Weeknight Idea: Nectarine Shrimp Tacos

Okay okay... I know your Facebook feed is full of first day of school pictures and you're dreaming of a new Lisa Frank Trapper Keeper, but Fall's not here yet. Especially in the produce aisle. So put off that damn Pumpkin Spice Latte for a few more weeks and enjoy the freshness while you still can.

When fruit is this good, take it beyond breakfast and try a savory preparation. I love sweet stone fruits in cool dishes this time of year and the flavors of Mexican cuisine lend themselves really well to using fruits. I whipped up these nectarine tacos in under 20 minutes on a weeknight. Fresh, spicy, sweet and crisp.

Pumpkins and boots are coming, but live in the moment why don't you? The nectarines will thank you.

Nectarine Shrimp Tacos

1/2lb cooked shrimp (thaw the frozen stuff or use grilled, if you have it)

1 large avocado, chopped

2 ripe nectarines, chopped

1 jalapeno, minced

1/2 red onion, minced

3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Juice of 1 lime

1 tablespoon mango chutney

2 generous pinches salt

6 corn tortillas

Toss together shrimp with avocado, nectarines, jalapeno, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, chutney and salt. Serve in warm tortillas and enjoy.

Citrus Kale Salad

I try to eat local when I can, but these Midwestern winters can leave a girl feeling skurvy-ish. Totally a word, btw. My favorite winter import? Bright, sunny citrus. Tart, juicy bites of grapefruit and orange taste like a little bit of sunshine.

This salad keeps it simple and lets the citrus shine. Kale and avocado add nice texture variety and a sweet-tart vinaigrette finishing things off.

This is definitely an easy weeknight kinda thing, but it does require a bit of technique. You'll feel so much fancier and the texture is much improved if you segment the orange and grapefruit. Great little tutorial here. Be sure to do it over a bowl so that you capture all the delicious juices.

This is a nice alternative to a ho-hum green salad. Try adding a bit of grilled chicken or shrimp if you're looking for a full meal. 

Citrus Kale Salad
1 bunch kale, washed and chopped
1 orange
1 grapefruit
2 tablespoons avocado oil (or olive oil)
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 avocado, sliced

Start by segmenting the orange and grapefruit over a bowl, reserving the juice. Set aside segments and squeeze out remaining juice from the guts of the grapefruit and orange.

In a jar, combine orange and grapefruit juice, avocado oil, honey and salt. Shake and taste; adjust salt and honey to taste.

Toss dressing with kale and let sit for 20-30 minutes to tenderize. Top with orange, grapefruit and avocado. Enjoy!

BLT Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing

Certain dishes are classics for a reason. Years of tried and true preparation have yielded a near-perfect balance. Enter my favorite sandwich... the BLT. The dry, salty bite of bacon with sweet, juicy tomato and the fresh crunch of lettuce. All punctuated by a tangy spread of mayo.

I distinctly remember eating them on a Saturday afternoon with my mom and Grammie. White bread, heavy dollop of mayo, iceberg lettuce; all served on fine china. So. Damn. Good.

I've outgrown the white bread these days and am always looking for healthier twist for weeknight dinner. This classic sandwich gets a simple salad makeover, by up-ing the lettuce and taking down the carbs. Fresh avocado dressing is a great alternate solution for the creamy mayo too. Now that I've discovered this dressing, I basically want to put it on everything too.

BLT Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing
For Salad
6 slices bacon, but into 1/2 inch pieces
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
1 quart cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 red onion, minced
1/2 avocado, chopped
Salt and pepper

For dressing
1/2 avocado, cut into chunks
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 teaspoons water

Warm a pan over medium heat, add chopped bacon and cook until crisped, about 5 minutes. Remove to a paper-towel lined plate to drain.

Combine dressing ingredients except for water in a food processor and pulse until ingredients are combined. Slowly add water until dressing reaches a liquid-y consistency.

Toss bacon, lettuce, tomato, onion and avocado together with dressing and serve immediately.

Spinach Avocado Grilled Cheese

You know what's better than tomato soup? Tomato soup and grilled cheese. It's a classic for a reason people. But why do we always seem to insist on using individually wrapped slices of cheese product? Back away. There is an entire world out there of grilled cheese goodness and just think of the possibilities when you add the wondrous avocado!

From the moment I saw this idea floating around on Pinterest I beat up on myself for making grilled cheese for the past 28 years without avocado. The luxuriant texture of an avocado is born to pair with melty cheese. But depth of cheese was needed here... silky provolone and feta with bite. But one more component made the cheese say "you complete me" -- a toothsome bite of fresh spinach. Ugh... I die.

Spinach Avocado Grilled Cheese

8 slices good quality sandwich bread

1 avocado, sliced

4 slices provolone cheese

1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

2 cups baby spinach

Butter

Spread a thin layer of butter on one side of each slice of bread. With butter side down, layer provolone, avocado, spinach and feta onto bread. Top with another slice; butter sides out. 

Grill sandwich over low heat until both sides are slightly browned and cheese is melted. 

Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas

I should be writing about brownies, adorable hand-made candies or even aphrodisiac red wine and oyster concoctions. Alas, I'm getting into the Valentine spirit with the least romantic of cuisines.... Mexican and beans. Well, if you're interested in saying "fuck it" and farting on the couch all night, whilst cursing and watching Bridget Jones' Diary, you're all set. 

