Spanish Shrimp

Serves 4; 1 1/4 cups per serving

The aroma of this dish will attract your family to the table. Serve this colorful entrée with rice—perhaps topped with a dollop of fat-free sour cream—so you can enjoy every bit of the sauce. For a Tex-Mex version, cut the vegetables into smaller pieces and wrap the finished mixture in flour tortillas. Again, a little sour cream is a good addition.

• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 medium yellow or white onions, each cut into eighths (Spanish preferred)
• 3 cups frozen red, yellow and green bell pepper strips or 1 medium red bell pepper, 1 medium yellow bell pepper and 1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch strips
• 1 teaspoon bottled chopped garlic or 2 medium cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 pound uncooked peeled and deveined medium shrimp
  (about 20)
• 1/4 cup lime juice (2 to 3 medium limes)
• 1 tablespoon snipped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil and swirl to coat bottom of skillet. Sauté onions, peppers and garlic, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cook for 7 to 8 minutes or until shrimp turns pink, stirring frequently.

Cook’s Tip

Shrimp loses about 25 percent of its weight when peeled and deveined. Then the peeled shrimp loses another one fourth of its original weight when cooked. If you start with 12 ounces of raw shrimp in the shell, you’ll wind up with about 6 ounces of cooked, peeled shrimp.