Mardi Gras Topped Potato Pancake

I hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's Day! I know I sure did. My favorite valentine and I celebrated the day by UNPLUGGING THE INTERNET! ::gasp:: I am addicted to the internet- it's a sick and sad truth. If I am home and I'm not reading or cooking you can be sure my laptop is on my lap. It was my idea, I told John we should not use our computers or his Xbox for the whole day. I was seriously doubting my abilities by like 9:00 am... but we pulled through and had a truly lovely day. To celebrate we went out to a wonderful local restaurant that is in a converted church. The atmosphere was perfect for Valentine's Day, the food was really good, but the dessert... oh... the dessert. The dessert was a heart-shaped red velvet cake with a thick white cream in between the layers, covered in a chocolate ganache. Oh god... I'm seriously salivating as I type this!! I haven't had a decadent meal like that in over 2 months! It was worth EVERY.SINGLE.CALORIE.

With that said, I got on the scale this morning and shuddered. I knew I wanted to go lighter on the meals today and decided to go with a lightened up veggie based dinner instead of the heavy pasta I had planned. This dinner seriously came to be based on what I had and I just went with the flow. It was very healthy and light. We both enjoyed it. My one suggestion would be to serve the potato pancake with the topping in a bowl and top each bite before you eat it rather than pouring the topping over the pancake. We both agreed that the potato pancake got mushy which was not so appealing. It was spot on when it was crisp though, but simply serving the two side by side will alleviate that problem. If you are looking for a light, healthy meal do give this a shot! Plus, for only 4 Weight Watchers points you get a HUGE and satisfying dinner.

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:
10 ounces Yukon Gold potatoes, shredded, squeezed dry
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1 8.5 ounce can yellow corn
2 plum tomatoes, diced
1 cup baby spinach, roughly torn
14 medium shrimp, diced
2 tbsp. salsa
Lawry's seasoning salt
Cajun seasoning
Cooking spray

Directions:
1- Spray a non-stick flat pan with cooking spray. Heat over medium heat. Mix the shredded potato and diced onion in a small bowl. Sprinkle with Lawry's seasoning salt and stir.
2- Divide the potato mixture evenly into two potato pancakes. Bring the heat up to medium high and allow the potato mixture to cook, flipping once it is brown and crisp.
3- Meanwhile, heat a non-stick skillet sprayed with cooking spray. Add the red peppers and allow to cook 2-3 minutes. Add the corn and spinach, stirring frequently.
4- Add the diced shrimp to the skillet, stirring frequently, until the shrimp are cooked through- about 3-4 minutes. Add the tomatoes. Sprinkle with Cajun seasoning and add the salsa. Allow the whole mixture to cook about 1-2 minutes.
5- Plate the crispy, hot potato pancakes. Divide the shrimp mixture in half, either serve on the side of the potato pancake to keep the potato crisp or serve it on top.

** 4 points for 1 potato pancake with half the shrimp and vegetable mixture