Saucy Creole Shrimp made with Ultragrain

I've been on a little cooking kick lately.  The goal was to try a few new dishes and step out of my comfort zone.  This has coincided with some particularly big training sessions where I spent a majority of the time when I wasn't focused on intervals, watts or paces, thinking about what I will be eating next or what sounds particularly good!  I am both a fan of Pinterest and a magazine recipe keeping extraordinaire.  Those are two places where I collect ideas for my next assault in the kitchen.

Usually in the off season, I spend some time getting the paper recipes organized into some fashion that will allow me to search for them, for instance, a binder.  However, this particular recipe I was excited enough about to leave out for awhile in hopes of making it within the next few weeks. Those few weeks turned into months and here we are!  It's from Good Housekeeping's February issue and it just looked tasty!  I also was a fan of the 20 minute prep time and total time of 35 minutes to have it on the table ready to rock.  These kind of numbers speak to me in terms of feasibility when I'm getting hangry (hungry-angry as my Mother calls it) and need food sooner rather than later.

 

There wasn't much prep involved which is also nice.  I chopped the celery, green pepper and onion in about five minutes.  I also have used one of those little motorized choppers if I'm feeling particularly rushed and want things to be really small and uniform.

I modified the recipe slightly and didn't include some of the original hot ingredients because I don't love hot/spicy things!  Things I loved included the COLOR with all the bright reds and greens.  I also liked that I could add whole grains via the Ultragrain flour so I used the white whole wheat.

 

I was a bit skeptical of the inclusion of "calm juice" (as well as my ability to actually find it in the grocery store - it's with the other canned fish products FYI), but it was actually pretty good.  Again, I modified the recipe slightly and didn't include as much as the original called for in case I wasn't a fan.  It gave it a nice seafood-y taste though!

I hope you'll enjoy this fun recipe as much as I did!  Let me know if you end up putting it together and how you feel about the inclusion of whole grains to make it even a bit more nutrient dense!

Saucy Creole Shrimp made with Ultragrain

PREP: 20 minutes

TOTAL: 35 minutes

2-3 Sprays Olive Oil

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

1 lg. green pepper, finely chopped

1 med. onion, finely chopped

1 tsp. salt-free Creole seasoning

1/4 c. Ultragrain White Whole Wheat Flour

2-14.5oz diced tomatoes 

4oz. clam juice

1 1/2 lbs. peeled deveined shrimp (16-20 ct.) fresh or frozen

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp. hot sauce

1 1/2 cup rice cooked or quinoa

1. In a 5-qt. sauce pot or skillet, spray olive oil and allow to warm on medium heat.  Add celery, green pepper, onion and creole seasoning.  Cook 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

  

2.  Sprinkle Ultragrain White Whole Wheat flour over vegetables.  Cook two minutes, stirring.  Add tomatoes; cook two minutes and add clam juice.  Simmer on high for 5 minutes.

3.  Add shrimp, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce.  Simmer for 5 more minutes until everything is thoroughly heated and flavors melt together.  Serve over rice or quinoa.

Serves 6: Approximate nutrition: About 380 cals. 21g protein, 51g carbs, 9g fat (5g sat), 2g fiber, 915mg sodium.

Modified from Good Housekeeping's February Issue 2015.  

Disclosure:  Ultragrain was provided for this recipe and I am a Sponsored Athlete for Ultragrain Flours.