Lemon Garlic Shrimp and Cucumber Salad

I found this recipe HERE while I was searching for HCG Diet recipes. I also found THIS recipe that made me think of adding the cucumber and making a salad. (I haven't tasted that recipe, but it looks good too.) The Lemon Garlic Shrimp and Cucumber Salad is so yummy I plan to enjoy it for years to come. I hope you like it as much as I do!

Serving Size: 1

Ingredients:

• 1 Cucumber, julienned
• Small - medium shrimp, 15 - 20
• Coconut Oil, 2 Tbs
• Garlic, 2 cloves
• Ground Red Pepper, a dash or two
• Minced (dried) onion, a few shakes
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 lemon, zested
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Cilantro (chopped) to taste
• Green Onion (chopped) to taste 

Directions:

1. If shrimp is frozen, defrost it.
2. Julienne your cucumber. Toss your cucumber in a bowl with some sea salt, pepper, and dried minced onion, cilantro and green onion. (You could also add a little bit of lemon juice.) Set aside to "marinate."
3. Heat coconut oil in a skillet.
4. Add garlic (I use my garlic press) and ground red pepper, and a few shakes of the dried minced onion.
5. When the garlic and onion begin to brown, add the shrimp to your skillet. Cook the shrimp until golden, then flip those little buggers over and brown on the opposite side.
6. Now add your lemon zest and lemon juice. Let cook for a two or three minutes.
7. Optional: Salt and pepper to taste.
8. Put the warm shrimp over those flavorful cucumbers. Pour the rich "sauce" from the pan over your shrimp and cucumbers for an tasty dressing.
9. Toss and ENJOY!

**UPDATE - July 22, 2012: 

I found THIS way too cook shrimp.  I used all the same ingredients in the above recipe, but cooked it this way: 

1. Prehead oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with sides with foil.
2. Drizzle coconut oil on lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle the dry ingredients on top of the oil.  Lay SLICED lemons on top of the seasoning.  Lay the shrimp on top of everything.  
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Flip shrimp and cook for another 5 minutes, until light golden brown.

Lemon Ricotta Pie

I found this recipe HERE. I couldn't pin it in Pinterest so I decided to put it on this blog so I can use it later.

This is a low-carb, low-calorie version of a lemon ricotta Italian Easter pie. This is a crustless "pie", but is very similar in flavor and texture (minus the crust). Whole milk ricotta is preferred for this recipe. Part-skim can be used, but the pie comes out grainier and more crumbly.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 lb whole milk ricotta cheese (a 15-oz container works fine)
• 3 eggs
• Juice and grated zest of one medium lemon
• Sugar substitute to equal 2/3 cup of sugar - liquid preferred (see link below)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Dash of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Separate the eggs, and beat the whites until soft peaks form.

2. Combine the egg yolks and the rest of the ingredients. Taste to see if it's lemony enough, as some lemons are "dryer" and have less juice (average is about 3 tablespoons of juice for a medium lemon). You can add half a teaspoon of lemon extract, or more lemon juice to taste.

3. Fold egg whites into the mixture and spread in a well-buttered pie pan.

Bake until barely set in the middle (a toothpick will come out clean or almost so) about 25 minutes. Chill completely before serving; about 90 minutes.

Serve plain, or with a berry topping such as this strawberry topping or this berry syrup. Sugar-Free Lemon Curd also makes a good topping.

Nutritional Information: Each of 8 servings has 2 grams effective carbohydrate plus 8 grams protein, and 123 calories.