Shrimp Salad

A friend of mine who is a personal trainer introduced me to http://www.skinnytaste.com/ and so far I have loved all the recipes I have tried from her blog. She even has a gluten free section, which makes it nice for people like me.

I found this tasty little appetizer and tried it a few weeks ago. I had to share since it really was so tasty. You can have it in a sandwich too, if you want.

As appetizer: Servings: 30 • Serving Size: 1 piece • Points: 0 pts
Calories: 15.7 • Fat: 0.4 g • Protein: 2.5 g • Carb: 0.5 g • Fiber: 0.1 g

As Lunch: Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 1/4 lb salad plus 1/4 cucumber • Points: 2 pts
Calories: 117.5 • Fat: 2.8 g • Protein: 18.8 g • Carb: 3.7 g • Fiber: 1.0 g


3/4 lb cooked shrimp, peeled (weight after peeled)
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 tbsp red onion, chopped
2 tbsp light mayonnaise (I used Hellmann's)
1 tbsp fat free Greek yogurt
Goya Adobo
salt and fresh ground pepper
30 thin slices cucumber (about 1 large)
chopped chives for garnish
Combine shrimp, celery, onion, mayonnaise, yogurt, and season to taste with adobo and pepper. Arrange cucumbers on a platter, season with salt and top each slice with a heaping tablespoon of shrimp salad. Top with chopped chives for garnish.

Grilled Portobellos with Avocado Salsa

I decided to try this the other day when I wasn't feeling super hungry but wanted something with a lot of flavor. It is great either as an appetizer or just a mid-afternoon snack!

The recipe is from Yahoo Shine

ingredients

• 4, 6-to 8-ounce fresh portobello mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 medium avocado, seeded, peeled, and chopped
• 6 cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 4 green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup crumbled, crisp-cooked bacon (about 4 slices)
• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro

directions

1. Cut off mushroom stems even with caps; discard stems. Lightly rinse mushroom caps. Gently pat dry with paper towels. Combine vinegars, olive oil, and red pepper in a bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup vinegar mixture for salsa.
2. Grill mushroom caps directly over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender, turning and brushing once with the remaining vinegar mixture halfway through grilling.
3. For salsa, combine the reserved vinegar mixture, the avocado, tomato quarters, green onion, crumbled bacon, and cilantro in a medium bowl.
4. Slice the mushrooms about 1/2 inch thick. Spoon the salsa over mushroom slices. Makes 8 servings.

Salmorejo- Spanish appetizer

If any of you have ever heard of Gazpacho, a cold tomato soup, Salmorejo (pronounced Sal-mo-ray-hoe) is a similar dish that is a bit thicker. I learned how to make this when I was in Spain and crave it all the time!

Ingredients:

3-4 very ripe, very red tomatoes
1 clove of garlic
1 tbsp spoon vinegar
4 tbsp of virgin olive oil
Salt to taste (sea salt is best)
2 hard boiled eggs
3-4 slices of Serrano ham or Prosciutto ham for garnishing
1 loaf of day old/ stale French bread –It should be very dry (but not moldy)
1 fresh loaf of French bread or Bruschetta to dip in the Salmorejo once it is finished

Preparation:

Slice your French bread up and peel or cut off the crust using a large, serrated knife.Chop the tomatoes up and put them in the blender with the oil, vinegar, garlic and a little salt.
Blend this all together and then start to add the stale bread bit by bit. The mixture will very quickly become thicker and as you add the bread it will take longer for it to mix through. I tend to hold back one tomato so that when the last bit of bread doesn't mix through I can add the tomato to loosen things up. When no more bread will mix through, the Salmorejo is ready. You may not need to add all the bread or you may need a bit more.

Pour the Salmorejo into a bowl and chill it in the fridge.

Lay strips of ham on a cookie sheet covered with foil and bake until crispy. Cool the ham and chop it up.Just before serving garnish with chopped up egg white and Serrano or Prosciutto ham.Serve in individual bowls for a first course to a meal or in a larger bowl surrounded by bread for a party appetizer.

Buen provecho!
(Enjoy)

Apple Dip

You can't go wrong when serving my mom's famous apple dip at a party or as an appetizer. It's fast, easy & oh so tasty (let's just say a fight typically breaks out when deciding who gets to lick the beaters).
Ingredients
-1 (8 oz) block cream cheese (I use lowfat)
-3/4 c br sugar
-1/4 c sugar
-1 tsp vanilla

Preparation: Let the cream cheese sit at room temperature for 15-30 min before blending with other ingredients using a hand mixer. It's delicious with tart apples & really any kind of fruit.