Sweet & Spicy Shrimp Tacos

I asked a friend of mine what her favorite menu item at Chili's is and she said "the Spicy Grilled Shrimp Tacos." I've never tried them - but knew I had to try them and soon. I wasn't disappointed! They are seriously so delicious.

Then, of course, I was on a mission to re-create them at home. Once again, I was not disappointed - these were fan-tastic!! I looked over a few recipes for shrimp tacos and ended up with what I think is the perfect marinade for the shrimp. I already have a favorite Lime Cilantro Coleslaw - so I was half way there:)

Sweet & Spicy Shrimp Tacos
Avocados, sliced
Lime and Cilantro Coleslaw

For the Marinade
3 Tbsp light brown sugar
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 c olive oil
24 raw shrimp (31-40)*

Peel and devein shrimp. Preheat the grill.

Mix all the dry ingredients together for the marinade. Put shrimp in a gallon size ziploc bag, add the dry ingredients and the olive oil. Make sure that each piece of shrimp is covered in the marinade. Marinate for 15-20 minutes.

Put the shrimp on skewers. We put aluminum foil on the grill and cook it that way. Grill shrimp for about 2-3 minutes per side flipping only once.

Assemble the tacos!! Shrimp, coleslaw, sliced avocados, tortilla. Try not to eat all of it yourself - or do - they are seriously that good.

*31-40 refers to the size of shrimp I used. There are 31 to 40 shrimp per pound. Whether you buy frozen raw shrimp in a bag or frozen or raw shrimp from the seafood counter, this is the way they are categorized.

This Week

I'm trying to get back to meal planning - this time of year is so crazy busy - counting the days until school is out!!! Not doing specific meals for specific days - just have all the ingredients on hand and a list of what to make so I don't spend all day thinking about "what's for dinner"

Lots of new recipes!! It's getting really warm here so I don't want to spend time over a hot stove - or with the oven on! I'll add the links and then post my variation (if any) and pictures after I make them!!

Crunchy Cashew Thai Quinoa Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing

Spicy Hawaiian Burgers
Use this recipe for the patty HERE add fresh pineapple grilled and pepper jack cheese

Spicy Shrimp Tacos using this recipe for the shrimp HERE and this Lime and Cilantro Coleslaw

Grilled Chicken and Creamy Cheesy Potatoes (dying here!)

Avocado and Black Bean Wraps

Southwest Chicken Salad

There you go!! When I meal plan, I try to use the same ingredients a few different ways (avocado, chicken) with staples I always have in my pantry (tortillas, quinoa, potatoes)

I'll post pictures and full recipes soon!!

Hot Mexican Corn Dip

Oh yeah babe. This is a good. Addicting. Disappears at parties before you've snuck another scoop in at parties good. This dip is eaten by the people who are unabashed in their desire to snack at parties (I'm usually included in that group - only I try to pretend I'm civil and use a plate and wander around while I'm eating it so people don't realize that I'm the one who ate all the dip:)

Hot Mexican Corn Dip

Cooking spray or butter, to grease

1 1/2 lbs frozen corn

7 oz chopped green chiles, drained

2 c Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

1 c Pepper Jack cheese, shredded (set aside)

1 c grated or sahved Parmesan

1 c mayonnaise

1 small can diced jalapenos

Corn chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9- 13- by 2-inch casserole dish.

In a medium bowl, mix the corn, chiles, jalapenos, Monterey Jack, Parmesan and mayonnaise until fully combined. Spread half the mixture in the prepared casserole dish sprinkle with Pepper Jack cheese and top with remaining corn mixture. Bake, uncovered, until bubbly around the edges, 30 to 40 minutes. Serve the dip warm from the oven with corn chips.

***I’ve also made this more child friendly by eliminating the jalapenos and using more Monterey Jack instead of Pepper Jack between the two layers.

Apple Bacon Coleslaw

I saw this recipe HERE - but changed it just a bit.

Apple Bacon Coleslaw

1/4 c cider vinegar

1 c mayonnaise

1/3 c honey

1/4 c orange juice

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 medium cabbage, shredded
5 or 6 carrots, shredded

1 lb bacon fried crispy then broken up into small pieces

1 bunch green onions, thinly slice

3 apples, peeled, cored and shredded (I used gala)
juice from 1/2 fresh lemon

Mix the first 5 ingredients together for the dressing. I suggest you shred the apples last and quickly squeeze the lemon juice over the shredded apple - to preserve the color of the apples. I also set aside some of the bacon crumbles to add just before serving.

Mix everything in a large bowl and let sit in the fridge over night. This is always better if you let it sit for a day or so.

As you can imagine just by looking at the ingredients - it's fairly sweet. Make sure you taste it before serving - mine needed a little extra salt to balance the sweetness.

South of the Border Sandwiches

I used to make these all the time - but haven't for a while and when I took the first bite I felt like kicking myself for not making these more! They are so delicious. I got the recipe from the Lion House Entertaining cookbook.

