Gazpacho & Roasted Shrimp

My favorite summer dinner! Even though I started teaching today, I am clinging on to summer however I can. In this case, my dinner menus. Gazpacho is one of my favorite meals, and I have tried so many kinds. This recipe is the best. The most wonderful part of it all?? - It's the South Beach Diet Recipe! With only 127 calories per serving, it doesn't get better, easier, or more filling than this. At home we serve it with roasted shrimp (the recipe follows), however I did not make the shrimp tonight.

Enjoy this guilt-free delicious dinner! It is so simple to make- even after the first day of school :)

Gazpacho

(The recipe listed is the South Beach recipe, the asterisks note the changes I made based on what I had in my fridge)

Ingredients:
-2.5 cups V8 Tomato Juice (I use Hot & Spicy)
-1 cup chopped tomatoes
-1/2 cup chopped celery
-1/2 cup chopped green pepper
-1/2 cup chopped green onion   *I used 1/2 chopped white onion, and I think the original way was better.
-1/2 cup chopped cucumber
-1 large garlic clove, minced
-3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
-2 tablespoons Olive Oil
-1/2 tablespoon Worchestire Sauce
-2 teaspoons chopped flat leaf parsley  * I had cilantro in the fridge, and again, parsley is the better fit.
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon pepper

1. Pour V8 into a big bowl.
2. Roughly chop tomatoes. (I used one and a half tomatoes on the vine.) Add to food processor (or blender) and chop until desired thickness. *I like it to be a little chunky. Add to bowl with V8.
3. Roughly chop celery, green pepper, onion, cucumber, garlic. Add to food processor and chop until desired thickness. Add to bowl with tomatoes and V8.
4. Measure out vinegar, olive oil, worchestire and add to bowl.
5. Chop parsley (or cilantro) and add to bowl. Add salt and pepper. Mix soup.

Note: the longer the soup sits, the more the flavors meld together. This makes a big bowl of soup... so lunch is already packed for my roommate Katherine and I!

Roasted Shrimp

Ingredients:
-Frozen shrimp (6-8 per person), thawed  *Thawing tip: place shrimp in a colander, and run cool water over them and toss. Do this every now and then for about 20 minutes and they will be thawed. :)
-Olive Oil
-Salt
-Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place thawed shrimp on a cookie sheet. Pour about 2 tablespoons of olive oil on the shrimp. Sprinkle (generously) with salt and pepper. Using your hands, work the oil, S&P to make sure all of the shrimp is covered. Spread back into a single layer.
3. Cook shrimp in the oven for 7 minutes (or until all shrimp are pink).

Serve the shrimp alongside the gazpacho, or with your favorite cocktail sauce!