These tacos stemmed from a trip to the grocery store, I was in the checkout line and what did I see on the end-cap just screaming my name? Tajin seasoning, the same stuff that is poured on anything and everything in Mexico. Well duh, kind of a no brainer. Clearly I had to pick up a bottle and get to work on creating a fun recipe. So thank you Tajin chile lime seasoning for being the brainchild behind these tacos.
So my pants were feeing a little extra tight so I thought it was probably best to skip the tortillas and serve these up in butter lettuce cups. I actually really didn’t miss the tortillas and side note…how pretty do these cute little lettuce cups look? If you are feeling the tortillas instead of the lettuce then go ahead and sub in the tortillas. Or you can be like me and convince yourself that since you skipped the tortillas then you should probably reward yourself with ice cream. Yep, I did that …it happens way too often too. Probably the reason why my pants are always tight! Note to self…for not tight pants maybe next time skip the tortillas and the ice cream. Realistically it probably won’t happen but it’s worth a try. Right?
These tacos are so full of flavor, the pineapple salsa mixed with the chile lime flavor of the tajin seasoning is kickin. I love the simplicity of the white fish paired with the bold flavors of the pineapple, chile and jalapeño and finished with a drizzle of lime crema to balance everything out. Pure perfection, all wrapped up in a cute butter lettuce taco. Yum!
- 1 lb white fish like rockfish, mahi mahi, halibut, etc
- juice of 1 lime
- 2 Tbsp good quality olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, pressed
- 2 tsp Tajin seasoning - can find in most grocery stores in the hispanic section
- ¼ tsp ground pepper
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 1 head butter lettuce, leaves separated and cleaned
- 1½ C fresh pineapple, chopped
- 1 medium avocado, chopped
- ¼ C red onion, sliced thin and chopped
- ½ jalapeno, seeded and choppped
- ¼ C cilantro, chopped
- juice of 2 limes
- pinch of kosher salt to taste
- ½ C 0% plain greek yogurt
- juice of 1 lime
- kosher salt to taste
- Cut fish against the grain into 2 inch strips. Add fish to a low bowl with 1 Tbsp olive oil and all remaining fish ingredients except for the butter lettuce. Turn to coat evenly. Allow to sit for about 15 minutes.
- While the fish is sitting, fold together all ingredients for the pineapple salsa in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a small bowl whisk together ingredients for lime crema and set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to the skillet. Add the fish, cooking each side approximately 3 minutes until cooked through.
- Lay butter lettuce flat on a plate, top with fish, pineapple salsa and lime crema. Add additional lime juice, cilantro and Tajin seasoning if desired.
Southwest Chicken Quinoa Bowl with Creamy Avocado Dressing
Say hello to your next totally delicious and really easy weeknight meal that’s packed with all the right ingredients! We are huge fans of all things bowls. Why is it so much more fun to deconstruct the meal and put it all in a bowl first? The typical bowl will have some type of grain or noodle as the base with your choice of veggies, meat or fish on top along with a delicious dressing. Our bowl creations are endless and this Southwest Chicken Quinoa bowl with Creamy Avocado Dressing is one of our absolute favorites. Check out how easy this deliciousness is to create.
You can even make the chicken and the quinoa for this recipe ahead of time and then all you need to do is assemble. How simple is that? So, we started with marinating the chicken breasts in lime juice, garlic, honey and some olive oil. Let it hang out in the fridge for at least an hour or even overnight. Heat a grill pan or bbq to medium-high heat and cook the chicken for 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through.
Set the chicken aside to cool and start on the creamy avocado dressing. Now you can start assembling the bowl with all of the remaining ingredients. Divide the quinoa evenly between the bowls and begin adding the purple cabbage, black beans, diced tomatoes, corn, avocado, sliced jalapeño and fresh cilantro. Drizzle the avocado dressing over the top and you are good to go! You can even squeeze some fresh lime juice over the top as well. Fresh citrus is always a game changer! We are sure you will love this recipe as much as we do.
