Shrimp Cakes with Cajun Mayo

My family lived on the Gulf coast for several years when I was a kid, and my dad caught shrimp for a living, but I completely missed out on all the great shrimp recipes the Gulf area is famous for. Why? Because I was a picky little kid! I wasn't quite as bad as my own daughter is, but I still regret all the amazing dishes I avoided. My daughter does like shrimp, but she still wouldn't touch this recipe with a 10-foot pole because of all the "yucky" vegetables in it, but the hubs and I thought they made it fresh and fabulous, even though I used frozen shrimp instead of the incredible fresh catch I passed up as a kid.

Shrimp Cakes with Cajun Mayo

Prep time: 20 min  Cook time: 20 min
Serves 4

6 tsp olive oil, divided
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and chopped
1 cup fresh whole-wheat breadcrumbs
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 Tbs lemon juice, divided
2 tsp Cajun seasoning, divided
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup low fat mayonnaise

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large heavy skillet, such as cast iron, or a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery and bell pepper and cook, stirring, until soft, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool for 10 minutes.

Add shrimp, breadcrumbs, egg, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning and salt to the bowl. Thoroughly combine, then form into 8 cakes, 3 inches wide and about 1/2 inch thick.

Wipe out the pan, add another 2 teaspoons oil and heat over medium heat. Add 4 shrimp cakes and cook, turning once, until the shrimp are just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and the remaining 4 cakes, reducing the heat as necessary to prevent overbrowning.

Meanwhile, combine mayonnaise and the remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning in a small bowl. Serve the mayonnaise with the shrimp cakes.

384 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

Pistachio Fluff Salad

I try really hard to make my menus seasonally appropriate, I really do, but sometimes you just have to satisfy a craving, regardless of what time of year it is!  In the summer, when you can actually get fresh, local fruit, I try to make all my favorite fresh fruit dishes and save the canned fruit for the dead of winter, but when I saw this recipe on Pinterest I knew I couldn't wait till winter.  This brings back great memories of my childhood when a can of fruit cocktail made a recipe seem gourmet and all the best salads had marshmallows in them.

Pistachio Fluff Salad
Total time: 5 minutes
Serves 10

1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple (drain and reserve juice)
1 (3 oz) pkg instant pistachio pudding mix
1 (12 oz) container Cool Whip, thawed
2 large bananas, sliced
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 (15 oz) can fruit cocktail, drained
1 (11 oz) can mandarin oranges, drained

Place Cool Whip in a large mixing bowl.  Add instant pudding mix and stir gently to combine. Add drained pineapple, marshmallows, drained fruit cocktail, and drained mandarin oranges.

Slice bananas and swirl in reserved pineapple juice to prevent browning. Add to bowl and mix everything completely. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. (If you refrigerate your cans of fruit beforehand, this can be served immediately.)

251 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list! 

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

I have to admit, this recipe is TEDIOUS. Usually I scoff at any recipe that takes more than a half an hour and has more than a handful of ingredients. Call me lazy, call me a busy working mom, or just call me practical, but that's the way I roll. At first glance, this recipe seems pretty easy, and I'm sure that's why I tried it in the first place. Just cut up some fruit, sprinkle on some seasonings, and serve!  Sounds pretty simple, but when you look a little closer, you'll notice that this calls for all the ingredients to be finely chopped. This is a salsa, so the chunks have to be small enough to balance a bunch of them on a thin little chip. About half way through the recipe I wanted to chuck it all in the blender and call it a smoothie! However, once I finished this and gave it a taste, it was all worth it.

This has the perfect balance of fruit, sweet, and spice. And the cinnamon chips? TO DIE FOR. You might as well make a double batch of those because you will find yourself wanting to dip them in everything. Actually, you might as well make a double batch of the salsa, too, because you're gonna have a half a cantaloupe and honeydew left over if you only make one batch. Be careful with the cayenne, though. I usually half the amount it calls for and it's still plenty spicy to me.

You can also feel free to substitute other fruits if you want, just make sure you dice them super fine. Here's a tip I figured out after making this a couple times: watch a really absorbing movie while you do all that dicing and you'll be done before you can say hand cramp!

Fruit Salsa

Prep time 30 min
Serves 16

1 cup finely chopped cantaloupe
1 cup finely chopped honeydew
1 cup finely chopped peeled mango
1/2 cup chopped cucumber
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet red pepper
1 green onion, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Chill until serving. Serve with cinnamon tortilla chips.

Cinnamon Tortilla Chips
Prep time: 10 min  Bake time: 10 min
Serves 16

16 small flour tortillas
1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbs cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F.  Combine cinnamon and sugar in a shaker or a small bowl.  Brush one side of each tortilla with melted butter then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  Cut into wedges or strips and spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Bake for 8-12 minutes or till golden brown.

178 calories per serving (salsa and chips.)  Click her for more nutritional info and shopping list! 

Strawberry Cupcakes

Don't you just love that one glorious month of the year when you can get real strawberries, grown on this side of the continent, that actually taste as good as they look? I buy strawberries all year long, but when May rolls around I go just a little crazy with the berry buying. I can't help it if my local farm only sells them in 5 pound buckets!

Since they go bad so darn fast, I'm always hustling to find ways to use 'em before I lose 'em. My hubby would be happy to have nothing but strawberry shortcake, but I get tired of that. Now cupcakes, those I never get tired of!

This recipe is great for those about-to-turn berries that are a little bruised and funky-looking but not yet ready to dump. This would probably be okay for off-season, sour berries too, since there's plenty of sugar to compensate. 

These cupcakes are a little more dense than a normal cupcake, sort of more like a muffin, because of the fresh fruit puree in them.  My friend's husband Mike ingeniously dubbed them "muffcakes" and, although he claimed he took out the patent on that word, I thought it was too good not to share!

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream

Prep time: 30 min  Bake time: 18 min 

makes 18 cupcakes

3/4 cup cake flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup strawberries, pureed (divided)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake pan with 12 paper liners.

In medium bowl combine flours, baking powder and salt.

In bowl of electric mixer beat butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy. Add 1 egg and beat until combined.

Combine milk, vanilla and 1/3 cup strawberry puree in small bowl.
 
Gradually add flour mixture and strawberry mixture alternately into butter mixture, scraping down bowl after each addition.

In a small bowl beat 2 egg whites on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into cupcake batter.

Spoon batter evenly into prepared pans about 2/3 full. Bake for 16-18 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Allow to cool on wire racks. Frost with strawberry buttercream.

Strawberry Buttercream:
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups confectioners' sugar
3 Tbsp strawberry puree
1/2 tsp strawberry extract

In bowl of electric mixer, beat butter until creamy. Gradually add confectioners' sugar and continue to mix. Add strawberry puree and strawberry extract and mix well.

Transfer icing to piping bag fitted with French decorating tip and swirl onto cupcakes.