Shrimp and Veggie Kabobs

Ingredients:
2 green peppers
1 white onion
1 lb. shrimp
8 oz. (1 package) baby bella mushrooms
1 bottle caribbean jerk dressing

Instructions:
1.  Slice onions and peppers to be approximately 1" x 1".
2.  Marinate shrimp, onions, mushrooms, and peppers in any caribbean jerk dressing (approximately 1-2 hours)
3.  For about 1 hour, soak wooden skewers in water
4.  Thread veggies and shrimp onto the skewers, grill and eat!

NOTE: you can use whatever veggies and/or meat you would like.

Steak with Carmelized Onions and Bleu Cheese

Ingredients:
2 fillets (we do approximately 8 oz. of meat per person)
1 can Stubbs beef marinade
Bleu cheese crumbles
1 white or yellow onion

Instructions:
1.  Put the fillets in tupperware or a pan along with Stubbs marinade (fill with marinade until bottom is coated put to 1 cm, but make sure to coat the top with marinade as well).  Marinate at least 1 hour and flip halfway through.  The longer you marinate, the spicier your steak will be.

2.  Chop the onion into strips.  Put in pan and coat with oil or butter.

3.  Cook the steaks on the grill to desired doneness.

4.  Cook the onion on medium-high heat until the onions start to brown and then carmelize, about 15 minutes.

5.  When steaks are done, top with onions and bleu cheese.  You can dip the steak in the leftover, UNUSED marinate (not the stuff that your raw meat sat in) in order to get a little more kick.  Serve and enjoy!

Sea Scallops with Chile-Lime Sauce

Ingredients:
1 lb. sea scallops (serves 2)
2 limes
2 tbsp. butter (1 for the sauce and one for the pan)
1 1/2 tbsp. Asian sweet chili sauce
1 tbsp. Sriracha sauce (hot chili-garlic sauce)
1 tbsp. minced green onion
Salt and pepper

Instructions:
1. With the medium side of a cheese grater, grate lime peels to make enough shaving to fill 2 teaspoons.  Cut one lime into wedges and reserve.

2.  Mix 1 tbsp. butter (softened), green onion, sweet chili sauce, and Sriracha sauce and lime peel in small bowl.  Set aside. NOTE: the original recipe does not call for Sriracha sauce, but someone who had used the recipe previously noted that it was too sweet, so we added some.  You can either add more or even take out this sauce based on whether you like your food spicy or sweet.  We were definitely glad we added this, but we're suckers for spicy food.

3.  Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper.  Melt other tablespoon of butter in pan and heat on medium-high.  Once the pan heats up, add scallops and cook until opaque in the center (the time here will vary depending on the size of your scallops, but we did about 5 minutes each side).

4.  Put a large dollop of sauce on each plate and swirl to cover the plate.  Add more as needed.  Set the scallops on top of the sauce.  Squeeze lime juice from lime wedges over each plate and serve.

A quick note about presentation:  We put the sauce on the bottom of the plate and are glad we did.  Scallops are so good just on their own, and the sauce should just be used for dipping or else it becomes overwhelming.

Enjoy!

Adapted from: Bon Appetit Test Kitchen

Spicy Shrimp and Bok Choy Stir Fry

A couple of weeks ago I unsuccessfully attempted to follow the South Beach Diet Phase I for two weeks. I was mainly unsuccessful because the recipes that Steve and I tried for dinner were less than stellar.  And, well, lets face it, I love me some carbs. :)  However, we tried this recipe and have decided to make it a "go-to".  Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 scallions
2 minced garlic cloves (I buy the pre-minced stuff from the store and use a teaspoon.  You can never have too much garlic) :)

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 lbs. bok choy
2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce- aka Sriracha

Instructions


1.  Chop the bok choy crosswise.  Thinly slice the scallions and separate the white and green parts.

2.  In a large bowl, combine the shrimp, scallion whites (but keep the greens!) and garlic.

3.  In a wok or pan, heat vegetable oil on medium-high heat.  Add shrimp mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until shrimp turn pink and are cooked through.  Transfer to a large (clean) bowl.

4.  Add bok choy, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly tender.  Drain any liquid from the skillet and add the bok choy to the bowl with the shrimp.

5.  Add soy sauce and chili-garlic sauce to the pan, stir and bring to a boil.  Add shrimp mixture and toss until coated.  You only need to cook the shrimp again until they are reheated.

6.  Stir in scallion greens and serve warm and over rice if desired (but then its not South Beach Friendly).

Attributed to: South Beach Diet iphone app (yes, really)