Grilled Spicy Shrimp Tacos

Ingredients

Shrimp Marinade:

• 1 ½ cups lime juice

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons chili powder

• 1 teaspoon mayonnaise

• 3 pounds uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

Chipotle Sauce:

• ½ cup enchilada sauce

• ½ (4 ounce) jar diced jalapeno peppers

• 5 teaspoons honey

• 3 teaspoons lime juice

• 1 pinch salt to taste

Red Slaw:

• ½ head red cabbage, shredded, or more to taste

• 2 bunches scallions, chopped

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 3 tablespoons white vinegar

• 1 small bunch cilantro, chopped

• 20 (8 inch) corn tortillas

Directions

• Step 1

  Mix lime juice, olive oil, chili powder, and mayonnaise together in a bowl. Add shrimp and marinade for at least 1 hour.

• Step 2

  Mix enchilada sauce, jalapenos, honey, lime juice, and salt together in a separate bowl for the sauce.

• Step 3

  Toss cabbage with scallions, olive oil, vinegar, and cilantro in a large bowl for the slaw.

• Step 4

  Heat tortillas in a frying pan over medium-high heat, about 30 seconds per side. Keep warm.

• Step 5

  Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and lightly oil the grate.

• Step 6

  Remove shrimp from marinade. Grill until opaque, about 5 minutes. Add shrimp to each tortilla; top with the sauce and slaw.

Burrito Pie

This is a lot like a lasagna, only Mexican-style! Serve like a pie and garnish with sour cream, salsa, lettuce and tomato. Make sure you like spicy foods before trying this one. It's hot!

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef

• 1 onion, chopped

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1 (2 ounce) can black olives, sliced

• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chili peppers

• 1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers

• 1 (16 ounce) jar taco sauce

• 2 (16 ounce) cans refried beans

• 12 (8 inch) flour tortillas

• 9 ounces shredded Colby cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the ground beef for 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic, and saute for 5 more minutes. Drain any excess fat, if desired. Mix in the olives, green chile peppers, tomatoes with green chile peppers, taco sauce and refried beans. Stir mixture thoroughly, reduce heat to low, and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

3. Spread a thin layer of the meat mixture in the bottom of a 4 quart casserole dish. Cover with a layer of tortillas followed by more meat mixture, then a layer of cheese. Repeat tortilla, meat, cheese pattern until all the tortillas are used, topping off with a layer of meat mixture and cheese.

4. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheese is slightly brown and bubbly.

Baja Grilled Chicken Tacos

These grilled chicken tacos are a treat with a bit of exotic flavor for our area. This recipe features a seasoning mix known as Sazon. Fill warm tortillas with sauteed chicken and serve with your choice of garnishes and black bean and corn salad.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• 1 teaspoon ground coriander

• 2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon black pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice

• 1 teaspoon olive oil

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs

• canola oil cooking spray

• 1 (10 ounce) package corn tortillas, or as needed

Directions

1. Combine cumin, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and cayenne pepper in a large bowl. Add lime juice and olive oil and stir to make the marinade. Add chicken and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 12 hours.

2. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and lightly oil the grate. Grill marinated chicken until no longer pink at the bone and juices run clear, about 8 minutes per side. Transfer to a bowl and shred chicken with forks.

3. Spray canola oil onto the tortillas and heat on the grill approximately 45 seconds per side. Transfer to a plate and cover with a paper towel to keep warm. Serve with shredded chicken.

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Sazon Seasoning

Open Fruit of the Achiote Tree

Sazon, the spice mixture above, is like the magic spice blend in many of my Latin dishes. It’s commonly found in the supermarket in small envelopes that you add to stews, beans, rice, etc. It gives yellow rice that yellow color and basically makes anything taste good! Goya is the most popular brand, , but it’s not easy to find in our region so I make my own which I keep stored in a small spice jar, so instead of using a packet of sazon, I use one and a half teaspoons of this in it’s place.

The key ingredient in this spice mix is ground annatto, the spice that gives yellow rice that yellow color. Annatto is derived from the seeds of achiote tree. In India it’s referred to as sindoor, and in the Philippines, it is called atsuete. You can find it in hispanic markets, but if you can’t find this, turmeric would be a good substitute. Annatto is also used to artificially color many cheeses.

Lime Chicken Soft Tacos

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - cubed
• 1/8 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 10 (6 inch) flour tortillas
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1/4 cup shredded lettuce
• 1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/4 cup salsa

Directions

1. Saute chicken in a medium saucepan over medium high heat for about 20 minutes. Add vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, green onion, garlic and oregano. Simmer for an extra 10 minutes.
2. Heat an iron skillet over medium heat. Place a tortilla in the pan, warm, and turn over to heat the other side. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Serve lime chicken mixture in warm tortillas topped with tomato, lettuce, cheese and salsa.

Honey-Glazed Chicken Tacos

INGREDIENTS

• 3 Chicken Breasts, cubed
• 2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
• 2 tbsp. adobo sauce (from the chipotle pepper can)
• 2 tbsp. honey
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 lime, sliced into wedges
• 8 hard taco shells
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• Sour cream, for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine peppers, adobo sauce, honey, olive oil, and spices in a medium bowl. Whisk to combine, then add chicken. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in refrigerator for at least 15 minutes and up to 2 hours.
2. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season marinated chicken with salt and pepper to taste. When the oil is hot, sauté chicken until browned and cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Serve in taco shells with scallions, sour cream and lime juice.

Cooking With Cicadas

Most experts agree that cicadas are a rich source of protein with about the same amount per pound as red meat. Cicadas are also said to be full of vitamins and minerals, low in fat, and they have zero carbs. So why aren’t more people eating them? Maybe because the thought of eating a bug makes you dry-heave!? But if you think about it, shrimp and crawfish are pretty much cicadas without wings. In fact, crawfish, lobster, crabs, shrimp, and insects are all part of the same biological phylum of arthropods.

Cicadas can be cooked in a large frying pan in a way similar to popcorn. The taste is similar to the "crispy edges of the egg white of a fried egg." A popular way to prepare cicadas is to saute them in butter with crushed garlic and basil. Before you start your cooking you need to remove all the hard parts: wings, legs and head. These parts don’t contain much of the meat either but may be very sharp, so its best to get rid of them.

Cicadas can also be dry-roasted on a stick like a marshmallow over a fire. Other popular cicada recipes include Cicada Stir-Fry and Cicada Dumplings. Deep fried cicadas taste best when eaten with hot mustard or cocktail sauce. (Any sauce used for lobster should also work well to garnish cicadas.) Cicadas can also be roasted, which tends to give them a "nutty", or almondlike, flavor.
 

Cicada Tacos 

Ingredients: two tablespoons butter or peanut oil, one and a half pound of cicadas, one teaspoon of chili powder, one tomato, finely chopped, one onion, finely chopped, one and a half table spoon ground pepper, one and a half table spoon cumin, three table spoon taco seasoning mix, one handful cilantro, chopped, Taco shells, Sour cream, Shredded cheddar cheese, Shredded lettuce. 

Cooking instructions

1. Heat the butter or oil in a frying pan and fry the cicadas for 10 minutes, or until cooked through. 
2. Remove from pan and roughly chop into 1/4-inch cubes/ Place back in pan. 
3. Add the chopped onions, chilies and tomato, season with salt, and fry for another 5 minutes on medium-low heat. 
4. Sprinkle with ground pepper, cumin and oregano to taste. 
5. Serve in taco shells and garnish with cilantro, sour cream, lettuce and cheddar cheese.