Summer Baja Tacos

It's officially summer and Sunday Night Taco Night is a staple for us. Simple, fresh, quick and easy, it's the ultimate "get-ready-for-your-week" yet still feel like you're enjoying yourself kinda meal. You can make it your own, which is ideal for James and I. He adds the cheese and the shrimp and I usually keep things vegan-ized. Left-over tomato salsa can be used to top salads later in the week or used as the base of a quick tomato sauce. Great to have in the fridge for weeknight dinners.

Ingredients
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
extra virgin olive oil
juice of one lime
course sea salt
corn tortillas
fresh guacamole
1 can black beans
1 garlic clove
Fresh Tomato Salsa (see recipe)
crumbed cotija cheese (optional)
hot sauce (Cholula is my fav)

Start with preparing the black beans by simply pouring into a small saucepan with one crushed garlic clove and a pinch of sea salt. Simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes, or as long as it takes to prepare the rest of the meal.

Fresh Tomato Salsa
1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered
3 Tbsp finely chopped white onion
course sea salt
squeeze of a lime
finely chopped jalapenos, depending on how hot you like it

Combine the tomatoes and onion in a bowl and season with salt and lime. Add the jalapeno in small amounts until it reaches the heat of your liking.

Preheat your grill over high heat. Toss shrimp with a splash of olive oil, lime juice and pinch of salt. Grill until cooked through, about 2 minutes on each side.

To serve, heat the tortillas in a dry frying pan and wrap in a kitchen towel to keep warm. Pile a few shrimp on top of each tortilla and serve with the tomato salsa, squeeze of a lime, guacamole, black beans, dash of hot sauce and an optional crumble of cojita cheese on top. Easy as pie!

Black Beans and Rice

Looking through my previous posts, I realize that I have never written about one of my all-time weeknight staples. After a long day and not looking forward to ordering in, black beans and rice is a dish that I go to quite often. I keep the ingredients in my pantry at all times. It's a simple preparation that can be thrown together quickly. Paired with a simple salad of fresh ingredients along with sliced avocado on the side...here is my take on black beans and rice.

Black Beans and Rice

splash of olive oil

I (15-ounce) can black beans (with liquid)
1/2 green pepper, diced
rice (I suggest Uncle Ben's Instant Whole Grain Ready Rice)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
splash of cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
sea salt
pinch of dried oregano
crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

Directions

Cook the rice according to package directions. In a medium pan, heat the olive oil and toss in the onions and garlic for a few minutes. Add the green pepper and a pinch of salt and saute until soft and slightly browned. Add the full can of black beans, pinch of dried oregano, splash of vinegar and a little more salt and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes or so until some of the liquid is absorbed and the texture is to your liking. Serve over rice with a few slices of avocado and top with crushed red pepper flakes.

Serves about 2.

I think the best part about it is that it makes for incredible left-overs. Top off a salad with some fresh corn and tomatoes for lunch or roll up in a corn tortilla for a vegetarian taco dinner the next night!

Taco Night Twist

Taco Night Sundays has become a weekly staple for us. This Sunday I wanted to change it up a bit, still keeping it simple but a tad bit healthier. Instead of using the familiar ground turkey and caloric crispy taco shells, I opted for a lighter tilapia fish in corn tortillas. My fiance was a bit bummed at the sound of it, but when I watched him scarf down dinner raving about how good it was...well, let's just say "I told you so".

Fish Tacos with Tomatillo Salsa and Black Bean and Corn Salad

Cooking spray
1 garlic clove, minced
fresh corn kernels (about 2 large ears)
6 (6-inch) corn tortillas
juice from one lime
1/2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 3/4 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup red pepper, diced
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1 Tbsp jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1/2 Tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
1/2 (19-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 lb tilapia fillets, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp fresh cilantro leaves
3/4 cup avocado, halved, pitted and sliced
Tomatillo Salsa, store-bought or homemade

To prepare salad, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray. Add garlic; saute 30 seconds. Add corn; saute 8 minutes or until browned. Remove from pan; cool completely.

In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, 3/4 tsp cumin, and 1/4 tsp salt. Combine the corn, tomatoes, red peppers, onion, jalapeno pepper, fresh cilantro, oregano, and black beans. Drizzle juice mixture over the corn mixture, and toss gently to coat.

Heat the tortillas by wrapping in foil and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until heated through.

Sprinkle fish with 1/4 tsp of salt. Combine the rest of the salt, flour and 1 tsp cumin in a medium bowl; dredge fish in mixture and set aside. Heat vegetable oil in the large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, and add fish. Cook 2 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily with fork.


Build your tacos by folding the tortillas in half and placing the fish down the center first, followed by slices of avocado and topping off with tomatilla salsa. You can pile on the black bean and corn salad or serve alongside. I used store-bought tomatilla salsa to save time. You can create your own by combining tomatillo peppers, onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt, garlic, and jalapeno pepper.


Use leftover Black Bean and Corn Salad for lunch the next day! I piled salad in a warm corn tortilla, wrapped tightly and sliced into small bite-sized pieces. Top with tomatillo salsa. Enjoy!