As usual, I had to make some changes bc of the ingredients I had on hand. The recipe calls for French bread and I agree - you should stick with French bread -  it really is worth it. I didn't have it, so I used some mini ciabatta rolls I had on hand. They were delicious, but the tops are a bit rounded, so we had a teeter totter situation with a couple of them:) These were the perfect mini sliders for a group - though, best they are family or good friends bc these sandwiches, while worth every single devily delicious bite - are quite messy.

South of the Border Sandwiches - Lion House Entertaining 

1 loaf French bread, cut into 3/4" thick slices
½ cup olives, chopped*
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 c mayonnaise
1/3 c sour cream
1/3 cup green onions, chopped
1 lb sliced turkey
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 ripe avocados, sliced
¾ c cheddar cheese, shredded
¾ c pepper jack or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine olives, chili powder, cumin, and salt; set aside 2 Tablespoons of this mixture. Add the mayonnaise, sour cream, and green onions to the remaining olive mixture. Place bread on an ungreased baking sheet and spread 1 Tablespoon of the mayonnaise mixture on each slice. Top with slices of turkey and tomatoes. Spread with another Tablespoon of mayonnaise mixture. Top with avocados (I usually mash my avocado in sandwiches - sliced avocado tends to slide around on me:) and cheeses. Sprinkle with the reserved 2 Tablespoons of olive mixture. Bake @ 350 for 15 min. Makes 8-10 full sized servings - I had 18 of these little sliders.

*I made this again but on a regular sized ciabatta roll - as a panini - delish! But - I had to eat it with a knife and fork to keep from getting completely messy...

Not Your Mama's Macaroni Salad

Macaroni Salad. Used to make me shutter. My mom never made macaroni salad - but for every BBQ we went to and for every time I saw it in the deli at the grocery store, it always looked the same and smelled horrible - so no thanks for me!

BUT - I came across this recipe HERE and tweaked it a little to suit my family's tastebuds...

Not Your Mama's Macaroni Salad

1 lb pkg. pasta (my kids love to choose different shapes so we went with wheels today)
1 1/2 c mayonnaise
2 T mustard
1/4 c sour cream
2 T apple cider vinegar
2 T sugar
1 c ham steak, cut into small cubes
1 c cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
1/2 - 1 c frozen peas
3 green onions, diced (some for garnish)
2-4 carrots, shredded
1- 2 T Seasoned Salt
Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine mayonnaise, mustard, sour cream, apple cider vinegar, sugar and seasoned salt. Set in refrigerator until needed.

Prepare pasta according to package directions. After pasta is cooked, drain and rinse in cold water.  Once macaroni has cooled down, drain well. When I make cold pasta salads, I generally leave the pasta in the colander and set on a towel in the fridge until needed.

Do all your mis en place while the dressing is getting nice and cold and the water is coming up to boil.

Now we're ready to put everything together! In a large bowl toss pasta with ham, cheese, peas, green onion and carrots. Fold in mayonnaise mixture until pasta is well coated.

I let it sit in the fridge for about an hour before we ate - but as everything - it's always better the next day!! I think next time I'll make it, I'll shred some onion into the dressing instead of using green onions, and I'll make it the night before or at least the morning of. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Original posts suggests: If the salad seems a little dry after setting up overnight, add some milk a little bit at a time until salad becomes nice and creamy again.

Jalapeño Popper Dip

I have to admit that I haven't made this yet! I came across it a couple of weeks ago and copied it into my word docs with every intention of making it - but I haven't yet!! One of those pesky things I need to get off my plate (haha punny). As soon as I do - I'll post a picture and let you know if it really is as fabulous as it sounds.

Jalapeño Popper Dip

6-8 slices of bacon, diced and cooked crispy

2 8-oz packages of cream cheese, soft

1 cup of mayonnaise

4-6 jalapeno's, chopped and deseeded. The seeds will make it fiery hot.

1 cup of cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/4 cup diced green onion

Topping:

1 cup of crushed crackers ( I used Ritz)

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 stick of butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine all of the ingredients into a medium bowl. Stir well.

Transfer to an oven proof dish. The size of the dish depends on how thick the dip is. The thicker the dip the longer it may need to warm up. I used this stoneware dish that is round and measures 12 inches across. My dip is usually about an inch thick.

Combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle all over the top of the dip.

Bake the dip for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly.

California Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Do you know that it is NATIONAL GRILLED CHEESE MONTH?? Oh yeah baby.

Yesterday, the 12th was National Grilled Cheese Day. So I made these delicious little munchers:

California Grilled Cheese Sandwich
4 slices of your fav bread (my fav is Orowheat Whole Grains Oatnut)
Parmesan cheese (the canned kind - not fresh)
2 T butter
Cheddar cheese, sliced
Swiss cheese, sliced
1 Beef Steak tomatoes, sliced thin
1/2 lb Bacon, fried crispy
1 Avocado, depitted, scooped out and mashed up

Mix the parmesan (to your liking) with 2 T softened butter. Spread the butter on one side of each of the 4 slices.

