Taco Tuesday

It's time for another Taco Tuesday (no explaination needed, because, well, tacos). Today's offerings include Cilantro Lime Shrimp Tacos and Chicken Tacos With Chipotle. Enjoy!

TACO PIZZA ROLLS

This comes from Old El Paso, and begins, "Switch up taco night by combining two family favorites into one tasty dish – Taco Pizza Rolls!"

Prep Time: 10 minutes; Total Time: 35 minutes; Makes 6 servings

To view this inline, go to https://www.oldelpaso.com/recipes/taco-pizza-rolls.

Ingredients

1/2 lb ground beef

2 tablespoons Old El Paso™ taco seasoning mix (from 1-oz package)

1 can Pillsbury refrigerated classic pizza crust

3 tablespoons water

1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese

Optional toppings: lettuce, tomato, sour cream, onion, and guacamole

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°F and lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a medium skillet, cook and brown beef until no longer pink. Drain. Add taco seasoning and water and cook for 2-3 minutes. Set aside and cool slightly before using.

Take pizza dough out of its package and unroll it onto a flat surface. Slightly roll or press the pizza dough out into a rectangle.

Add the taco meat evenly on top of the pizza dough. Sprinkle the cheese evenly on top.

Starting with the long edge of the pizza dough, roll dough tightly up into a roll. Using a serrated knife, make about 1-inch slices along the roll, making about 18 rolls.

Place rolls on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

Serve immediately and top with desired toppings.

CARNITAS MINI TACO BOWLS

This is from Old El Paso, and begins, "This Carnitas Mini Taco Bowl recipe brings warm, spicy flavor with a hassle-free approach. Simmer pulled pork in Old El Paso™ Original Taco Seasoning, then serve up in our Old El Paso™ Soft Mini Tortilla Bowls with queso fresco cheese, and then spice it up with jalapeño chiles and radish slices. Easy to make, and customizable to anyone's taste, these mini pulled pork taco bowls make any taco night delicious."

Prep Time: 40 minutes; Total Time: 3 hours 50 minutes; Makes 12 servings

To view this online, go to https://www.oldelpaso.com/recipes/mini-carnitas-taco-bowls.

Ingredient

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 package (1 oz) Old El Paso™ original taco seasoning mix

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon salt

3- to 4-lb boneless pork shoulder, trimmed, cut in 2- to 3-inch pieces

2 cups chopped yellow onions

6 cloves garlic, peeled

2 cups water

1/4 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 packages (5.1 oz each) Old El Paso™ soft tortilla mini bowls, heated as directed on package

1 1/2 cups crumbled queso fresco

1 cup sliced radishes

2 medium jalapeño chiles, thinly sliced

Lime wedges

Preparation

In large bowl, mix vegetable oil, taco seasoning mix, cumin, coriander and salt. Add pork, and toss to coat; pour into 5-quart Dutch oven. Place onions and garlic on top of pork. Add water, orange juice and lime juice. Heat to boiling over high heat. Stir; reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer uncovered 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally, until pork is tender.

Increase heat to medium; cook 3 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently and pressing on pork with spatula to shred meat, until sauce thickens and pork is coated in cooking liquid.

Divide pork mixture among heated mini bowls; top with queso fresco, radishes and jalapeño chiles. Serve with lime wedges.

Expert Tips

Remove as much fat as possible from the pork to avoid a fatty sauce.

BREAKFAST BURRITOS [VEGAN]

This is from Robin Browne on One Green Planet, and begins, "If you're looking for a hearty, protein-packed, and filling dish, you gotta try these vegan breakfast burritos. Use your favorite gluten-free tortillas and load them up with roasted garlicky potatoes, cheezy tofu, avocado lime crema, and your go-to salsa! These vegan burritos are bound to bring a smile to anyone's face."

One Green Planet is a great website that is earth-friendly, animal-friendly, and (yes) people-friendly. I highly recommend the site. Give it a look…

For this recipe, Cooking Time is 40 minutes; Serves 4

To view this online, go to https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/breakfast-burritos-vegan/.

Ingredients

For the Roasted Potatoes:

4 cups cubed potatoes (roughly 1" cubes)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons oil

salt and pepper to taste

For the Tofu Scramble:

7 ounces extra firm tofu

2 teaspoons oil of choice

2 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1/2 lemon juiced

salt and pepper

2 sprigs of green onion

For the Avocado Lime Creme:

1 ripe avocado

1 lime, juiced (1 1/2 Tbsp juice)

1 garlic clove

Other

4 large tortilla wraps

salsa of choice

Prepartion

Preheat the oven to 425ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cut 2-3 medium potatoes (I used Russet) into small cubes and then toss them in the oil, garlic powder, sea salt, and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes, then flip and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until golden and crispy.

While the potatoes are baking start on the tofu. I suggest pressing the tofu for a few minutes to remove the excess water. Wrap the tofu in a towel and place a heavy object on it for a few minutes. Then heat a pan over medium heat and add the oil to it.

Crumble the tofu in the pan, and further break it down using a spatula. Add in the garlic, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper. Mix. Cook for 10 minutes or so. Toss in the green onion and set aside.

Prepare the avocado lime creme by adding the avocado, lime juice and garlic to a food processor, process until smooth. Set aside.

Begin to assemble the breakfast wraps once the potatoes are done.

