Cilantro Lime Shrimp Tacos

Phew, What. A. Week. I have been super busy this week and have not even had a single chance to get anything done! Taking a moment now while Bailey is entertained by My Little Ponies and Taylor is napping.

So this last week has been a little up and down in the cooking department. Made some winners (cilantro lime shrimp tacos!!!) and some major losers. There is no nice way to put that. When Arthur says, "Oh wow, something really did go wrong, didn't it?" you know there is a problem. That man eats anything and everything!

The hardest part of cooking for me, is that I was brought up on major staple meals. Very rarely did we stray from the routine menus. Not that there was anything wrong with that, my dad had to cook for 2 picky kids and you gotta feed em what works. But now that I am older, and on my own, and I really want to train Bailey to like a variety of foods, the experimental side of cooking is kinda hard. You want me to cook a traditional savory dish, you betcha! You want me to cook a delicious dessert, absolutely! You want me to cook apples, onions, sweet potatoes, and chicken? Hmm... Maybe not so much.

But thank goodness that I can stray a little (just not too far) from the norm. Hence, Cilantro Lime Shrimp Tacos.

I'm not a huge fan of cilantro, but it really works in these tacos and isn't too overpowering.

 

Cilantro Lime Shrimp Tacos

(Serves 4, about 787 calories)

 

 

Ingredients 

 

½ pound of medium shrimp
Juice of 2 limes
¼ cup chopped cilantro
½ tbsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1 avocado
Cheese of choice for topping
Pico de Gallo (see recipe below)
Sour Cream
8 soft flour tortillas (see recipe below)

 

Directions

 

1.  Peel and devein shrimp. Combine lime juice, cilantro, and shrimp in a bag to marinade for 2 hours. (You do not have to marinade the shrimp but I think that it helps absorb the cilantro/lime flavor)
2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and garlic. Cook until soft and just turning brown.
3. Add shrimp. Cook about 2-3 minutes on each side, or until done.  (The citrus from the lime will start to cook the shrimp during the marinade, so watch carefully, it will cook very quickly)
4. Fill the tortilla shell with shrimp, avocado slices, cheese, pico de gallo, and sour cream, or other toppings of choice.

 Pico de Gallo

 

Ingredients

 

½ cup grape tomatoes, diced
¼ cup onion, diced
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
¼ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp lime juice (about ¼ of a lime)

  

 Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, cover and let marry for at least 2 hours.

Flour Tortillas

 

 

Ingredients 

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 ½ tbsp oil or shortening
1 tsp salt
1 cup Warm water

 

Utensils

Wax Paper

Small pot lid

Rolling Pin

 

 

Directions

1. In a large bowl cut together flour, salt, and shortening or oil.
2. Add in ½ cup of water and gradually add more until dough has formed a ball but is still sticky, DO NOT OVER MIX!
3. Divide dough into about 8 pieces.
4. Preheat electric skillet to 400 degrees. Lightly spray with oil.
5. Lightly flour one piece of wax paper and rolling pin.
6. Place one ball of dough on wax paper and sprinkle with a small amount of flour. Roll until very thin. Use pot lid to create a circle, pressing down to cut, and tear away the remnants and put to the side.
7.  Remove tortilla from wax paper and place on skillet. Spray top side with a small amount of oil.
8. Cook for 1 minute on each side, tortilla is cooked when they have developed deep brown spots.
9. Remove from skillet and place on a plate under a paper towel. Repeat process
10. Use immediately or store in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. To reheat, place in microwave under paper towel for 10-15 seconds.

(Disclaimer: I was so hungry I didn't take very good pictures, so you may have to use your imagination!)

OK, so true story, next time I make this I am totally doubling the amount of shrimp for the same number of servings. I try to be really thrifty with my groceries and I used a half of bag of shrimp for some shrimp alfredo and reserved the other half for later, but I love a big fat taco, and that is my only complaint. They were sooooo delicious! Even Bailey devoured her food in about 20 minutes, when she spends an average time of about an hour to eat her food.

I served these with a kind of Cuban black bean concoction. I'll share that recipe tomorrow (which is Bailey's 5th Birthday!!!).

This was by far one of the fastest meals I've made in a while that was made completely from scratch (a part from the side dish, Sandra Lee from Semi Homemade would approve of it though!) and everyone loved it. No leftovers. None. It was disappointing. Next time more shrimp.

What new meal have you tried with your family recently that they just couldn't get enough of?