Spicy Sweet Cauliflower Tacos

Have you heard I'm obsessed with Cauliflower? I swear sometimes it tastes like meat. I love it because it takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it in, and it's so healthy. This recipe gets it crispy and delicious. Inspiration came from a number of recipes I found online but huge shout out to Eating Well for the Chipolte Lime sauce.  This was a combo of things we found fresh at our farmers market this season, but things you should be able to find year round. 

Spicy Sweet Cauliflower Tacos

• ¼ cup lime juice (from about 2 limes)
• 2 tablespoons chopped chipotles in adobo sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon honey
• 3 cloves garlic
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 large head cauliflower, cut into small bite sized floret
• 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 8 corn tortillas
• ½ cup crumbled queso fresco
• 1 cup Sliced red cabbage
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1/2 cup micro greens
• 4-5 radishes thinly sliced (cut in half if large)
• 1/2 cup green salsa/hot sauce of some sort (I love herdez Salsa Verde, and recently found a hatch green chile salsa in a jar I loved) 

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil.
2. Combine lime juice, chipotles, honey, garlic and salt in a blender. Process until mixed together well. 
3. Place cauliflower in a large bowl (microwave safe, this comes in handy later), add the sauce and stir to cover and coat. 
4. Transfer to the baking sheet. Sprinkle onion on top.
5. Roast, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is browned in spots, but tender, and the onion is cooked down. This takes about 20 minutes.
6. In the same bowl you tossed the cauliflower in, add your beans and toss around to soak up any of the sauce left. Heat in the microwave for about a minute, then mash beans with a fork so they smooth out. 
7. Heat tortillas either on a grill, directly on the gas stove top or in a pan. Do not take the microwave route or the taco shells won't hold up! 
8. To make a taco: Add mashed beans, then cauliflower and onions, top with cheese, cabbage, avocado, micro greens, radishes and salsa or hot sauce. 

**Makes 4 servings
**2 on Bryce's Dish scale since I reuse the bowl!

Quinoa Veggie Tacos in Lettuce Wraps

Three ways to make your traditionally not-so-healthy tacos... healthy. Add a lot of vegetables, swap the tortilla for lettuce and pack in the flavor with fresh ingredients. You won't miss the meat in this recipe because you get so much protein from beans and quinoa, that it almost tastes like meat. You can really experiment with the toppings and add whatever you want. I was inspired by this original recipe from Feasting not Fasting, and took the idea and ran with it. Just taking my own short cuts and adding in flavors we love. 

Quinoa Veggie Tacos in Lettuce Wraps

• ½ cup quinoa, rinsed
• 3 ears of corn, kernels cut off the cob
• 1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 yellow/orange bell peppers, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh salsa (not jarred, the kind in the refrigerated kind) 
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• ½ lb. sliced white mushrooms
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1½ tsp. chili powder
• ½ tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne (if you like things spicy) 
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro, split in half
• 1 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 head of lettuce, pick leaves that are good lettuce wraps, I like bibb leaves
• 1 avocado, diced

1. Combine 1/2 cup quinoa and 1 cup of water in a pan. Bring to a boil. Cover, knock the heat down to  low. Keep and eye on it. In about 10 minutes it should be close to done. When all the water is gone - it's done. 
2. While quinoa cooks, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and bell pepper and sauté about 3-4 minutes. Add in corn and sauté another 2 minutes.
3. Add garlic and mushrooms and continue cooking until veggies are cooked and lightly browned.
4. Stir in salt, chili powder, paprika, cumin, cayenne, half of the chopped cilantro, and ¼ cup salsa. Add quinoa and black beans. Stir and remove from heat.
5. Serve veggie filling, grated cheese, additional salsa, cilantro, and avocado in lettuce wraps.

**Makes 4 servings ( you can make leftovers into a salad too!)
**3 on Bryce's dish scale. Pot, skillet, knife, cutting board. A strainer for rinsing quinoa and beans. 

