Cilantro-Lime Shrimp Tacos

During my "spring break" Josh got off work early one day, so we decided to go have lunch together. We sat on the patio at Yucatan Taco Stand and split a giant pile of veggie nachos. Josh also got a couple tacos, and I got one for myself as well. I chose the Spicy Tequila Shrimp, and I've been craving shrimp tacos ever since. I decided I just needed to go ahead and throw some together for dinner, and I did just that last night. I took the easy way out and used frozen, pre-cooked shrimp. They thaw so quickly, and now I've got more taco-fillers in the freezer for another dinner soon. I looked for a quick and easy marinade and found this one from, who else, Martha Stewart. I kept things super simple by buying ready-to-go taco toppings and heat-and-eat Goya brand Black Bean Soup. I thawed the shrimp while I made the marinade, and was able to do most of my math homework while they marinated in the fridge. Then it was just a matter of heating the shrimp and black beans, putting our topping choices out on the counter, and we were ready to chow down. I'm definitely going to be doing this again; so quick, easy, and delicious. I know you can barely even see shrimp poking out at the edges, but the taco fillings are so yummy, I piled them on high!

Cilantro-Lime Shrimp Tacos
Adapted from Martha Stewart; Serves 2

1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 jalapeno chile, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
Appx. 30 small shrimp, fresh or frozen, thawed
6 corn tortillas, warmed
Toppings: Shredded cabbage (I used bagged coleslaw mix), pico de gallo, crumbled feta, sour cream, reserved marinade

• Puree oil, lime zest and juice, cilantro, garlic, jalapeno, and salt in a blender or food processor. Combine marinade and shrimp. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 1 hour.
• Head grill or grill pan over medium-high. Grill shrimp until opaque and slightly charred, 3 to 4 minutes per side. (I just heated ours on the grill pan, since they were pre-cooked.)
• Divide shrimp among warmed tortillas, and add toppings of your choice.

My notes: I reserved around 2 tablespoons of the marinade before pouring it over the shrimp. We drizzled it on top of some of our tacos, and I mixed a little into some sour cream for two of mine.

Pure Imagination- Veggie Tacos

Sorry about being gone for a bit there. I'm always doing that, huh? Saying I'm back and then wandering away, no doubt distracted by some shiny object. Well, you see, the deal with last week was there was a lot of schedule shifting going on, and so dinners didn't go exactly as planned. And when things don't go as planned, it usually means that we're falling back on stand-by meals I've already shared, frozen burritos, or grabbing a quick bite out. And I can't exactly snap a pic of my Chipotle burrito bol and be all, "Look y'all, I eated this". So, yeah, that was the deal with last week. Which is a shame, cause I was planning to try a new recipe out. That didn't happen, but I tried to turn that into a bonus last night, and it worked! I decided Sunday morning while doing my menu planning that I needed to get to work using up our corn tortillas. I thought I'd take a stab at making up some veggie tacos, especially since I had an onion and squash on hand for that recipe that I didn't get to make. These turned out really yummy! And, thanks to some early effort, pretty quick too. I normally have a couple heads of lettuce and some other veggies to clean and chop after our grocery shopping, so that I can make our lunch and dinner salads throughout the week. While I was doing just that this weekend I also chopped up some of the veggies for my taco filling, cutting down the pre-eating prep work last night. I also got a little imaginative when it came to putting the tacos together. Originally I was going to make some spicy black beans on the side, but I had the idea to instead mash the beans and spread them on my warmed tortillas. It was one less thing going on the stove, and it helped keep the taco fillings in the tortillas. So, let's see what my little mind cooked up.

Veggie Tacos
Recipe by moi; Makes 8 tacos

Olive oil
1 large russett potato, scrubbed and diced
1/4 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and ribbed, large mince
1 zucchini or yellow squash, quartered and sliced
1 cup sliced mushrooms, roughly chopped
8 corn tortillas
1 15 oz. can black beans, mostly drained
Garlic powder
Ground cumin
Pepper Jack cheese, shredded
Salsa

• Heat olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add diced potatoes and allow to cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to brown and soften. Add salt and pepper.
  