Check out this recipe for chili lime chicken which would be perfect served in a bowl like this too!
- 1 medium chicken breast
- 2 limes
- 1 clove garlic, pressed
- 1 tsp honey
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 C quinoa, cooked according to package instructions
- ¼ C purple cabbage, chopped
- 1 roma tomato, chopped
- ¼ C black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
- ½ avocado, sliced
- 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
- ⅔ C 0% Greek yogurt
- ½ medium lime, juiced
- ¼ avocado
- 1 tsp honey
- kosher salt to taste
- Rinse and trim chicken breast, pat dry. Add chicken breast to a large ziploc bag. Add juice of 1 lime, garlic, honey and olive oil to the bag. Allow to marinade in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Heat an indoor grill pan or bbq to medium-high heat. Cook chicken for 3-5 minutes per side, depending on thickness.
- While chicken is cooling add ingredients together for the creamy avocado dressing. In a small food processor or blender add all dressing ingredients except for salt. Blend until incorporated, season with salt to taste.
- Divide quinoa evenly between two serving bowls. Top with purple cabbage, tomatoes, black beans, jalapeno, avocado and cilantro. Slice chicken and divide between the two bowls. Serve with remaining lime wedge and creamy avocado lime dressing.
Carne Asada with Fresh Pico de Gallo
The fresh ingredients are key in this recipe. You really can taste the difference when you take the time to buy and use the “real” stuff. You also can’t go wrong with citrus and steak. It just works people…trust us.
Lay the steak on a cutting board and poke a bunch of holes in it with a fork. This part is fun! Place it into a large freezer ziplock bag. Then, just chop up your cilantro, garlic and jalapeño and toss them into the bag with the steak. Add in the juice of the lime and orange, along with the oil and vinegar and smoosh it all around with your hands. Place it in the fridge and let it hang out for at least 2 hours.
After the steak is in the fridge marinating, you can get going on this delicious homemade pico de gallo! Yum! This is one of our favs…once again, very few ingredients and lots of flavor. This pico goes beautifully with this dish and well, quite frankly, this pico also happens to go beautifully with lots of other dishes too!! We are slightly addicted and you will be too after you give it a try. Who would think that by simply combining roma tomatoes, cilantro, red onion, jalapeño, some fresh lime juice and salt could be so amazing? Well, who cares? Let’s just eat it and not overthink it.
Get that bbq fired up to high heat and cook the steak for 7-10 minutes on each side…depending on how you like it prepared. Remove it from the grill and let it rest for about 10 minutes. When you are ready to serve it up, slice the steak on the grain and top it off with the pretty pico and you are Winning!! You can serve it with tortillas too…and maybe some guac if you are feeling crazy. Make our awesome Southwest Corn Salad with Honey Lime Vinagrette to go with this great steak. The family, friends,dinner guests…whoever you just made this for, are gonna be super happy.
- 2 lbs flank steak, trimmed
- 5 cloves garlic, smashed
- juice of 2 large navel oranges
- juice of 1 lime
- 3 Tbsp white vinegar
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
- 1 large handfull chopped cilantro - approx 1 C packed
- ⅓ C olive oil
- S & P
- 4 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
- ½ jalapeno, seeded and chopped - use more if you like it spicy
- ⅓ C chopped red onion
- ⅓ C chopped cilantro
- ½ lime, juiced
- pinch of kosher salt
- Mix all ingredients together and serve or make up to one day in advanced and store in the refrigerator.
- Lay steak out flat on a cutting board and poke steak all over both sides with a fork. Season both sides of flank steak with S&P. Place steak in a large ziploc freezer bag.
- In a small bowl add orange and lime juice, garlic, vinegar, jalapeno, cilantro and olive oil and stir until combined. Pour marinade in the ziploc bag with the flank steak. Remove air from bag and seal. Move marinade around to cover steak. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, flipping ziploc bag halfway if possible.
