Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta

I've been combing thorough my favorite recipe books and websites in search of some new recipes that incorporate more proteins than I'm used to cooking. I've been trying to run more and want to build muscle in my legs faster so I'm trying to up my intake. (And having three brothers that are all super into lifting, strength training and protein shakes is a good motivator!)
This dish was simple to prepare and really unexpected! The garlic panko crumbs make this dish and I will use the panko "soaking" method whenever a recipe calls for bread crumbs or panko again. The feta was just strong enough to make the dish savory and decadent, but was not overpowering.

I would absolutely make this again and think I'll play around with this as an appetizer for dinner parties! Look at that perfectly golden crust!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for baking dish
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup panko
1 1/2 pounds shrimp, 21 - 25 per pound, peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (15-ounce) can fire roasted tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup feta, crumbled
10 fresh basil leaves, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a small saucepan over medium heat add butter and olive oil.  When butter begins to just bubble, remove the pan from the heat and add the garlic.  Let sit for 3 - 5 minutes.  Add the panko and stir to combine.  Set aside.

Brush a 9-inch baking dish with a little olive oil.  Add the shrimp and sprinkle with the salt and pepper.  Top with the tomatoes, then the garlic panko and sprinkle the feta.  Bake for 12 minutes or until the shrimp are just cooked through.  Remove from oven and top with the basil.

I sincerely wish I could take ANY credit at all for this recipe, but it's yet another from my favorite blog.

Peanut Butter Hummus

Before hummus became an "in" snack, we had already been eating it for years! My dad likes more interesting foods and we grew up with delicious, but not yet "in" things like homemade hummus, fresh gazpacho (I still need to get his recipe for this) and liverwurst. (I think I liked that until I knew what it was.)

I had a container of plain yogurt in the fridge from the Oriental Chicken Salad I made last week and always have cans of chick peas and fresh lemons on hand, so I thought I'd try hummus. When I made this "lightened up" dish, it tasted exactly like the one we had growing up. The peanut butter is a really great substitue for tahini (sesame paste). I'd take this over the Sabra brand anyday.

Ingredients:

1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
2 tsp. creamy peanut butter
2 tsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp Kosher salt
Juice of one lemon
1/8 tsp allspice

Directions:

Put everything into a food processor or Magic Bullet and blend until creamy and thick. Adjust spices accordingly.

Oriental Chicken Salad

I was looking for a fresh and healthy lunch that would keep me full for hours. I dug out one of my mom's old Weight Watchers cookbooks (disclaimer: Mom has never been on Weight Watchers! She loved the fresh salsa recipe and my brother gave her the cookbook for Christmas years ago.) and started tagging pages left and right.There are so many fast, healthy and different recipes in this cookbook!(Be prepared for multiple Weight Watchers recipe postings!)

I found an Oriental Chicken salad with red bell peppers and a peanut butter "dressing" that I thought would be good, and I was right. I served this over romaine lettuce, but next time I think I'd try this over a Napa cabbage instead.

It was colorful, refreshing, different, but still felt sort of like a guilty pleasure. This is a good summer picnic food if you can keep it cold long enough. See what you think!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1 T creamy peanut butter (use full fat for the most flavor)
1 T rice wine vinegar
1 t Asian sesame oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded
6 scallions
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 8 oz. can water chestnuts (don't skip this- it really added texture)
handful of Chinese noodles
Salt and pepper to taste
Lettuce (or cabbage)

Directions:

Combine the yogurt, peanut butter, oil, vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, salt and pepper with a food processor or Magic Bullet.

In a separate bowl, combine the red bell pepper, chicken, lettuce (or cabbage- whatever you are using), water chestnuts. When the "dressing" is blended, pour over the veggie mixture and separate into portions.

Dress each portion with scallion and Chinese noodles.