Blackened Fish Tacos

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These fish tacos are a new favorite dinner in our home. While I love the beer battered version, I think I’ve grown to love this lightened version better. Light, fresh, and bursting with flavor – it’s a meal that comes together in a half an hour or less. Plus, they’re relatively figure friendly (well, compared to their battered and fried cousin at least). This is the kind of meal that I’ll be looking forward to making after a long day at the beach with my guys!

The fish filets are quickly pan seared and piled into warm corn tortillas. Then topped with a spicy chipotle cilantro aioli, a refreshing mango salsa, and some finely shredded cabbage. The sweetness of the salsa, alongside the spicy smokiness of the aioli is sheer perfection. If you’re looking for a new time-friendly dinner to add to your menu, add these tacos. I’m fairly certain you’ll love them too!

Blackened Fish Tacos

1 lb flaky white fish filets (I used mahi-mahi)
3 tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp Cajun seasoning
2 tbsp olive oil
8 corn tortillas
shredded cabbage

For the mango salsa:
1 mango, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
3 tbsp cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced
1/2 tsp kosher salt

For the chipotle aioli:
1/3 cup good mayonnaise
3 tbsp sour cream
3 tbsp chopped chipotle in adobo sauce
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
juice from 1/2 a lime

To make the mango salsa, combine ingredients in large bowl and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for an hour to let flavors meld.

For the chipotle aioli, combine ingredients in a food processor and pulse several times until ingredients are well combined. Place in a small serving dish and set aside.

To prepare the fish, brush fish filets with melted butter. Sprinkle fish generously with seasoning. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add fish and cook, without moving, for 3 minutes. Flip filets, and cook for an additional 3 minutes, until fish is cooked through. Remove from heat, flake the meat with a fork, and set aside.

To assemble the tacos, warm corn tortillas in a skillet for a few moments. Pile fish into tortillas, followed by the chipotle sauce, the mango salsa, and the shredded cabbage.  Serve immediately.

Grilled Baby Bok Choy

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Grilled bok choy is one of my favorite vegetable side dishes. I usually cook it when we’re putting something on the grill anyways – steak, chicken, kabobs.  Often I’ll just keep the seasoning simple – olive oil, salt, and pepper. But, whenever I want something a little more special,  I made a wonderful spicy Asian vinaigrette to go on top before grilling.

Some people steer clear of bok choy because it falls under the cabbage category. If you think you don’t like cabbage, give this recipe a try. I too, was a “cabbage hater”, but bok choy really brought me around. It’s a very mild flavor, so it’s a great place to start. Feel free to play around with the flavorings in the vinaigrette too. I like the flavors that the soy sauce and Sriracha lend, but just most things in the kitchen, the possibilities are endless! I like to use  baby bok choy if I can find it, because it cooks so quickly and is tender. Large heads of bok choy will work as well, but you should quarter them before grilling.

Grilled Baby Bok Choy

4 heads of baby bok choy (or 1 head of full-sized)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon Sriracha
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat for 15 minutes, and lightly oil the grate.

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, Sriracha, and black pepper. Slice the bok choy in half, lengthwise. Brush the cabbage with the soy sauce mixture on the cut side, letting the vinaigrette fall into the grooves.

Lay the bok choy on the preheated grill, cut side up. Cook until the stalks show grill marks and the leaves are crisp at the edges, about 2 minutes. Turn the bok choy, brush with remaining soy mixture, cover, and grill the other side for about 2 more minutes. Remove to platter and serve.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

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This is one of my all time favorite “quick and easy” dinners. I usually have all the ingredients on hand, so I’ll turn to it on those nights when dinner doesn’t go as planned. Coincidentally, those are usually the same nights that a heaping helping of pasta in a luxurious cream sauce is just what the doctor ordered. It’s got a ton of flavor, and a good kick of heat. But, not too much – the boys are both able to enjoy it. Feel free to scale down or amp up on the seasoning per your liking.

