Tequila Lime Shrimp Tacos

I pulled some shrimp out of the freezer last night. I wasn't sure what would come of it. But shrimp tacos are something we haven't had in a long time. I decided to go with a tequila lime marinade, skewer the shrimp and grill.

Tequila Lime Marinde

3 TBS Tequila

2 TBS Olive Oil

2 Garlic Cloves, Minced

1/2 tsp Cumin

1/2 tsp Coriander

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp salt

Juice of 2 limes

Mix all together and marinde for about an hour for shrimp. If used on Meat can be marinated overnight or longer.

I served on whole wheat tortillas with fresh avocado, romaine lettuce, cheddar cheese and sour cream. So good! So good! So good!

Citrus Salmon

I wasn't sure how I was going to do my salmon tonight. But it hit me to try and marinade it in orange juice concentrate. So I did just that. I was watching Giada's weekend get aways a while back and she ordered salmon from a place. They pan fried it in butter at a super high temp to get a bit of a crust. I thought this sounded so good and tried it one other times and was impressed. So I decided to try the method again.

I served it with Sugar Snap Peas that I sauteed with some sundried tomatoes and Trader Joe's Gorgonzola Gnocchi (one of my favorite TJ's items).

Shrimp Scampi

I was given a gift certificate for a place called "entrees made easy". It is a local place where you can prep the meals in their facility or just pick something from the fridge or freezer. We did the freezer route and this Shrimp Scampi was the last item we had left and had gotten lost in our freezer for a few months. This place does a good job with their recipe instructions and they prepare all the ingredients (like mincing the garlic) and place it all in ziplock bags. We have been pretty happy with the other selections. I would prefer to cook myself, but it was a nice treat on busy evenings.

Red Snapper Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries

I had a large red snapper filet that I pulled out of the freezer this morning. I wasn't sure what dinner was going to be. But since we had some leftover hamburger buns I thought making a sandwich would be good. I marinated the snapper in salt & pepper, a little olive oil and some cinnamon chipolte dry rub. Then I cooked it up on the grill. Added a slice of colby jack cheese, placed on a bun with honey spread. (I threw together cottage cheese, honey and dijon mustard in the mini food processor to get a mayo like consistancy.)



My favorite way to make veggies now is to cook them on the grill on a cookie sheet. My medium and small size both fit perfectly. So I basically roast them on the grill. I cut the sweet potatoe into small pieces, drizzled with a bit of olive oil and salt & pepper. They turn out crispy, but be careful to just drizzle with oil. Too much oil prevents the crisp.

Stuffed Tilapia

I was inspired by the author of the blog Elly Says Opa.
She was discussing doing a flank steak stuffed with goat cheese and tomato. So in my search for "what to do with my tilapia"? I decided to put my take on the idea. I personally can't stand goat cheese. But did have fresh mozzarella and fresh basil in the fridge. So this is what I came up with.
I did a tapenade/pesto type stuffing with fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and sun dried tomatoes by running the ingredients through the food processor. I had butterfly tilapia filets, which made for easy stuffing (just fold it over). I sprinkled the tilapia with dry bread crumbs and baked for about 15 minutes at 350.

Comments: This turned out so good. I haven't been digging tilapia much lately, so this really brought me back to "team tilapia".

Eat to the Beat!! Part 1

So I decided to participate in the blogging event "Eat to the Beat".
The song that came to mind was "Put the Lime in the Coconut" By Harry Nilsson. To listen to this song check out YouTube. This song has a lot of memories for me. I will age myself by saying this, but whatever. In college my roommate had a mix tape (yes tape) called the "100 Proof Mix". This was one of the songs on the tape, which was full of great, classic "drinking songs". Too funny. (I am not THAT old, 1998 graduate).


So what to make with Lime and Coconut??
I thought of two ideas and decided to try them both.
1. Coconut Shrimp with Tequila Lime Marinade
2. Coconut Lime Cupcakes

I couldn't find any recipes for either that I wanted to try. So I had to improvise a bit. I have done a tequila lime marinade and made coconut cake previously so I had a good idea of what I was looking for.

Coconut Shrimp
18-20 Raw Shrimp, peeled and deveined, tales on

Marinade
1 Lemon (juice and zest)
1 Lime (juice and zest)
1/3 Cup Tequila
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 Tbs Olive Oil
(Marinade for 30 minutes- 1 hour)

Preheat Oven to 425
1/2 Cup Flour
1 Egg
1/4 Cup Beer
1 Cup Coconut

Beat the egg and mix with the beer. Prepare a dish with flour, one with the egg mixture, and one with the coconut. Roll in the flour, then the egg, then the coconut and place on greased cookie sheet. Spray with cooking spray and bake for 10 minutes. Serve with the dip. Enjoy.


Dip
1/4 Cup of Mayo
Juice and zest of 1/2 a lime and 1/2 a lemon
1 Tbs Honey
1 Tbs Tequila

Tonight's Dinner

We had Ahi Tuna, Hawaiian rice, and brown sugar/honey glazed carrots. I marinated the Tuna in teriyaki sauce that was blended with some pineapple juice and then grilled to rare. The rice was the brown frozen rice from Trader Joes (plain). I chopped up some red onion and pineapple and sauteed with the rice. I tossed in some toasted almonds. The carrots were baby carrots that have been quartered, placed in foil pouches and sprinkled with a bit of brown sugar and honey, closed up and then grilled.

Sunday Night Dinner

We had shrimp tacos for dinner with a black bean and corn salad.
For dessert we had grilled peaches with a mixed berry sauce topped with a dollop of Cool Whip Light.

For the tacos:
Guacamole
2 Avocados
1/2 yellow tomato
1/2 red tomato
1 lime
tsp of chopped garlic
salt and pepper
Shrimp
Marinated in Tequila Lime and Grilled
Whole Wheat Tortilla Shells

Black Bean Salad
1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 can corn (rinsed and drained) [I used frozen but the equivalent of 1 can]
1/2 yellow tomato diced
1/2 red tomato diced
1 small green pepper (home grown so very small) diced
1 small spicy pepper (very finely diced)
1/4-1/2 cup store bought fajita seasoning
Few splashes of hot sauce