My husband and I are spending our second winter in Puerto Vallarta, this time in the Marina area.
Yesterday was a typical day. In the morning, we went for our normal walk around the golf course. Big moment of excitement was man trying to drag his dog away from a statue of a lion perched on top of an entry wall (dog thought it was real). After that, I planned to do some stuff around the condo (like write, perhaps?). Didn’t happen. I ended up spending the rest of the morning chatting with three separate groups of friends. Until noon.
This is a very social community.
In the afternoon, there was a dash to the supermarket by bus, a walk along the Marina Vallarta Malecón, and, of course, after that exhausting time, I had to have a siesta while my husband cooked a few freezer meals. Later, the weekly craft and farmers’ market set up business on the Malecón. Since the food stalls were directly under our condo, I had to investigate and ended up buying dinner: beef empanadas with chimichurri sauce, fresh Thai veggie rolls with sweet chili sauce, and beautiful strawberries with Haagen Dazs Dulce de Leche ice cream. Then a stroll to the local Rock ‘n’ Roll bar for music and a nightcap followed by some Netflicks and bed.
All and all, an excellent day–doing nothing.
Getting into the swing of Mexico, I plan to have a dinner party next week. There are plenty of willing victims—oops, I mean taste-testers. Here is the recipe I plan to serve.
Creamy Shrimp Enchiladas (Serves 4, can be doubled or tripled)
Ingredients
8 (6-inch) flour tortillas
Shrimp Mixture:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced finely
1/2 cup white onion, diced finely
1 Jalapeño pepper, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 grated carrot
3 cups fresh chopped or baby spinach
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined & chopped into 1 inch pieces (or use cooked)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice
Sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup bottled salsa verde
1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss, Cheddar, or Monterey Jack cheese
Additional ½ cups shredded cheese for topping
1 cup sour cream
Chopped fresh cilantro, sliced avocado, lime wedges
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9 x13 pan with cooking spray.
For the Shrimp Mixture:
- In a large skillet melt the 2 tablespoons of butter. Sautee the red bell pepper, onion, & Jalapeño pepper until slightly soft. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.Add the grated carrot & spinach, and cook 1 – 2 minutes.
- Skip if using cooked shrimp: Add raw shrimp, cook for 2-3 minutes or until shrimp just start to turn pink. Remember we are still baking this so we don’t want the shrimp to be overcooked.
- Remove mixture from the heat and add salt, oregano, cilantro, and lime juice. Stir and set aside.
For the Sauce:
- In a large skillet melt the butter. Add the flour and stir and cook for 1-2 minutes. Slowly add the chicken broth and continue to cook over medium high heat stirring constantly. The mixture will start out thin and thicken up once it cooks.
- Once the mixture has thickened lower the heat and add the grated cheese and stir until melted. You can remove mixture from the heat and stir in the green salsa and sour cream.
- Add 1 cup of the sauce to the reserved shrimp mixture and stir.
- Fill a tortilla with 1/3 cup of the shrimp mixture, roll the tortilla tightly and place it seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
- Pour the sauce over the tortillas, sprinkle with additional grated cheese, and bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let the enchiladas sit for 10 minutes before serving.
- Top with fresh chopped cilantro and sliced avocado. Serve with lime wedges and salsa (red pepper and pineapple with chopped red pepper, Jalapeño, onion, and cilantro is my favorite).
I would love some more suggestions for a dinner party.