Month: April 2022

Dinner

The Best Shrimp Tacos for a Quick Weeknight Meal

Tacos are a staple in this house and these are seriously the best and easiest tacos we make. It just takes a little prep for what ever toppings you want and to mix the seasonings. If you know me you know I have a little bit of an obsession with hot sauce. Because these shrimp tacos go perfectly with our favorite homemade hot sauce, we tend to make them more often.

My favorite thing about these tacos, besides how good they are, is that they come together so quick. If we know it’s going to be a long day or a late dinner, a lot of times this is our go-to meal.

Don’t overcook your shrimp or it will get chewy
All of our topping ready to assemble our tacos!
So messy, but so good
Our favorite shrimp tacos

Ingredients

  • 1-2 tbs seasoning (recipe in directions)
  • 1 lb shrimp, uncooked, peeled, and deveined
  • 6 flour tortillas, we love the Don Pancho street taco tortillas
  • Optional toppings that we love: avocado, shredded romaine lettuce, diced cherry tomatoes, sour cream, fresh lime juice, hot sauce and cilantro

Directions

  1. Cut and or dice all of you toppings first because the shrimp cooks quick.
  2. For the seasoning, we mix it in big batches because we make this pretty often. We just mix equal parts ground cumin, garlic powder, paprika, chili powder, oregano and kosher salt. We mix about 1-2 tablespoons of each spice together and save the rest in an empty spice container.
  3. Coat your shrimp with seasoning on each side and fry in a non-stick pan until cooked, making sure to flip halfway through, then set on a plate to the side.
  4. Warm your tortillas in the same pan as you cooked your shrimp (maybe 15-20 seconds a side on high heat)
  5. Assemble your tacos and enjoy!

Tips: We love to make a crema because it’s easier to drizzle. Mix 1/3 cup sour cream (or plain greek yogurt), the juice from about 1 lime and 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander).

Below is a link to our favorite homemade hot sauce.

The legendary Tacolicious orange sauce
Cocktails

Simple Blueberry Gin Sour Cocktail

Warm weather is coming and one of my favorite things to do is sit on the deck and have a nice chilled cocktail. Our dogs love running around in the backyard and Len loves having her ball thrown, so we sit outside quite a bit in the spring and summer.

I don’t know where I originally came across this recipe and I usually tweak it depending on how I am feeling. Sometimes I like it more sour so I add a little more lemon juice, or a little less simple syrup. If you try this and find it not quite sweet enough, just use the 1:1 ratio of simple syrup to lemon juice and it should work nicely.

Always using fresh citrus for each cocktail because it’s the best!

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, freshly squeezed citrus is one of my favorite scents, especially when the warm weather is rolling in.

Leni always gets an ice cube when we get ice for a cocktail

Ingredients

  • 1/4-1/3 cup fresh blueberries
  • 2 oz dry gin
  • 1 oz lemon juice (or the juice from 1/2 a lemon)
  • 1/2 oz simple syrup (1:1 water to sugar)

Directions

  • Rinse your blueberries and place them in your cocktail shaker, then add your gin and muddle.
  • Add your fresh lemon juice, simple syrup and a handful of ice and shake until drink is chilled (20-30 seconds)
  • Double strain into a nice cocktail glass and add your garnish, enjoy!

Helpful tip: If you need to make a quick simple syrup. Just add water to a pan and bring to a simmer. Turn off your heat and pour in the sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved and pour into a heat safe glass container. Put in the fridge to cool, when cooled, put in an airtight container like a mason jar.

The ratio is always 1:1, so if you add 1/2 cup water, add 1/2 cup of sugar.

Side Dishes

The Best Macaroni Salad for any Potluck

Growing up, I was a very picky eater. I always loved my mother’s macaroni salad but I would pick out the things I didn’t like and just eat the noodles. To this day, her recipe is the best macaroni salad I have ever had, and my go to for potlucks!

For this recipe, I have never really measured the ingredients, I just add things and taste the sauce as I go. I know this recipe looks like it make a lot of sauce, but you need more than you think. The macaroni salad really absorbs the sauce overnight so I add half in when I make it, and then the rest of the sauce in the morning.

My favorite thing about recipes like this is that you can change it to accommodate your taste and its not set in stone. Taste as you go and add more or less of whatever you think is necessary. It also comes together very quickly so it is really easy to make.

Macaroni Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 pound box or 454 grams of elbow macaroni cooked according to directions on the box
  • 2-3 stalks of celery finely chopped (I use about 1 cup of chopped celery)
  • 1/2-1 green bell pepper finely chopped or 1 cup
  • 1/4-1/3 cup of finely chopped red onion (I judge this by how hot the onion is)
  • 3/4 cup mayonnaise (I like Hellman’s)
  • 1 cup miracle whip
  • 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
  • 1/2 cup Italian dressing
  • 4 hard boiled eggs finely chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Cook your pasta according to the directions on the box, then drain and rinse with cold water because we don’t want it to stick together.
  2. Chop all your veggies and add them in a large bowl with your macaroni.
  3. Mix your mayo, miracle whip, mustard, Italian dressing, salt and pepper and taste to see if you like the flavor.
  4. Then pour HALF of you dressing into your pasta and stir until incorporated. We want to save the other have to add in the morning or the next day because your noodles will absorb a lot of the sauce overnight.
  5. Carefully stir in the eggs last so they don’t get pulverized with all the stirring.
  6. Put into an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight, then add your remaining sauce the next day, remembering to stir gently so your eggs don’t get mashed. Enjoy!
Breakfast

Easy and Healthy Smoothie for Breakfast

Let’s be honest. I love a healthy smoothie anytime of day, but this is one one my favorites because it’s a quick and easy breakfast. You can change up the ingredients and adjust it to your liking, and it keeps you full for hours!

Over the last few years I have been experimenting with different smoothie recipes and this one has become my favorite! Because we have all have busy lives, I love that I can throw this together quickly and put it in a reusable to-go cup.

healthy smoothie ingredients for a fast and delicious breakfast

My favorite part of this recipe is that you can add spinach or kale and you wouldn’t even know, so it’s a great way to get some more veggies in. Other great ingredients to make your healthy smoothie even better are listed below and also don’t affect the sweet, fruity flavor! It can also be pretty difficult to get veggies into your kids diet so give this recipe a try with your kiddos.

Healthy smoothie for breakfast

Ingredients

  • 1 ripe banana, frozen or fresh
  • 1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries
  • 1 cube frozen spinach or kale (or 1 cup of fresh spinach/kale packed down)
  • 1 cup almond milk or oat milk (use what you like/have)
  • 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt, I use the greek 25% less sugar one but use what you like
  • 1/3 cup 100% peanut butter
  • 1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon hemp hearts (optional)

Directions

  1. Put everything in your blender and blend for a minute or two until smooth. If needed, add a little more almond/oat milk for easier blending. Pour onto a tall glass with a reusable straw and enjoy!

Tips: Add pure maple syrup if you need a little sweetness. I usually only add this if I have plain greek yogurt.