Avocado, Corn and Tomato Salad

Ingredients
2 cans of corn or 1 bag frozen corn, thawed
2 avocados, chopped
2 cups cherry tomatoes
1 small red onion, diced
1 large cucumber, diced
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

For the dressing:

6 Tbs olive oil

2 Tbs red wine vinegar
1 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbs fresh cilantro, minced
½ tsp salt
10 grinds of fresh ground pepper

Directions

Combine all vegetables in a large bowl.  You can either add the dressing to the whole batch (as I did), or set it aside and add only when serving.

I found this was a great addition to our fish tacos!

Adapted from this recipe. 

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Ingredients
18 jumbo pasta shells
1 lb. ground turkey (could substitute ground beef)
4 oz. cream cheese
Approx. 2 cups salsa
Approx. 2 cups shredded cheese (I used a Mexican blend)
Sour cream, black olives, and chives for topping (optional)
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions

1.  Preheat the oven to 350°.  Cook the pasta shells according to package directions. While shells are cooking, brown the ground turkey with the all the seasonings in a frying pan.

2. When the shells are done, drain and lay them out on a cutting board to cool and dry off a little (if you leave them in the pot too long, they begin to stick together and are very difficult to work with!).

3. When the meat is done, add the cream cheese and mix until it melts. Then remove from heat and allow it to cool down.

4. Pour some salsa into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Stuff the shells with the meat mixture and arrangement in the baking dish. Cover with the remaining salsa. (I didn't actually measure out the salsa, I just used an amount that looked good)

5. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then remove from oven, add the cheese (again, I didn't measure, just estimated a good amount), and bake for another 10-15 minutes without the foil until cheese is nice and melted.

We topped ours with some sour cream, chives and black olives, and served with a box of Zatarain's black beans and rice. It was a great meal!

The inspiration for this dish was found here.

Slow Cooker Barbacoa Beef

Ingredients:

3 lbs beef roast, fat removed, cut into a few pieces for better flavor penetration
1/2 red onion
2-4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped up a little, with the sauce
About 1/2 head of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cloves
About 1/4 of a bunch of fresh cilantro
1 can chicken stock
1/4 cup cider vinegar
4 Tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons salt

Directions:

Throw everything in the crock pot.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  When it's done, drain most of the liquid into a bowl and set aside.  Using two forks, shred the beef (this was super easy because it just falls apart!).  Add back in a little bit of the liquid, so it's nice and juicy.

We served our meat in burritos, with some shredded cheese, sour cream, and a very basic homemade salsa (see recipe below), but I'm sure there are lots of ways you could eat it.

The verdict: it was amazing!!!  Mike said it was one of the best meals I've ever made.  He requested we have it regularly. :)  I have to agree, it was absolutely delicious!  If you're really sensitive to spicy foods, cut back on the chipotle peppers - maybe only use a couple.  But I thought the flavor was perfect, and not too spicy at all.

The fresh salsa is really key.  You can make it the night before or just before serving, but I highly recommend making some.  I just threw together 6 roma tomatoes (chopped), the other half of the red onion (diced), 1 jalapeno pepper (diced, with seeds), 4 cloves of garlic (minced), 3/4 bunch of cilantro (chopped), a couple Tablespoons of lime juice, and a little salt.  It's quick and easy but far better than anything you'll find in the store!

Fish Tacos

I never thought I would like fish tacos.  Something about them just sounded gross to me.  But one day, when I was feeling adventurous, I decided to give them a try.  Wow, are they good!  Now I deeply regret all those years I went without this amazing dish in my life!  So I'm making up for lost time by eating these on a regular basis now. :)

Ingredients
1 lb white fish (so far I've tried tilapia and halibut, both were great!)
1 Tbs oil
Tortillas
Salsa or other toppings of choice

For the cilantro cream sauce (this really makes the tacos, so don't skip!):
1 small container sour cream
4 Tbs fresh cilantro, minced
2 Tbs lime juice
2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions

Cook the fish in a frying pan over medium heat with the oil.  It should only take about 3 minutes per side.  Fish is done when it begins to flake apart easily.

To make the cilantro cream sauce, simply mix together all the ingredients listed.

Shred the fish and serve in the tortillas with toppings of choice.  I decided to serve mine with my favorite fresh avocado salsa, which I thought was perfect!

Note: the original recipe calls for marinating the fish prior to cooking, but I find that the toppings (cilantro and lime sour cream mixture plus the salsa) have all the flavoring you need, so I save time by skipping that step.

Adapted from this recipe.