Roasted Blackened Shrimp Tacos with Chipotle Yogurt Sauce

Ever since I began roasting shrimp, I can barely cook it any other way! It's so quick and easy. I really wanted some tacos the other night,so I whipped up this delicious recipe and created a yogurt sauce that I thought you all might enjoy ....

 CHIPOTLE YOGURT SAUCE

1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp adobo sauce
1 squeeze of lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste

ROASTED BLACKENED SHRIMP 

1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tsp paprika
1.5 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp olive oil






TACO ADORNMENTS 

Flour or corn tortillas
Broccoli slaw
Cilantro
Sliced avocado
Peaches
Cherry tomatoes
Feta or goat cheese

To roast shrimp:

Preheat oven to 400F.

Toss shrimp with olive oil, pepper, oregano, cumin, paprika and garlic.

Place evenly on baking sheet and roast for 5 minutes.

To make chipotle sauce:

Mix all ingredients in separate bowl and set in refrigerator to chill.

To assemble tacos:

Warm tortillas in pan. About 15 seconds on each side or until lightly charred.

Spread chipotle sauce on base of tortilla, then add shrimp. Adorn with other ingredients as you like.

ENJOY!

Easy Turkey Meatballs

As much as I love to cook, there are some weeks that I put off going to the grocery store for days and days....and those are the days I have to get really creative! So, I just returned from a very fun trip to Chicago, but before I left, I was in dire need of groceries...we are talking scrounging through frozen veggies and leftover frozen meat. I did not want to eat out, so I decided to make something out of what I had in the fridge and spice cabinet. And these turkey meatballs were born! 

Turkey meatballs (before baking)

 

Here is the very simple and (quite delicious) recipe:

INGREDIENTS

• Lean ground turkey 
• Minced garlic
• Minced onion
• Crushed red pepper
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp crushed rosemary
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 cups tomato/pasta sauce
• 1 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper

A lot of recipes call for eggs, but I did not use eggs. I found that the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese helped to bind, and the tomato sauce helped to moisten.

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large mixing bowl, mix all ingredients and 1 cup of the tomato/pasta sauce. I used Classico Tomato & Basil pasta sauce. Form into 1-inch meatballs. The consistency should be a little sticky (not gooey).

Place meatballs in greased baking dish, and bake for 20-25 minutes. You can check the meatballs around 20 minutes and cut into one of them to make sure the turkey is cooked. 

Serve with the remaining heated pasta sauce and your favorite vegetable. If you are a pasta lover, these would be excellent in a spaghetti or pasta dish. ENJOY!

Cheat of the Week: Southern Eggs Benedict with Spicy Sausage Gravy

I spent about 20 years of my youth in a wonderfully fun town called Athens, Georgia. If you haven't been there, you need to visit! It's home to my alma mater, the University of Georgia (GO DAWGS!), and is the musical birthplace of REM and the B-52s (Love Shack, baby!!)....oh, and I must acknowledge that they were just named to Buzzfeed's "11 Coolest Small Cities" ....anyway...it's really a great place!

I left Athens in 2006, and with the move, I left behind a great little eatery called Five Star Day Cafe' (which has since closed...devastating).

Five Star Day Cafe' in beautiful downtown Athens, Georgia

Everything on their menu was absolutely delightful, especially their Five Star Benedict. The benedict was the last breakfast I ate before I left Athens, and the one meal I was sure to have when I came home to visit. I craved it so much after I left, that I experimented in the kitchen until I recreated it as best I could! Every time my sister comes to visit me, she requests that I make this for her before she leaves, and of course, I'm happy to oblige! 

So, for the Cheat of the Week, I present to you...Taryn's Southern Eggs Benedict with Spicy Sausage Gravy!

This recipe serves 2...

INGREDIENTS (for sausage gravy)

1 pound ground pork sausage

3 tablespoons bacon grease

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tsp red pepper flakes

OTHER INGREDIENTS:

Center-cut bacon

4 Eggs

1 can of biscuits (I personally prefer Pillsbury Grands Golden Flaky Layer Biscuits)

DIRECTIONS

1.  Fry bacon to get the 3 tbsp of bacon grease. Set bacon strips aside, leaving grease in the frying pan.
2.  Brown sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Set aside, leaving the drippings in the skillet. Mix bacon grease into the sausage drippings. Reduce heat to medium, combine with flour, and stir constantly until mixture just turns golden brown.
3. Gradually whisk milk into skillet. When the mixture is smooth, thickened, and begins to bubble, return the sausage to skillet. Add red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper to your liking (I like mine a little spicier, so I usually use a bit more pepper than most). Reduce heat, and simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. While gravy is cooking, place biscuits in oven to bake. Poach eggs.  To prepare the benedict, place open faced biscuit on plate. Put two strips of bacon on each biscuit half. Place one poached egg on each biscuit half. Cover entire biscuit with sausage gravy...and serve!

This is a very heavy meal, so I like to serve mine with fruit...but if you are going to be eating this and you have a hearty appetite, you can also serve with roasted breakfast potatoes!