Grilled Skirt Steak and Shishito Pepper Tacos

Mexican food is my weakness. So I am always looking for healthy ways to fulfill my cravings when it comes to tacos, chips and salsa. On a beautiful summer night when shishito peppers were in season, my husband and I went searching for some ideas. This recipe is based loosely on this Eating Well Fajita recipe. I just loved the idea of grilling whole scallions, I had never tried it before, and it totally makes the dish. I also loved the method of keeping the peppers warm. Our key is using the grill to warm the tortillas. The flavor and texture is what makes this special. Also make sure to take note of using the griddle or foil is doing shishitos.  Side note, I know shishitos aren't always easy to find so I included the instructions for doing other peppers as well. We have used a combo of poblano and Anaheim peppers to fill in for the shishitos. We have also used flank steak, because finding skirt steak around here requires a special trip to the butcher instead of the regular grocery store. HOWEVER, skirt steak is the way to go if you can find it. This may look like a lot of steps. But it's really not complicated and it's healthy. 

Grilled Skirt Steak and Shishisto Pepper Tacos

• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds skirt steak or flank steak trimmed
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground ancho chile powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon olive oil (plus more if using griddle on the grill) 
• 2 bunches scallions
• EITHER 1 pint Shishito peppers, OR if not in season 3 poblano peppers (I have also used Anahiem if I can't find Poblano) 
• 1 avocado
• 2 fresh limes
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt, divided
• 1 small tomato
• 1/4 cup toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) 
• hot sauce for serving (I like Cholula)
•  1/4 cup crumbled Queso fresco
• 12 corn tortillas (taco sized) 

1. Heat charcoal or gas grill to high. (I always prefer charcoal). If doing shishito peppers, make sure to have either a cast iron insert on your grill or create a foil tray, so they don't fall through (this is our go to tool for our Weber, the griddle).
2. Dice avocado and tomatoes.  Combine avocado, tomato, the juice of one lime, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, and pepitas in a bowl. Set aside. 
3. Combine ancho chile powder, cumin and 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt in a bowl. Rub both sides of the steak with the the spice mixture. 
4. Brush scallions and whatever peppers you use with the olive oil. 
5. If you are using the griddle insert on the grill, oil it with about a 2 teaspoons of olive oil right before throwing the peppers on. Grill the peppers for 8-10 minutes until the skin is charred and blistering. If doing shishitos you will have to turn often. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to trap the heat until everything else is finished. 
6. Put steak and scallions on the grill. Grill the scallions for 2-4 minutes until charred, you'll have to turn them frequently. Grill the steak for about 3 minutes per side for medium rare. 
7. When you remove the steak, tent it with foil while you prepare the onions and peppers. 
8. Before you cool the grill off, throw your corn tortillas on for about 30-45 seconds a side to warm and SLIGHTLY char them. This is critical to a good corn tortilla that won't fall apart. 
9. Cut the ends off the scallions, and then slice them into one inch pieces and transfer to a serving dish. Remove peppers from bowl. If using shishito peppers, remove the stems and you are done. If using anahiem or poblano, remove as much of the charred skin as you can with a quick brush of a paper towel. Remove stems, cut open and remove seeds. Then cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Transfer to the same dish as the onions.
10. Squeeze juice of second lime over the peppers and onions. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon sea salt. 
11. Slice your steak against the grain very thinly into small pieces. 
12. To assemble tacos top a corn tortilla with some steak, the avocado mixture, some peppers and onions, hot sauce and a tiny bit of queso fresco. Three tacos make a serving. 

**Makes 4 servings

**3 on Bryce's dish scale. A few bowls, a few cutting boards and the hand wash only grill insert complicate this one. 

TACO NIGHT: Fast Fish Tacos with Cabbage Slaw and Avocado Sauce

We came up with this recipe combining about 30 different ideas I found on Pinterest while shopping at Whole Foods one night. I knew we wanted to do fish tacos, but the sheer number of recipes out there was overwhelming. So I picked favorite parts of ones that sounded good and this is where we ended up. We were shocked how easy and quick it was and even though we made it as a weekend meal we realized it could easily be whipped up for a fast weeknight meal. It made about 3 servings for us.

