Garlic-Jalapeno Shrimp with Cilantro Rice

I'd like to interrupt my boring vacation posts with an actual recipe post! Don't worry, for the 5 of you who care about the vacation, I'll finish it up next week.

I love it when I open my mailbox & new magazines are inside. It doesn't take me long to flip through them & choose the recipes I want to make. The Garlic-Jalapeno Shrimp and Rice with Peas & Cilantro recipes in this month's Martha Stewart caught my attention. I made them last night & they turned out pretty good. I took the liberty of making a few changes, but if you want the original recipe you can dig on Martha's site to find it.

Garlic-Jalapeno Shrimp

Ingredients:

* 1 Jalapeno Pepper, finely diced
* Juice of 1 lime
* 1 lb. shrimp, peeled & deveined
* 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
* 3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
* Salt
* Pepper
* Lime wedges for serving



Directions:

1. Stir together garlic, jalapeno, lime juice & 1 tbsp. EVOO.



2. Add shrimp, season with salt & pepper and toss to coat.



3. Transfer to a Ziploc & put in refrigerator to marinate for 45 minutes.



4. In the meantime, prepare rice (below).

5. When ready to cook the shrimp, heat remaining 2 tbsp. EVOO in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove shrimp from marinade and add to skillet. Cook until done, about 1.5 minutes per side.




Rice with Peas & Cilantro

Ingredients:

* 1 cup cilantro, chopped & stems reserved
* 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1 Garlic Clove, minced
* 1/4 tsp Chili Powder
* Salt
* Pepper
* 1 cup Long Grain Rice (I used Uncle Ben's)
* 1 1/2 cups water
* 1 1/2 cups peas



Directions:

1. Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Cook onion & garlic until tender, 5 - 8 minutes.



2. Add chili powder, season with salt & pepper and cook another minutes.



3. Add rice & stir to coat.



4. Add water, cilantro stems and bring to a boil.



5. Reduce head to low, cover and gently simmer until water is absorbed, 15 - 20 minutes. Note: You may have to add water or adjust the time. Refer to the instructions on your rice package.

6. When done, remove from heat and add peas. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. (I don't have a photo of this step because I didn't do it. I don't care for peas, so I left them out).

7. Fish out the cilantro stems, season with salt & pepper and stir in chopped cilantro.




To Serve: Scoop rice onto a plate, add shrimp & sprinkle generously with lime juice.




My Tid-Bits:

* You can use a variety of different types of rice. Just be sure to adjust your water & cook time appropriately.

* In my opinion, the rice was a bit bland (perhaps it was because I left out the peas). Next time I will add even more cilantro & stir in some lime juice.

* Martha says to tie your cilantro stems together with kitchen twine, but let's be honest...who has that just laying around? Not me. I just tossed the stems in & fished them out later. It wasn't hard.

* This meal is relatively low in calories. I made 30 medium shrimp and called 15 shrimp 1 serving. Each serving of shrimp has 222 calories. The rice makes about 4 serving with 270 calories each.