I like the addition of chicken stock to the sauce. It’s a great way to inject flavor into a dish, that doesn’t involve a ton of fat or calories (which, would be the case if this weren’t a cream sauce). The wine is a great touch, but if you don’t have a bottle open, I’d just skip it. Then again, you could see it as an excuse to open a bottle. Whatever floats your boat! It’s also absolutely wonderful with shrimp swapped out for chicken.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon Cajun spice mix
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
½ onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 whole Roma tomatoes, diced
2 cups chicken broth
½ cups white wine
1 cup cream
Cayenne pepper, to taste
1 pound cooked fettuccine
2 scallions, chopped (for garnish)

Sprinkle 2 teaspoons Cajun spice over both sides of the chicken breasts. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to skillet, and cook on one side until well browned, about 5 minutes. Flip, and cook other side for about 4 minutes longer, or until juices run clear. Remove to plate and set aside. Add remaining tablespoon of olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add peppers, onions, and garlic. Sprinkle on remaining Cajun spice, and add salt if needed. Cook over medium high heat until peppers and onions are tender. Add tomatoes and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Remove all vegetables from the pan to a plate, and set aside.

With the pan over high heat, pour in the wine and chicken broth. Cook on high for 3 to 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Reduce heat to medium low and pour in cream, whisking constantly. Cook sauce over medium-low heat for a few minutes, until cream starts to thicken the mixture. Add cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste. Add the vegetables to the sauce. Slice the chicken breasts into 1/2″ thick strips, making sure to include all the juices that have drained into the sauce. Stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until mixture is bubbly and hot. Add drained fettuccine and toss to combine. Serve chicken strips on top of pasta. Sprinkle with scallions for garnish, if desired.

Source: adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Shrimp Enchiladas

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We love Mexican food. In fact we love it so much, we eat it at least twice a week in our house. It’s always fairly cheap, quick, and always delicious and filling. While we love my notorious chicken enchiladas, or beef tacos in a crispy fried shell, sometimes you just want something a little lighter and different. Which, can be hard to come by in Mexican cuisine. Enter these shrimp enchiladas. Now, I’m always a fan of anything shrimp – because we can get them so fresh, for a great price. But, to then cover them cheese sauce an wrap it in a tortilla? Sign me up!

These have become my new favorite meal. We’ve already had it twice in two weeks, and that’s not like us. They come together so quickly, with minimal effort. The most painstaking part was peeling and deveining the shrimp, which I’ve become pretty proficient with in all these years of practice. I used Pepper Jack, and I liked the hint of spice that it lent to the dish. I’ll admin, I was a little bit hesitant that the enchiladas had no sauce on the top. Believe me when I say this, you won’t miss it! The filling is so gooey and delicious, I think that sauce on the top would just be overkill. I did have some leftover cheese that I sprinkled on before baking. If you’re looking at a few blanks on your menu plan next week, fill one of them in with these delicious enchiladas. I’d bet they’ll become a new favorite for you too!

Shrimp Enchiladas

3 tbsp. butter, divided
1 lb. medium-size shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 red bell pepper, diced
¾ cup onion, diced
¼ tsp. oregano
¼ tsp. salt
Dash garlic powder
Dash cayenne pepper
2 tsp. all-purpose flour
6 tbsp. heavy cream or half-and-half
¼ cup sour cream
8 oz. shredded cheese (such as Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, etc.), divided
1 cup tomatoes, seeded and diced
8-10 (8-inch) flour tortillas
Cooking spray

In a large sauté pan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat.  Add the shrimp to the pan in an even layer and let cook without moving, about 1 minute.  Flip the shrimp over and continue to cook until just pink and opaque, 30-60 seconds longer.  Remove to a plate with a slotted spoon and set aside.  When the shrimp is cool enough to handle, roughly chop into bite sized pieces, if desired.

Melt the remaining butter in the pan.  Add the diced bell pepper and onion, and cook until just tender, about 5-7 minutes.  Add the oregano, salt, garlic powder, cayenne and flour to the pan; stir well and cook briefly until fragrant, about 30-60 seconds.  Lower the heat to medium-low and add the heavy cream to the pan, stirring to scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Cook just until slightly thickened, 1-2 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat.  Stir in the sour cream, half of the shredded cheese, and the tomatoes.  Return the shrimp to the pan as well, and mix everything together until the sauce is well blended and the cheese is melted.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.  Scoop 1/3 cup of the filling and sauce mixture down the center of a tortilla.  Sprinkle lightly with some of the reserved cheese.  Roll the tortilla tightly around the filling and place seam side-down in the  prepared baking dish.  Repeat with the remaining filling, tortillas and cheese.  Spray the tops of the finished assembled tortillas lightly with cooking spray.  Bake uncovered for about 30-35 minutes, until lightly browned.  Let cool at least 5-10 minutes before serving.

Source: adapted from My Kitchen Cafe, via Annie’s Eats