 

 

Fast Fish Tacos with Cabbage Slaw and Avocado Sauce

• About 3 Mahi Mahi filets (I bought a frozen package that was about 12 oz and thawed them)
• 1 teaspoon ground Cayenne Red Pepper
• 2 teaspoons ground Cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt 
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 ripe Avocado
• 1 cup Cilantro chopped, divided (1/2 in the avocado sauce and half in the slaw)
• 1/2 cup of nonfat plain Greek Yogurt
• Juice of one lime
• zest of one lime
• olive oil pam
• 1/2 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
• 1/2 tablespoon Red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Honey
• 1/2 of a bag or container of Cabbage slaw mix (I found one with red and green cabbage and carrots)
• Corn Tortillas, heated according to package

 

1. In a small bowl Mix together the dry seasonings from cayenne to chili powder.
2. Coat each side of the Mahi filets in the seasoning. 
3. Coat a skillet in some olive oil Pam, and heat to medium.
4. Throw the fish in the pan and cook for about 5 minutes a side.
5. Use a blender or magic bullet or food processor like thing to mix together the avocado cream. Mix in the avocado, 1/2 cup of cilantro, Greek yogurt, lime juice and zest. Blend until smooth. I then put it in a Ziploc bag and cut a tip of one corner off to make it easier to top the tacos in a smooth and uniform way.
6. Toss together the cabbage slaw, vinegars and honey.
7. Once the fish is cooked, cut into strips or chunks to fit the tacos better. I just did this with the spatula because it easily  fell apart.
8. Top each corn tortilla with a few pieces of fish, a little slaw and the avocado cream.

 

Roasted Veggie Tacos

I'm so excited to share this recipe with you. We completely made it up one night after going to the farmer's market and picking up a bunch of fresh veggies. It turned out amazing. We use corn tortillas and find they fall apart very easily, but are so good with this. You could easily adjust this to use whatever veggies you like or maybe add in more peppers if you wanted it spicier.


Roasted Vegetable Tacos

• one small eggplant, chopped into bite sized pieces about 1/2 inch
• one zucchini, chopped into bite sized pieces about 1/2 inch
• one yellow squash, chopped into bite sized pieces about 1/2 inch
• one ear fresh corn, shaved off the cob into kernels
• one poblano pepper, chopped into bite sized pieces about 1/2 inch
• one yellow onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• one bunch fresh radishes (about 6), thinly sliced
• 2 fresh limes
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• one bunch of cilantro
• One can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup of pepitas, toasted (I toast mine for about 5 minutes in the toaster oven on 350)
• one avocado, chopped up for topping
• 1 cup of whatever type of cheese you like on your tacos, we used a Mexican blend
• tortillas, I use corn tortillas

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Toss the corn, eggplant, zucchini, squash, poblano pepper, olive oil and garlic salt and pepper on a big baking sheet or jelly roll pan. 
3. Roast the veggies for about 20 minutes until tender- tossing a couple times.
4. While the veggies roast, toss the radishes with the juice of one fresh lime, the red wine vinegar and a little salt - set aside. This lets them get an almost pickled flavor.
5. Also while the veggies roast: Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Toss in the onion and cook for about 5 minutes until softened. Add in the garlic, black beans, and juice of one lime. Cook until heated through. Toss in about a handful of chopped cilantro right before you serve.
6. To assemble the tacos on your tortilla: layer a spoonful of black bean mix, veggie mix, radishes, avocado, cheese and top with toasted pepitas and more chopped cilantro if you want.

**Makes at least 4 servings depending on how big your appetite is
**On Bryce's dish scale, it's a 3. (reminder 1-5, 5 being the worst). Baking sheet, cutting board/knife, skillet, bowl to mix radishes in.