No Skimp Shrimp Tacos

 Got my creative juices flowing again, thinking of different dishes to make for dinner. I get tired of the same old thing all the time.  Summer is almost here, so I am starting to plan new things to cook outside on the grill.

Cooking outside is one of my favorite things to do.  No messes inside, no hot kitchen, very little cleanup, everything tastes better on the grill, and weather permitting we always eat outside on the deck. It's the best!  I put together these Shrimp Tacos with Pineapple-Mango Salsa the other day, unfortunately it rained outside so I had to cook them inside.  They were very tasty, the hubby gave a thumbs up, that means I will be making them again, hopefully outside!

Recipe Below.

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To make my salsa I used fresh pineapple, mango, red pepper, onion, lime zest and fresh cilantro.  Everything tastes better when it's fresh.  I always try to use fresh, and now is the season for it.  There is an abundance of fruits and vegetables out there to try, explore them and the possibilities of new dishes to use them in. 

 The colors are so appetizing, looks pretty too!

 Mix a little honey and lime juice into it. If you want the salsa spicy, add a minced jalapeno.

 I used raw, peeled, deveined shrimp tossed with taco seasoning and extra cumin for added smokiness. 

 Toss those tortillas on an open flame to warm them up and blacken them a little, just a little for color.

 Stuff them with the shrimp, top with salsa....

.........and drizzle a little Lime Crema and serve.  Awesome and tasty!

TASTY SHRIMP TACO'S

Ingredients

2 limes zested and juiced, set aside

For the Salsa:

1 diced ripe mango
1/2 fresh pineapple, remove core and dice
1/2 diced red pepper
1/4 cup diced sweet or red onion
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 teaspoon lime zest
1 diced Jalapeno Pepper, optional

For The Crema
1/3 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon lime juice
1 teaspoon lime zest

For the Shrimp

1 1/2 lbs peeled, deveined salad shrimp (tiny shrimp)

1 tablespoon of canola oil

1 packet of taco season

1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon lime juice

Directions

In a medium bowl, toss diced mango, pineapple, red pepper, onion, cilantro, honey, lime juice and lime zest.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

In a small bowl mix the sour cream, mayonnaise, salt, lime juice and lime zest.  Place the mix in a resealable plastic bag.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Rinse shrimp under cold water and drain.  Heat canola oil in a frying pan over medium high heat.  Add drained shrimp to the pan, taco seasoning, cumin and lime juice.  Cook until shrimp are pink, remove from heat.

Over open burner flame, hold tortillas over the flame for a few seconds on each side to brown/blacken them up a little.

Fill tortillas with shrimp.  Stir the salsa up and top each tortilla of shrimp with salsa.  Knead crema bag, snip off a corner of the bag and drizzle on top of each tortilla and serve.  Makes 4-6 tacos.

I'm Salsa Dancing!

Trying out some new recipes for when Summer's bounty of fresh grown veggies are in abundance.  To me, fresh is always better, but when you don't have fresh, frozen it is.  I did find some fresh corn on the cob in the market this past week and used it as a side dish for a meal.  I cooked all the ears, but had 4 left over.  I didn't want to waste them, so I made some Fresh Tomato Corn Salsa. I had everything else I needed to make it, so my corn was put to good use.  This salsa was dancin' in my mouth, with a tangy lime flavor of some added lime zest and a little bit of jalapeno pepper, what can I say, it just made me want to celebrate......

FELIZ Cinco De Mayo!

Recipe below.

To print recipe, click on it, highlight and print.

To view photos in a larger format, click on them.

I started with a few ingredients, that's all it took for this awesome fresh salsa.

 Cored my plum tomatoes. I use plum tomatoes because they are meatier.

 Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise, and an easy way to scoop the seeds out, use a spoon.

Tomatoes are ready to be chopped.

I used fresh corn, but you can certainly use frozen.  I ran a sharp knife down the side of the cob to cut off the kernels, be careful with the knife!

 I tossed everything in a mixing bowl, zested one of the limes, squeezed on the lime juice from the two limes, tossed it all together, and look how pretty these colors are!  That's a party in a bowl right there.

 Serve with your favorite tortilla chips! Yum.........

 Fresh Tomato Corn Salsa

Ingredients

5 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced

4 ears corn, cut corn off the cob, or use 2 cups of thawed frozen corn

1/2 orange bell pepper, seeded and diced

1/2 red onion, small dice

1 jalapeno pepper, small dice

1 small can sliced black olives

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

2 limes, zest from one of the limes

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Prepare all vegetables and add to a large mixing bowl. Add the black olives, cilantro, lime zest, juice from both limes, salt and pepper.  Toss everything together, serve with your favorite chips.  Refrigerate any leftovers. Makes about 4 cups.

Citrusy Flank Steak

I never usually buy things like this, but couldn't resist something different.  I was doing some shopping in Costco the other day and they had a few of these marinated meats in their fresh meat case.  There were ribs, chicken and this flank steak, so I thought I  would give them all a try.  Tonight we are having the lime - cilantro marinated flank steak on the grill.  It smelled so good, I couldn't wait to eat it.  Lots of herbs, spices, garlic, lime and cilantro, and they give you an extra container of the marinade in the tray.  All I had to do was toss this baby on a fired up grill, and what an awesome steak!  

Off the grill and resting.

 Sliced up and ready to serve the hungry mouths I have to feed.  It was so flavorful, tender and juicy.

 Here is another good recipe for garlic bread - Ciabatta rolls, garlic and herb spread (Wegman's) and pesto (Costco's is the bomb!). Spread bread with garlic and herb spread, spread pesto over that and broil under the broiler until bubbly, crispy and golden brown, yuuuuumy!  It could be a meal all in itself.

 My meal plated up.  I served my steak with orzo tossed with butter, lemon and parsley.

Grilling - One Tequila, Two Tequila Chicken

It's opening day for my grill, yeah!  Finally the weather is warm and here to stay.  I love cooking outside on the grill and as long as it is nice out (I have been known to grill in the rain, too) that's where all my cooking will be done.  So to kick off my season of grilling, I found this marinade at BJ's in the spice aisle.  I've picked up a few over the last month, they sell many different flavors for meat, chicken and fish.  Try all of them you will not be disappointed. This Tequila Lime flavor I used for boneless skinless chicken breast and it was fantastic.   This was one of the easiest meals I have ever made. 

All you need is a bottle of S&F Tequila Lime Marinade, boneless skinless chicken breasts and a resealable bag.  Marinate chicken in the bag for 3 hours, pop it on the grill, 8-10 minutes on each side.

 I grilled asparagus with my chicken, all it needs is olive oil, salt and pepper.  I also grilled Tuscan bread I found at Costco.  I rubbed it with a clove of fresh garlic, brushed it with olive oil, then grilled it right along side my chicken and asparagus.

Look how yummy all this looks!

 

 And THAT bread, SO good!  My dinner was F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S!