Yummy Steak Tacos

We are a taco lovin' household for sure.  Tell my son we are having steak tacos and he'll burn a trail to the dinner table.  This recipe, found in Bon Appetit, was delicious.  I loved the saucy steak and it made quite a mess while we were eating.  The messiest tacos are always the best.

Steak Tacos (slightly modified from the BA recipe)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 skirt steak
1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced
3/4 cup canned diced tomatoes with green chiles
1/4 cup raisins
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground allspice
whole wheat & herb tortillas
fresh cilantro, chopped

Heat oil in large skillet.  Sprinkle steak with salt & pepper.  Add to skillet and saute 5 minutes per side.  Transfer to plate.  In same skillet, add bell pepper and cook for 2 minutes.  Add canned tomatoes, raisins, tomato paste, cumin and allspice.  Simmer until sauce is thick, about 4 minutes.  Season to taste wiht salt & pepper.

Cut steak into diagonal slices.  Add steak and any juices to sauce.  Toss to blend.

Heat tortillas and stuff with filling.  Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with homemade guac.  Fresh, delicious and somewhat healthy!  1 large taco or 2 small corn tacos clocks in at 400 calories.

Shrimp & Halibut Curry

One of my most favorite meals in a while from my new fav recipe source! We did this a while back after my first Fresh Direct order came in. Thankfully, the seafood was a delicious and fresh as it looked. This dish is a great intro to curries. Perfect for those picky eaters (which sadly includes me). You can read more about my attempt to introduce more healthy ethnic cuisine into our repertoire tomorrow over at Jenn's place. So exciting!

For today though, why not try out a little mild curry. I promise, it's yummy (and good for you too).

Modified from a recipe found in Bon Appetit.

3 limes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped shallots
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 tbsp minced ginger
2 1/2 tsp red curry paste
1 13-14 oz can unsweetened coconut milk
1 tbsp fish sauce
18 oz halibut, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 lb shrimp, peeled & deveined
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1/3 cup chopped basil
salt & pepper, to taste
sriracha, to taste

Finely grate peel of 2 limes.  Juice same 2 limes and set aside.  Cut third lime into wedges.

Heat oil in large saucepan.  Add shallots, bell pepper and ginger.  Saute until shallots are tender and peppers are soft.  Stir in curry paste, coconut milk, fish sauce, lime peel and juice.  Simmer, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes.

Sprinkle fish and shrimp with salt and pepper.  Add to curry sauce.  Stir in a little sriracha at this point if you like.  Return to gentle simmer until fish are opaque in center, about 6 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Gently stir in cilantro and basil.  Serve with lime wedges and rice or noodles.

Under and hour, super wonderfully delicious and just over 300 calories?  Yes please.  Tastes even better the next day so make extra.

My 1st Fresh Direct Experience

When I receive a $100 off coupon in the mail, it tends to attract my attention.  This is just what happened with FreshDirect.com.  Apparently they now deliver to my area (Northern NJ) and were soliciting new business.  With a code for free delivery for two months and $100 off my first two purchases ($50 off each one), I had to give it a try.  Restriction - each order had to total at least $125 before the $50 off would kick in (a $125 grocery order is child's play for me so this was a no brainer).

Got my 10 day recipe plan in place and ordered what we needed to make it happen.  My order confirmation is below for anyone interested in those types of things (like me).  Prices for produce and other weight reliant items are estimated on the initial order summary.  My final total was $9 more than the original estimate.  So they do get it pretty close.

And here is what arrived at my doorstep between 6:30am and 8am this Saturday (7:3am to be exact)!  The best part, no annoying people who park their cart mid-aisle, no long lines, no muzak, no (insert myriad of other things one may hate about the supermarket here).  This came out of 3 boxes with the frozen pizzas on top in a plastic bag.  If we weren't home and the pizzas were left that way, not sure they would've lasted with all the squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, etc. we have here though so I will always try to schedule delivery when I know someone is home.

