Shrimp and Rice Bowl

This dish is the perfect mix of seafood, roasted veggies and full of flavor. Instead of going out and buying a rice bowl with all of your favorite toppings, why not try and make them at home? They are super easy, and the oven does most of the work!

Ingredients:

1 lb. shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails detached
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. Spanish paprika
Lime juice
Cilantro
Prepared rice (I used Uncle Ben's brown rice)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the onion, bell pepper, shrimp, oil and spices. Toss everything together well. Spray a baking sheet with no cooking spray. Spread the shrimp and peppers out onto the prepared pan. Cook for about 8 minutes, turning over halfway through.

Place the rice at the bottom of your serving dish. Top with the shrimp mixture and add fresh cilantro and a few drops of lime juice.

Thai Basil Shrimp Lettuce Cups with Coconut Basil Rice

Ingredients:

1/4 c. lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
1/4 c. veggie oil
3 Tbs. Thai Red Curry paste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined

Whisk the lime juice, veggie oil, curry paste and garlic together. Add the shrimp, stir together and marinade for at least half an hour in the refrigerator. Meanwhile, put the rice together.

Rice ingredients:

1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk, light
2 (.25 oz) containers fresh basil, chopped
1/2 Jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 tsp. salt
4 green onions, thinly sliced, separated
2 Tbs. salted butter
3/4 c. brown rice
1/2 c. basmati rice
1/2 c. chopped roasted peanuts
Butter Lettuce Cups

Puree the coconut milk, 3/4 of the fresh basil, jalapeno and salt in a food processor and set aside. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the  white part of the green onions and cook for approximately 2 minutes. Add the rice, 1/2 c. water, the coconut basil puree and bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to stir. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook for approximately 15 more minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. Remove from the heat and keep covered.

Meanwhile, heat a grill pan to medium heat and spray with non stick cooking spray. Skewer the shrimp and place on the grill pan. Cook the shrimp for about two minutes, and flip to cook the other side for two more minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork.

Remove the shrimp from the skewers. To assemble the lettuce cups, add a few of the cooked shrimp. Top with chopped fresh basil, peanuts and the greens of the green onion. Serve with a cup of the coconut basil rice, and lime wedges.

Balsamic Sirloin with Cilantro-Lime Rice

The sweet balsamic steak pairs well with the sour lime and cilantro rice and sweet sauteed red onions. This recipe makes two very filling portions that combines many fresh flavors into one amazing dish!

Rice Ingredients:

3/4 c. basmati rice
1 c. water
1-2 tsp. cilantro, chopped
zest of 1/2 lime
1/2 lime, juiced
salt and pepper to taste

In a small saucepan, heat 1 cup water on high heat until a rapid boil forms. Add the basmati rice and a pinch of salt, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. To the rice, add the chopped cilantro, lime juice and zest, and season with salt and pepper.

Onion Ingredients:

1 small red onion, sliced
1 tsp. evoo
salt and pepper

In a small pan, heat the oil to medium heat. Add the onions and season with salt and pepper. Saute for 3-5 minutes until the red onion is soft but still holds it's shape.

Steak Ingredients:

12 oz. sirloin steak
2 Tbs. balsamic
1 tsp. evoo
salt and pepper

In a shallow dish, combine the balsamic and extra virgin olive oil. Season the steak on both sides and place the steak in the balsamic on each side for 10 minutes. Heat a large pan over medium high heat and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil. Add the steak when the pan gets hot and cook on each side for 4-7 minutes. Set to rest for five minutes before slicing.

To assemble the dish, heap a large portion of rice onto two serving dishes. Divide the onions in half and place in the middle on top of the rice. Cut the steak into thin slices, and fan out on top of the onions. Finish the dish with fresh cilantro and a lime wedge!

Baked Spicy Honey Shrimp

I'm not a huge fan of shrimp when it is cold, and used to hate shrimp altogether, but now I absolutely love it when warm or grilled. This is an amazing and light recipe for a sweet and spicy baked shrimp. The random ingredients that help make up the sauce will blow your mind when you taste them together. This is one of my new favorite shrimp recipes!

