Chilled Avocado Soup with Chipotle Shrimp and Lime Cream

This soup is perfect for summer.  It was filling enough for a main course, but would also be great in smaller portions as a starter for a night of fajitas.  (And it's healthy!)  It has 3 separate components, but the whole thing comes together very quickly, and 2 of the components could be made ahead of time.  If the idea of a chilled soup doesn't scare you off, try this!

Chilled Avocado Soup with Chipotle Shrimp and Lime Cream
slightly adapted from Cooking Light


Lime Cream:

3/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tsp grated lime zest
1/2 tsp ground pepper

-Combine all ingredients and chill.


Soup:

3 cups fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
2 large avocados, peeled and diced
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper

-Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.  Chill.


Chipotle Shrimp:

3/4 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 (7 oz) can chipotle peppers in adobo (you'll only use 1 pepper, plus 1 tsp sauce.)
1 can corn, drained, or 2 ears if using fresh
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion (I skipped this.)
1 garlic glove, minced (I used powder.)
1-2 Tbsp lime juice

-Sprinkle shrimp with cumin, pepper, and salt.  (If using garlic powder instead of garlic, sprinkle it on the shrimp now.)
-Finely dice 1 chipotle pepper.  (If anyone sensitive to heat/spice will be eating this dish, remove the seeds from the pepper.)  Mix the pepper with 1 tsp adobo and the lime juice.
-Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray.  Cook the shrimp 2 minutes on one side, then turn them over and add the corn, onion, and garlic to the skillet.  Saute 2 minutes.
-Add chili/adobo/lime juice mixture to the skillet and saute another 2 minutes.

-To serve:  Ladle soup into bowl, top with a scoop of the shrimp/corn mixture, and a dollop of lime cream.