Cooking from the Pantry - Cinco de Mayo

In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, here are a few of my favorite dishes.

Corn & Black Bean Salsa Chicken Salad

Featured Video Recipe

Ingredients for the featured recipe

    1 14.5-ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained

    4 Medium-size Tortilla Shells (6" or 8")

    1 cup cooked frozen or fresh corn

    2  small tomatoes (pulp removed and diced) 

    2  jalapeño peppers, diced 

    3  mini red peppers, diced 

    1/2 small red onion, diced

    3 garlic cloves, minced

    1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

    3 ounces fresh lime juice ( about 1 lime) 

    1 tbsp lime zest 

    2 tbsp rice vinegar (garlic flavor) 

    1 tbsp fajita seasoning 

    1 tsp cumin 

    2 cups of shredded romaine lettuce 

 

 

From the Store

 1 Rotisserie Chicken breast  (6 to 8 ounces)

    

Save the rest for another recipe.

Bake Tortilla Bowls.

Bake the tortilla shells according to the directions on the mini tortilla shell molds. You can also serve them in regular bowls.

 Layer the salad as follows: Put a serving of shredded lettuce in your tortilla bowl, followed by a serving of corn and black bean salad. Serve with your grilled chicken.

Pesto Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

 

Course: Appetizer

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 4

About The Recipe

This recipe is all about delicious pesto-flavored shrimp wrapped in crispy Applewood bacon, served with a fresh and tangy pineapple salsa. It's a perfect appetizer for any party or special gathering. The salsa combines the sweetness of fresh pineapple with the kick of cilantro, red chili, and jalapeño peppers. It's the ideal match for bacon-wrapped shrimp. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Shrimp

1 1/2 lbs. large shrimp, thawed if frozen, peeled, deveined, and with tails on.
½ cup Basil Pesto  
1 lb package of Applewood bacon. If not available, you can use any thin slice of bacon. The number of bacon slices depends on how many shrimp you work with. You may not need the entire pound.

Pineapple Salsa

1 container of fresh pineapple in chunks or slices or 1 whole fresh pineapple peeled and cut into chunks

1 red chili pepper

1 jalapeño pepper

½ red onion, diced

1 lime (juice and zest)

2 tsp of maple syrup

2 tbsp fresh chopped mint leaves

2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro 

Salt & pepper to taste

Equipment

Toothpicks
Sheet pan

Non-stick Aluminum foil

Citrus zester

Instructions

Pesto bacon-wrapped shrimp

Step 1

Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving the tails on.

Step 2

Add basil pesto to a medium bowl. Add shrimp and coat them with pesto. Let the shrimp marinate for 5 - 10 minutes.

Step3

Cut bacon slices in half as required for the number of shrimp. Place one shrimp on half a slice of bacon, wrap it around the shrimp, and insert a toothpick to secure the bacon. Then, arrange the shrimp on a sheet pan lined with non-stick aluminum foil. If non-stick is unavailable, use regular foil and lightly spray cooking spray. 

Step 4

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 

Place the sheet pan on the middle oven rack. Bake the shrimp for about 15 minutes, or until the bacon is crisp and the shrimp are pink. (Turn shrimp if you want the bacon crisp on both sides.)

Pineapple Salsa Preparation

• Cut pineapple chunks into small diced pieces.
• Cut chili and jalapeño in half, remove and discard the seeds and membranes, and then finely chop.
• Dice red onion, zest one lime, then extract juice.
• Finely chop the mint and cilantro leaves.

Let’s make the Pineapple Salsa -makes about 1 ½ cups.

• Add diced pineapple, red chili, jalapeño, red onion, lime zest, juice, and maple syrup to a large bowl and blend well.  
• Add chopped mint and cilantro.
• Salt & pepper to taste, if required.

Plating

Select a lovely platter and a salsa bowl. Place the salsa bowl in the center of the platter and then arrange the shrimp around the bowl. Enjoy your delicious pesto-bacon-wrapped shrimp.