Mexican Shrimp Cobb Salad with Baja Ranch Dressing

Ingredients:

• For the shrimp:
• 16 oz. shrimp, cooked large
• chipotle chili powder to taste
• 1 T lime juice
• salt to taste
• For the salad:
• 6 cups romaine lettuce, shredded
• 1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup corn kernels (fresh, or frozen are all good options)
• 1/2 c red onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 2 T fresh cilantro, chopped
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 english cucumber diced
• 2 cups tomatoes, diced
• 1 ripe avocado, chopped
• 1 c shredded cheese
• For the Baja ranch dressing:
• Equal parts ranch dressing and salsa, mixed (for healthier version, you can just use salsa)

Directions:

1. In a frying pan, put about a T of olive oil and then cook onion, pepper, and corn stirring and waiting (a couple minutes) until the veggies are cooked and "blackened".  The key part of these directions are the "waiting" part.  That's how they get that roasted feel.
2. Remove from heat and stir in black beans.  When cooled off a bit, stir in fresh cilantro and lime juice.
3. Rinse shrimp and cut into large chunks (cutting is optional).  Toss with a little salt, chipotle chili pepper, and fresh lime juice.
4. In stripes over the bed of lettuce, lay down shrimp, shredded cheese, chopped tomato, chopped avocado, chopped cucumber, and bean/onion/pepper/corn mixture.
5. Serve with the baja ranch dressing.

This recipe was inspired by one I found on skinnytaste.com as well as my Baja fish taco bowl recipe.  It was fresh and delicious... hearty enough to be dinner!  I also served some tortilla chips on the side.  It was a big hit for the whole family! Definite repeater!

Fresh Rolls

Ingredients:

• Rice paper (found in the dry section for oriental foods) - 2 per roll
• Rice sticks/noodles (I used the thinnest available)
• Lettuce
• Carrots (julienned or shredded)
• Veggies of your choice (cucumber, sprouts, peppers, etc.)
• Thai basil (cilantro would be good too)
• Shrimp or thin slices of pork or chicken (I bought pre-cooked, deveined, no tails shrimp)

      Peanut Sauce:

• 1/2 c hoisin sauce (oriental section of grocery store)
• 1/2 c chunky peanut butter
• 1 T ground ginger (you can buy this pre-ground which is easy!)
• 1 t garlic chili paste (oriental section of grocery store)
• 1/3 c hot water

Directions:

I am not even going to attempt to type the fresh roll sequence out.  But I will say that it's easy... just a little time intensive.  Better to just watch this quick youtube video and see it yourself.  Start paying attention at about 2 minutes in to see how to assemble and handle the rice paper.  I cooked the rice sticks (thin noodles), drained them and added a bit to the inside of my fresh rolls along with the veggies and shrimp.

One tip I will give you is that you need to wrap each roll twice (the video shows this) and also be sure when serving them, NOT to stack them.  Single layer only.  The rice paper is sticky and can tear when you are trying to separate them.

For the peanut sauce, just mix all ingredients together with a whisk.  I also served them with store bought sweet chili sauce too.

Very fresh and delicious!

Mediterranean Roasted Salmon with Lemon-Feta Angel Hair Pasta

Mediterranean Roasted Salmon

Ingredients

• 4 salmon fillets (6 ounces each)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 3 plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped pitted green olives
• 2 tablespoons chopped ripe olives

Directions

• Place salmon in a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. In a small bowl, whisk the oil, vinegar, honey, mustard and remaining salt. Spoon 1 tablespoon over each fillet.
• In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, onion, green pepper, olives and remaining oil mixture. Spoon over fillets.
• Bake at 425° for 12-15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Yield: 4 servings.

Lemon-Feta Angel Hair Pasta

Ingredients

• 8 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 package (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

• Cook pasta according to package directions.
• In a large skillet, saute garlic in oil for 1 minute. Drain pasta; stir into skillet. Add the remaining ingredients; toss to coat. Yield: 4 servings.

This was a HUGE hit at my house! It's a definite keeper!

Recipes and photo from Taste of Home

Baja Fish Tacos, Ole!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• About 1 1/2 cups red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ancho chile powder
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
• 1 pound flaky white fish (such as mahi mahi or cod), cut into 4 pieces
• Salt (to season)
• 8 fresh corn tortillas
• 1 cup shredded Colby-Jack cheese
• 2 cups of raw coleslaw
• 1 avocado, sliced
• Mexican crema (light sour cream + hot sauce and/or salsa, to your liking)
• 1 lime, cut into 8 wedges 

Directions:

Marinate the Onion
Put the onion in a small bowl and pour in enough red wine vinegar to cover well. Set aside for at least 30 minutes or up to several weeks.

Marinate the Fish
Pour the olive oil into a small bowl and add the ancho chile powder, paprika, cumin, chopped cilantro, and some salt. Mix well. Place the fish on a dish and pour the marinade over it, making sure to coat the fish well on both sides. Allow to marinate for 20 minutes.

Cook the Fish
Heat a nonstick sauté pan over medium-high heat. Remove the fish from the marinade and place in the hot pan (there is no need to add more oil). Season the fish with salt. Cook the fish for 4 minutes undisturbed, then turn over, and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and flake the fish into the pan with a fork, making sure to mix in all the marinade that has stuck to the bottom of the pan. Check for seasoning and add more salt if necessary. Set aside.

Heat the Tortillas
Place four of the tortillas on a plate and sandwich them between two slightly dampened sheets of paper towel. Microwave on high for 45 seconds. Place the warm tortillas in a towel-lined basket or plate and cover. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

Assemble and Serve
To assemble the tacos, place a heaping spoonful of the marinated flaked fish onto the center of a tortilla. Squeeze a bit of lime juice on the fish.  Top with your choice of: marinated onions, coleslaw, cheese, avocado. Drizzle Mexican crema over the top. Enjoy!

Citrus Herb Shrimp

Ingredients:

2 pounds peeled and deveined large shrimp, tails on
6 T chopped fresh mint
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 c fresh lime juice
2 T peeled and grated fresh ginger
1 T olive oil
1 t salt
1 t crushed red pepper
1/2 t sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced

Instructions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add shrimp, cook 5 minutes until shrimp are done. Drain. Rinse under cold running water.
2. Place shrimp in a large bowl and chill.
3. Combine all remaining ingredients.  Add to shrimp, toss well to combine.
4. Chill 1 hour, serves 10.

 

   

We took this appetizer to one of the music nights up at the Arborcrest Winery this summer.  It was definitely a hit with the group, and when someone recently asked for the recipe, I thought it would be a great time to post it.  It wasn't difficult to make at all, but needs a bit of pre-planning for the chill time.  It is a recipe only slightly adapted from one I got from a Cooking Light cookbook.