Shrimp Scampi and Roasted Asparagus (5 WW points + 1 WW point)

So I've been away from blogging a while. We went on vacation (4 nights in Puerto Penasco, Mexico, doing NOTHING - well, if you count floating in the lazy river, wading in the ocean, playing Sorry and Uno with Mark and Kae, napping in the afternoon, eating, and warming up in the jacuzzi nothing). When we got back, things were just so hectic: Kaelyn's birthday, then I left for San Franscisco for a marathon. I just kept forgetting to take pictures to blog what I did cook (and I cooked a wonderful birthday meal for Kaelyn - turkey chili, heart shaped biscuits, and a giant flower shaped sugar cookie with ice cream for dessert!). But thanks to Mark, I did not forget to photograph tonight's meal. And, to make up for my lack of posts, I took a lot of pictures tonight!

Monday night football usually means Monday night pizza in our house. However, Mark and Kaelyn went out for pizza after church yesterday, so we thought we'd break from tradition just this once. We bought fresh shrimp while we were in Mexico, and have been anxious to taste test it. So, we gave our first portion a whirl tonight with a shrimp scampi recipe from the Weight Watchers website. I made a few alterations (see note below), but it was delicious. The asparagus was just a creation meant to compliment the shrimp, and it was delicious as well. Enjoy!

Ingredients:



Let the cooking begin!





Ready to put in the oven:





Looks good...





Let's eat!


(so I didn't mention the wine, but what does one do when one has to open a perfectly good bottle of Pinot Noir for the sake of a very important recipe? It goes without saying that one must drink the leftover wine, lest it go to waste...1 serving white wine, 2 WW points)

Shrimp Scampi, 5 points per serving
(from Weight Watchers)
* 1 1/2 tsp olive oil
* 2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
* 1 1/2 tbsp shallot(s), finely chopped
* 1/4 cup(s) white wine, divided
* 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 pound(s) shrimp, jumbo-size, shelled and deveined*
Instructions
* 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 sauté for 5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of wine and 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice; stir, scrapping bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots are translucent, about 5 more minutes; allow to cool.
* In a small bowl, combine shallots, parsley, tarragon, thyme, salt and pepper with softened butter; refrigerate until butter hardens (can be made 1 day ahead).
* Preheat oven to 475°F.
* Using a medium-sized oven-proof casserole dish or skillet, arrange shrimp in a ring, tails up and touching one another for support; place bits of chilled herbed butter around shrimp. Pour remaining wine and lemon juice in bottom of dish. (Or cook in four individual oven-proof dishes as pictured above.)
* Roast in oven until shrimp turns pink and butter starts to sizzle, about 4 to 5 minutes. Yields about 3 jumbo shrimp per serving.

(Note: I altered this a bit. I had 3/4 lbs shrimp that we bought fresh in Mexico last week. So I cut the recipe down - most ingredients in half- and used light butter instead of regular butter. I also just sprayed my pan with olive oil spray and omitted the 1 1/2 tsp of olive oil. This yielded 3 servings at 3 WW points each. I ate one serving, Mark ate 2!)

Roasted Asparagus (1 WW point, serves 2)
* 3/4 pound(s) asparagus
* 1 spray(s) olive oil cooking spray
* 1/3 cup(s) shallot(s)
* 2 tsp lemon zest
Place asparagus in oven safe dish. Spray with olive oil and toss to coat. Season with garlic salt. Sprinkle with lemon zest and shallots. Roast in a 425 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. Inhale, being careful not to burn your tongue.