Birthday and Terrifying Tuesdays

Today is my boys' 10th birthdays. *sniff* I cannot believe they are 10 already. Double digits. Approaching puberty and teenagerhood and adulthood. Yikes! No way! Don't grow any more!! At least not once you finally figure out how to tie your shoes (you know who you are...)

Notice that there are two cakes. And very different cakes at that. Jake wanted a really decadent chocolate cake. He had seen one that was entitled "Death by Chocolate" that he wanted, but the store didn't have one, so I got the "1001 chocolate chip cake". Ryan requested a plain yellow or white type cake with yellow icing. I saw this fun sun one and thought it was perfect for him - but forgot that red icing is always bitter (why do they even bother with red icing??). We ate cake, now we're all feeling sick. (from overindulging) So I'm going to put half of each in the big freezer and save it until the following weekend when my parents come for a visit. I'm not sure that's a good idea since my dad was recently diagnosed with diabetes and he loves sweets.

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On to Terrifying Tuesdays. Very late. My facebook friends know what we had. FISH TACOS!!

I got the whole process/recipes from You Tube. Supposedly the original fish taco from Rubio's. Here's the link: Fish Taco You have to also view a couple other short videos to get the marinade and sauce recipes.

Recipe notes: I did what he said to do to the tortillas. It didn't work out so well for us. The top two and bottom two tortillas stuck hopelessly to each other (Gary liked it though) and the rest stuck together too but were able to be peeled apart - they were quite steamy and wet and super hot. There is probably a better way to heat the tortillas.

It was really surprisingly good. It didn't come off as a big hit though, and I think that's because the fish was fishy. I used a frozen mahi-mahi, and when I opened the thawed package, it smelled fishy. It's not supposed to smell like anything. Mahi is not a fishy tasting fish, it's really good and meaty, so this was not a good batch. Note that this is my second bad package of frozen fish. I guess you have to be really picky about what brand you use, or stick to fresh.

I want to try it again, as long as the natives don't rebel. I don't understand how they could like those nasty catfish sloppy joes, yet not like these tacos. Seriously, it's just grilled fish in a tortilla with a really good sauce.

Terrifying Tuesday: recipes!

I tried a few new recipes yesterday, so I thought I'd share them.

Kath Eats Real Food is a blog I like to visit and I have it in my favorites. It always comes up on the page that has her BBQ tofu. I've been wanting to make this for about a year now. So I finally made it yesterday for lunch. I made it exactly as she described. It's a little bit sweet. Little bit, lotta bit. I still have 1/2 slab of tofu, so later this week I'll try it with the leftover KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce that I have in the fridge. Oops. I'm making BBQ chicken tonight - so I'll figure out a different way to make the tofu. No biggie.

For supper I made a new recipe that is family/kid friendly. I get these Betty Crocker Dinner Made Easy emails and they sent this recipe - Healthified Mexican Pasta Skillet. It's kinda like a hamburger helper (blech) deal. Ground beef (or ground turkey), salsa, tomato sauce, water, macaroni noodles. Super easy. Really. And tastey. I used whole grain macaroni, 93% ground beef and everything else they say, just not the specific name brands.

Good stuff. I need stovetop recipes for when grill season comes to an end. This will work.

Now, for Terrifying Tuesday. I made Artichoke Toasts. The recipe came from a cookbook I got from the library. It's called Sneaky Veggies by Chris Fisk. This book came out right before the Desperately Delicious and The Sneaky Chef books came out (but not as widely publicized). This cookbook isn't full of purees. It has some interesting recipes in it that I'm looking forward to trying. The artichoke toast recipe could not be any easier.

2 slices whole grain bread, toasted
1 4oz jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
2 Tbsp grated parmesan

I used my hand blender to puree the hearts. Divide evenly and spread on the toasts. Sprinkle with the parm and broil for a minute or so.

It did not get met with the best reception. An acquired taste. I think the marinade was a bit too sour for our palates. I guess the marinade is supposed to be like an italian dressing or something. Maybe a different brand would taste better, or different. It's worth experimenting, I think. I will not give up on artichokes. This was our first foray into this vegetable. It's high in fiber. It deserves another shot or two.

