Jalapeño Shrimp Cakes

These shrimp cakes are light and delicious, made with jalapenos, scallions, and cilantro then topped with a little fresh lime juice and a few slices of avocado. Serve this over a bed of greens for a quick, light summer meal.

It's really starting to feel like summer around here, temperatures are expected to hit 90 today. I can actually smell summer in the air, which gets me sooo excited!! After a long weekend of going to BBQ's and too many glasses of sangria, this week I am keeping it low carb and light. I love shrimp, it's naturally lean and cooks in minutes, which makes it perfect for a quick weeknight meal.

I've attempted shrimp cakes in the past, but always had issues with them holding together well so this time I decided to pulse the raw shrimp in the food processor and that worked out perfect. I left some of the seeds from the jalapeno to give it a little heat but you can leave them out if you don't like spicy food. My plan was to grill them, but the patties were a bit delicate and I decided to saute them on the pan instead which worked out perfect. Topped with fresh lime juice and a few thin slices of avocado on top, this was flavorful and light.

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Grilled Thai Sweet and Spicy Shrimp Pizza

Move over hot dogs, this sweet and spicy shrimp grilled pizza made with my Bangin' Good Shrimp recipe is so good!

I've had my eye on Archer Farms thin crust pizza crust for a while and thought it would be perfect to make on the grill, so when Target's A Bullseye View asked me to create a guest post for their blog, I knew exactly what I wanted to make.

Being part of the Target Inner Circle I get to attend some really fun events. A few weeks ago Target set up a life sized dollhouse in the middle of Grand Central Station decorated with their Threshold home collection, how COOL is that??!

It was incredible to see this giant dollhouse in the middle of one of the busiest places in NYC!

My favorite part was their outdoor area, especially their ottomans and tables. When I went to Target to pick up all the ingredients for this pizza, I found this adorable bistro table on sale for $199 and picked up some Threshold lanterns, pillows and ottomans... LOVE!!

These ottomans make the backyard feel like an extended part of my home. But more about the pizza, for 8 servings it's just under 300, or 8 weight watchers points plus each. If you want to try this yummy pizza recipe, head on over to A Bullseye View for the full recipe.

Servings: 8 • Size: 1/4 pizza • Old Points: 6 pts • Weight Watcher Points+: 8 pt
Calories: 293 • Fat: 9 g • Carb: 30 g • Fiber: 1 g • Protein: 21 g • Sugar: 2 g
Sodium: 388 mg • Cholest: 96 mg

Red White and Blue Fruit Skewers with Cheesecake Yogurt Dip

If you need a quick last minute dessert that doesn't require much work, it doesn't get easier than this! These fresh strawberry, blueberry and angel food cake skewers are perfect for Memorial Day.

I'm not sure what it is about putting fruit on sticks that makes them so appealing, but my youngest daughter's eyes lit up when she couldn't wait to eat them.

I wanted a cheesecake flavored dip so I played around with yogurt, cream cheese, vanilla and sugar, and it was exactly was I was looking for. The strawberries tasted wonderful with this dip, a keeper!

This will feed a large crowd, you can assemble it in the morning, and refrigerate until ready to eat.

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Grilled Harrisa Lamb Chops

I love the Mediterranean flavors of these grilled lamb loin chops marinated with fresh lemon juice, garlic, cumin and harissa.

We LOVE lamb chops in my house; I probably make them twice a month but I wanted to try something different and use up my jar of Mina Harissa so I thought it would be fantastic marinated over these lamb chops (and I was right). I served this with a simple salad and made my skinny tzaziki to go along with it put you can also serve this with pilaf on the side for a quick light Mediterranean inspired meal.

If you don't like lamb I'm sure this would be a great marinade on a lean steak such as flank.

Calculating loin lamb chops are a little tricky because they only provide you the nutrition for the meat, and since these are on the bone, I cut a few chops off the bone to see what the meat weighed and found the bone weighed about 1 oz, so I subtracted 8 oz from the total weight since I'm not eating the bone. My chops weren't very large and sizes will vary so you may want to weigh yours to be accurate.

If you don't have a grill or grill pan, you can also cook them in a skillet or under the broiler. Enjoy!

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Roasted Red Pepper and Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken Breast

Chicken breast stuffed with melted cheese, roasted red peppers, prosciutto and baby spinach. Words cannot describe how good this is, and it's really not complicated to make.

I just returned from a four day weekend to Disney in Orlando with my family. It was both work and play, and it was really nice to get away for a few days to spend some quality time with my youngest daughter Madison and my husband Tommy. We stayed at the Grand Floridian which was beautiful and had so much fun in the parks. On our return seeing the devastation that just took place in Oklahoma deeply saddens me and once again reminds me just how fragile life can be – my prayers and thoughts are with Oklahoma today.

Just a quick note on the chicken; I couldn't eat two pieces after I photographed this. One piece with a side salad was plenty for me, but my husband who has a bigger appetite found two pieces the perfect amount. For the side salad I just tossed romaine lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes with a little olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper.

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Superfood Triple Berry Chia Pudding

 

I LOVE chia pudding! And what can be easier than throwing a few chia seeds into a mason jar with some fresh fruit and almond milk and giving it a good shake! Side note: please excuse the manicure.

If you've never tried chia pudding, I highly recommend picking up some chia seeds and Blue Diamond Almond Breeze almond milk and give it a try. Chia is a super food; an excellent source of omega fatty acids, has more antioxidants than blueberries and it's full of minerals, calcium, protein, vitamins and fiber. Plus it is low in calories and is incredibly satiating.

Some of you may have tried my Mango Coconut Chia Pudding which is always a favorite of mine, but I wanted to try something with all the berries I bought this week and used fresh blueberries, raspberries and blackberries... delicious!

All I do is combine the chia seeds with milk (my favorite milk to use when making chia pudding is Almond Breeze Unsweetened Almond-Coconut Milk) then add fruit and a little liquid stevia or whatever sweetener you like, then shake it all up, let it sit 15 minutes and give it another good shake and keep it in the refrigerator overnight. Karina, my oldest loves this! Madison, my youngest wanted to help me style the shot, perhaps I have an assistant in training...

Isn't she such a ham : )

This is so healthy you can even eat this for breakfast, which is what I did this morning. Did I mention this fits into so many dietary restrictions; gluten-free, dairy-free, low sodium, low sugar, low calorie, vegetarian, vegan... enjoy!! By the way the lovely spoon is by For Such A Time Designs.


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Orange and Arugula Salad with Red Onion and Gorgonzola

Something about Spring and the warmer weather that puts me in such a GREAT mood. It also makes me crave more salads, and this simple salad is a favorite of mine, I make this all the time for myself.

I love the combination of the sweet, juicy oranges mixed with the peppery arugula and the pungent taste of the creamy Gorgonzola cheese, they work together harmoniously. My husband doesn't agree; he is not a fan of Gorgonzola at all so I usually make this for myself for lunch. If you want to make this for two or four, just multiply the ingredients. If you're like my husband and don't care for Gorgonzola, you could use goat cheese or feta instead.

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