Food Friday: Cinco de Mayo Favorite Recipes

We love Mexican food in our house. We probably eat some form of it at least once a week, most likely more. Tacos, enchiladas, burritos, taco salad, quesadillas, margaritas, chips and salsa, guacamole, nachos, carnitas, fajitas ... Mmmm. 

In honor of Cinco de Mayo coming up, if you're looking for some delicious recipes to try, here are a few of my favorites: 

Chipotle Shrimp Tacos: I shared the recipe earlier this month, and they are so simple and full of flavor! 

Oven Tacos [via Mommy? I'm Hungry blog]

Oven Tacos: I found this recipe on Pinterest a while back and they immediately became a favorite. I don't usually make tacos with hard shells, but these are too good not to. It's a great recipe to feed a small group, since you use 2 pounds of meat. I use ground turkey for mine. 

Beergaritas: You can't really go wrong with beer and margaritas, and if I weren't pregnant, I would definitely be having one (or two) of these. The recipe is super simple: 1/2 cup tequila, juice of one lime, 1/2 cup frozen limeade and 2 chilled bottles of Corona Light (we've also tried the mini Coronas and they work well too). Cheers!

Guacamole: I don't use a recipe for making guacamole but have a couple secret ingredients that I think make this dip: minced garlic and hot sauce. I usually smash a couple avocados, add diced tomatoes, a little chopped fresh cilantro, a little diced red onion, one minced garlic clove and lime juice, salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste. 

Kim's Chicken Casserole: Lindsey shared this recipe and it's also a favorite in our house. It's full of tortillas, cheese, chicken and salsa. 

Taco Salad: This salad is so easy and versatile depending on what you like/don't like. When I make it, I usually include romaine and/or iceberg lettuce, chopped tomatoes, black beans, corn kernels, avocado chunks, black olives, shredded cheddar cheese, crunched up tortilla chips, and topped with taco meat, salsa and sour cream. It's also great tostada-style on top of flat flour tortilla and a layer of warm refried beans. 

Homemade Taco Seasoning: I no longer buy the packaged taco seasoning and instead make my own. It works for us since we always have these spices on hand, so I just mix it up as needed. Plus I control how much salt we add, since I sometimes find the packaged seasoning to be too salty. 

And here are a couple recipes that I have yet to try but sound pretty good!

Beer Beef Fajitas: This Sandra Lee recipe for Beer Beef Fajitas sounds so simple and tasty! Plus you just put everything in the crock pot and let it cook. One thing I would do differently in this recipe is grill the bell peppers and onions separately instead of letting them cook with the meat. I like my veggies a little crisper. 

Honey Lime Tequila Shrimp Tacos [via Tartine and Apron Strings blog]

Honey Lime Tequila Shrimp Tacos: These shrimp tacos sound so good! I'm sure all of the flavors of the lime, tequila, honey, chipotle, avocado and shrimp are delicious together, can't wait to give this one a try!

What are your favorite Mexican food recipes?! 

Food Friday: Chipotle Shrimp Tacos

We eat a lot of Mexican food in our house. Burritos, taco salad, enchiladas, fajitas and tons of tacos, mostly made with either ground turkey or grilled shrimp. 

This recipe is my favorite for shrimp tacos. I'm a sucker for anything chipotle and the combo of shrimp, chipotle and the creaminess of avocado is so good!

These Chipotle Shrimp Tacos are super quick and easy, pretty healthy and very tasty!

The photos don't do these tacos justice, they are much better than they look in the photo!

Chipotle Shrimp Tacos

Ingredients: 
1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chili powder
Small corn tortillas

Toppings:
Avocado slices
Shredded lettuce
Salsa Verde
*Chipotle Crema (a mix of sour cream, chipotle in adobe sauce chopped into very small pieces, lime juice, salt. I don't follow a recipe, but mix everything to taste.) I have made the tacos with and without this chipotle crema and they taste delicious either way. 

Directions: 
Combine shrimp with seasonings in a bowl and stir until the shrimp is evenly covered. 
In a large nonstick skillet, spray a little Pam (or extra virgin olive oil) and turn to medium-high heat. Add the shrimp mixture and cook until the shrimp is cooked and turns pink. Remove from heat and serve in corn tortillas topped with your favorite toppings!

See, easy right?! Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from a Cooking Light recipe. 

Food Friday: Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwich

I’m not sure what it is about chicken, but it’s hard for me to eat it when I’m pregnant. It’s usually not appealing, except for in chicken salad! Yum! 

I made this for dinner one night and it’s so simple, somewhat healthy, and pretty quick to put together. I add a bunch of fruit and goodies in mine, so it has a nice crunch from the walnuts, celery and apple, plus some sweetness from the grapes and cranberries. The butteriness of the croissant with all of the flavors is so good. This is one of my favorite sandwiches, for dinner or lunch. 

Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwich

*This will make enough for about five sandwiches

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed or shredded (I bake mine with a little water at the bottom of the pan, without seasoning)

One apple, cored and chopped (I like Fuji)

About one cup of red, seedless grapes, cut in half

Two celery stalks, chopped

1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon mayo

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme (or fresh, roughly chopped)

salt and pepper, to taste

Croissants

Directions:

Combine all ingredients through cranberries into a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix yogurt, sour cream, mayo and seasoning until combined. Add yogurt mixture to chicken mixture until it evenly coats (feel free to use as much or little yogurt dressing as you like)

Taste-test to see if you need more salt and pepper. 

Scoop about two large spoonfuls onto a croissant, cut in half and eat!

This recipe is easy to tweak depending on if you like more or less of certain ingredients, but all of the flavors work really well together! I hope you like it! 