• Meanwhile, mash your black beans in a bowl, adding garlic powder and ground cumin to taste. You want to keep a little liquid with your beans to make a smooth mash.
• Add your bell pepper, onion, jalapeno, and squash to the potatoes. Allow to cook for several minutes, stirring occasionally, and then add the mushrooms. Cook for a few minutes more, until mushrooms have started to soften.
  
• While veggies finish cooking, wrap tortillas in damp paper towels and warm in microwave for 30 seconds - 1 minute. Spread your beans on each tortilla, warm in microwave for 15- 30 seconds if you wants your beans to be warmed.
• Top your tortillas with veggie mixture, cheese, and salsa of your choice.

My notes: Just cook the vegetables until they are softened to your liking. My potatoes were a little undercooked, but it made for a nice texture. And definitely add your mushrooms last, you don't want them to get too soft. They add a nice meaty texture to the filling. We had three tacos each, and there was a little filling leftover. The only other thing we had with these were small side salads, so if you were serving any other side dish I would say two tacos per person is a good serving and just equally distribute your filling. I had two tacos with salsa verde, and one with picante. Both were delicious, so you go where your taste buds take you. I think this filling would also be great with some scrambled eggs. Breakfast tacos anyone?

Portobello and Zucchini Tacos

As I've mentioned before, I've been clearing out some long time residents of my to-cook list in an attempt to find more non-meat meals to work into our dinner rotation. This was one more of those recipes that I kept skipping over. I think my main reason in passing it by was probably my lack of Portobello experience. But when they were on sale at Central Market recently I decided to finally give this recipe a try. This recipe was pretty good. It wasn't fantastic, but I think Josh and I were both comparing these to the also recently tried Black Eyed Pea Tacos which we loved. I'd consider trying this recipe again, maybe with some alterations. It was by no means bad, just not as great as the other taco recipes I've made. But it has gotten me over any Portobello nerves I had!

Portobello and Zucchini Tacos
Recipe from Everyday Foodl Serves 4














5 medium portobello mushrooms, stems and gills removed, sliced 1/2 inch thick
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 medium zucchini, cut into 2-by-1/2-inch sticks
1 medium red onion, halved and sliced 1/4-inch thick
12 (4 1/2-inch) corn tortillas
6 ounces (1 cup) Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/2 cup fresh salsa

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss mushrooms with 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1/4 cup water; season with salt and pepper. On another rimmed baking sheet, toss zucchini and onion with remaining teaspoon oregano and tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper.
• Place both sheets in oven. Roast, tossing occasionally, until vegetables are browned and fork-tender, 25 to 30 minutes (zucchini may cook faster than mushrooms).
• Meanwhile, in a small skillet over medium-high heat, warm tortillas according to package instructions (they should be lightly browned but still soft). Wrap loosely in a clean kitchen towel to keep warm.
• To serve, fill each tortilla with mushrooms, vegetable mixture, shredded cheese, and salsa.

My notes: I halved this recipe to serve just the two of us, but we still had a bit of leftover filling. I also used Pepper Jack cheese, cause I almost always have it in the refrigerator. I found I needed to cook the zucchini longer than the mushrooms, but I may have cut them thicker than I should have. Overall good, I would definitely recommend trying them. They just weren't the top taco filling for us.