Ingredients:

1 lb. cooked shrimp, froze, thawed, peeled and deveined with tails off
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1/8 c. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbs. honey
1 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. Blackened seasoning (I used Paula Dean)
Chives (garnish)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a medium size bowl, combine the lemon juice, oil, honey, soy sauce and blackened seasoning together with a whisk. Pour in the shrimp (make sure no excess water is left) and coat. Pour the shrimp and sauce into a quiche pan (or baking dish) and lay out in a flat layer. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

I served these on top of white Minute Rice, with about 2 Tbs. of soy sauce and 10 sprays of spray butter added into the rice after it cooks. Pour the extra sauce that bakes with the shrimp on top and it is an amazing combination.

(Makes 4 servings, 5 WW points per serving)

Corn and Rice Casserole

Ingredients:

1 bag frozen corn, thawed according to directions (I used flav-r-pac gold and white sweet corn)
1 can Campbell's cream of celery, condensed 98% fat free
1 Tbs. butter, melted
1 1/2 c. cooked white rice (I used 1 container of leftover takeout white rice)
1 c. Kraft reduced shredded cheddar cheese blend

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the corn, rice, condensed soup and melted butter in a mixing bowl. Spray a casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Pour the casserole into the dish and smooth out the top for an even layer. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Sprinkle the top with cheese and continue to bake for 10 more minutes until the cheese is golden and melted. Let cool slightly before serving.

(This casserole makes 8 servings, 4 WW points per serving.)

Easy Crock-Pot Enchilada Chicken

 Ingredients:

1 1/2 - 2 c. Enchilada sauce (I used one from William Sonoma)
1 1/2 c. chopped green pepper
1 pkg. chicken thighs, boneless, skinless

Place the chicken in the bottom of your crock-pot, and pour the sauce on top (do not add the green pepper yet). Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Remove the chicken and shred with two forks, place back into the crock pot, add the green pepper and stir everything together. Cook for an additional 15 minutes.

I served the chicken on top of a mixture of brown rice, cubed Colby-Jack cheese, and a TON of cilantro. It was a perfect combination that took care of the dairy and a grain. We also added a side of chopped broccoli.

This recipe is also good with noodles, and a small amount of white cheddar cheese grated on top.

Spinach and Feta Casserole

Ingredients:

3 c. brown rice, cooked
2 (8 oz.) pkg. frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 eggs
1/2 c. milk, 1%
1/4 c. sliced green onions
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 c. crumbled feta cheese
3/4 c. Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 tsp. pepper (fresh cracked)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 2-3 quart casserole dish with non stick cooking spray. Combine the above ingredients together, minus 1/4 c. of the Parmesan cheese. Spread evenly into the casserole dish and bake for 35 minutes covered. After 35 minutes, remove the cover (or tinfoil) and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Bake 10-12 minutes more until the cheese is melted.

(Makes 10-12 servings, if 10 servings, 4 WW points each)

Red Pepper and Corn Couscous with Cilantro

Ingredients:

1 c. frozen corn
1 medium sized chopped red pepper
1 1/2 c. reduced-sodium chicken stock
1 c. couscous
Fresh chopped Cilantro

In a small saucepan, bring the corn, red pepper and chicken stock to a boil. Add the couscous, stir and remove from heat. Cover and let stand for five minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork before serving. Gently stir in fresh cilantro, and use for garnish.

(Makes 8 servings, 2-3 WW points each, depending on the type of couscous you use.)

Pork and Mango Sushi

Ingredients:

1 pouch Uncle Ben's Ready Whole Grain Medley, Brown and Wild Rice, cooked according to package
2 Tbs. soy sauce
2 Tbs. honey
2 tsp. Rice vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 lb. pork tenderloin, thinly sliced into 1/4 inch thick strips
1 Tbs. sesame oil
6 sheets Nori, each cut in half to make 12 rectangles
1 mango, peeled and thinly sliced
Cilantro

In a small bowl, whisk the soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, garlic and ground ginger together. Set aside. In a large skillet heat the sesame oil on medium heat. Add the sliced pork and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and add the meat to the bowl of soy sauce mixture. Place a Nori sheet shiny side down. Add about 3 Tbs. of rice on one end of the sheet, about an inch away from the edge. Place two slices of pork, a slice of mango, and a few pieces of cilantro on top. Fold over the sheet on top of the filling and tuck underneath. Start to tightly roll upward until the Nori is seam side down. Repeat for the remaining sheets. ( Makes 12 rolls, 3 WW points per roll.)

