The Lime Love Continues

I went for milk on Saturday morning and didn’t come home for probably an hour because once I was outside at 9 AM and felt how hot it was already I had a brilliant idea. I was finally going to make the margarita popsicles I have been wanting to prepare since late last summer, http://blog.hostthetoast.com/creamy-margarita-popsicles/ !! I never had a willing audience for them previously and figured hey, there’s a house full of people here so someone will eat them with me. This was a pretty easy recipe but I didn’t have a juicer. I used a spoon to juice 8 limes. My hand was so crampy after! But they were worth it!

Creamy Margarita Popsicles
Ingredients
– 1¼ cup fresh lime juice (about 8 limes), plus 4 limes for stabilizing the popsicle sticks
– 1 (14oz) can of sweetened condensed milk
– 1 cup water
– ¼ cup tequila KB Note: I also love tequila, so I probably put in 1/3 of a cup.
– 2 tablespoons orange juice – Kosher salt or margarita salt
– 12 (3oz) Dixie cups
– Small popsicle sticks or craft spoons KB Note: I couldn’t find these anywhere in the supermarket so I just broke apart skewers we had in the house. If it were for a party I would have cared a lot more but hey, it was just us.
– A pitcher or large cocktail shaker

Directions
1. In a pitcher or large cocktail shaker, combine the lime juice, sweetened condensed milk, water, tequila, and orange juice. It is important to combine the ingredients in a container that has a spout because it will make it much easier to pour the mix into cups.
2. Line out the Dixie cups on a baking sheet, so it will be easy to transport them to the freezer. Fill each Dixie cup 90% of the way with the tequila mixture.

I had one dinky left over cup.

3. Slice the limes into ¼ inch thick rounds. Push a craft spoon through the center of each lime round, so that half of the stick pokes out from each side. Top the mixture with the lime sticks. Make sure the lime is resting directly on top of the tequila mixture.
4. Freeze for at least 6 hours, or overnight. When ready to remove the popsicles from the Dixie cups, simply snip a small cut in the rim of each cup and peel them away from the popsicle. Place the popsicles onto a dish with crushed ice to keep them from melting too quickly, Sprinkle the tops generously with kosher salt, and serve.

Perfection!!

The I Love Lime Weekend

I love the lime. It is my favorite. I need to find a body lotion that smelled like I just juiced some limes so I can smell myself all day long. Seriously, I love lime. This love also translates into limey foods. Whenever I find a recipe that calls for limes and/or lime juice I always have a heavy hand when it comes to measurements. The weather is North Carolina is getting to be nothing short of idyllic and I  find it fun to not only shape my wardrobe around the weather (short-shorts abound, y’all) but also my cooking. So out with the heavy warm meals like chili and in with summer foods. This past Friday I made an absolutely amazing dinner, thanks to my main source of inspiration! Link: http://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/13096053/shrimp-tacos/

Cilantro Lime Shrimp Tacos
Ingredients
– lb of frozen shrimp, defrosted, peeled, & deveined
– 6 oz fat free Greek yogurt
– ¼ cup chopped cilantro
– 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
– ½ tsp cayenne pepper
– ½ a head of cabbage, thinly sliced (about 5 cups) KB Note: I subsituted a head of iceberg since none of us were too thrilled by cabbage, I used ¾ of the head of lettuce and still had a good bit left over
– 8 corn tortillas KB Note: I substituted whole wheat tortillas instead, we probably went through 8 to 10
– 4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
– Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Heat tortillas over medium heat in a dry skillet until warm and starting to form small brown spots. Set aside on a plate covered with a clean kitchen towel.
2. Mix yogurt, cayenne, lime juice, cilantro, and salt in a small bowl, set aside. KB Note: I have the mildest palate in the world and the sauce is just the right amount of heat. DO NOT over season the shrimp like I did or else the heat does get to be a bit much. I had to drink milk with it.

Smelled so good!

3. If you want to use fresh lettuce for a bit more crunch, skip this step. I still wanted to sauté just a little bit. Heat two teaspoons of olive oil in a medium non-stick skillet and add lettuce. Cook for about 2 to 4 minutes. Not long since it’s not as dense as the cabbage used in the original recipe. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

What my lettuce looked like when it was done.

4. Cut shrimp into thirds, so you have little bite size pieces. Sauté in two teaspoons of olive oil and season with salt, pepper and a dash of cayenne pepper (JUST A DASH!) over medium heat just until done, this should only take a few minutes if you bought pre-cooked frozen shrimp.
5. Prepare the tacos! These were seriously good.