Cooking Light: Good Mood Food

So this is my very first recipe post and I realized I am going to have a problem.  I am a chronic recipe adapter.  What this means, is that I love to read cookbooks and find great recipe ideas and then just use the recipe as a springboard for how I think the recipe should really be done.  This works out fine in my real life,
 and I would whole heartedly encourage you to take that approach if you are comfortable with it. However, for this blog,  I want to share the actual cookbook recipe with you as it is written.  So I will try to adhere to the recipe (at least mostly) as written. I will occasionally substitute an ingredient (because I already have a similar ingredient on hand) or add more or less of an ingredient (because I do have to convince my family to eat these recipes), but I will always be sure to tell you exactly what the recipe called for.

So as promised, here is a recipe from “Cooking Light Good Mood Food; Cook up some feel-good vibes!”.

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One of the things that I first loved about this cookbook was the color photos.  There is a photograph for each recipe and the overall feeling of the cookbook is happy, light and fun.

 With chapters that include; Sweet Rapture: Eat Dessert First!, Nibble & Sip: Starters & Snacks, Eat With Your Fingers! Sandwiches, and Totally Perfect Mornings: Breakfast, I knew I was in for a feel-good time.  After considerable mouthwatering thoughts I decided to try Southwestern-Style Shrimp Taco Salad.

 

The marinade for the shrimp and the dressing are one in the same including lime juice, olive oil, cumin, garlic, maple syrup, and chipotle hot sauce.

One tablespoon of this is drizzled on the shrimp (I used 1 pound) and the rest is saved for the dressing. The shrimp is then cooked on the grill along with 2 ears of corn.

After cutting the corn from the cob, it is combined with the shrimp, chopped lettuce (I used 2 cups), green onions, cilantro, plum tomatoes, black beans and lime dressing and tossed.

Place on top of the tortilla chips and serve with about 1 tablespoon of the sour cream/avocado mixture (I added 2 teaspoons of the chipotle hot sauce to the mixture) and an additional lime wedge.

So the final verdict for this recipe is that I thought it was delicious.  However, my DD would only eat the shrimp and the tomatoes, and DH informed me that it is official he doesn't like cilantro at all.  Would I make it again? I definitely would for a party, or an occasion where more than just I would be eating it.

Southwestern-Style Shrimp Taco Salad

¼ cup fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 teaspoons maple syrup

2 teaspoons chipotle hot sauce

¾ pound medium shrimp

   Peeled and de-veined

2 ears shucked corn

Cooking spray

1 cup chopped romaine lettuce

½ cup chopped green onions

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

3 plum tomatoes, chopped

1 (15-ounce) can black beans,

     Rinsed and drained

2 ounces baked blue corn tortilla chips

     (about 1 ½ cups)

Lime wedges (optional)

1.        Preheat grill to medium-high heat

2.      Combine lime juice through hot sauce siring with a whisk.  Place shrimp in a shallow bowl.  Drizzle 1 tablespoon lime juice mixture over shrimp, tossing gently to coat.  Reserve remaining lime juice mixture; set aside.  Thread shrimp onto metal skewers.  Lightly coat corn with cooking spray.  Place shrimp kebabs and corn on grill rack coated with cooking spray.  Grill 8 minutes, turning kebabs once and turning corn frequently until browned.  Remove from grill; cool slightly.

3.        Remove shrimp from skewers, and place on a large bowl.  Cut kernels from ears of corn.  Add corn, chopped lettuce, green onions, cilantro, plum tomatoes, and black beans to shrimp.  Drizzle reserved lime juice mixture over shrimp mixture, and toss gently to combine.

4.        Divide tortilla chips evenly among 6 bowls; top each serving with 1 cup shrimp mixture.  Combine sour cream and diced avocado in a small bowl; mach with a fork until well blended.  Top each serving with about 1 tablespoon mixture.  Serve with a lime wedge, if desired.