimp served over brown rice is what I came up with. I am very happy with the result.

Here is what I used: olive oil, an onion, sweet red pepper, 3 cloves of garlic, onion salt, pepper, a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies, Frank's Red Hot sauce, chicken broth, flat leaf parsley, and of course, shrimp...1 pound. Please pardon the cookbooks in the background, they're on loan from my mom. I'm combing them for new recipes and copying before I head to my hometown for a visit next week.



I heated a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet and sauteed 1 finely chopped onion, 1/2 chopped red pepper, and 3 cloves of minced garlic until tender.



I added 2 tablespoons of hot sauce, a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies, 1/4 cup of chicken broth, about 1/4 cup chopped parsley, some onion salt, and freshly ground pepper to the veggies. Bring it all to a boil and then cover and reduce heat to simmer for 10 minutes.



Throw in a pound of peeled, de-veined shrimp. I used medium-sized shrimp here. Aldi's special $3.99/lb! Cover and cook until shrimp are pink and done. About 5 minutes.



Serve it up over hot, brown rice. I loved this dinner. It's pretty low in calories and fat and just downright good! It did pack quite a bit of heat. Like so much heat that it made my nose run while I was eating. I'm sorry, is that too much information? But I like spicy, so once I settled in to the heat of it, I thoroughly enjoyed my dinner. I used a new brand of canned tomatoes and green chilies, which I also found on sale at Aldi for only $.89. I popped just one of the little diced tomatoes onto my tongue to taste before I dumped in the whole can and I'm pretty sure that it left a burn mark on my tongue. That could be why this dish turned out so very spicy.



Spicy Shrimp

1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 large sweet red pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley or cilantro
2 tablespoons hot sauce (I used Frank's Red Hot)
1/2 teaspoon onion salt
fresh ground pepper, to taste
1 pound raw medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
hot cooked rice

In a large skillet, saute the onion, pepper and garlic in oil until tender.
Stir in the tomatoes and green chilies, broth, parsley, hot sauce, onion salt and
pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes,
stirring occasionally. Stir in shrimp; cook 5-7 minutes longer or until shrimp
turn pink. Serve with rice.