Mardi Gras Shrimp Creole

It's Fat Tuesday. But I don't want to be fat.

Thus the never-ending quest to cook healthy and enjoy great flavors.

Enter Shrimp Creole, the perfect way to celebrate Mardi Gras without sucking the heads off of mudbugs or packing on the pounds.

I debated long and hard whether or not to use the olive oil (a healthy fat) and the butter (a not-healthy-by-any-stretch-of-the-imagination fat), and after plugging the recipe into the Recipe Builder on the Weight Watchers website, I decided it was an indulgence I could afford. For those of you counting, each VERY GENEROUS portion of this dish is only 4 points.

Shrimp Creole

1 pound of (31-35 count) medium shrimp, peeled and devined
1 T olive oil
1 T butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1/2 t kosher salt
1/4 t cayenne pepper
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 T all-purpose flour
2 T water
1/2 t Cajun or Creole seasoning (hello, Tony's!) I used waaaayyyy more
Couple of dashes Worcestershire sauce
Couple of dashes of hot sauce, to taste
1 green onion, sliced
1 T fresh parsley
Hot, cooked rice (1/2 cup brown rice adds an additional 3 points)

Peel and devein shrimp, rinsing well. Pat dry and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and butter together over medium heat.

Add the onion, green pepper and celery and saute until tender.

 

Add the tomatoes to the veggie mixture. Add salt, cayenne, garlic and bay leaf and bring mixture to a boil. 

Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 30 minutes, until reduced and thickened.

 

Make a slurry of the flour and water and stir into the tomato mixture. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Sprinkle Coat the shrimp in Creole seasoning and add to the tomato mixture. Add Worcestershire and hot sauce and stir together. Cook for another 5-6 minutes or until the shrimp is opaque and cooked through. Stir in the green onion and parsley. Serve over hot rice.