Chili Lime Shrimp Taco Salad

Happy Cinco de Mayo!
This might be one of my favorite holidays for food-related activities. As you might have noticed, I love Mexican food. This recipe is a nice little throw-together, super healthy and delicious meal for any day, but personally, this is going to be how I celebrate this Monday.

Grocery list items:
pineapple
cilantro
white beans
avocado
scallions
frozen shrimp
kale
tomatoes
cucumber

One of the best parts of this recipe is that you're going to use kale chips as a base. No tortilla chips in this salad! Just healthy, delicious kale chips. You'd be surprised how easy they are to make. You might even make them just as a snack - you'll never have to buy them again!
On top of these shrimp is a tasty salsa made with pineapples and avocado. So this is like three recipes in one!

Pineapple Salsa
1 1/2 cup pineapple
1 avocado
1 large handful cilantro (washed well)
1 can white beans
2 scallions
1 tbsp lime juice

Confession: This is one of my dad's age old recipes, explained to me like this: Take things that taste good, mix them together. What I'm trying to say is, this salsa can be made however you want it, with any old ingredients. Want mango? Use mango! Want tomatoes or black beans or red onions? You get the idea...

Chop up the pineapple, avocado, cilantro, and scallions into small pieces, about 1/2 inch dice. Drain and rinse the beans, then toss all the ingredients together. Drizzle with lime juice and set aside.

Chili Lime Shrimp
12-16 medium shrimp, defrosted, deveined, shelled
1 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp paprika
salt + pepper

Gently heat the olive oil in a pan. Add the garlic and sauté until it starts to soften, about 4 minutes. Add shrimp to the pan, along with spices and lime juice. Allow shrimp to cook on one side, about 5 minutes, then flip and cook another 5 minutes, until they are opaque and tightly curled. Cover and keep warm while you finish the last step - kale chips!

Kale chips:
1/2 bunch kale
salt + pepper
Pam spray (or 1 tbsp olive oil)

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Tear the kale leaves into bite sized pieces, discarding any tough stems. Wash and dry the kale. You may want to use a salad spinner to make sure the kale is extra dry. If it's wet, it might not crisp up as well. Toss the kale leaves on a cookie sheet with Pam spray, salt and pepper.
Cook in the oven 8-10 minutes, or until crunchy and lightly brown at the edges. Keep an eye on them so they don't burn!

To assemble your taco salad, start with a layer of kale chips, then top with shrimp, some grape tomatoes and diced cucumber, then top with salsa. Delicious! And equally good cold as leftovers for lunch the next day.
Trade secret: I have a super magical pineapple slicer thing that cuts down on the cost of pre-sliced pineapple and the work of cutting up a whole pineapple. It's awesome. Now I need to find more pineapple recipes!

Chili Lime Shrimp Taco Salad
 Pineapple Salsa
1 1/2 cup pineapple
1 avocado
1 large handful cilantro (washed well)
1 can white beans
2 scallions
1 tbsp lime juice
Directions:
1. Chop up the pineapple, avocado, cilantro, and scallions into small pieces, about 1/2 inch dice.
2. Drain and rinse the beans, then toss all the ingredients together.
3. Drizzle with lime juice and set aside.

Chili Lime Shrimp
12-16 medium shrimp, defrosted, deveined, shelled
1 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp paprika
salt + pepper
Directions: 
1. Gently heat the olive oil in a pan.
2. Add the garlic and sauté until it starts to soften, about 4 minutes.
3. Add shrimp to the pan, along with spices and lime juice.
4. Allow shrimp to cook on one side, about 5 minutes, then flip and cook another 5 minutes, until they are opaque and tightly curled.
5. Cover and keep warm

Kale Chips
1/2 bunch kale
salt + pepper
Pam spray (or 1 tbsp olive oil)
Directions: 
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Tear the kale leaves into bite sized pieces, discarding any tough stems.
3. Wash and dry the kale.
4. Toss the kale leaves on a cookie sheet with Pam spray, salt and pepper.
5. Cook in the oven 8-10 minutes, or until crunchy and lightly brown at the edges, watching to make sure they don't burn

To assemble your taco salad, start with a layer of kale chips, then top with shrimp, some grape tomatoes and diced cucumber, then top with salsa.