I'm actually not a Valentine hater. The lovely husband always makes me feel special and we have a date night planned. But after all of my crazy work and travel, this was the last recipe left in my queue. So let's just embrace the anti-romance, shall we?  

Mexican food does seem to get a bad wrap, both for its date-friendliness and ill reputation for health. I mean, you social handling of digestion is your business, but Mexican food doesn't have to be bad for you. While many restaurants express these famed flavors in a bath of cheese and lard, at the core there are many fresh ingredients bathed in flavor. These enchiladas are plumped full of sweet potatoes, black beans and spinach. With minimal cheese they're not so decadent, but the chipotle sauce provides the fullest bite.

Roasting the potatoes does dirty another dish, but the flavor benefits are worth it. Forgoing boiling also keeps things from getting too starchy.

The sauce is chock-full of flavorful goodies -- like chipotle chilis, adobo sauce, tomatoes, garlic and onion. Not to mention cumin and cayenne.

After the potatoes have roasted, saute together onion, green pepper, black beans, corn and spinach. Such a colorful enchilada party.

A bit of sauce at the bottom of the pan will keep things from drying out.

Rolled and ready. When I made these I made two full pans and froze one for a later dinner. If you're freezing,line the pan with foil, leaving 2-inches on each side, then assemble. Freeze in the dish and once frozen solid remove using the foil handles. Wrap carefully in plastic and keep in the freezer. When ready to bake, just unwrap and pop back into the same pan you froze it in.

Serve with cilantro, lime and a bit of avocado. Thank your cat for tolerating your gas and for being the bestest Valentine ever. You're a beautiful, smart woman... don't even let this damn holiday get you down. Another round of enchiladas on the house!

Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 teaspoons chili powder
3 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon salt, divided
Fresh ground black pepper
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 15-oz can fire roasted tomatoes with green chiles
1 small can chipotle chilis in adobo sauce (3-5 chopped chilis and 2 tablespoons adobo)
1 cup chicken stock
1 green pepper, chopped
1 15-oz can black beans
1 cup corn
1 cup spinach, drained
12-15 corn tortillas
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Minced cilantro, for garnish
Sliced avocado, for garnish
Sliced lime, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss sweet potatoes in 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Roast in oven for 25-30 minutes until potatoes have just begun to soften.

While potatoes bake, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add 1/2 chopped onion and saute until translucent, then add garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Add tomatoes, chipotle chilis, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon cumin and chicken stock. Simmer for 10 minutes and remove from heat. Allow to cool for 5 before pureeing in a food processor or blender.

Wipe out dutch oven and heat remaining olive oil over medium heat. Add remaining onion and green pepper; saute until softened. Add remaining chili powder, cumin and salt and once fragrant add black beans, corn, spinach and sweet potato; stirring until combined.

In a 9x11 baking dish spoon out 1 cup of sauce, spreading to cover the bottom of the dish. Fill individual tortillas with vegetable filling and place seam side down in the dish. Once dish is full, cover with remaining sauce and cheese. This will easily fill two 9x11 baking dishes, depending on how filled each enchilada is. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until cheese begins to brown.

Serve with a sprinkling of cilantro, a squeeze of lime juice and sliced avocado.

*This dish freezes very well. Assemble and freeze in foil-lined dish. Once frozen solid, remove from dish and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. When ready to eat, replace in dish and bake for 1 hour.

Mexican Cobb Salad

The obvious thing to say here is that, "oh...it's summer...let's make salads." How creative and unpredictable, right? The hot, humid truth is that our apartment lacks central air and the oven is just not happening. If it's not from the fridge or the grill... see ya 'til September. Don't worry Le Creuset, you will not be forgotten. 

I'm a lover of vegetables (as is the husband), but it can be a challenge to come up with a salad that doesn't feel like every other salad you've had in your lifetime. So why fight it? Let's just make a really flavorful classic, shall we? 

I love a cobb salad, but the blue cheese and creamy dressing are just a bit indulgent for a weeknight in my book. Some pantry/fridge staples will make your produce sing. 

Meet my cast of characters -- romaine, tomato, green pepper, corn, black beans, avocado and hard boiled eggs. I'm a lover of hard boiled eggs and their warring textures of chewy white and crumbly yoke. 

Don't buy bottled salad dressing. I beg of you. Once you learn a simple vinaigrette or two you'll never go back. Promise. Can we pinky swear on it? But let's be honest, you don't put a vinaigrette on a cobb salad. Blaspheme!

This avocado crema looks naughty, but it's the best behaved girl in class. Nonfat greek yogurt, lime juice and a bit of avocado are deceitfully creamy here and make it all just cobb-y enough.

Layer in the most lovely way. I'm into stripes today. Go nuts.

Oh yes... and a bit of bacon never hurt on top. But seriously, this is only one slice of bacon. Not even that bad.

Mexican Cobb Salad
Makes around 3-4 salads, depending on how big you like them

Romaine lettuce, chopped
1 green pepper, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 can corn (grilled would be lovely too)
1 can black beans
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 half avocado, chopped
3 slices bacon, cooked
S&P

1 half avocado, very ripe
2 tablespoons nonfat greek yogurt
Juice of 1 lime

Combine yogurt and lime juice. Mash half of avocado in with yogurt mixture until smooth. A fork or whisk work well. Assemble your salad and finish with a dollop of avocado crema.