Layer: cheddar cheese, bacon, tomato, swiss cheese on one side. Season avocado with salt and pepper (you're seasoning for the entire sandwich here) then spread the avocado out on the 2nd half of the bread. Lay the avocado piece on top of everything else. Cook over medium heat for a couple minutes on each side to your desired crispiness.

Quinoa Vegetable Salad

Are you afraid of QUINOA?? I have to admit I was. I was very resistant to trying it - who wants to eat something that looks like that? Ew. Plus, it's supposed to be really good for you. Double ew. Not that I'm against eating healthy - I actually strive to serve my family healthy, well rounded meals every night - but I'm not a freak about it - and I'm certainly not going to serve something that doesn't taste delicious - and we all know that sometimes "healthy food" means it's flavorless and well... ew.

The other thing I didn't like about quinoa was that all the recipes I've read say that you have to rinse it and even though that isn't a big deal - I just didn't want to have to fuss with it. Then, I found "C&F brand Premium organic quinoa" at Costco - it has been rinsed and is ready to go - I just put it in my rice cooker and voila!

BUT - I am here to tell you that I actually LOVE QUINOA!! Yes, it's true. The trick is to pair it with things you love AND a delicious, tried and true dressing.

I planned to have the left overs for lunch the next day - all that protein!! But, there weren't any leftovers:)

Quinoa Vegetable Salad
1 cup quinoa - prepared per package directions
Cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
Orange bell pepper, diced
15 oz can of garbonzo beans (chick peas)
Green onion, diced
1 c corn
Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate until ready to eat. I generally make the quinoa ahead of time so it can cool down and then go into the fridge with the rest of the components for a nice cold, light salad.

*I LOVE Watts Brothers organic super sweet white corn, in the freezer section. It's so good my kids eat it frozen or run under some water for a minute to thaw for a snack all the time.

Garden Spinach Herb Tortilla Chips

I made these for St. Patrick's Day with and my trusty shamrock cookie cutter. I served them with fresh salsa. They were the first things to go - and I have to mention that the majority of them were eaten by my husband and his friend.

Because I cut them into shapes - I had lots of scraps left over - which I saved, because I don't like to waste things - but I didn't know what I was going to do with them. A few days later I was worried that they were going to go bad, so i put them on a sheet pan and made little chips with the scraps as well.

I have to tell you - they were gone in the first day. My kids LOVED them - even my 14 month old loves them! They couldn't be easier to make - and a healthier version than traditional tortilla chips! My kids ate them with salsa, sour cream, pink sauce (salsa + sour cream mixed together), guacamole and also loved them plain.

The Garden wraps just happen to be my favorite flavor, but I've also seen Sun Dried Tomato Basil, Jalapeno Cheddar, Multi Grain, Zesty Garlic Herb (ooh don't those sound wonderful!) So go crazy!!

Garden Spinach Herb Tortilla Chips
Mission brand Garden Spinach Herb Wraps
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt

Cut or tear the wrap into chip sized pieces. Drizzle a sheet pan lightly with olive oil. Place the tortilla bits on the sheet pan, then turn them over so both sides get a little of the good stuff. Sprinkle with kosher salt and bake at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes depending on preference. Enjoy!!  

Chicken and Cream Cheese Taquitos

My son saw the chicken mixture in a bowl on the counter and said "what in the world is for dinner?" "Trust me buddy" as we sat down to eat - he gave me his usual list of questions (what is in it - how did you cook it, etc.) with my assurance that is he didn't like it - he didn't have to eat it (which is how I get my kids to eat everything) he took a bite and exclaimed "Holy man that is good!" Chances are if my picky eater loved it - your picky eater may too.

I saw this recipe on Pinterest with a link HERE - I just tweaked the recipe to suit my family. 

Chicken and Cream Cheese Taquitos

3 cups cooked shredded chicken (rotisserie is the best but you could used canned too)

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 c sour cream

1/2 c salsa

3 green onions, diced

1 1/2 c cheddar cheese, shredded*

Salt and pepper, to taste

9 - 10 (6-inch) flour tortillas

Vegetable or canola oil, for frying

In a large bowl mix together the chicken, cream cheese, sour cream, salsa and cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Working with one tortilla at a time spread 2 heaping tablespoons of the chicken mixture on 1/3 of the left side of the tortilla (the side that you will roll first) and spread out like a log. Roll up starting with the chicken side first and set seam side down on a platter. Repeat until all the tortillas are filled and rolled.

Add enough oil to a large skillet to generously cover the bottom. Heat on medium to medium-low heat, cook tortillas in batches, turning to brown each side. Remove to paper towels to drain.

Serve with: sour cream, guacamole, salsa, salsa verde - whatever you have that sounds good!

*Would also be really good with Pepperjack cheese