No laughing...Fish Tacos

Mmmm....mmm. These were so good and so easy. No original recipe this time, I saw a picture of tacos on the homepage of Foodtv.com and decided I wanted fish tacos for dinner. I worked with what I had.

Fish:
Whisk together:
EVOO
Fresh lime juice
Chipotle season
Marinate the fish in that for as long as you have. Place the fish on a baking sheet, then mix the marinate with panko breadcrumbs and spread on top of the filets. Oh, I used tilapia. Bake at 450 for about 15 minutes. Then flake the fish apart with a fork to make it bite-sized for the tacos.

Sauce:
2 parts plain fat free yogurt
1 part fat free mayo
Chipotle seasoning

Salsa:
1 can corn, drained
1/2 an onion, diced
Fresh lime juice
Cilantro

Then I topped them off with some chuncks of avocado and served with Mexican rice.

My Potted Garden

So, not gonna lie, I really don't have much of a green thumb. I really want to grow some veggies this summer though. I've decided that aside from being pretty, flowers don't really give me anything in return, and that's probably why I end up neglecting them and they die. But veggies, I get something! Here goes nothing.

Here is my cute little deck-garden.

Cherry tomatoes
Jalapeno peppers
Basil
Cilantro
Strawberries

My new salad bowl!

I got a new salad bowl last weekend and I can't wait to use it. It's almost obscenely large, but I love it. It's too large for when it's just me and R, but I'll be whipping it out at my mom's 50-th b-day party and I couldn't be more excited about it.

Here she is, b/c I know you were just dying to see her.

Pasta Primavera

The inspiration recipe for this came from http://www.thepioneerwomancooks.com/. Great website, btw. I changed it up a bit based on what veggies/pasta/cheese I had in the kitchen. Below is my adapted recipe, but check out the website I referenced for the original and other great recipes.

Pasta Primavera

Saute the following in EVOO
1 zucchini, sliced
1 yellow squash, sliced
1/2 an onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Two handfulls of chopped mushrooms
Red, yellow, & green pepper, chopped
Or whatever veggies you have.

Toss those in a big bowl once they are cooked to your liking. Boil pasta, drain and toss in bowl w/ veggies.

Sauce:
1 cup chicken or veggie stock. I made chicken out of water and bouillon cubes.
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4/ cup milk
1/2 cup parm cheese
1/2 cup mozzerella cheese
1/4 cup asiago cheese
Salt/pepper

Dump the sauce over the pasta and veggies and mix. I topped it with more parm cheese.

Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Egglant Sundried Tomato Calzones

As you know by now, I love eggplant and am always looking for new wasy to prepare it. I was flipping through the Best Vegetarian Cook Book. I think that's what it's called, I'll double check and update this if I'm wrong. These were so good, I will make them again.























I never got a really great picture. I served it with scalloped potatoes and assparagus.


Calzones:
Eggplant, peeled and diced
Sundried tomatoes, chopped
shallot, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped (I used 2)
Puff pastry (I used pie shells, one for each calzone, fill, then fold over into half-moons. Cut in half when done for four servings)

Saute the eggplant, tomatoes, shallot, and garlic together until just tender. Fill puff pastry with mixture and bake at 350 for about 15 min.

Tomatillos are so hard to find in Toledo

But once in a while, I get lucky and there they are! Anderson's almost always has them. After researching many many recipes, this is what I came up with for tomatillo sauce. It's quick and easy, and we really love it.

Tomatillo Sauce

5-6 tomatillos, boiled for about 5 min.

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 jalapeno, chopped

salt and pepper

Toss it all in the food processor until smooth, add about 1/4 cup water to thin it.

We like it over cheese enchiladas. Put a spoonful of sauce in each tortilla, then fill with cheese and roll the enchiladas, cover with tomatillo sauce and bake for about 20 min at 350.

Cheesey Goodness

I finally made the broccoli rigatoni. It was so good. I have to say, I was surprised at how easy the bechemel sauce was to make. I think my favorite part of the whole meal was scraping up the extra cheese sauce with pita bread. YUM. The original recipe came from http://mecookingcreations.blogspot.com/






Bechamel
3/4 stick of butter
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small shallot, chopped
2 tbsp flour
2 cups whole milk
1 cup light cream
Cheese (amounts are approximates): 3/4 cup asiago, 1/2 cup mozzarella, 1/3 cup fontina I used asiago, mozzerella, and shredded parm.
Dash of nutmeg

Pasta
1 pound rigatoni I used some pasta I had in the pantry that was similar
4 slices prosciutto, chopped Didn't use this
1 large head broccoli, chopped into florets
I added chopped sundried tomatoes

Directions
Boil water, cook pasta til still slightly firm, drain
Heat oven to 375; put broccoli in a baking dish and toss with just a touch of olive oil; roast for 6 minutes
In a large saute pan over medium heat, heat olive oil and butter.
Add garlic and shallots, saute for 2-3 minutes
Add flour slowly and whisk until you have a nice roux
Slowly add milk and cream, whisking the entire time
Bring to a simmer and then add cheeses. Whisk until creamy.
Add a dash of nutmeg
Pour the pasta into a baking dish. Add broccoli and sundried tomatoes. Add sauce and mix until all of the pasta is coated. Top with a few pinches of asiago cheese. Bake covered on 375 for 20 minutes; bake uncovered for 5 minutes or until hot and bubbly.