Soy-sage Rice

Ingredients:
2 c. cooked white rice
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. smoked turkey sausage, diced
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tbs. soy sauce

In the center of the pot that you cooked the rice in, make a hole in the middle of the rice. Heat pan to medium heat and drop the eggs in the center. Ass the bottom of the eggs starts to cook, start slowly stirring it into the rice until fully incorporated. Continue to cook and stir for about 3 minutes until the egg is mostly cooked. Add the sausage and soy sauce and continue to cook and stir for another 2 minutes. Add the melted cheese and stir into the rice (it will melt pretty quickly). It is definitely a strange take on fried rice, but the gooey and melted cheese and soft rice combination melts in your mouth. If your looking to try out a different kind of comfort food, this is your dish!

Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

My husband never usually has a lot of positive things to say about the cooking from his mom growing up, but there was one thing that she cooked that he said he loved, so I tried to re-create it for him. He loves stuffed cabbage casserole, and I was never a huge fan of cabbage so this recipe was either going to fail miserably or pass with flying colors. To my surprise, not only did it turn out great and taste delicious, but he said it was better than his moms growing up. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 Tbs. olive oil, divided
1 lb. ground beef
2 small onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried Thyme
1 Tbs. smoked Paprika
salt and pepper
1 head cabbage, chopped
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 15 oz. can tomato juice
2 c. cooked white rice
1 1/2 c. shredded white cheddar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 13x9 pan with non stick cooking spray and set aside. Heat large pan on medium heat and add the ground beef. Cook the beef until slightly browned, drain, and set aside. In the same pan, add 1 Tbs. olive oil and onion, and cook over medium heat, about 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic, Thyme, Paprika, salt and pepper and cook 2 minutes more. Add tomato juice, diced tomatoes and ground beef. Cook 5-7 minutes longer until the sauce starts to thicken. In another large pan on medium-high heat, add the olive oil and cabbage. Cook approximately 5 minutes until the cabbage is halfway cooked, and season with salt and pepper. When the meat mixture is done, add the rice and stir to combine. Spread the cabbage on the bottom of the pan evenly. Top with the meat mixture. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with the white cheddar, and bake for 20 more minutes.

Pepper Cheddar Rice

Ingredients:
2 c. instant rice
2 c. water
1/8 c. chicken stock
McCormick Mesquite seasoning
1/2 c. cheddar cheese
1/2 c. diced green pepper

Boil 2 cups of water in a saucepan. When boiling, add the rice, chicken stock, green pepper and mesquite seasoning. Cover with a lid and take off of heat. Wait approximately 5 minutes, then stir. Add the cheese into the hot rice, and stir until well combined.

Chicken Broccoli Fried Rice

 I am still without appliances living in my new house, so I have been cooking a lot at my sisters (across the street from me) and trying to come up with ways to use leftovers from the weekend meals we have been cooking. This dish is made up of leftover components from making Teriyaki chicken and a side of white rice mixed with wild rice.

                                                         (Photo by KPC Photography)
Ingredients:
1 head of broccoli, cooked and drained, and chopped into bite size pieces
3 c. leftover cooked white rice (with 1 can of wild rice added)
1 leftover chicken breast, cut into cubes
2 eggs
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 c. soy sauce, give or take

Spray a large skillet with non stick cooking spray, and set at medium heat. Add the rice to the skillet and make a well in the center. Add the eggs to the middle of the well. Let the eggs cook for a few seconds, and then start stirring it into the rice. Keep moving the rice around so that the egg cooks and sticks to the rice. Add your chicken and broccoli to the rice and keep stirring.  Add your soy sauce and incorporate into the rice. Add your shredded cheddar and turn the heat off. Stir until the cheddar is melted. The ingredients sound odd, but it was very tasty!