I've got a bunch of recipes flagged in this book. I'm gonna try a few before it's due back in the library. I'll keep you posted on what does/doesn't work!
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As you know, vegetarian/vegan blogs are a favorite of mine. Also, weight loss television is a favorite too. I discovered a show on BBC America called "You are what you eat". Fascinating - but she does talk about poo, so you may not want to eat while you watch it, depending on how sensitive you are. I really perked up at some of the foods she gets them to eat. She mentioned some smoothies concoctions and something called "haricot bean loaf". What is a haricot bean? Turns out it's navy beans. The guy tasted it and said it was tastey. This was before he started her regimin - so it must actually be good. So I started cruising the handy dandy internet and found several websites that feature her and her books/recipes. Her name is Gillian McKeith. I was getting all excited until I started reading book reviews and looked at her recipes. She puts them on a basically vegan/macrobiotic diet. Really strict. It amazes me that the people can go from one extreme to the other and really stick to it. But it seems they do! I don't think I have that will power. One of her smoothies called for 6 pieces of whole fruit - 1 to 2 servings! I'm not talking about berries, I'm talking pears and mango and such. Big fruit. Sounds pricey. Plus some recipes were for quinioa (plain, just made with bullion) for breakfast. Blech. Anyway, it was hugely interesting and the show is great.

I'm gonna try that haricot bean loaf. LOL! Really. We may have to follow up with a trip to McDonald's (gasp). :-)

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One last bit of food talk. I've been keen on trying some new fish recipes. I cannot stand baked fish or stews or soups. I like it grilled or fried. Not fishy. So I'm gunning for a fish taco recipe. I found an interesting one on you tube. By a chef in a restaurant. It looks simple and tastey. I hope it works. I don't know how else fish can be fixed, so I feel a bit desperate. I really want to try to get to that two servings of fish a week. I'm open to ideas!!

Terrifying Tuesdays: BBQ Salmon

The Recipe:

BBQ Salmon
1 1/2 - 2 lbs. salmon
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. fresh orange juice
2 Tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. grated orange rind
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 lg. garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. pepper

Put the salmon in a large baking dish. Whisk the remaining ingredients together in a small bowl and pour them over the salmon. Marinate at room temperature for 45 minutes or in the fridge for 2 hours. Grill or broil the salmon for about 8 minutes a swide, or until it's as done as you like it. Serve immediately.

This recipe is from the cookbook "One bite won't kill you!" by Ann Hodgman. Love the title, don't you?!

We all loved it - but we all love grilled salmon anyway - yes, even the boys. Forget that fishstick business. But, but, but...... you couldn't really taste the marinade. So, what's the point? I usually just put a ready-made rub on my salmon and a squirt of lemon which is a thousand times easier. (probably could do without the rub too!)

We also had a new french fry, it's by Alexia and is organic and no trans fats. They were good. And since I don't do the french fry thing much, it's worth the higher cost. I had read in someone's blog that the tater tots were good, but the commissary didn't have any.

And, to feed into my cookbook addiction, I went to Target today and bought the new "Hungry Girl 200 under 200" book. I'm not sure why I bought it, since there is the website, and a lot of the food is "fake". But sometimes you just need a fast to fix recipe that isn't fattening. It takes time to make everything fresh and sometimes you run out of fresh stuff at the end of the week. (I'm trying to justify buying yet another cookbook!)
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I go to get my stitches out tomorrow. I'll be glad. I think he did a great job and it'll heal up beautifully. The rash on the other hand, it's a mess. You can literally see the rectangular area where the bandage was. This picture was taken just now. So it's 6 days after the surgery. Oh, well. You can also see where they cut my hair. LOL! not a big deal. could've been much worse.

Terrifying Tuesday: Pecan Crusted Fish with peppers and squash

We finely have a winner folks! Something edible! I'm not sure where I got this recipe, so I'll post it anyway.

