Monday, July 23, 2012

Sunday Dinner, Shrimp Tacos.

We didn't have a specific recipe for shrimp tacos this week, so we made things we like, to put on top.  It turned into a bit of Asian-Latin fusion and ended up delish.

I'm not one for measuring but I'll try my best to type up a recipe.

Shrimp:
2 pounds, raw medium-sized shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lime, juiced
1Tbsp Siracha Sauce
1Tbsp chopped cilantro
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste

Grill 1-2 minutes per side until just pink.  Serve immediately.

Topping 1: Asian Vegetables
2 medium zucchinis, sliced into sticks
1 onion, sliced
1 - 8oz package mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp Canola oil, or Olive oil

Heat oil and butter in a sautee pan or wok. Add remaining ingredients and sautee over high heat until crisp-tender.  Serve.

Topping 2: Carribbean Beans and Rice
This is a recipe adapted from Pinterest
1- 15oz. Can black beans
1 onion, chopped
1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper, chopped
1 mango, chopped (can substitute papaya, pineapple or other tropical fruit if mangoes aren't available.)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lime, juiced
1 orange, juiced
1 Tsp Cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup cooked rice, white or brown.

Sautee bell pepper and onion in olive oil until softened. Season with salt and pepper.  Add remaining ingredients except rice and simmer until heated through.  Serve over rice.

Although we used topping 2 for our tacos, this is a great side dish on its own as well!

Sauce: Benihiana's Shrimp Sauce
2 cups mayonnaise
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon garlic juice
3 -4 teaspoons ketchup
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon Siracha sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon white pepper
up to 1/2 cup water to thin as desired

Whisk together and serve with Asian veggies and shrimp, recipes above.

Side: Cilantro and Blue Cheese Slaw, Courtesy: Taste of Home
8 cups shredded cabbage
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/3 cup minced fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup fat-free mayonnaise
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon grated lime peel
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper

In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, onion, cilantro and jalapeno. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; pour over salad and toss to coat.
 
Now for the tacos, make any or all combinations with the above.  Add extra chopped onion, chopped cilantro, jalapenos, hot sauce, sour cream, etc to make it your own!



I preferred the beans and rice on a soft shell.

Brother-in-law Andy, preferred the veggies and shrimp sauce with jalapenos on his! 

Plus here's a pic of his pateneted borrito hold... to keep the spillage to a minimum. :)

 

Sunday Dinner: Food Network Edition.

We took our inspiration for last week's Sunday dinner from Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives program on Food Network.  Bryan is responsible for requesting this one because of the high meat content.  But with goat cheese in the recipe, the girls were on board too!

Watch the video episode here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLGVgOv7gkk

Turns out this Cowgirl Panini is fantastic!  Even better, we made extra meet for packing lunches in the upcoming week.  I also used some left over meat in a stew... in was one of the best batches ever.  This meat is a keeper recipe that could be used in any number of ways.

PS, I didn't take any pictures... I forgot!


Monday, July 2, 2012

Sunday Dinner, It's Not Pretty, but it Sure is Tasty.

I'm back on track for my Sunday Dinner posts.

This weekend I tried a Pinterest recipe that looked and sounded fantastic on the original blog... read it and get the recipe here... While mine didn't turn out looking as nice, it still tasted fantastic.  My potato onion tart was a big hit.

Here's the response I got from my brother-in-law when he found out I was making a potato onion tart:

Sister: Laura is making a potato onion tart for dinner.

Brother-in-law: What the hell is a potato onion tart?

Sister: I don't know but it sounds good.

Haha, it did sound good!  Here was my problem, I may have had the heat too high or sauteed my onions a little too long before putting them in the oven with the potatoes. I will try it again.  eithe rway though, put a bunch of cheese with potatoes and it's pretty hard to go completely wrong.  Everyone still thought it tasted really good and that's what matters most.  I will give this a second attempt and perhaps bake it at 350° instead of 400° and see how that works.

As a main dish we made simple grilled salmon with just salt and pepper and some lemon juice and olive oil.  But to dazzle it up a bit we served it with a side of tzatziki sauce.  Yum! 

To make tzatziki sauce, mix a cup of yogurt with half a grated cucumber, some chopped fresh dill, a squeeze of lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.  You can't really mess it up, specific amounts aren't important.  Just taste it and add more of something until you like it!  I like it with plenty of dill, dried dill weed works great too. 

For a second side and to incorporate a little green into the meal, we sauteed fresh green beans in a frying pan with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper.  A few minutes over medium heat and they are tender but still a bit crunchy.  They taste so fresh when paired with the cheesy potatoes.