Hoisin Chicken Wings with Ginger Rice and Soy Daikon

Ingredients:

For the Daikon: 

1 c. Daikon, Cut in about 1 1/2 inch long pieces and 1/2 inch thick

2 Tbs. Soy Sauce

1 Tbs. Hoisin

1/2 squeezed lemon

Cook in a small saucepan until the daikon is slightly soft, but still has a crunch to it. 

For the Wings:

Place 8 frozen chicken wings on a baking sheet with tinfoil and bake according to the directions on the package.

For the Wing Sauce:

1/4 c. peanut butter

3 Tbs. Soy Sauce

2 Tbs. Hoisin

1/2 squeezed lemon

Whisk together in a small saucepan on medium high heat. When the mixture just starts to bubble, turn the heat off. When the wings are done baking, add the wings to the sauce in the saucepan to coat. 

Daikon mixture under the wings:

1/2 c. chopped daikon

1/8 c. finely chopped fresh ginger

2 tsp. soy sauce

Cook for 5 minutes in a skillet over medium low heat. 

Ginger Rice:

1 c. instant rice

1 c. water

1 large chunk of ginger

1/2 tsp. soy sauce

Boil the water. When it starts to boil, add the rice and remove from the heat. Stir till the rice is all mixed with the water. Add the chunk of ginger and the soy sauce. Put lid on and let steam for about 2 minutes. Take the lid off, remove the ginger, cut the ginger into small pieces, add back into the rice and stir. 

Feel free to assemble the plate however you wish. I layered the rice, then the small diced daikon, then topped it with my chicken wings. I plated the larger daikon on the side. 

Taco Rolls

Ingredients:

Knorr Taco Rice, prepared as directed

8 oz. Queso Fresco cheese, sliced into rectangles

4 slices Prosciutto, ripped up and pan fried like bacon

2 tubes of crescent rolls

1 c. Salsa

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Unroll the crescent rolls and divide into the perforated triangles. Place a piece of cheese on the wide end of the crescent roll. Top with 1 heaping tablespoon of the taco rice. Add a few pieces of the prosciutto. With the wide end, bring the sides up and press down onto the skinny part of the triangle. Roll forward and make sure the seams are closed so the cheese doesn't melt out. Repeat for the other crescent triangles. Place on a baking sheet lined with tinfoil and sprayed with non stick cooking spray. Make sure they are at least 1 1/2 inch apart. Spray the top of them with the baking spray so that they turn a golden brown color. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Let cool and serve with salsa. I stirred some of the crumbled prosciutto into the salsa also. 

Wild Orange Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
1/4 container of concentrated orange juice (thawed)
2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
1/2 zucchini, skin peeled
1/2 cucumber, skin peeled
3/4 c. cooked wild rice
1/2 green pepper, sliced thin
Salt and pepper

Add the orange juice concentrate to a saucepan and cook on medium-low heat until the concentrate becomes a thin sauce (about 5 minutes). Set aside to cool. Take a potato peeler and use that to cut the zucchini and cucumber into thin strips in a medium size bowl. Add the shredded chicken, wild rice, and green pepper and stir together. Add salt and pepper to the concentrate and pour over the salad. Toss to coat.

This salad was a great way to use up items in the refrigerator! I served it on a few Romaine hearts.

Fried Swiss Rice

Ingredients:

1 c. Minute white rice

1 c. water

1 egg

1 slice Swiss cheese, chopped into pieces

2 green onions, chopped

3 tsp. Soy sauce

2 slices oven roasted turkey, sliced into small pieces

Using the rice and water, follow directions on the box and cook the rice. When the rice is done, put back on the burner on medium-low heat. Make a well in the center of the rice. Add the egg to the well and break the yolk. As the egg starts to cook, add the Soy sauce and stir both into the rice. Make sure you keep stirring otherwise the rice will stick to the bottom of the pan from the egg. Add the chopped green onion, turkey and Swiss cheese. When all of the ingredients are combined, remove from heat and immediately pour into a bowl. 

The ingredients are a little out there, but this is a quick and easy dish and a very delicious yet very odd spin on fried rice. You can really put any meat, cheese or vegetable with this dish also, so be creative!