(33) Creamy Cajun Shrimp Linguine

Oh my heavens, this was good!! This truly took less than 30 minutes to prepare and was so yummy! I have a salt-free creole seasoning blend that I made at some point in the last year (I don't remember when, or why, but it's good!) and I used that. Any salt-free cajun seasoning would work, though. It was adequately spicy, but not on fire. The serving size was very generous and it didn't taste light at all!! My favorite kind of recipe, really!!

My only suggestion is to save a little bit of the pasta water for emergency purposes. I left the pot on a touch too long after adding the half and half and if I had saved the water (which I did not), I could have used a little splash of that in with the cream (or more cream, which defeats the purpose of light!). In any case, it was delish and I will make this again!!

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Creamy Cajun Shrimp Linguine

Source: Cooking Light, September 2006
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

Shrimp and pasta combine with a creamy sauce for a quick and delicious dish. Round out the meal with a Caesar salad.

1 cup water
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
6 ounces uncooked linguine
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
1 large red bell pepper, cut into (1/4-inch-thick) slices
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Combine 1 cup water and broth in a Dutch oven; bring to a boil. Break pasta in half; add to pan. Bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 8 minutes. Add shrimp to pan. Cover and simmer for 3 minutes or until shrimp are done; drain.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and pepper to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until moisture evaporates. Add flour, seasoning, and salt to pan; sauté 30 seconds. Stir in half-and-half; cook 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add pasta mixture and parsley to pan; toss.

CALORIES 365 (27% from fat); FAT 10.9g (sat 5.9g,mono 2.7g,poly 0.8g); IRON 4.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 194mg; CALCIUM 101mg; CARBOHYDRATE 38.1g; SODIUM 685mg; PROTEIN 27.4g; FIBER 2.2g

(29) Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

This was our Superbowl meal - ready to cheer on the Saints to victory!! It was pretty easy to put together, very filling and very tasty. It wasn't spicy enough for my liking, so I added more Tabasco. I will make this again for sure!

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Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 2/3 cups gumbo and 1/2 cup rice)
Source: Cooking Light, JUNE 2007

1/4 cup all-purpose flour (about 1 ounce)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 cups finely chopped yellow onion (1 large)
1 1/2 cups finely chopped green bell pepper (1 large)
1 cup finely chopped celery
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
8 ounces light smoked sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces (such as Healthy Choice brand)
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans no-salt-added organic diced tomatoes
2 (14-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
3 cups hot cooked rice

Place flour in a large Dutch oven over medium heat; cook 20 minutes or until light brown, stirring constantly with a whisk. (If flour browns too fast, remove pan from heat; stir constantly until it cools down.) Remove flour from pan, and set aside.

Add oil to pan. Stir in onion, bell pepper, and celery; cook 10 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring frequently. Stir in garlic; cook 30 seconds. Remove onion mixture from pan; set aside.

Increase heat to medium-high; add chicken and sausage to pan. Cook 4 minutes or until chicken is done; return onion mixture to pan. Remove pan from heat. Sprinkle reserved flour over chicken mixture; stir well. Return pan to medium heat. Drain 1 can tomatoes; stir in 1 can drained tomatoes and 1 can undrained tomatoes. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add broth, Worcestershire, and bay leaves; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaves. Stir in salt, black pepper, and hot sauce. Serve over rice.

CALORIES 419 (20% from fat); FAT 9.2g (sat 2.1g,mono 4.2g,poly 1.1g); IRON 3.5mg; CHOLESTEROL 82mg; CALCIUM 42mg; CARBOHYDRATE 44.2g; SODIUM 888mg; PROTEIN 35.8g; FIBER 3.3g

(12) Jambalaya with Shrimp and Andouille Sausage

Recovery from the stinker of last week! Redemption! This recipe is a definite keeper. 5 stars in my book. It was on the table in under and hour, super filling, and DELICIOUS. It was spicy, but not burn-your-mouth spicy.

For whatever reason, our Publix didn't have andouille so I bought sausage they had labeled as 'cajun'. I took it out of the casing and browned it up in the crumbled form and that worked fine! As always, I did not use the bay leaf *spit*. I failed to use the parsley and it was fine without it.

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Jambalaya with Shrimp and Andouille Sausage

Source: Cooking Light Magazine, April 2005
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

CL Comments: Using both andouille sasuage and juicy pink shrimp, jambalaya is like a spicy surf-and-turf. To save time, buy frozen peeled shrimp and thaw in the refrigerator or under cold, running water.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
6 ounces andouille sausage, sliced
1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 bay leaf
2 cups fat-free, less sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 (14.5 ounce) can no salt added diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, chopped bell pepper, minced garlic, and sausage; saute 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Add rice to the next 7 ingredients (through bay leaf); cook 2 minutes. Add broth, water, tomato paste, hot pepper sauce, and diced tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Add shrimp; cook 5 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Stir in parsley.

Calories: 426, Fat 12.7g, Iron 5.1mg, Cholesterol 117mg, Calcium 99mg, Carbohydrate 52.7g, Sodium 763mg, Protein 25g, Fiber 4.9g