Spicy shrimp tacos with grilled tomatillo salsa

This is a quick and easy recipe that sits in our go to CL favorites recipe book; I think we've been making it since it was published in 2008.  The tomatillo salsa gives it a sweet-heat taste which makes these really tasty.  By using pre-shredded cabbage and carrots, this comes together quickly.  It does take a little time to roast the tomatillos and make the salsa but the shrimp cook so quickly that the salsa is the most time intensive part.  The only change we make to this recipe is to use flour tortillas rather than corn because we think they taste better.  I would recommend draining the salsa though--it is a bit watery when it all comes together and we like it a bit chunkier.  We also just grill our tomatillos in a grill pan on our electric stove, rather than using a grill.

As of today's post, 11 people gave this an average rating of 4 out of 5.

Ole!

Recipe by Jaime Harder, Cooking Light, August 2008

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 tacos)

Ingredients

• Salsa:
• 1/2  pound  tomatillos
• Cooking spray
• 2/3  cup  chopped green onions (about 4 green onions)
• 1/4  cup  chopped fresh cilantro
• 3  tablespoons  lime juice (about 1 lime)
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  jalapeño pepper, seeds removed and chopped
• 1  garlic clove
• 
  Tacos:
• 1  pound  medium peeled and deveined shrimp
• 1  tablespoon  hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
• 1/2  teaspoon  ancho chili powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 8  (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 2  cups  shredded cabbage
• 1  cup  shredded carrot

Preparation

1. Preheat grill.
2. To prepare salsa, remove husks and stems from tomatillos. Place tomatillos on a grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 10 minutes or until slightly blackened on each side, turning occasionally. Cool completely; coarsely chop. Place tomatillos, onions, and next 5 ingredients (through garlic) in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 7 times or until coarsely chopped.
3. To prepare tacos, thread shrimp evenly on 6 (10-inch) skewers. Place skewers on a grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 2 minutes or until shrimp are done, turning once. Remove shrimp from skewers, and place in a medium bowl. Add hot pepper sauce, chili powder, cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; toss to coat.
4. Heat the tortillas on the grill 1 minute on each side. Top each tortilla with 1/4 cup cabbage and 2 tablespoons carrot. Divide shrimp mixture evenly among the tortillas; top each with 2 tablespoons salsa.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 252 (14% from fat)

Fat: 3.9g (sat 0.5g,mono 0.4g,poly 1.6g)

Protein: 26.9g

Carbohydrate: 30.2g

Fiber: 5.5g

Cholesterol: 172mg

Iron: 3.8mg

Sodium: 507mg

Calcium: 125mg

Flank Steak Salad with Plums and Blue Cheese

 I love any combination that uses blue cheese and flank steak was on sale so we thought why not. I wasn't sure about plums but it turns out I like them very much.  This recipe comes together really quickly and we made no changes to it, so rather than going on and on, I'll just post the recipe! 

Since this recipe is in the most current Cooking Light issue, only 3 people reviewed it (4 stars on average).

Recipe by Kathryn Conrad, Cooking Light, August 2010

Total: 40 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  olive oil, divided
• 4  teaspoons  fresh lemon juice, divided
• 1  (1-pound) flank steak, trimmed
• Cooking spray
• 1  teaspoon  honey
• 1/8  teaspoon  salt
• 8  cups  loosely packed baby arugula
• 3  plums, thinly sliced
• 1/4  cup  (1 ounce) crumbled blue cheese

Preparation

1. Combine pepper, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice in a small bowl; rub over both sides of steak.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add steak to pan; cook 5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove steak from pan; let rest 5 minutes. Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices.
3. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, honey, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Add arugula; toss gently to coat. Arrange about 1 1/2 cups arugula mixture onto each of 4 plates; top each serving with 3 ounces steak, about 1/2 cup plums, and 1 tablespoon cheese.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 290

Fat: 15.8g (sat 5.4g,mono 7.7g,poly 1.3g)

Protein: 26.1g

Carbohydrate: 11.3g

Fiber: 1.5g

Cholesterol: 48mg

Iron: 2.1mg

Sodium: 373mg

Calcium: 102mg