Food Friday: Kim's Chicken Casserole

This casserole is so yummy and easy to make! It's great to freeze and makes great left-overs. I mean what could go wrong with chicken and cheese? This recipe come courtesy of Lauren's good friend and college roommate, Kim. It was a regular dinner on the weekly menu then and has become a favorite in our household now.

Kim's Chicken Casserole

5 cups shredded, cooked chicken*
1 cup salsa
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 small can sliced black olives
4 ounce can mild, diced green chilies
dash of cumin
10-12 corn tortillas (uncooked)
shredded cheddar and jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all ingredients except chicken, tortillas and cheese. Once mixed add chicken and stir  with a spoon.

Cut tortillas into long strips (like pasta). Place half of the tortillas on the bottom of a greased 9"x13" pan and spread half the chicken mixture over the tortillas and cover with jack cheese. Repeat the process with the rest of the tortilla strips and chicken mixture and cover with cheddar cheese.

Cook 35-45 minutes or until cheese is brown around the edges. Let set 5 minutes and enjoy.

*To save time I buy a rotisserie chicken and shred the entire thing, which makes about 5 cups.

Give this recipe a try and let us know what you think. Happy Friday!

Food Friday: 5 Super Easy & Quick Dinner Ideas

I am always looking for dinner ideas that are quick and easy for those days (most days!) when I don't have a ton of time to spend in the kitchen. Over the years, these have become some of my favorite dinners to whip up in a hurry. 

Apple Chicken Sausage with Grilled Bell Peppers

This is probably the easiest. I mean it. So easy. And so good. It takes one pan and three ingredients (plus any condiments you like). 

Ingredients: 
Apple chicken sausage (I like Trader Joe's Chicken Sweet Apple Sausages)
Hot dog buns (I like Trader Joe's Multi grain Rolls that come in a four pack)
Red bell pepper
Condiments

Directions:
Slice bell peppers. Add a tiny bit of oil or Pam to your pan. Grill peppers until they are as soft as you like. 
Meanwhile, cut sausages in half lengthwise. Once peppers are done, transfer them to a plate and use the same pan to cook the sausages. (They're already cooked, so you really just need to heat them and brown them a little on both sides).
Place two sausage links on a bun, topped with grilled bell peppers and any condiments (I like mine plain with just ketchup).
We usually eat this with a side of fruit or salad.

 

Shrimp Pasta with Pesto

This one is also so easy, especially if you use store-bought pesto (or any leftover homemade pesto). Plus, shrimp cooks super fast, so boiling the water and cooking the pasta is what takes the longest. This is also one that you can make as much or as little as you like, so I won't include ingredient measurements. 

Ingredients:
Shrimp, deviegned and tail off 
Garlic, minced (I use two cloves since we love garlic)
Extra virgin olive oil or butter
Already-made pesto (if you want to make fresh pesto, I love Giada De Laurentiis' pesto in this recipe, but with about half the amount of olive oil)
Spaghetti
Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water, stirring occasionally until pasta is al dente. 
While pasta cooks, add a splash or olive oil or about a tablespoon of butter to a pan, add garlic and cook for about a minute. Add shrimp and cook until the shrimp turns pink. 
Once pasta is done, add it to a large bowl. Add the shrimp and stir. Stir in as much pesto as you like, until it covers the shrimp and pasta evenly. Top with Parmesan cheese and serve.
(This would also work with chicken) 

Turkey Burgers

Turkey burgers photo bombed by a hungry Alex and Raegan! :)

These burgers are one of my favorites to make. The combo of parsley, red onion and feta cheese is so good in a burger. Plus, it's a little healthier with the ground turkey. A bonus is that this is one of the very few ways we can get Raegan to eat meat! 

Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley,
1/4 cup feta cheese 
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon bread crumbs
Pepper
Hamburger buns
Burger toppings 

Directions: 
Mix ground turkey with all ingredients through pepper. Form into burger patties. Place patties onto greased pan and cook until the turkey is no longer pink and cooked thoroughly. 
Place a patty (or two) on a bun and top with your favorite veggies and condiments. I like to top my burger with a little mayo, lettuce, tomato and ketchup. 

Tacos

This is probably on every one's list of quick go-to meals! It's so easy to customize tacos based on what you like or what you have on hand. Here's how we make ours:

Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey
Taco seasoning (I make a big batch of this and use a few spoonfuls)
Water, about 1/2 cup (more or less depending on how much seasoning you like)
Tortillas
Extra sharp cheddar cheese
Lettuce
Tomato
Salsa
Sour Cream
Avocado slices

Directions:
Cook ground turkey until the meat is no longer pink, breaking it up as it cooks. Once it's thoroughly cooked, add taco seasoning and water and let it simmer until most water has evaporated. 
Meanwhile, slice veggies and toppings you like, we use lettuce, tomato, cheese, avocado slices, salsa and sour cream.   

Angel hair Pasta with Basil and Feta Cheese

This is a cold pasta salad that is so yummy and so quick. Again, the hardest part is cooking the pasta. The flavors of the red wine vinegar with the feta cheese and tomato is really good.


Ingredients:
One Roma tomato, diced
1/4 cup basil, julienned
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
One garlic clove, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
Angel hair pasta (spaghetti also works just as well)

Directions: 
Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water, stirring occasionally until pasta is al dente. 
Meanwhile, add the rest of ingredients into a large bowl and stir until mixed. 
When pasta is done, drain and rinse with cold water, then add to the bowl with the tomato mixture. Stir and serve.  

There you go, five super easy and quick dinner ideas! If you have some go-to quick & easy dinners, please share them with us! Both Lindsey and I are always looking for more to try! 
Enjoy!