It's best to heat each tortilla in the microwave for 15 seconds to soften them so that rolling the tortillas is easier and they are less likely to crack.

Add potatoes, tofu, avocado-lime creme and salsa to each wrap. You should easily have enough for 4 wraps and some potatoes left behind (but these are perfect on the side).

All these ingredients can be stored in containers in the fridge for leftovers. I suggest reheating before eating.

CILANTRO-LIME SHRIMP TACOS

This comes from Delish.com, and begins, "Originating in Baja California, fish and shrimp tacos have become popular pretty much anywhere seafood is available. These in particular have quickly become a fan favorite. The combination of avocado slaw, marinated shrimp, and garlic-lime mayo makes for a seriously delicious taco. Serve 'em up with a margarita and extra hot sauce on the side."

Total Time: 35 minutes; Yields: 4 servings

To view this online (including more Q&A about this), go to https://www.delish.com/cooking/a21271308/cilantro-lime-shrimp-tacos-recipe/.

Ingredients

For the tacos

Juice of 3 limes

2 tbsp. freshly chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp. cumin

1 tbsp. olive oil

Zest of 1 lime

Kosher salt

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined

8 Tortillas, warmed, for serving

For the cabbage slaw

1 c. shredded green cabbage

1/4 c. cilantro

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 avocado, thinly sliced

Juice of 1 lime

1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

For the garlic-lime mayo

1/3 c. Duke's Mayonnaise

2 tbsp. hot sauce

Zest of 1 lime

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Kosher salt

Directions

In a large bowl, whisk together lime juice, cilantro, garlic, cumin, olive oil, lime zest and season with salt. Add shrimp and cover with plastic wrap. Let marinate 20 minutes in refrigerator.

Make slaw: in a large bowl combine all slaw ingredients. Toss gently to combine and season with salt.

Make garlic-lime mayo: in a medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Whisk and season with salt.

Preheat grill or grill pan to medium heat. Grill shrimp until pink and opaque, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Build tacos: add a scoop of slaw, a few shrimp, and a drizzle of the garlic-lime mayo to each taco. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

TACO LETTUCE WRAPS

This is from Kristina72913 at AllRecipes. Prep Time: 5 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes; Total Time: 25 minutes; Makes 6 servings

To view this online, go to https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/274968/taco-lettuce-wraps/.

Ingredients

1 pound ground turkey

1 (16 ounce) package frozen corn

1 (15 ounce) can black beans

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix

romaine leaves, rinsed and dried

Directions

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir ground turkey in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in corn, black beans, diced tomatoes, and taco seasoning. Bring to a simmer and cook until heated through, 10 to 12 minutes.

Lay lettuce leaves on a flat surface and fill with turkey and bean mixture.

CHICKEN TACOS WITH CHIPOTLE

This is from David Tanis on The New York Times cooking site. David wrote, "For good tacos, you need fresh, hot tortillas and a zesty filling. Canned chipotle chiles will do the trick with their smoky heat; it's an easy way to get flavor fast. Look for small cans with 'chipotle chiles in adobo' on the label. And Mexican groceries generally have better-quality tortillas than the ones you find in supermarkets; it's worth seeking those out and heating them gently over steam, or by toasting them in a dry cast-iron pan. You can also use this recipe with precooked chicken, which makes this already quite simple recipe as easy as falling out of bed."

Yield: 4 servings; Time: 1 hour

This was featured in "Chicken Tacos Let You Think Fast", and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017936-chicken-tacos-with-chipotle.

Ingredients

For the tacos:

4 large bone-in chicken thighs, about 1 1/2 pounds

3 scallions, left whole

1 bay leaf

1 thyme branch

3 black peppercorns

1 allspice berry

2 cloves

Kosher salt

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 or 3 chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped

3 tablespoons adobo sauce, from the can

1/2 cup broth (use broth from simmered chicken)

8 fresh corn tortillas

For garnish:

1 small white onion, finely chopped, soaked in ice water for 10 minutes and drained

Thinly sliced serrano chile

Thinly sliced radishes

Sliced avocado

Crumbled queso fresco or mild feta cheese

Crème fraîche or Mexican crema

Cilantro sprigs

Dried oregano

Lime wedges

Preparation

Put chicken thighs in a saucepan and cover with 3 cups water. Add scallions, bay leaf, thyme, peppercorns, allspice, cloves and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Simmer for 30 minutes, then remove chicken and cool. Shred chicken with your fingers, discarding chicken skin and bone. Strain broth and reserve. You should have about 2 cups shredded chicken.

Put olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add diced yellow onion, season with salt and cook until softened and a bit browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cumin and cook for 1 minute more. Add chopped chipotle chile and adobo sauce and stir to combine. Add shredded chicken, salt lightly and stir to coat. Add chicken broth and simmer for 2 or 3 minutes, until sauce has thickened somewhat. Keep warm.

Heat the tortillas over steam or by your favorite method, keeping them soft and pliable.

Build the tacos quickly: Put a spoonful of the saucy chicken in the center of each tortilla. Top with a teaspoon of chopped white onion, a few slivers of serrano chile, some radish and avocado slices, a teaspoon of queso fresco and a teaspoon of crème fraîche. Add a few cilantro springs and a small pinch of oregano. Serve immediately with lime wedges on the side.