Baja Shrimp Tacos

We've had a bit of a heat wave this week (and our non-air conditioned apartment hasn't been colder than 30 degree all week) and the last thing I wanted to do was come home and spend a long time in our ultra-hot kitchen cooking. I did however want to eat delicious food, because that always makes me happy. We decided for tonight on shrimp tacos, since we had black beans left over from a meal a few days ago, and shrimp was on sale, so I may have bought more than our small freezer could fit. We also had a lot of fresh veggies in the fridge, and a cooler meal was definitely right up our alley. We'd made fish tacos before, so I google chipotle sauces, and then made a healthier version of what I found. I also couldn't find ancho chilis at my grocery store, so I used roasted red peppers and banana peppers (since that is what we had)

Here is what we came up with

Shrimp:

6-8 shrimp per person, shelled and deveined (we cooked 24 or so and this is the amount of spices we used, so adjust accordingly)

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp chipotle chili powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Put shrimp in a large bowl and sprinkle with spices. Mix and let the spices incorporate for 15-20 minutes.

In a frying pan, heat 1 tsp olive oil on med-high. Once oil is hot, add in shrimp and quick fry for 3-5 minutes, just until the shrimp are pink. Turn heat up to max and fry for 1 more minute to crisp the outside.

Chipotle Sauce:

1/4 c fat free yogourt

1/4 c light mayo

1- 2 tsp chipotle chili powder

1 tsp chili powder

Juice from 1/2 a lime

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1-2 large pieces of roasted red pepper 

pickled banana peppers or jalapenos

In an immersion blender add all ingredients and mix until smooth. 

The Tacos:

Avocado

Tomato

Lettuce or spinach

Red or green cabbage

Red or green onions

Cheese

Whole Wheat Eating Right tortilla wraps

Put whatever you want in the tortilla, add chipotle sauce, wrap, enjoy! (Here is a great video about how to wrap your tortilla, just skip ahead to 2:00 and watch and learn!)

Green Thai Shrimp Curry

We have made this recipe with shrimp, scallops, sole & chicken (cut into bite sized pieces). We have also made it vegetarian, although my husband dislikes tofu, so I never get to put its deliciousness into food. I'm sure it would taste good with pork as well, although I think it might be a bit too sweet for beef. It is one of our favourite foods, and again it can have lots of spice, which suits my palate just fine!

Ingredients
3 stalks celery, diced
1 small-medium onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
2 carrots, diced
1/2 c corn
6-8 mushrooms, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2-4 tsp green curry paste (its spicy so add more if you like heat)
juice from 1 lime + zest from 1/2 lime.
2 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 c stock (fish, chicken, clam juice whatever you have is fine)
1/2 c sweet white wine (or whatever white you have around)
1 can light coconut milk
20-ish shrimp peeled & deveined (or 2 chicken breasts, or scallops or fish, or a combo of them, all are delicious!!)
1-2 tsp fresh grated ginger (I put my ginger in the freezer, and then grate it with a fine grater from frozen, peel & all. Thanks to my wonderful mother-in-law for this amazing tip!)
10 leaves Thai Basil (or 5 leaves basil & 5 leaves mint - Thai basil is hard to find around here!)
2 tbsp honey


Garnish
1/3 c cashews, chopped & toasted: I chop them first and then put in the oven. Watch them closely because they burn really quickly (3-5 mins @ 350)
1/4 c toasted coconut (also burns very quickly, you can mix the coconut & the cashews & toast together)
2 stalks green onion, diced

Directions:
1) In a large skillet or frying pan, add about 2 tbsp of the stock and warm.
2) Add in the onion & celery and cook until they are starting to soften, when they start to soften dd carrots & pepper, when they start to soften, add the mushrooms.
3) Add in remaining stock and coconut milk and bring to a low boil. (if using chicken add in now)

4) Add in garlic, curry paste, lime juice, lime zest, fish sauce, honey & ginger. Cook at low boil for 3 minutes.
5) Add in shrimp, scallops or fish and cook for 2-5 minutes until almost done.
6) Add in basil and stir. Remove from heat. 
7) Put in bowls (we often serve it over Coconut Rice) and garnish with cashews, coconut flakes and green onion. If you like it spicy, also garnish with chili flakes. 

Healthy Banana Bread

Banana bread had always been one of my favourite snacks. My mom used to bake it all the time when we were growing up, and it was always a big hit with my friends. I've been stockpiling overripe bananas in my freezer for a while now, and today we did a freezer clean-out and my husband commented, that I always say I will bake banana bread, but that I never actually do, so there seems to always be an abundance of overripe frozen bananas in our house. So I pulled a bunch of frozen bananas out of the freezer and decided today was the day. We're having a BBQ with friends on Sunday anyways, so I figure this is a perfect thing to bring and share!

So as I let the bananas thaw, I decided to look up the "healthy" recipe my mom used to make. I realized why it was SO delicious, a CUP of butter, a CUP of brown sugar (and a half cup of white sugar), and for treats she put milk chocolate in it. Now if you look at this, you might ask, what on earth makes this healthy? Its made with whole wheat flour and also has bran in it...well I suppose those are healthy ingredients, but my knowledge now tells me that no amount of bran will outweigh that much butter and sugar. So I decided to invent my own much healthier version of my mom's delicious banana bread. Here is what I came up with!

Ingredients
2 cups mashed banana (usually about 4-5 medium to large bananas - the riper the better!)
4 eggs
1/3 c butter milk (or buttermilk substitute - see below)
1/3 c butter or oil (I like sunflower oil)
1/2 c apple sauce
1/4 honey/agave nectar
1/2 c dark chocolate chips (optional)
1/3 c diced walnuts (optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 c bran
1/2 c oats
1/2 c multigrain bread flour
1 c white bread flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder

Directions:
1) In large bowl mix together all wet ingredients.
2) Sprinkle baking powder and baking soda over wet mixture evenly. Mix in.
3) Add remaining dry ingredients (except chocolate) and whisk rapidly to make sure everything is incorporated.
4) Set oven to 350F.
5) If you're using a baking pan, (bread pan, bundt pan etc) make sure you grease the pan, if you're making muffins, use cupcake liners (or grease the muffin tins). I use a basting brush and a little bit of olive or sunflower oil. Sprinkle top with chocolate chips.
6) Bake at 350 for 25-30 mins (pans) or 20-22 mins (muffins) or until the tops start turning golden brown.



Buttermilk Substitute:
1/2c skim milk
2 tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar

Add juice/vinegar to milk.
Two Options
1) Microwave for 40 seconds. It will curdle and look awful, but the whole point is to make the milk thick and acidic
2) Let the milk sit for 1-2 hours until it starts to curdle and becomes room temperate.