Shrimp Veracruzana

I'm trying to lose a few pounds before our upcoming trip to Germany (which is now just 1 month away - yippee!!!), so I've been searching the internet for low calorie dinner recipes.  I found this one on eatingwell.com, and it looked yummy, so I decided to give it a try.  I thought it turned out really well!  It was light and summery.  I served it with a box of long grain Spanish rice from Rice a Roni.  When the rice and shrimp are divided up into four servings, it's just a 300 calorie dinner!  I thought it made a satisfying meal, although Mike was still a little hungry when he finished, so in the future I may have to come up with another side dish to go along with it.  But all in all, I recommend it.

One note on buying shrimp (and this is kind of my own personal environmental crusade, but I think it's important!): do NOT buy shrimp imported from Asia!!!  This is basically going to be all the cheap shrimp in the supermarket (sorry).  Unless the package specifically identifies a U.S. or Canadian source, it's most likely from South East Asia and should be avoided.  I know the shrimp from the U.S. (or Canada) can be pricey, but I think the better alternative is to watch for sales and make shrimp a special treat, so that you can afford to pay a little more for it.  But the environmental impact of buying the shrimp imported from Asia is serious, and simply not worth saving a few bucks. 

If you want to learn more about the issue, google "environmental impact of shrimp" you'll see all sorts of articles describing how Asian countries are sadly destroying their natural resources in the way they catch shrimp and other seafood.  I think it's important for everyone to be informed about which types of seafood are harvested in environmentally sustainable ways.  A couple of great resources, with searchable databases and lists of environmentally safe alternatives, are the Environmental Defense Fund's Seafood Selector and the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch.

I'll get off my soapbox now and give you the recipe. :)

INGREDIENTS

1 pound peeled and deveined raw from the U.S. or Canada (see why above)
2 medium tomatoes (original recipe calls for 3, but 2 was plenty and I think 3 would make it too juicy)
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 lime, cut into wedges 
1 Tbs Canola Oil (original recipe said 2 tsp, but my calorie count is based on 1 Tbs, which is only a tiny bit more but my frying pan needs it)
* A final note on other omissions: the original recipe called for 1/4 cup green olives, but I thought that sounded weird so I skipped it.  It also called for 1 bay leaf, but I didn't have one so I skipped that too.

DIRECTIONS

1.  Heat oil in a medium sized skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic, onion and jalapeño pepper, and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. 

2.  Add shrimp, cover, and cook until just pink, about 3-4 minutes.

3.  Add tomatoes.  Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook until the tomatoes are almost broken down, about 3 minutes.  Serve with lime wedges.