tzatziki chicken salad and chipotle lime shrimp tacos

On the way home from the beach yesterday I consumed a quarter of a sriracha bagel (my new favorite), one Boston cream donut, a meal from Chick-Fil-A and four peanut butter crackers. I told myself I would make dinner when we got home. Except…we had no food. And after spending wayyyy longer in the car than we should have, I was not about to head to the store. So, we got Subway. And then we each had an apple fritter for dessert. And I finished another quarter of sriracha bagel.

OH FOR THE LOVE OF CARBS!

I woke up this morning determined to get back on track with my eating. I scarfed down two scrambled eggs and spent the morning recipe-searching and grocery shopping. We loved both of the recipes I tried today—chicken salad for lunch and shrimp tacos for dinner. (I didn’t make side dishes for either.) I have a feeling I’ll be making both of them a lot this summer! Click on the recipe title to view the original recipe.

pic by José Picayo

Tzatziki chicken salad

adapted from Cooking Light

makes 3 generous servings, but you could stretch for 4 if using pita chips or pita bread

2/3 cup plain reduced-fat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill (I used double because I love dill!)
a tiny pinch of salt (add more to taste)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cucumber, seeded and diced (I peeled mine)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups shredded or diced cooked chicken (I grilled up one and a half insanely large chicken breasts, but you could use a rotisserie chicken)

Combine first 8 ingredients, then toss with chicken to coat. We at it plain, but the recipe suggests serving it with pita chips. We loved it just how I made it, but I bet feta would be yummy in there (and maybe black olives, too). I’m also tempted to serve it in lettuce cups next time!

from My Baking Addiction

Chipotle Lime Shrimp Tacos with Corn & Black Bean Salsa

adapted from My Baking Addiction

makes 8-10 tacos depending on the size of your tortilla

small taco-sized flour tortillas
1 pound shrimp; peeled and deveined

sour cream or greek yogurt 

for the marinade 
1 chipotle pepper in adobo; chopped* (in the International aisle alongside jalapeños and green chilies)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 lime (juice and zest)
2 tablespoons cilantro; chopped

for the salsa
3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can sweet corn, drained OR fresh corn cut from the cob
1/2 orange or red pepper; diced
1/2 or whole jalapeno; seeded and diced
2 green onions, sliced

1. Combine marinade ingredients and let sit while you work on the salsa. (I don’t actually put the shrimp in the marinade, because I cook the shrimp in a skillet and use the marinade as more of a sauce.)
2. Combine the salsa ingredients in a separate bowl.
3. Grill shrimp or cook in a lightly oiled skillet over medium heat (about two and a half minutes per side.)
4. If you like, chop the shrimp into bite-size pieces. Add shrimp to marinade.
5. If you like, heat tortillas over the stove. Spread sour cream down the middle of each tortilla and top with the salsa and then the sauce-covered shrimp.

Enjoy!

*You’ll have leftover chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. They’ll keep in the fridge for a week or two. If you don’t plan on using your leftover peppers anytime soon, freeze them in ice cube trays or in a freezer bag.