As promised, I am going to start writing down some of these recipes I test during the week in the event someone else finds these useful. During the week I try to cook healthy meals for my family. Even if my 2 year old doesn't touch or try any new food, I want here to see the process of cooking food and sitting down to dinner to connect and talk. Sound old fashion? It kind of is, but in today's world of technology I think it is even more important to find some time to be near people, face to face, and talk.
It's not always easy to find new, convenient recipes so please feel free to share yours with me as well! I love hearing about new ideas.
And without further ado... I give you, Spicy Shrimp and Avocado Lettuce Cups (adapted from Karyl's Kulinary Krusade)
Ingredients
- 12 Bibb/butter lettuce leaves, rinsed and dried
- 16 oz. of large shrimp (the original recipe called for 8 oz. but I was really hungry and made more, LOL, and it worked out great!)
- 1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and chopped
- 1/4 red onion chopped
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced (I didn't have a whole one of these so I chopped up some mini sweet peppers)
- 2 1/2 teaspoons avocado oil or canola oil
- Easy microwave brown rice bag (optional)
Spice Mix (I followed this exactly)
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
Instructions
1. For the shrimp I used a 16 oz. large, de-veined, tail off frozen bag of shrimp. I de-thawed it in cold running water which took about 6 minutes for me. You can choose to de-that your shrimp however you like, but since I have a small window to feed my toddler I usually go the quickest and easiest route.
2.Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Season pepper and onion with salt and pepper, and drizzle with oil. Spread peppers and onion on foil-lined baking sheet and roast for 17-20 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool. You can put these in while you work on the shrimp to keep the show moving (did I mention I like to do things quickly?)
3. Combine seasoning ingredients in large bowl. Drizzle shrimp with oil, coat both sides of shrimp with seasoning. Shake excess seasoning from shrimp. The original recipe said there would be left over seasoning, but I found the ingredient list above to be just the right amount of spice for the 16 oz's of shrimp. You could always tailor this to your spice level preference as well.
4. Once your cooked pepper/onion mix is done you'll pull them out to cool for a few mins and combine peppers, onion, and avocado in bowl, and mix thoroughly.
5. In large skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of oil to medium-high heat. Add shrimp to skillet. Cook 2-3 minutes per side, until shrimp curls. Remove shrimp as soon as it is done
6. For each lettuce cup, lay 2 pieces of lettuce flat. Add shrimp and pepper/onion/avocado mix to top.
7. I also through a 2 min brown rice bag in the microwave and put some brown rice on top. This is totally optional, but the fine thing about these little shrimp-y cups is you can top them with whatever you like - wonton crispys, soy sauce, whatever your heart desires :)
And that's it! Pretty quick and easy. Let me know how they turn out. #notafoodphotographer