- Heat bbq to high heat. Grilled each side for approx 7-10 minutes per aide depending on how rare you prefer your steak.
- Allow meat to rest for 10 minutes. Slice steak against the grain. Serve with fresh pico de gallo and wrap in a tortilla if desired.
Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
If you want to take a shortcut and skip cooking the chicken breast at home, you can grab a rotisserie chicken and use that instead. Usually with a rotisserie chicken you have some leftover which is always a huge bonus!
There aren’t a ton of ingredients that go into these enchiladas, and as far as enchiladas go they are definitely on the healthier side. Made with shallots, greek yogurt, green chile sauce, fresh cilantro, a squeeze of lime and not a lot of cheese. The filling is made in one pan in a matter of about 5 minutes or so. Once you have the filling it’s time to begin the assembly line. You can use whatever type of tortillas you prefer, but flour tortillas usually hold up a little better.
Line a casserole dish with the green chile sauce. Assemble the tortillas with a large spoonful of filing, roll them up and line them side by side in the casserole dish. Top with a bit more enchilada sauce covering the tops of the tortillas and sprinkle with cheese.
You can either cook the enchiladas right away, or cover them in foil and pop them in the fridge for up to 24 hours to cook later. I love having dinner options that I can pre-make, lets face it…we are all busy and need any shortcuts we can get!
How good do these cheesy, creamy (yes, I said creamy), slightly spicy but not too hot for the kids, enchiladas look? They are on point and definitely need to be added to your “meals to make” list.
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 large shallot, chopped
- 3 C shredded chicken
- 28 oz jar green chile enchilada sauce
- ½ C 0% Greek yogurt
- 1½ cheddar cheese - can also use monterrey jack or pepperjack for added heat
- ½ C chopped fresh cilantro
- juice of 2 limes
- S & P to taste
- 6 flour tortillas
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped shallots and cook approx 2 minutes until soft. Add 1½ C of the green chile enchilada sauce, chicken, and greek yogurt and mix. Add cheese, cilantro and lime juice and stir until incorporated. Season with S&P to taste.
- Line a large casserole dish with a thin layer of enchilada sauce to coat the bottom of the dish. Set remaining sauce aside.
- Begin assembling enchiladas by placing chicken mixture in a line in the center of the tortilla, roll and place seam side down in the casserole dish. Continue until all of the tortillas have been filled.
- Top enchiladas with remaining sauce and sprinkle with remaining 1 C of cheese.
- Bake 25-30 minutes until slightly golden brown and bubbly.
Honey Lime Cilantro Salmon
This meal takes all of 20 minutes, including cooking time, to end up on a plate in front of you. Cooking really doesn’t get much easier than this. We paired this honey lime cilantro salmon with the chipotle sweet potato mash we posted on Thursday and oh boy…let me just tell you it was a match made in heaven.
Do yourself a favor, go to the store right now and buy a nice piece of center cut wild salmon, cilantro, limes and honey…assuming you already have olive oil, garlic and salt and pepper. Take the 20 minutes to put this salmon together and serve it alongside our chipotle sweet potato mash. No need to send us a thank you note, we will just get the formalities over with right now and tell you that you’re welcome.
- 1 lb wild salmon
- 2 Tbsp good quality olive oil
- 2 limes, juiced
- zest of 1 lime
- 1 clove garlic, pressed
- 2 Tbsp honey
- ½ C chopped cilantro
- S&P
- Heat bbq on high heat. Place salmon on a large piece of foil and season with S&P.
- In a small bowl add olive oil, lime juice and zest, garlic, honey and cilantro and whisk. Brush over the top of the salmon and wrap salmon in foil.
- Grill foil wrapped salmon for approx 15 minutes until cooked through. Remove from foil, skin will slide right off of the bottom of salmon. Serve with your favorite veggies or side - we served ours with chipotle sweet potato mash.
