My husbands close friend came and visited, and went on vacation with us!! So, the night he arrived, my hubby had a request for Mexican-Caribbean themed dinner. One of our all-time favorite restaurants is “Salsas” which is Mexican-Caribbean. So… Here’s what I came up with!!!

(Oh, and I tried to make home-made tortillas… it was a fail. I will be re-attempting at a later time. They tasted like flour… crackers. Yeah… lol!)

“Jerk Shrimp”

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of shrimp (or more, but you’ll have to increase recipe) I use WILD CAUGHT red Argentinian shrimp from TJ. I am kind of particular about not purchasing farm raised shrimp.
1 TB allspice
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp. Himalayan pink sea salt
2 TB sunflower oil (or olive oil)
1/2 tsp. ground cumin

Put all dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir together. Add the oil and make sure all of the seasonings are wet. Then add the shrimp and toss until well coated. Then, put into the refrigerator to marinate. Mine marinated for 45 min. That would probably be the minimum, up to over night. When ready to cook the shrimp, from frozen or raw, bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 min until cooked through. (Depending on the size of the shrimp).

(adapted from here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aaron-mccargo-jr/jerk-seasoning-recipe.html)

The rest of the recipe for the Shrimp Tacos came from here: http://www.closetcooking.com/2013/08/jerk-shrimp-tacos-with-pineapple-salsa.html

SOOOO GOOD!!! It’s jerk shrimp tacos with pineapple “crema” which helps with the heat, with a fresh grilled pinapple salsa and slaw to top it. One of my top favorites!!!!!!! Check out the link!!
You need a can (or fresh) of cored sliced pineapple, crushed pineapple, greek yogurt, and a can of coconut milk. For the pineapple salsa it’s also got red onions, cerano peppers, etc.

“Carnitas” with Pork Tenderloin

1 pork tenderloin (mine was about 2 lbs)

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder (I personally  used 1 tsp minced garlic)

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp ground himalayan sea salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 bottle of light german beer (my addition)

I got this recipe for the rub here: http://www.eatliverun.com/crock-pot-beef-carnitas-tacos/

I just put the tenderloin in the crock pot, drizzled w/about 2 TB of olive oil, made sure the rub covered the pork tenderloin on top and on bottom. I then poured the bottle of beer over the top, and closed the lid. I cooked it on LOW for 7 hours. DELISH! It fell apart it was so tender!!!

I then put out the tortillas (store bought… phew!), chips, guacamole, slaw, pineapple crema, pineapple salsa, salsa verde, greek yogurt, and fresh onions…. and put out the 2 protein options and dug in!! This was a light and satisfying feast!!! 🙂