Fish Tacos

I finally made some fish tacos that Gary and I loved.  They were delicious and yes, this was my plate I not only ate these four but two more. LOL  What can I say, I was hungry.  But these tacos are light and a couple are just not enough.

I buy wild cod fillets from Sam's.  They are frozen and individually wrapped.  This fish is also what I use to make a wonderful fish sandwich, which I have also posted.  You could grease a baking dish, salt and pepper the fish and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes but I salt and pepper the fish and dredge it in one part flour and 2 parts cornmeal.  Then fry it in coconut oil, one minute on each side just to form a crust.  I then removed it from the skillet put it in a greased baking dish and finish it off in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  It's perfect every time.

The slaw for the fish tacos is shredded cabbage, one bunch of green onions, thinly sliced, julienned carrots.

The dressing:  One bunch thinly sliced green onions
                        One medium garlic clove, minced
                         Juice of one lime
                         3-4 tablespoons of mayonnaise
                         to sweeten you can use honey, sugar, or agave nectar (I just go by taste, I used a
                         couple of squirts of agave nectar.
                         Stir until all ingredients are mixed well and drizzle over cabbage.
                         I also put a slice of avocado on each taco.

I hope you will try these.  I have made several fish taco recipes and this is our favorite.  This will be my go to from now on.

Succulents

I love succulents and they are so easy to take care of.  I have a couple of different ones in our breakfast room and they have grown like crazy all winter with beautiful flowers.  Only one in my kitchen window blooms.  They are not that expensive and I'm starting to see them for sale at a lot of different places. Plants add so much to your home, if I'm not careful I tend to go overboard.

Try a couple of these succulents especially the ones that bloom.  You will really enjoy them.

Buttermilk, a Marinade for Chicken

I've watched different cooks on the Food Network channel use buttermilk to soak their chicken.  They always talked about how moist it made the chicken.  Several weeks ago, I decided to try it and I don't think I will ever fry another piece of chicken without marinating it in buttermilk first.  The chicken is very moist and it makes a wonderful crispy crust.

I always wash off the chicken.  I was using chicken tenders. Then pat dry. I season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  I put the chicken in a bowl and just barely covered it with buttermilk. I covered the bowl with saran wrap and put it in the refrigerator for several hours.  I let it sit on the counter about 30 minutes before frying it.  I had a dish of flour and rolled each piece in the flour so that it was covered with a good layer of flour and then put it into hot coconut oil.  I let it cook about 4-5 minutes on each side and then placed it on a paper towel to drain.

Our son was down for dinner that night and there was nothing left.  His words, "that's the best chicken I've ever eaten."  I'm hooked too, it was the best chicken I've ever eaten.

One other thing I did that hub and I loved was a chicken sandwich.  I took one tender and placed it inside some saran wrap and hit it with my rolling pin to flatten it out.  I seasoned the chicken and placed it in buttermilk.  Then fried it in coconut oil and drained it on a paper towel.  I had cabata rolls and toasted them and let them cool a little before adding miracle whip, lettuce leaf, tomato, and a thin slice of onion.  These sandwiches were wonderful!

Just another little tid bit of information, don't fry food in olive oil.  The olive oil ruins at high temperatures.  Olive oil should be used as a garnish or in salad dressing.  Crisco is terrible for you as well as liquid vegetable oil and canola oil.  Coconut oil is the best for frying foods and everyone needs 3-4 tablespoons a day.  If I'm having toast I will use coconut oil in place of butter.  There are a lot of benefits to using coconut oil.  Do some research on cooking oils.  You will find it interesting. You can buy coconut oil by the gallon at Tropical Traditions and they have special days where shipping is free.

Blackberry Cobbler

I'm sorry the cobbler is over half gone but I really didn't plan on putting this on the blog but it was so good I have to tell you about it.  I have been hungry for a long time for blackberry cobbler and I caved in while at the store shopping.  I bought one bag of frozen blackberries, thinking I'll just make a small cobbler for me and hub and a SMALL pint of vanilla ice cream won't hurt anything either.  :)

This was so yummy you will want to try this. 

1 pkg. frozen blackberries (or any frozen fruit you want to use)
3 tablespoons of butter
1/2 -3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon flour
Put the above ingredients in a sauce pan over medium heat and stir until the butter is melted and the sugar has dissolved.

Batter:
1 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Cream together sugar and butter.  Add milk, baking powder and flour.  Mix together until smooth.  Put batter in a baking dish and pour in hot fruit. 
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

If you are using a larger pie plate like 9 -10 inch you will want to double the above ingredients.
You will have to surprise your husband with this easy and wonderful cobbler and a SMALL pint of ice cream.  :)

Potato, Orange and Arugula Salad

This was dinner one night last week.  Salmon patties, fresh steamed asparagus and this wonderful arugula salad.  I saw Giada from the Food Network Channel make this salad and I knew it would be something I would love and it is so good.  Fresh, light and very flavorful and I can also say healthy.
I could make a meal just on the salad but I knew my husband would need more.  Here's how to make the salad.

One small bag of fingerling potatoes. Cut them in half or thirds depending on the size of the potato. Put them on a cookie sheet and sprinkle them with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Then toss them and put the cut side of the potato on the cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes and then let them cool completely or at least 15 minutes.  The warm potatoes will wilt the arugula.

2 oranges, peeled and cut into segments
1/3 cup of toasted walnuts, rough dice
2 handfuls of arugula
1/2 cup (2 oz.) Gorgonzola cheese

Dressing: 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons of fresh orange juice, 1 tablespoon orange zest, 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar and salt and pepper to taste and then whisk together.  Assemble the salad.  Put in arugula add walnuts, oranges, gorgonzola and potatoes then add dressing, toss and serve.

Grandma!!!

Yes, I'm going to be a grandma!  This is a picture I picked up at a garage sale about 5 years ago and I was recently cleaning out my workshop and ran across it.  At the time, I was thinking "I wonder when I will get to hang this in my kitchen."  Little did I know at that time that it would be sooner than later.

Our family is excited about this new little addition that is coming into our family.  This little darling will be arriving sometime in June and this little person will strengthen the circle of our family.

I'm looking for the right place to hang this in my kitchen and I'm getting my rocking chair oiled and ready.  :)

Extraordinary People

It's extraordinary how extraordinary the ordinary person is.
                                    George Will