Party-Size Shrimp and Crab Salsa

Drumroll, please - Lighter Bites is BACK! Thank you for sticking around through the hiatus while we had our kitchen redone! I'm not ready to share the after pictures quite yet ... we're having it painted on Monday, and then we just have to hang our decorations, and THEN I'll share the much-anticipated (okay, maybe not much-anticipated, but I'm excited) after photos.

It is, however, in good enough shape to cook and post recipes again! I'd love for my first recipe after a hiatus to be a Lighter Bites original, but I was making this Skinnytaste-inspired recipe for a BBQ tomorrow, and it's just too good not to share.

See the new countertops?! Eeeeee!

I've made some small tweaks and additions to the Skinnytaste recipe, but I have to give credit where it's due. This Skinnytaste recipe is amazing, and I think my version is pretty good too!

I've doubled everything in quantity because I'm bringing this to a BBQ tomorrow. It's so light and refreshing and perfect for summer!

I use cooked, peeled, frozen shrimp for this (and most shrimp-containing) recipes. It's easy to defrost - just let it sit in really hot water for a few minutes. The tails slide right off, and you can easily cut the shrimp into pieces.

I've also found that defrosting shrimp this way can add a lot of excess water to a recipe, so I've found a solution. I defrost and cut the shrimp first, and while I'm preparing everything else for the recipe, I let the shrimp sit in the colander in my sink to drain any excess water. It doesn't hurt to blot the shrimp with a paper towel, too.

Yep, we have a stainless steel sink now. No big deal.

The rest of the recipe is so easy. Combine all the remaining ingredients in a bowl, season to taste with seasoned salt, salt and pepper, and garlic powder, and mix to combine.

You can serve it right away (I like to serve this with pita chips - Wheat Thins makes an awesome pita chip) or refrigerate until you're ready to serve. Since there's seafood in this, I don't recommend refrigerating for longer than a day.

So that's about it! I'm so excited to be back blogging again and SO excited to share the new kitchen photos! Hope you enjoy this recipe (and don't forget to check out Skinnytaste's original and all her other stuff - she's amazing). 

Until next time!

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs cooked shrimp, peeled and chopped
• 4 celery stalks, chopped
• 3/4 medium-sized red onion, finely chopped
• 2 medium-sized cucumbers, chopped
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 3/4 cup crab meat, chopped (I used imitation)
• 1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp fat-free plain Greek yogurt
• Seasoned salt, to taste (I used Morton)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Garlic powder, to taste

Serving size: 1/8 recipe
Weight Watchers PointsPlus value: 3

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Stir to combine (everything should be evenly coated with mayonnaise and yogurt). Serve immediately with pita chips, or refrigerate up to one day before serving.

Note: This recipe can easily be halved and served to a smaller gathering (4 instead of 8).

Nutritional Information

BBQ Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Ranch Coleslaw

As soon as I posted this coleslaw recipe over the weekend, I started thinking about how yummy it would be on a shrimp taco. So as promised (okay, not "promised" - I just hinted at it), here's a shrimp taco recipe. With the avocado coleslaw. A perfect combination.

This recipe also screams "summer" to me. I made it for lunch on Sunday after my husband and I spent the day outside doing yardwork and assembling our new backyard swing. It was really hot on Sunday and the cool, crispy avocado paired with the sweet BBQ shrimp made for a refreshing lunch. 

By the way, this recipe got the "husband-approved" stamp, which I'm happy about. He's a somewhat picky eater (not too bad) and sometimes I just cook for me and he cooks for him. But he ate these and he liked them, which makes me more excited to post them.

When I cook with shrimp, I like to use cooked frozen shrimp. They're simple to defrost - just let them sit in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes.

Once the shrimp are defrosted (or mostly defrosted), it's time to cook them. I used the Foreman to cook mine, but these can definitely be cooked on a grill as well. We haven't used our grill yet this season, so onto the Foreman they went.

They only need to be on the Foreman for about 3 minutes. Technically, once they're defrosted they're good to eat, but for this recipe grilled/warm shrimp works better. If you're cooking on an outdoor grill, you may want to leave them on a little longer, and then just remove them when they're grilled to your liking.

Once the shrimp are done, put them into a bowl and toss with the BBQ sauce.

While you're doing this, you can warm your tortillas. This isn't necessary, but if you're like me (in the sense that you think a warm wrap is ALWAYS better than a cold one), throw your tortillas on the grill for 30 seconds to a minute to warm them up.

Then, assemble the tacos. Layer slaw, three shrimp, and a sprinkle of ground cayenne. That's it!

Of course, this recipe does require a little advanced prep - you'll need to make the coleslaw as well. But that's super easy too and the whole thing (coleslaw and tacos) can easily be done in less than 30 minutes.

As always, I'd love to know if you have questions, comments, or feedback! Enjoy!

Until next time!

Ingredients

• 9 medium-large frozen cooked shrimp
• 2 tbsp BBQ sauce (I prefer Honey BBQ)
• 3 extra thin corn tortillas
• 1 serving Avocado Ranch Coleslaw (prepare in advance)
• Pinch of ground cayenne pepper

Serving size: 3 tacos (entire recipe)

Weight Watchers PointsPlus value: 9

Instructions

1. Defrost the shrimp by placing them in a bowl or hot water. Once the shrimp are soft enough, remove the tails.
2. Place the shrimp on the Foreman or grill. Cook for approximately 3 minutes, or until grilled to your preference.
3. Transfer the cooked shrimp to a bowl. Add the BBQ sauce and toss until the shrimp are fully coated. If you prefer, warm the tortillas on the grill while you're tossing the shrimp with sauce.
4. Distribute the slaw evenly among the tortillas. Add three shrimp to each taco, then sprinkle with ground cayenne. 

Nutritional Information