Black-Eyed Pea Tacos

Does that sound odd to you? I know that Josh was definitely apprehensive when I told him what we'd be having for dinner the day this recipe was on the agenda. And to be honest I had been a bit skeptical myself. This recipe had been on my to-cook list for about two years, in part because every time it caught my eye I just thought that I wasn't feeling that...experimental. Of course, I probably should have known better because it is after all an Everyday Food recipe. Considering I cook almost exclusively from that branch of Martha's tree, why I was concerned it wouldn't work out I just don't know. But lately I've been more and more furtive in my search for vegetarian recipes to try. My list of recipes to try is increasingly populated with chicken and beef meals, awaiting to be crossed off due to the cut back in our meat purchasing. So, with the vegetarian recipes on the list dwindling each week I finally decided to give this one a go. We are no longer apprehensive. These tacos were really, really good. I mean, Josh told me several times that they were good. That's a big accomplishment for a meal, as half the time I have to ask him if he liked dinner. He assumes that I just know he likes what I make for him, but I like to hear him say it. This time his approval was loud and clear. :)

Black-Eyed Pea Tacos
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4













2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno chile, seeded and ribbed, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 15.5 oz. cans black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 10 oz. package frozen corn
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas, heated
4 ounces soft goat cheese, crumbled shredded lettuce, salsa, and sliced radishes, for garnish (optional)

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and jalapeno; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Add peas, corn, and 2 cups water. Simmer over medium-high heat until corn is tender and most liquid has evaporated, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in cilantro; season again with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
• To serve, fill heated tortillas with black-eyed pea mixture, goat cheese, and garnishes, as desired.

My notes: I halved this recipe to just make enough for the two of us. I served them with fresh salsa and a little feta on top, and cilantro-lime rice on the side.

Fish Tacos

Last week I made fish tacos with some great trout that my father-in-law caught on one of his frequent fishing trips. It's great having such an outdoorsy father-in-law, especially when you reap the rewards of his hard work. To prepare the fish I cut the fillets into small chunks. I used the Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia coating for the trout and then fried them in a small amount of olive oil over medium heat for no more than 2 minutes per side. If your fish chunks were thicker you would need to increase cooking time. I let the fish nuggets drain on a paper towel while I got the rest of the taco fixings ready. I also chopped up a quick and easy pico de gallo- two plum tomatoes, 1/4 medium red onion, appx. a tablespoon of chopped cilantro, juice of half a lime, and a pinch of coarse salt. This is what I did, but really just eyeballing what's going into the ball and making sure that there is a good ratio of flavors will get you a good result. This was the first time I'd made pico de gallo and it was delicious. We had our fish tacos on warmed corn tortillas, with the pico, shredded green cabbage, and some sour cream. Josh added bit of cheese to his tacos as well. I have some more fish in the freezer and I'm thinking I need to make this meal again very soon.

Tacos for me, Tacos for you

Well, last night's dinner didn't happen. I realized I had forgotten an ingredient, and then the more I thought about it the less I felt up to making a mess in the kitchen. So I made a sandwich instead. In thinking of how I would have liked to have something to post today I remembered that I never wrote about the dinner that Steph and I made together a while back. We created quite a feast, but my main contribution was the recipe for the Shrimp & Corn Tacos. This recipe is super yummy, and of course is from my favorite source of inspiration, Martha Stewart.

Shrimp & Corn Tacos
Recipe from Martha Stewart; Serves 4
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, (seeds and ribs removed, for less heat), minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 10 oz. frozen corn kernels, unthawed
1/2 lb. large peeled and deveined shrimp, cut into 1/2" pieces
12 6" corn tortillas, heated according to package instructions
2 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 cup green or red salsa
1/2 cup sour cream
Lime wedges, for serving

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add onion, jalapeño, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Add tomatoes and corn; cook, stirring occasionally, until corn is heated through and tomatoes are soft, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Add shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately with tortillas, cabbage, salsa, sour cream, and lime wedges.

My Notes: I often like to take the easy way out (as you may have noticed by now), so I often will use 1/2 lb. of the small salad shrimp you can buy in the freezer section. They are already the perfect size so it saves me some time. Also, I've yet to be convinced that I need cabbage on my tacos. We typically just toss some cheese and salsa on. In the picture you might notice some guacamole which is also delicious as a topping. We served our tacos with some spicy black beans, lime & cilantro rice and sipped on some sangria with our dinner.