Shrimp Tacos, Refried Beans and Rice: A Pantry Meal
Today is Memorial Day, a day when we honor our veterans and those who lost their lives while in the service of our country. I think about my oldest grandson who is serving in the Navy. I also think of all the people that were lynched, as they gave their lives in the service of equality, one of the bedrock principles of our nation. I don’t want to go to the grocery store, so I started looking to see what we have in the house. I found about a pound of shrimp in the freezer, leftover pinto beans and tortillas in the fridge, and jasmine rice in the cabinet. I also found a lime, some garlic, an avocado, some onion, and I had cumin and chili pepper.
First I put the shrimp in cold water to thaw. They were in a zip-lock plastic bag so I just filled the bag with tepid water and left it in the sink. I chopped my lettuce and tomato, found some grated cheese, and set out the corn and flour tortillas.
Then I started the rice. I used 3 cups of water and about 1.5 cups of rice, actually a little less rice than that. I put the rice to simmer on a small back burner. No seasoning, since I want to use the leftover rice to make rice pudding.
I put a little oil in my small-ish skillet and heated it a little bit. Then I added the beans and mashed them with a fork. When I cooked them earlier I added diced onion and tomatoes, and a little jalapeno. I mashed and cooked at low temperature until they began to get creamy. These are best cooked in lard, but I didn’t have any, so I used canola oil. If they are too thick, add a dribble of water or chicken stock and stir gently until they reach the consistency you like.
While they were cooking, I peeled and deveined the shrimp. I sliced the onion very thinly and added the onion to a medium-hot skillet that had a tiny bit of oil. As the onion cooked, I added the shrimp, garlic and sprinkled with cumin and chili.
I stirred as it all cooked on medium heat, then turned it to low as the shrimp began to turn pink. I added the garlic and kept stirring occasionally. When it was almost done – all the shrimp were pink – I added about 3-4 oz of water and about 1/3 cup leftover fire-roasted tomatoes and let it all barely simmer for a few minutes. Just before calling everyone, I squeezed half a lime over it all and gave it a final stir.
Finally, I put the tacos together. Tortilla, refried beans, shrimp, lettuce, tomato, and cheese. (I completely forgot the avocado!) Yum!
I also used paper plates because I don’t feel like washing many dishes. Although dishes are usually not my job, Stephen did all the laundry so I will do this today (only today).