Pecan Crusted Fish with Peppers and Squash

12 oz. fresh or frozen catfish,
whitefish, orange roughy
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 tsp. onion salt
1/4 cup a-p flour
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1 egg
2 sm. red/orange sweet peppers, quartered
1 med. zucchini, bias-sliced 1/2" thick
1 med. yellow summer squash,bias-sliced 1/2 inch thick
1/4 tsp seasoned salt

1. Line a 15X10X1 inch baking pan with foil. Lightly spray; set aside. Thaw fish, if frozen. Rinse fish; pat dry. Cut fish into 4 serving-size pieces; set aside. 2. In a shallow dish combine pecans, cornmeal, and onion salt. In another shallow dish combine flour and ground red pepper. In a small mixing bowl whisk together egg and 1 tbsp water. Dip each piece of fish in flour mixture to lightloy coat, shaking off any excess. Dip fish in egg mixture, then in pecan mixture to coat. Place coated fish in the prepared baking pan, tucking under thin edges. 3. In a large bowl combine sweet peppers, zucchini, and sqash. Add 1 tbsp. olive oil and seasoned salt; toss to coat. Arrange peppers and squash around fish, overlapping vegetables as needed to fit into pan. 4. Bake, uncovered, in a 425 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork and vegetables are tender.

per serving:
302 cal, 15g total fat (2g sat fat), 98 mg chol., 367 mg sodium, 21g carbo., 3g fiber, 21g pro.

I pretty much made this recipe as stated. I used catfish. I wanted to use orange roughy, but the commissary didn't have any. I'm not a big fan of vegetables cooked with fish, but I did it anyway. Next time I'll grill the vegetables or cook them somehow, but separately. The vegatables got a little burned and the squashes were downright slimey. Yuck. But the fish was great. I'm sure you could use any nut. It's not a recipe that's far out there, but it's something I haven't yet tried on the family.

It got 3 thumbs up (Gary gave it a 3/4 thumbs up) and 1 thumbs down. Ryan ate it up anyway. The only other things on his plate were the vegetables and purple sweet potato. He had to eat something!
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On the food front, our commissary finally got that Truvia stuff. I've been dying to try it, so I snatched up a box Sunday. I dunno. This stuff tastes more fake than the fake stuff, to me. If you take a little taste of it straight out of the package, I get hit with what I think is going to be bitter, but then it disappears. It's kinda weird. Almost like how the sugar alcohols disappear on you - you know in those sugar free hard candies. Since it said that one packet was the equivalent of 2 tsp of sugar, I put one packet in my hot tea. Just not quite sweet enough. Hey, I usually like 2 packets of splenda in my tea, so I guess I like it pretty sweet. I've been using 1 packet in my oatmeal - I'm still not sure about the bitterness factor. Too reminiscent of sacchrin - yuck! So this stuff is still up in the air for me.

I'm not sure why I want to change anyway. You hear all those negative nellies going on and on about the evils of Equal and Splenda - I like them! I don't think either have aftertaste and they haven't affected me physically, as far as I can tell. But I'm really not the one who can say, "I've been doing it all my life and I'm fine!" Because I've had too many major illnesses to get away with that. I've NOT been fine. Maybe it's my water bottles, maybe it's my toothpaste, maybe it's because I was bottle fed. Who knows? But I like me sweets.

We are making small motions towards our move. Gary's got to do some car stuff - I've made arrangements for dental records to be sent to me. I still need to call my eye doctor. My medical records will stay at the hospital until the bitter end, and then I will hand carry everything with me. This is VITAL. You've got to hand carry all your xrays, mammograms, EVERYTHING! Don't trust it to the mail.

I'm getting kinda sad about the move. I can see changes happening already. One of my good friend's has placed a bid on a house and is in escrow - it has a pool, so we'll miss out on many good pool parties. The neighborhood has become a reconstruction zone - they are doing new sewer lines. It's horrible. Our sweet, quiet neighborhood. There are a couple of other school moms who are moving this summer. One mom is currently having her house packed out. So things will be different here anyway. I won't be leaving the same place.

I've had a cold for over a week now. I've been sleeping on the infamous recliner. I keep hoping the moist night air will heal my cough. Plus I can't stand the thought of disturbing Gary's sleep with my coughing. I just want to breathe!