Feelin' Hot-Hot-Hot

With only two days left until the official start of fall, I couldn’t wait any longer to get my apartment in the autumn spirit! Ryan stepped away from keeping tabs on his fantasy football players for a minute to help me reach the “holiday box,” stuffed to the brim with decorations to get the apartment through the holidays. Within 20 minutes we had a fall-tastic apartment!

Apparently the Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino did more than I thought to get me in the fall spirit! 

Dinner tonight was an easy decision because of this lil’ baby that arrived in the mail yesterday:

This cover of Cooking Light is beautiful. I love all the warm, seasonal colors and the cover image is mouthwatering. After flipping through the magazine pool-side this afternoon, I clipped a recipe for a creole shrimp and sausage stew that looked yummy and easy-peasy.

After adding the recipe to my handy-dandy recipe binder and receiving the approval from Ryan, we began slicing a fresh green pepper and lean turkey sausage to throw into a pot with olive oil and garlic.

The next step was to add a can of tomatoes with green chilis and a can of drained and rinsed kidney beans.  

To complete the stew, we added shrimp and parsley.

The stew was savory, spicy and made my mouth water a bit! I am a sissy with spicy foods but made it through my entire bowl, though my mouth was hot-hot-hot by the end. Ryan and I both agreed this recipe is a keeper!

Here’s the recipe (makes four servings, approximately one cup each):

Ingredients:

2  teaspoons  olive oil

1  cup  chopped green bell pepper

1  cup  thinly sliced turkey smoked sausage (about 6 ounces)

1  teaspoon  bottled minced garlic

3/4  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1  (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained (such as Rotel)

8  ounces  peeled and deveined medium shrimp

1  (15-ounce) can organic kidney beans, rinsed and drained

2  tablespoons  chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add bell pepper, sausage, and garlic to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until bell pepper is tender, stirring occasionally. Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Stir in shrimp and beans; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 6 minutes or until shrimp are done. Sprinkle with parsley.

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 191

Fat: 6g (sat 1.7g,mono 2.7g,poly 1g)

Protein: 21.3g

Carbohydrate: 13.2g

Fiber: 3.5g

Cholesterol: 97mg

Iron: 2.9mg

Sodium: 694mg

Calcium: 127mg