So far, I am really pleased with the quality. The veggies look fabulous.  To me, this is Whole Foods quality at a slightly lower price, delivered to your door. I love the way the fish is wrapped and everything is labeled.  We have some great dishes planned for the next two weeks and I'll comment more on quality and taste after we actually eat it.  :)

Here is my original order info email.  Final total was $116 at delivery.

Cheese
0.5 lb Cave-Aged Gruyère ($16.99/lb)$8.49*

Dairy
1 Red Jacket Orchards All Natural Apple Cider (1.89 liter) ($2.19/ea)$2.19

Grocery
1 Goya Low Sodium Pinto Beans (15.5oz) ($0.75/ea)$0.75
1 Health Valley Low-Fat Stoned Wheat Crackers (6oz) ($2.29/ea)$2.29
1 Imagine Organic Chicken Broth (32 fl. oz.) ($2.49/ea)$2.49
2 La Tortilla Factory Smart & Delicious Soft Wraps, Multi Grain made with Extra Virgin Olive Oil (10", 6ct) ($3.00/ea)$6.00 S
2 Mission White Corn Tortillas (6", 10ct 7.5oz) ($1.39/ea)$2.78

Heat & Eat
2 FreshDirect Mozzarella Pizza w/ Whole-Wheat Crust (Made w/ Part-Skim Mozzarella), Frozen (about 12") ($6.99/ea)$13.98

Meat
2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs (4-5 pieces per pack, Grade A) ($2.99/lb)$7.18*
1 Skirt Steak (USDA Choice, Hand-cut, Standard Pack) ($9.99/lb)$12.99* (this looks exceptionally delicious)

Organic & All-Natural
1 Organic Leeks, Bunch ($4.99/ea)$4.99
3 Organic Limes ($0.85/ea)$2.55 S

Our Picks
1 FreshDirect DeliveryPass Two-Month Trial (Two-Month Membership) ($0.01/ea)$0.01

Pasta
2 Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes with Chile (14.5oz) ($1.89/ea)$3.78
1 San Marzano Whole Peeled Tomatoes (28oz) ($3.49/ea)$3.49

Seafood
2.0 lb Shell-Off Cleaned Extra-Large Farm-Raised Shrimp, 26-30ct (Hand-packed) ($11.99/lb)$23.98*
2 Wild Pacific Halibut Fillet, Previously Frozen (MSC Certified) (8 - 10 oz, Hand-cut) ($20.99/lb)$23.61*
2 Wild Striped Bass Fillet (8 - 10 oz, Standard-Cut) ($18.99/lb)$21.36*

Vegetables & Herbs
2 Broccoli (Farm Fresh) ($1.65/ea)$3.30 S (4 very large bunches were delivered)
1 Cilantro (Farm Fresh) ($1.49/ea)$1.49
1 Curly Parsley (Farm Fresh) ($0.99/ea)$0.99
1 Green Bell Pepper (Farm Fresh, Lg) ($1.49/lb)$0.89*
2 Green Zucchini (Farm Fresh, Med) ($2.99/lb)$3.59*
0.25 lb Jalapeño Pepper (Farm Fresh) ($2.99/lb)$0.75* (we ended up with 4)
1 Red Bell Pepper (Farm Fresh, Lg) ($1.99/lb)$1.49*
1 Shallots (6oz, Farm Fresh, 6oz bag) ($2.49/ea)$2.49 (3 large oneswere delivered)

Estimated Subtotal:$157.90*
Tax:$0.00
State Bottle Deposit:$0.00
Order Subtotal:$157.90*
Delivery Charge (waived):$0.00
$50 off your Order!:-$50.00
ESTIMATED TOTAL: $107.90

If you are living in a Fresh Direct delivery zone, you can take these steps to (hopefully) receive the same deal:

• Go to freshdirect.com/onepenny and add the delivery pass free trial to your cart.
• Select your items and fill your cart.
• At checkout, use code NEWFDA3 for $50 off each of your first two orders totalling over $125 before discount.

I am unsure if this is a regional offer so it may not work for everyone.  Good luck!  If you have any grocery delivery experiences, I'd love to hear them.  Admittedly, I could get very used to this and will probably utilize this service even after my discounts are used up.