Tropical Shrimp Tacos

Since the weather has been chilly and snowy, I'm feeling the urge for all things tropical. Dreams of sunshine, beaches, pineapples, little umbrella drinks, and fresh produce keep me going through the seemingly endless winter months. Pineapple is one of my favorite fruits and always makes me think tropical, so I decided to make something with a pineapple marinade. A quick check of the freezer showed me I had a bag of shrimp, so shrimp tacos it is. Toppings included my perfect refried beans and the marinade was nearly the same as the perfect pancake syrup, with a few additions.

Ingredients:
1 pound shrimp
Tropical Shrimp Marinade (below)
Toppings of your choice: rice, beans, coleslaw, onions, peppers, fruit compote, avocados, salsa, ranch, go crazy!

Tropical Shrimp Marinade:
Juice of 1 lime
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup honey
4 tbsp fish sauce (or soy sauce)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 can of pineapple chunks plus juice
Squirt of sriracha

Step 1: Mix all your ingredients in a small bowl.

If you don't have a garlic press (like me) you can just use a fork to smash the garlic.

Give the marinade a whisk to incorporate the honey and Sriracha and mix everything together. (PS, you can save the marinade to use it one more time. I put a pair of pork chops in for the next day, and they were also delightful! Served over some extra rice I made. Efficiency.)

Step 2: Peel off the tails and let the shrimp marinate overnight or during the day, at least 4-6 hours.

Step 3: In a frying pan, cook the shrimp over medium heat on one side until it begins to get brown and crispy. Flip and cook another 5-10 minutes.

You want that gorgeous color and crunchy covering. I stir fried bell peppers, onions, corn, and the rest of the can of pineapple chunks to go with the shrimp. I also made some plain rice, and my Perfect Refried Beans to round out the meal.

Layer all your toppings in, and enjoy! I loved the sweetness of the pineapple, and the shrimp don't have a fishy taste at all. If I had cabbage I would have made coleslaw and a chipotle ranch sauce, but I guess I'll save that for another time.

 

What's your favorite thing to do with shrimp?

Hawaiian shrimp & broccoli

I am once again moving, so I make due with whatever is left in the house for dinner. I had in my freezer:

1/2 bag frozen broccoli

1/2 bag frozen shrimp

In the fridge: 

1/4 fresh pineapple

Soy sauce, Worchestershire, BBQ, ketchup

In the pantry:

1 bag simple rice, brown rice

Step 1: Microwave the rice 90 seconds and fluff.
Step 2: In a bowl, mix 2 tbsp ketchup, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp Worchestershire sauce, 2 tbsp BBQ sauce, 1 tbsp sugar. Add shrimp, coat well. Microwave on high 4 minutes. 
Step 3: Add broccoli, microwave another minute.
Step 4: Dice pineapple very small. Add and mix well.
Put 1/2 cup rice on plate, add 1 cup shrimp mix and some sauce. Dinner in under ten minutes! Enjoy!

Sweet and tangy, protein plus fruit & veggies!

Shrimp & Bell Pepper Linguini Alfredo. Bonus dessert: Peach Soup

This is a recipe invented by my boyfriend and I last year. We were in his apartment and starving. Red bell peppers had recently gone on sale, so we had about a dozen. Plus some pasta like most college kids, a jar of alfredo sauce, and half a bag of shrimp in the freezer. That's how this came about, and it was so good, it remains one of our favorites. 

It's easy to customize too, you can use any kind of fresh veggies, and if you don't want meat then you don't need to add shrimp. Also you can flavor the shrimp with whatever you want. This recipe makes about 4-6 servings.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb linguini

1/2 lb shrimp, thawed

2/3 jar Ragu alfredo sauce

1/2 red, yellow and orange bell pepper

1 tbsp butter

pinch Thai spices

garlic powder

Step 1: Boil the noodles in salted water with a tbsp oil to keep the noodles from sticking.

 Step 2: Add the butter to a frying pan, begin cooking the shrimp. Add whatever spices you like, and stir occasionally.

 Step 3: Once boiled, drain the noodles and return to the pot. Add the alfredo sauce and mix. Set aside.

Step 4: Once the shrimp are pink, with a slight brown crust on both sides, add the diced peppers. Mix and put the lid on, cook for ~5 minutes or until tender.

 Step 5: Once cooked, add to the noodles and mix everything well. Enjoy!

Bonus dessert: Peach Soup
             From: Cooking for 2, summer 2008, pg. 25.
1 1/2 cups fresh peaches
1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp almond extract

Blend all ingredients together until smooth, and refrigerate until serving. Add a dash of cinnamon on top. Makes 2 servings.

Peach soup: cold, sweet and refreshing!

Shrimp and veggie fetuccini

Shrimp, carrot, broccoli fetuccini with garlic butter

This is one of my absolute favorite quick & easy dishes because the flavors complement each other so well. You will need:

1/2 pound of noodles (I use plain straight pasta)

2 cups peeled and deveined shrimp

4-5 large carrots

1 1/2 cups broccoli

Butter

Garlic

Salt

Step 1: Thinly slice the carrots (your choice to peel them or not). In a skillet over medium heat, melt about 2 tbsp. of butter and add the carrot slices. They will need to cook until soft to a fork, about 15 minutes.

This is my friend Aris putting his cut-up carrots into the skillet.

Step 2: While carrots are cooking, bring water to a boil and add the pasta of your choice. Amounts always depend on how many you're cooking for. For one person, a 1/2 pound should be plenty with some left over.

Step 3: When the noodles are about done (al dente = soft but not total mush. If thrown at a wall, the noodles should stick. Seriously. Try it.) and the carrots are soft when poked with a fork, add the broccoli to the carrots. Sprinkle on some garlic and salt to taste (or garlic salt, for those who are impatient).

Step 4: If you have pre-cooked shrimp they are the fastest and the last thing to cook. Throw those in a skillet with about 2 tbsp butter to get nice and pink. When the shrimp is pink and warm throughout, and the broccoli has become tender to a fork, you can put all 3 into one skillet until the pasta is done and drained.

Step 5: Drain the pasta, and pour the shrimp, carrots and broccoli on top. Add in as much butter, garlic and salt as your palette and stomach can handle, and enjoy!