Recipe Review: Roasted Shrimp Enchiladas with Jalapeno Cream Sauce

For the last couple of weeks, I've been spending alot of my free time studying for my environmental chemistry class, which is now over by the way!  I thought it was going to be an easy peasy class, but I was proven wrong.  HARDEST. CLASS. EVER.  I needed to take one more chemistry class in order to be eligible for a promotion at work.  I saw this online class through an accredited university and paid for the class myself.  The class and grades composed of 3 tests, 50 questions total.  In order to pass, I needed 30 out of the 50 questions right.  The questions were supposed to be out of the book, but alas, they weren't.  I brought my questions to work and even my co-workers, who some have a chemistry degree were drawing blanks with the questions.  The BF saw my tests and later got a headache.  I BARELY passed the class, but I don't care because I get the credits and am done with it.

Anyway, to the enchiladas.  I'm gradually growing a liking to cooking seafood.  For some reason, it intimates me.  But this recipe from Pearls, Handcuffs, and Happy Hour, not so much.  I combined shrimp with our other favorite, enchiladas!!!  And the sauce, oh my!  It was so good.  We're used to having a red enchilada sauce, but this sauce made out chicken broth was so savory, it worked well with the shrimp.

The filling.  Yes, those are carrots and spinach.  Weird, huh?  The carrots add a great crunch that needed to be there.

The sauce.

The finished product with some Spanish rice.

Roasted Shrimp Enchiladas with Jalapeno Cream Sauce 

from Pearls, Handcuffs, and Happy Hour

1 lb. medium sized shrimp, peeled and deveined - I just used a thawed bag of frozen shrimp and removed the tails

2 tbsp. olive oil, divided

salt and pepper, to taste

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, diced

1 to 1 1/2 c. matchstick carrots - I used about a handful and that was enough (you can also julienne them yourself, but I opted to just buy them already cut)

1 bag of baby spinach

2 tbsp. chipotle pepper in adobo sauce - I used all the sauce from the can as well as 1 diced chipotle (according to your heat preference use the chipotle and sauce accordingly!)

1/4 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

flour tortillas - I prefer flour but you could totally use corn tortillas

shredded Monterrey jack cheese

Jalapeno Cream Sauce

2 tbsp. unsalted butter

2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 c chicken broth

3/4 c sour cream

2 jalapenos, seeded and minced

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro - I didn't have fresh, so I used a couple good shakes of dried cilantro

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Put the shrimp in a bag.  Shake them up with 1 tbsp of olive oil and salt and pepper.  Put them on a baking sheet (lined or sprayed) and roast for 6-8 minutes or until they're pink and firm.  Depending on the size of the shrimp, you can chop them up into smaller pieces, I was lazy and left mine alone.

Lower the oven to 375.  Heat the rest of the olive oil in a pan and add the garlic and onion.  Cook them for about 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent and a little soft.  Toss in the carrots, spinach, chipotle with sauce, oregano and cayenne.  Cook until the spinach is wilted.  Add the shrimp and toss well.  Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

In a saucepan, melt the butter and then whisk in the flour until it's lightly browned.  Add the broth and cook for a couple of minutes.  Add the jalapenos and garlic powder and let it simmer until the sauce thickens.  Add salt and pepper, remove heat and add the cilantro.

Fill the tortillas with the shrimp filling and shredded cheese and put them in a 9x13 dish.  Once they're all in the pan, pour half of the sauce over the enchiladas.  Bake for about 20 minutes.  When done, you can pour the rest of the sauce over the whole dish, or spoon the sauce over each enchilada once they're on the plate.

Recipe: Shrimp Stir Fry

 I love stir fries.  They're so quick and easy and you can't really mess it up.  I think the hardest part of this whole thing was finding the noodles! 

Lately, I've been putting more seafood into the mix.  This time, I tried shrimp.  It was insanely good.  The BF even liked it, and before he never cared for shrimp.  Maybe it's because I only buy shrimp that's already deveined.  I think it was the "poop shute" that freaked him out.  Who am I kidding?  It kind of freaks me out too!

This recipe is based off one from Jamie Oliver.  I tweaked it quite a bit.  The recipe is really easy to play with.  I didn't really measure anything out.  I knew what kind of flavors I liked, so I went from there.

Shrimp Stir Fry

ginger, grated (I used ginger powder)

garlic, chopped (I used minced garlic)

red chile pepper, finely sliced

fresh cilantro, chopped

peanut or vegetable oil

1 lb shrimp (I used frozen and did a quick thaw)

2 spoonfuls of Chinese five-spice powder

about 2 tsp cornstarch

baby corn

handful of snow peas

about 1/4 c soy sauce

little bit of teriyaki sauce and sriracha (personal preference)

juice from 1 lime

spoonful of honey

about 1 tsp sesame oil

handful of frozen peas

about 14 oz pkg of rice sticks or vermicelli

handful of beansprouts

Preheat a wok or large pan on high heat.  Once it's really hot, add a lug or two of the peanut or veggie oil and swirl it around.  Stir in the cilantro, ginger, garlic, chile pepper, shrimp and five-spice powder, and fry for about a minute.  Add the cornstarch, baby corn, and snow peas and give them a good toss and stir fry another minute.  Stir in the soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, sriracha, lime juice, honey, sesame oil and the frozen peas.

Add the rice sticks to a boiling pot of water.  I used a wooden spoon to break up the noodles in the water.  Cook for 2 minutes, no longer!  Drain.  Once the shrimp was fully cooked, I stirred the noodles into the shrimp and veggie mix.  If you want to serve the shrimp on top of the noodles, just put a spoonful of the liquid the noodles cooked in, into the pan with the shrimp and cook until the shrimp is done and the peas are thawed.

Before serving, I sprinkled the bean sprouts and cilantro on top. 

Nom, noms!!