Shrimp Tacos

I wanted shrimp tacos. They are very friendly to the calorie counting dieter. And they are delicious. There are literally TONS of ways you can prepare shrimp tacos. There are numerous ways of doing the shrimp, various ways to top the taco, and many options for the sauce. I put together what I thought would be good, as should you. It's pretty hard to mess up. I took pictures so I can remember how I made them but again, if you are missing an ingredient, dislike an ingredient, like something else better, etc., they are pretty forgiving.

I'd like to mention that I rarely buy fresh shrimp in my grocery store because I am cheap. It's the reason why most of my meals are made with ground beef, ground turkey, bulk chicken breasts, chicken thighs, sausage...you get the picture. If I do venture to the seafood section in the grocery store it is usually for tilapia. But, with shrimp tacos you don't need a lot of shrimp. I bought a pound of medium-large size shrimp from HEB for $8.00. At home I counted out 12 shrimp and froze the rest. It was just under half the whole pound. The rest of the shrimp I am using for a cajun dish next week that will also have turkey sausage, so I don't need a ton of shrimp, just enough to notice it is there. So I cooked up enough for the tacos for Brian and I to each have 2 tacos with 3 shrimp each or 3 tacos with 2 shrimp each. Using small tortillas, and having plenty of toppings, it was more than enough.

One of my favorite parts of seafood tacos is the sauce. They come in all different forms and made with all different bases but usually are creamy and a refreshing complement to the seafood. In my mind I wanted to use a sour cream base. I did not have any sour cream. I have posted before how if you drain plain yogurt it results in a sour cream like product. But I didn't have time to drain yogurt. So, I used mayonnaise. Not as calorie friendly as the yogurt, but since you don't use a whole lot, it's not detrimental either. I'm glad I used the mayo. I mixed it with lemon juice and Sriracha Sauce. Super simple, but the result is something that would be tasty with lots of things. It would be a fantastic french fry dip! Yum!

Based on the ingredients I used on this day, I'll call these Chili-Lime Shrimp Tacos. Enjoy!

Chili-Lime Shrimp Marinade:
1-2 TB Chili Powder
1-2 TB fresh cilantro, chopped
1-2 tsp fresh garlic, chopped
The juice of one lime
Salt and pepper

Mix and add shrimp:

Let marinate in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Heat some olive oil in a pan at Medium and add your shrimp:

Cook on medium-high heat for 3 minutes on each side:

Done Shrimp.

Chili Mayonnaise:

2 TB Mayonnaise

2 squirts of Sriracha (Or to taste. It's very spicy so remember you can always add more)

1 TB Lemon juice (I needed the citrus to cut the mayo but I didn't want even more lime juice. The lemon juice worked well. Orange would be good too and cut the spicyness of the chili sauce even more.)

Now for the sides:

I LOVE spanish style rice and we eat it often at my house. Leftover rice always ends up this way. I always do it differently depending on what I have on hand but tomato paste is always the star. Since leftover rice out of the fridge is so dry, I heat it up on the stove with a generous amount of chicken broth. With this rice, I then added a can of diced tomatoes, about 1/2 a can of tomato paste, some hot sauce, dried cilantro, garlic powder and salt and pepper. The chicken broth and tomato paste make it very sticky and creamy which is how I love to eat rice! This makes great leftovers and is super yummy in tortillas. It also works with brown rice of which I have been trying to use more lately.

Second is refried beans. Good old, fat free, generic, cheap refried beans. A dieter's friend. A cheapskate's friend. Friend to all. Except my husband. That's fine, more for me. Solid, cold, refried beans out of the can are not so appealing. True. But heat them up in a saucepan with a little chicken broth and taco seasoning and serve them hot and runny and they suddenly become truly restaurant style, homemade tasting, protein packing, yummy refried beans.



Divine Rice



Divine Beans



Honestly, I could live off of rice and beans. My husband would have a fit.  

Dinner is served:

I used corn tortillas. I wish I would have used flour. The corn have fewer calories and a great flavor. However, I used a cheap brand and they were very dry and fell apart easily. I doubled up on the corn to make the tacos easier to eat, but one flour tortilla per taco would have been basically the same calories and would have been tastier. But if you love corn tortillas, and you have some good quality ones, then by all means go right ahead.

I topped my tacos with romaine lettuce, matchstick carrots, fresh cilantro, and the chili mayo sauce. I think I also topped my rice and beans with that chili mayo sauce! Enjoy!