Sweet Potato & Black Bean Street Tacos with Pickled Red Onions and Lime Crema
This post was sponsored by S&W Beans as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in our post are our own.Without a doubt, these little street tacos are our new taco obsession! Let’s face it, we’ve never met a taco we didn’t like but some are definitely better than others. Filled with sweet potatoes, black beans, sautéed shallots, cotija cheese, cilantro, pickled red onions and topped with lime crema, they make for the perfect bite every time. Every ingredient that goes into these tacos is healthy, protein packed and full of FLAVOR!
We used S&W Brand of organic black beans in the tacos. We love that S&W offers an entire line of organic beans in all different varieties, aside from the organic and classic varieties they also offer low sodium as well. The S&W beans don’t disappoint, the texture is perfect, unlike a lot of other brands of canned beans that we have used that tend to be mushy. Of course the most important part is the taste, which is on point as well! Canned beans are a staple in both of our pantries because really…who has hours on end to soak and cook beans? Not us and probably not you either! It doesn’t get much easier than popping a can open, draining, rinsing and then adding to your favorite recipe…like these street tacos! One other bonus is that beans are an incredible source of fiber and protein. We use beans in a ton of our recipes from soups, to salads, and sometimes even desserts like black bean brownies…yum! In our opinion S&W offers the highest quality of beans, they have been in the biz for over 120 years so they know what they are doing and it shows in the quality of their products. Pick up a few cans for yourself with this special coupon offer ($1 off 2 cans of beans through April). Who doesn’t love an opportunity to save some dough??
http://swbeans.com/coupons-2/?utm_source=ICReferral&utm_campaign=Spring17&utm_medium=Influencer
So these delicious and unique tacos are a cinch to throw together, the only cooking involved is steaming the sweet potatoes (super easy) and a 3 minute sauté of the shallots….oh and a quick warming of the corn tortillas. Once the sweet potatoes and shallots are cooked through, add S&W organic black beans (drained and rinsed) cotija cheese, cilantro and lime juice. Mix everything together and pile a heaping tablespoon onto each corn tortilla. But wait…you can’t forget the toppers!!
The pickled red onions and lime crema take these tacos to the next level. You can purchase pickled onions at the store or you can save yourself a few bucks and quickly make them at home with just a few ingredients. Thinly slice a red onion, add to a bowl and pour warm water and red wine vinegar over the top. Stir in a little sugar and season with kosher salt to taste, let stand for at least 30 minutes before serving. Easy peasy! These pickled onions keep really well in the fridge for a few days so we suggest making extra because they are delicious in a salad or on a sandwich too!! You won’t regret having extra left over!
Also the lime crema is not allowed to be skipped either. Greek yogurt, fresh lime juice and salt…that’s it people! These street tacos will not disappoint, and they are made with ingredients that you can feel good about so eat up!
Check out all of the S&W products on their website at:
- 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ C warm water
- ¼ C red wine vinegar
- ½ tsp sugar
- kosher salt to taste
- ½ C 0% plain greek yogurt
- juice of 1 lime
- kosher salt to taste
- 2 sweet potatoes peeled and chopped into ½ inch cubes
- 1 C S&W organic black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 large shallot thinly sliced (1/2 C)
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- juice of 2 limes + 2 limes to garnish (cut into wedges)
- ½ C chopped cilantro
- ¼ C cotija cheese, crumbled
- 16 mini corn tortillas (street taco size) or 8 corn tortillas
- kosher salt to taste
- Place sliced onions in a medium bowl. Pour vinegar and warm water over the onions. Stir in sugar and season with kosher salt to taste. Let stand for at least 30 minutes before using - can be made at least 2 days ahead.
- In a small bowl add greek yogurt and lime juice and mix. Season with kosher salt to taste.
- Place sweet potatoes in stovetop steamer until tender and cooked through - about 5 minutes.
- While sweet potatoes are steaming, warm oil in a skillet over medium heat, add sliced shallots and sautee 3 minutes until soft.
