Shrimp Avocado Salsa

Adapted from Skinnytaste Blog

I have been on the hunt for healthy food items, especially for lunch. I usually love to rely on leftovers, but sometimes we eat it all (oops).  I can thank my new obsession, Pinterest, for this recipe idea. I stumbled across it and it just sounded so refreshing and delicious. The main changes I made were that I scaled it down (just wanted a portion for myself), eyeballed everything, left out the jalapeno because I didn't have any, and added avocado (just because it's so yummy and it's healthy)! I highly recommend this recipe, especially during the spring and summer!

Ingredients:
1/2 lb peeled, deveined shrimp (I took tails off)
1 tomato (I actually used about 4 cherry tomatoes), diced
1/4 red onion, diced
handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
1-2 limes (depends on your preference for lime - I love it)
1/2 avocado, chopped into bite sized pieces
salt and pepper to taste
splash of olive oil

Directions:
Toss the shrimp in a bowl with the zest and juice of half a lime, olive oil, and a dash of salt and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet over aluminum foil and bake/roast at 400 degrees for about 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix together the tomatoes, onion, and cilantro. Once the shrimp are out of the oven and cooled, dice and add to the salsa mixture. Add the juice of the other half of lime. Stir together and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving. I did mine overnight. The next morning (this morning), I cut up half an avocado and threw that in along with the juice of another half lime. At lunch time, it was fantastic!

Bacon Wrapped Scallops -- Seafood Extravaganza II

I absolutely love seafood, and thankfully, so does my boyfriend. We cooked up a seafood extravaganza a few months back, so we decided to do the same thing for dinner last night! This go around, I made bacon wrapped scallops, steamed shrimp, and steamed crab legs.  All of these things are very easy because there isn't a lot of prep work, and they don't take very long to cook. I got too excited about the crab legs being ready and forgot to take a picture, but I did manage to get pictures of the rest :)

Bacon Wrapped Scallops
1 pound of scallops (I prefer the larger sea scallops) 
Strips of bacon (cut in half, enough for each scallop)
Lemon Pepper Seasoning
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Toothpicks/kitchen twine/skewers
Lemon wedges

These can be cooked in multiple ways. This go around, I decided to cook them in a skillet. Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel and season each side with the lemon pepper, salt and pepper. Wrap each scallop with a piece of bacon (make sure it fits all around the scallop). Pin the bacon so that it stays in place with either a toothpick, kitchen swine or skewers (I have wooden skewers on hand). If using wooden skewers, make sure you soak them first so they will not burn. Heat the olive oil and saute the scallops a few minutes per side. I try to rotate them so that all 4 sides get cooked. Squeeze a little lemon over scallops and serve.

Steamed Shrimp
1 pound of shrimp (I prefer medium - large)
2 tb Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water
Lemon Wedges

Mix together the water, vinegar, and old bay. Bring to a rapid boil. Dump in the shrimp, cover, and reduce heat. Boil for approximately 3-4 minutes (depending on size of shrimp). The center should be opaque. Serve with lemon wedges and cocktail sauce.

Pesto Salmon with Shrimp and Wilted Spinach

I must give credit to my boyfriend Nick for this idea. This is something he made for me a while back and it was amazing. This go around, I just added some shrimp and spinach!

Salmon:
Season salmon filet with olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat a few minutes per side. Once the salmon is almost done, brush the top side with a generous portion of basil pesto (homemade or store bought). Cook an additional few minutes. I like my salmon medium-well to well done, personally.

Shrimp:
Peeled shrimp works best for this. Saute 1/2 pound shrimp with approximately a few tb of butter, juice of 1 lemon, and 1 clove of garlic. I also seasoned them with some salt and pepper. Once cooked through, top the salmon. In the future, these would also be good tossed in the pesto as well!

Spinach:
Saute spinach with garlic, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Adjust ingredients depending on your taste. The spinach will wilt down tremendously, so start out with a generous portion!