Avocado Soup with Shrimp and Corn

Fear not dedicated readers! We went on hiatus due to vacation and are still in denial that we are back. The inspiration for tonight’s dinner came from a fabulous dinner I had with my in-laws a few months ago in Wimberly. This soup had my licking the bowl it was so tasty! Lets also not forget its roughly 1000 degrees outside so anything cold is welcome in this head sweater’s house. I also was in need of something out of the ordinary because after a fun vacation – its back to watching our budget and no fun date nights in the near future. So I did a DIY date night – besides I got to wear pajamas on date night and it doesn’t get any better than that! I also created this recipe with various friends in mind – some with toddlers and some with babies on the way – this recipe is great because you can do it in stages and the last stage is super quick so you can take a break for someone needing mommy or if your pregnant swollen feet need a break. I only have to deal with a needy cocker spaniel obnoxiously squeeking every toy in the house to get me to play with her….

 

Ingredience:

Soup –
3 cups of low sodium chicken stock (helps if you have your frozen portions in the freezer already!)
2 avocados – peeled & pitted
2T fresh cilantro
2T fresh lime juice
salt & pepper as needed

Lime Cream-
3/4c reduced fat sour cream
1T chopped fresh cilantro
1t grated lime zest
1/2t ground pepper

Shrimp Mixture –
1 lb. medium shrimp peeled and deveined (I bought what was on sale)
cumin
salt & pepper
adobo seasoning
chipotle seasoning
2 ears of fresh corn – kernels cut off
1/4c finely chopped red onion
2-3 garlic cloves minced
1T lime juice

In a blender, combine all of the “soup” ingredients and blend until smooth. I love the texture of this soup because it is so velvety and smooth! Cover and chill in the refrigerator.

Green Goodness

You’re 1/3 of the way there!

To make the cream, combine all of the ingredients (see how difficult this recipe is?) and cover and chill until you are ready to eat!

For the shrimp:
Mix the shrimp with the adobo, chipotle and cumin to taste (do more than you think you will need – trust me).

Part 3

Add olive oil to a hot pan and sear the shrimp on one side until the pink starts coming through to the other side of the shrimp.

Shrimp a-cookin

Add the garlic, onion and corn and mix well. Sprinkle with the lime juice and saute only until the veggies are just barely done – tender crisp.

almost there!

Plate the soup first (1/2 -3/4 of a cup per person) and add a dollop of the cream and the shrimp mixture on top. Presto! Date night dinner!

Date night magic!

The nutrition of this recipe is fantastic! A 1/2c serving has only 184 calories, 10.5g of fat and 12g of protein! Sweet! As far as the budget goes we did great there too! Total grocery bill was $17.82 and we got 3 servings out of this batch which means each serving cost $5.94. This might seem slightly high but think about how much a fancy date night costs AND the fact that you don’t have to shave your legs – a win win there!

Grilled Shrimp and Grits

Today I had a hankering – grilled shrimp – oh it sounded amazing. One of my favorite things ever is shrimp and grits so it was settled. This is so easy and quick to make and yet so light! We served it with a small green salad and our favorite vinaigrette.

Ingredients:
1 lb medium/large  shrimp
spice rub (2 t Tony’s seasoning, 2 t garlic powder, 1 t ground ginger)
2 c shredded sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 c quick grits
3 c water
1 garlic clove minced

Peel and de-vein the shrimp. Skewer them on metal or water soaked wooden skewers. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle generously with the spice rub on both sides.

seasoned but not yet grill-ified

Place the shrimp on the grill and cook until nice and lightly chard.

post grillification

When the shrimp are almost done put the 3 c of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once the water is at a boil, add the grits and stir constantly until all the water is absorbed. When all of the water has been absorbed, take the pan off the heat and add the cheese and garlic and stir until the cheese is completely melted and incorporated.

mmmm cheese grits

Enjoy!

As for cost – a total bill of $10.29 and the batch made 3 large servings which equals to $3.43 each.  Not too shabby! As far as nutrition we did great! A serving of 7 shrimp and a 1/2 c of cheesy grits equals 271 calories, 5.8g of fat and 28.7 g of protein. See? Southern food can be good and good for you!