Valentine's dinner

My husband and I made the best dinner on Sunday. And it was weight watcher friendly! Without further adieu, the menu:
Creole Style Stuffed Mushrooms (0 points)
Shrimp Scampi (5 points)
Spinach Parmesan Pesto (o points, plus pasta)

Doesn't that sound delicious? We went shopping on Sunday, when you can't buy alcohol here in GA. Grrrr!! So we had no wine with dinner. That was a bummer, but it did save us some calories, on the bright side. Here are the recipes, in case you would like to try sometime.
Creole Style Stuffed Mushrooms
1 spray olive oil cooking spray
1 lb button mushrooms, about 24 large
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup sweet red pepper, chopped
10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 1/2 slices whole-wheat bread, chopped into bread crumbs
1 tsp Creole seasoning, or Cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp ground turmeric


Preheat oven to 350. Coat pan with cooking spray. Remove mushroom stems from caps and finely chop stems, reserve caps and set aside. Heat oil in large skillet over high heat. Saute mushroom stems, onion, pepper and spinach until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in remaining ingredients.
Stuff each mushroom with 2 tablespoons of mixture. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Serve warm. Yields 2 mushrooms per serving.

Shrimp Scampi

1 1/2 tsp olive oil
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp shallots, finely chopped
1/4 cup wine, divided (we did not use because of our faux pas with the grocery store. instead we used extra water and lemon juice)
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, divided
2 tsp parsley, fresh, minced
1 tsp fresh tarragon, minced
1 tsp thyme, fresh, minced
1/4 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 lbs shrimp, jumbo-sized, shelled and deveined (we bought regular sized, still good!)

Warm a large skillet over a medium-low heat; add oil and heat until shimmering. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Add shallots and saute for 5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons wine and 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice, stir. Cook, stirring occasionally about 5 minutes. Allow to cool.

In small bowl, combine shallot mixture, parsley, tarragon, thyme, salt, and pepper with butter, refrigerate until it hardens. (can be made a day ahead of time)

Preheat oven to 475. In casserole dish arrange shrimp in a ring, tails up and touching one another for support; place bits of chilled herb butter around shrimp. Pour remaining wine and lemon juice in bottom of dish. Roast in oven about 4-5 minutes.

Spinach-Parmesan Pesto


1/2 lb fresh spinach, cooked and drained.

1 cup tomato, chopped

1 cup Basil, fresh

1/2 tsp table salt

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

5 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients in a food processor then pour over pasta. This can also be used as a dip or sauce for chicken. The possibilities are endless!!

All of the recipes were good, but the shrimp scampi we voted was the best! And that was even without the white wine! I hope everyone had a wonderful calorie-friendly Valentine's day! Oh, I also had a milestone on the treadmill that day, literally. I ran 3 miles without stopping. I was really excited, and I think I learned what that "runner's high" really is. :) My inspiration came from watching those cross country skiers in the Olympics. Amazing!

2 Comments

  1. Yum yum! I am going to try that shrimp sometime. Did you get this from a cookbook or a website?

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