Shrimp and Okra Gumbo with Creamy Yogurt Grits

This meal was really tasty! Much more so than I even expected - and I have to say, Jordan wasn't too excited about it. But with so many vegetables and since it is a classic southern dish, I really wanted to try this Cooking Light version. We loved it! It also reheated really well (with a little added cream in the grits so they would become smooth again) and we ate this again last night for dinner. Okra is really in season now so I have seen it at the farmer's market downtown, but I actually got this okra from Walmart and it tasted great! This is the first time I have cooked with okra, so I was a little weirded out by the texture - when you slice it, it's actually kind of sticky and it has this stuff - I can't even explain it - that is stretchy and silky coming out of it. So, needless to say, the weirdness cooks out and I thought the okra was great! YAY - another vegetable we both really like! I cut up all the vegetables earlier in the day so we could go for a run and I could make this in under 30 minutes before Jordan had band practice.

Here is the recipe - let me know if you try it!

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups gumbo and 1 1/2 teaspoons parsley)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 10 tablespoon fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 4 ounces smoked ham, chopped (I couldn't find the smoked ham, so I got a 1/2 lb ham steak from Walmart for $2.50 and I'm using the rest in omelets.)
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 2/3 cup diced celery
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 pound fresh okra pods, sliced
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper (I didn't have this so I used crushed and it worked great)
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained (I didn't use the whole can since Jordan hates tomatoes)
• 3/4 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3/4 cup quick cooking grits
• 1 cup fat-free Greek-style yogurt
• 1/2 tsp (kosher) salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Preparation

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour; cook 1 minute or until lightly browned, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add broth; stir with a whisk until thick. Pour into a bowl; set aside. Wipe pan clean with paper towels.

2. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in pan over medium heat. Add onion and ham; cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add bell pepper and next 4 ingredients (through okra); cook 5 minutes or until vegetables are almost tender, stirring occasionally. Add broth mixture, water, and next 6 ingredients (through tomatoes). Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in shrimp; cook 4 minutes or until shrimp are done. Sprinkle with parsley.

For the grits: Bring 2 and a half cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Then gradually whisk in the grits. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 8 minutes or until thick. (It only took me 5 at the most). Stir in the yogurt (I actually didn't have enough so I added a little half-and-half and it seemed to do the trick), salt, and pepper.

On a plate, spread some grits onto a plate and top with gumbo. ENJOY!

Nutritional Information (just for the gumbo - grits add about 150 calories)

Calories:

300

Fat:

10.5g (sat 1.4g,mono 4.4g,poly 2.8g)

Protein:

26.6g

Carbohydrate:

26.5g

Fiber:

7.3g

Cholesterol:

143mg

Iron:

4mg

Sodium:

918mg

Calcium:

162mg

Adeena Sussman, Cooking Light, APRIL 2010

Here is my picture of the veggies cooking - they were soo good!

and THIS, is the picture of the hunk of meat Dan and Jordan smoked this weekend.

I know - it's 9 pounds of meaty goodness. This was smoked for 9 hours, forcing us to have dinner at 9:30pm! It was well worth the wait!

Cheers!