Shrimp Tacos

OK, so I slip once in a while with the whole vegan and vegetarian thing.  Sue me.  The kids substituted beans instead of shrimp, so I guess you could do that.  But why, when you have the yummy shrimp?  (I know, I know...)

I found a recipe for shrimp tacos that was just heavenly.  I'll not bore you with the details on how to heat up corn tortillas, so let's just skip to the spice and sauce step, shall we?

First, thaw out 20-40 medium shrimp, shelled, de-veined and de-tailed.  Put them in a gallon sized ziplock bag along with:

1 clove minced garlic

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 TBS olive oil

Mix all that up, seal the bag and let it marinate while you heat up the grill/barbecue.

Cook the shrimp on the grill, I won't bore you with how to do that.

Meantime, whip up this sour cream, lime, cilantro sauce

1/4 cup of sour cream (I used soy based, vegan)

2 TBS chopped cilantro

1/4 tsp cumin

juice and some zest from 1 lime

salt to taste

Put the shrimp in the corn tortillas, add shredded cabbage (it works better than lettuce, it doesn't wilt) chopped tomatoes and drizzle on (pour it on, baby!) the sauce.

Yum!

Lentil Salad

An amazingly easy, delicious way to get all your protein in a low calorie, yummy salad.  Just cook up 1/2 cup each lentils and rice (cooked to instructions and fully cooled) to your favorite salad recipe.  Add some crispies like croutons, roasted pita bread chips, tortilla chips... Whatever the would go with the salad.  SIMPLE!

Vegan Mac and Cheese

3/4 lbs macaroni, cooked to package instructions

    "Cheese" Sauce:
    3/4 cups unsweetened nondairy milk (soy!)
    1/3 cups nutritional yeast
    1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
    1/2 cup water
     2 tsp soy sauce
    1/2 block (8 oz.)  tofu
    1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
    1/2 tablespoon paprika
    1/2 tablespoon salt
    1 dollop mustard, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Boil water in a big pot and cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Add all of the "cheese" sauce ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Once pasta is cooked, drain and put it in the baking pan (about the size of a brownie pan). Pour the "cheese" sauce over the pasta.

3. Bake until the top of the pasta looks slightly browned and crispy, about 15 minutes.