- In a large bowl add black beans, sweet potatoes, shallots, lime juice, cotija cheese and cilantro and mix together. Place a large spoonful of sweet potato filling on each tortilla and garnish with pickled red onions, lime crema and lime wedges.
Citrus Press
Purchase on of your own below (affiliate):
Shrimp Tacos with Guacamole and Spicy Chipotle Crema
So let’s get serious for a second starting with the chipotle crema. Warning – you cannot make this meal without making the chipotle crema, it’s just not allowed. Also, do yourself a big favor, don’t skip the guacamole either. I mean that that would just be borderline criminal to serve tacos without guacamole. Now that we have the ground rules established, let’s get down to business. The chipotle crema is simply a mixture of chipotle peppers in adobo, greek yogurt and a sour cream. The chipotle peppers in adobo can be found in the Hispanic section in any grocery store. Use what you need for this recipe and freeze the rest in an airtight container for next time.
The combination of the pop of the shrimp, the smokey/spicy chipotle crema, the crunch from the purple cabbage and the guacamole to balance everything out will leave you dreaming about this meal. Dinner just got 100X better with these shrimp tacos, now I just need super nanny to knock on my door!
- 1 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined
- 1 Tbsp canola oil
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ C purple cabbage sliced thin
- ¼ C cotija cheese
- ⅓ C chopped cilantro
- 1 lime cut into wedges
- 8 corn tortillas - warmed
- 1 C Fage 0% greek yogurt
- 2 Tbsp Mexican crema or sour cream
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo + 1 Tbsp sauce (can find this in the Hispanic section in any grocery store - freeze unused chipotle peppers in a ziploc bag and reuse when needed)
- ½ tsp kosher salt + more to taste
- 3 large or 4 medium avocados
- ½ jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- ⅓ C red onion, minced
- ½ C loosely packed chopped cilantro
- juice of 1 lime
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- Add all ingredients to a blender or use an immersion blender until all ingredients are boken down and thoroughly incorporated. Set aside
- In a bowl add the avocado and mash with a fork, mashing the avocado to desired consistancy. Add remaining ingredients and stir to incorporate.
- Heat a large skillet with canola oil over medium-high heat. While the skillet is heating, mix the cumin, cayenne, chili powder, garlic powder and salt together in a small bowl. Sprinkle the dry powder on both sides of the shrimp (scale back on the cayenne and chili powder or add more depending on how much spice you prefer). Add shrimp to the hot skillet, don't overfill the skillet with shrimp, cook in batches if necessary. Cook each side approximately 2-3 minutes until shrimp is cooked through but not overcooked.
- Line tortillas with guacamole. Add shrimp (about 3) on top of the guacamole. Top with purple cabbage, cotija, cilantro and spicy chipotle crema. Serve with lime wedges on the side.
Mango Quinoa Salad
Stephanie Heymann Photography
A great place to break in your quinoa taste buds is with this Mango Quinoa Salad. It’s a cold salad filled with quinoa of course, sweet mangos, endamame, golden raisins, and toasted almonds tossed with honey lime vinaigrette. Bring this salad to your next backyard BBQ or dinner party and it will be a huge hit. Extra bonus, you will sound really cool since you now know how to pronounce it!
Stephanie Heymann Photography
- 4 C cooked red quinoa (can use any color - cook according to package instructions and cool)
- 2 mangos, chopped into ½ inch cubes
- ⅓ C golden raisins
- ½ C cooked shelled endamame
- ¼ C slivered toasted almonds
- 2 green onions, chopped
- S&P to taste
- juice of 2 large limes
- 2 Tbsp honey
- ⅓ C white balsamic vinegar
- ¼ C good quality olive
- In a small bowl add all of the ingredients for the vinagrette except for the olive oil. Slowly drizzle the olive oil while whisking. Set aside
- In a large bowl add all quinoa salad ingredients except S&P. Add vinaigrette and stir to coat, season with S&P to taste. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.