Chipotle Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Salsa Verde

So my "baby" boy turns three in a couple of days. How can that be? It just isn't fair that those first precious years zoom by so incredibly fast while the teenage years are so long and dramatic??? I'm convinced my hubby and I would pull a Duggar if it was the other way around.

Teenagers. Our form of birth control :)

When I was serving up this new recipe for dinner, my soon-to-be three year old took one look, then sweetly said to me, "I no want dinner Mommy." He then climbed down from his chair and went back to playing in the other room. Sweet and a stinker at the same time. That's a three year old for ya!
YUM! That is how I describe this recipe. I added the cilantro lime sour cream to the original recipe and it was a great decision. This whole recipe was very quick and I love using that grill in the summer time. These are definitely coming back into our dinner rotation. I think I will try roasting the tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapeno to try this salsa in a roasted form. It was delicious as written, but I'm always looking for a way to mix things up a bit!

Chipotle Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Salsa Verde

adapted from foodnetwork.com

Salsa

1 small onion, quartered

1 jalapeno, quartered, seeds optional

2 cloves garlic, smashed

4 medium tomatillos, husked, washed and coarsely chopped

1 large Hass avocado, diced

1/3 C chopped cilantro leaves

1 1/2 tsp salt

juice of 1/2 a lime

Shrimp

2 Tb olive oil

2 tsp chipotle chili powder

2 tsp salt

1 1/2 lbs medium shrimp, dried off with a towel.

corn tortillas

Cilantro Lime Sour Cream

1/2 C sour cream

zest of one small lime

juice of 1/2 a lime

2-3 Tb chopped cilantro

1. Put the onion, jalapeno and garlic into a food processor and finely chop. Add the tomatillos and pulse until chopped but still chunky. Transfer to a medium bowl and add the avocado, lime juice, cilantro and salt. Stir to combine.

2. In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the cilantro lime sour cream and set aside.

3. Heat your grill to high. Mix the olive oil, chili powder, salt and shrimp in a large bowl. After they are completely coated, skewer the shrimp and cook on the grill until shrimp are pink, about 2 minutes on each side.

4. Grill tortillas until slightly charred and pliable, about 20 seconds on each side. Wrap in a towel to keep warm until serving. To serve, spoon salsa onto the tortilla, then add 3-4 shrimp and a dollop of sour cream.

Ina Garten's Granola Bars

You would think my kids would care less about this little blog I've got going here. However, debates often ensue about how much more the little kids get their pictures posted compared to the older ones. Oh please.....

See Tori....I love you too. (I'm sure she will complain that I posted a picture of her with the baby.....) There is no winning when it comes to a teenage girl!

In honor of my "mature" children, I'll post a mature recipe that I am in love with. I call these "adult" granola bars, especially compared to the other granola bars I have on my blog. The use of dates is enough to scare off any child, but if you chop them small enough, they won't know. All of the fruit make them perfectly sweet and chewy. The toasting of the oats, almonds and coconut gives these bars a great deep flavor that other recipes lack that I've tried. You can't feel guilty snagging one of these for breakfast on your way out the door. They are delicious and good for you....a hard combo to find!

I'm addicted to these gems. Made 'em twice in one week and have the ingredients ready for round #3. They are outstanding!

Be sure you press these into the pan very firmly and let them cool for the suggested 3 hours or they will fall apart. I like using slivered almonds because it gives the bars more texture than sliced, but really, pick your favorite nut and dried fruits to use when you make them. I love the flavor of the apricots, dates and cranberries mixed together, even though I am not generally a fan of dates :)

Ina Garten's Granola Bars

makes one 8 x 13 pan

2 C whole oats

1 C sliced almonds (I used slivered almonds)

1 C sweetened coconut

1/2 C wheat germ

3 T unsalted butter

2/3 C honey

1/4 C light brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 C chopped dates

1/2 C chopped dried apricots

1/2 C dried cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a large sheet pan, mix together the oats, almonds and coconut. Toast in the oven for 10 minutes then dump into a large mixing bowl. Add the wheat germ. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.

2. While oats are toasting, combine the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook for 1 minutes once it reaches a boil. Pour over the ingredients in the bowl. Add the dried fruit and mix well. Dump into a greased 8 x 13 pan and press firmly with wet hands.

3. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool completely (about 3 hours) before slicing and serving.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Crispy Treats

There are a few foods from my childhood that I still adore, even though my palette has evolved over the years. Rice crispy treats is at the very top of that list. Love 'em! Can eat a whole pan myself, but I would have to fight off 7 other people to accomplish that feat. My kids love them just as much as I do.

To me, there is nothing as great as the original recipe, but I still enjoy the many variations that are out there. The Cookies and Cream version was very popular with everyone (including my readers!) and they have a show-stopper appearance compared to the original.

This version of rice crispy treats probably ranks #2 for me. Classic combination of peanut butter and chocolate. I use semi-sweet chocolate, but feel free to use milk chocolate if that is your preference.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Crispy Treats

1 C peanut butter

1 C sugar

1 C corn syrup

6 C rice crispy cereal

1 C semi sweet chocolate chips

1. In a large microwave safe bowl, mix together the peanut butter, sugar and corn syrup. Microwave on high for three minutes until the mixture boils fully. Mix well again.

2. Add the cereal and mix to thoroughly coat. Press firmly into a lightly greased 9x13" pan.

3. Melt the chocolate chips in a small microwave safe bowl for 1 minute. Stir until smooth and spread evenly over the bars. Allow the chocolate to become firm before cutting. You can put the pan in the fridge to quicken this process.