Rockin' the Guac

I reached out to the Twitterverse for suggestions on what to do with my windfall of salsa and guac from the Emily Bites Wholly Guacamole giveaway. Ms. Bites herself suggested taco cupcakes. Who am I to bite the hand that feeds me, especially when she also (indirectly) fed one Anderson Cooper?

Working with wonton wrappers was surprisingly easy. They come pre-floured so they don't stick together, and you can freeze what you don't use.

You'll find I deviated a bit from Emily's recipe to account for personal taste and to make enough leftovers for lunches. It's not the healthiest of meals, but it's fun to make and eat. If you have leftover meat and toppings, make yourself some rockin' taco salads. There is no downside to any of this.

Taco "Cupcakes"
Adapted from Emily Bites

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1/2 packet taco seasoning
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 24 wonton wrappers - Found in the produce section
• Salsa con queso
• Chunky salsa - Wholly Guacamole Classic Medium, of course!
• Shredded Mexican cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Spray muffin tin with non-stick spray and set aside.
2. Add chicken to skillet, then add taco seasoning. Stir occasionally until browned.
3. Add black beans and keep cooking until warm.
4. Press a wonton wrapper into each cup of the muffin tin.
5. Dab about a teaspoon of the salsa con queso into each cup and spread it out around the bottom.

Yeah... that's more than a teaspoon.

6. Add about a tablespoon of the chicken/bean mixture to each cup.
7. Add just enough salsa to cover, then sprinkle shredded cheese on top.

8. Press another wonton wrapper on top to smoosh everything down (but not too much), rotated 45 degrees from the first wrapper for maximum visual appeal.
9. Repeat steps 5-7.
10. Bake 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.  Let cool for a few minutes before removing from the muffin tin.

11. Dab your favorite Wholly Guacamole on top, and enjoy!

Served with Emily Bites' Cheesy Amazing Mexi-Rice,
which was both cheesy and amazing.

Don't make me tongue Thai'd: Coconut Curry Shrimp

I like Thai food. And coconut. A lot. I made that chicken coconut soup a while back, and I'll be sharing my semi-successful first attempt at Pad Thai... someday.

Recipes containing "Thai" and "coconut" have a 99.999% chance of getting pinned. The .001% accounts for the possibility of an accompanying terrible ingredient like raisins. Or hair (but mostly raisins). Lucky for me, Skinnytaste's Red Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp contains neither.

I was a little nervous going into this, as my biggest successes so far have been soups, salads, baked goods and crock pot dinners... AKA dump stuff in a bowl then either eat it right away or wait until it's done. This was easy peasy though, and so good! I love the way it makes my whole apartment smell like coconut.

I linked some of the ingredients below so you can see which brands I used. Your local supermarket should have all of this stuff. This recipe moves fast, but you'll be fine as long as you chop and mince everything beforehand. With rice, it made enough for 4 lunches.

Red Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp
From Skinnytaste

Ingredients

• 1 tsp oil - Canola, vegetable, something bland
• 1 tbsp Thai red curry paste
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 6 oz light coconut milk
• 4 scallions, chopped - Separate the whites and greens
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined - Go with the frozen kind, less work for you!
• salt to taste

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high.
2. Add scallion whites and red curry paste, saute for about a minute.
3. Throw in shrimp and garlic, season with salt, cook for 2-3 minutes.

4. Add coconut milk and fish sauce, mix well, and simmer until shrimp is cooked through (2-3 minutes, longer if shrimp is frozen but still pretty quick).

5. Remove from heat, then add scallion greens and cilantro.
6. Serve over rice and eat your heart out! 

I have yet to perfect the art of cooking rice, but that's a whole other blog post.