By Georgianna Gaston Williams
One of my biggest joys in life (other than my kids) is food. I love to cook it, eat it, read about it and much to my family’s despair watch shows about it. One thing I love the most is eating out, but in today’s economy I cannot eat out as much as I would like. A take out bill for a family of my size (there are five of us) starts at $35 — and that’s for fast food. I pride myself on being thrifty (maybe even down right cheap!); so to get the tastes I want, I make most of my favorite take out meals at home.
On a “sneak out” with my husband recently we had some of Taco Bell’s new Shrimp Tacos. They were very good but the bill was ridiculous for Taco Bell. We spent over $17.00 for two tacos, two burritos and a large drink! So tonight, I made them at home, and I promise you they were better — and a whole lot cheaper! Here is a recipe that you can use to feed a family of five for around $12.00.
Photo: Josewolff
Yields 12 servings
What you will need:
- 1 family package of flour tortillas
- 1 package of fully cooked, tail-on shrimp (31-40 count)
- 1 head of lettuce
- 7oz container of pico de gallo
- 2 tbsp RedHot hot sauce
- 1 tbsp oil
For the sauce:
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3 tbsp of guacamole dip
- 2 tbsp ranch dressing
For the crunchy chips:
- Two handfuls of tortilla chips
- 2 tbsp of oil
- 4 tbsp on Taco Bell seasoning
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Take the tail off of the shrimp, drizzle with the RedHot and mix to coat evenly. In a pan heat up the oil. Once it’s hot, add the shrimp and cook until warm throughout. Put 12 tortillas in the oven, heat for about five minutes. Turn the oven off, flip the tortillas and let them sit in the oven until ready to assemble.
- While the shrimp is cooking, mix sour cream, guacamole and ranch dressing. Set aside. Crunch up the tortilla chips and put them in a container with a lid. Mix together oil and Taco Bell seasoning then drizzle over the tortilla chips. Shake until evenly covered. Set aside. Take about 4 or 5 leaves of lettuce, roll them up and slice thinly.
- When the shrimp is hot, remove from heat. On a large sheet pan make three stacks of tortillas. On each top tortilla, place three to four shrimp. Top with sauce, lettuce, pico de gallo and fold in half. Place on a dish, continue until all tortillas are filled, then enjoy.
In the time it will take to drive to a take out joint, place your order, drive home and plate it up you can do it at home for a fraction of the cost! Don’t be afraid to try new things, especially when you are cooking! Take chances, try any and everything, you’ll be surprised at what you can do.
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