Fish tacos with mango salsa

This is a very non-measure type recipe but since it turned out so wonderful and was so quick I wanted to share it. The ingredients are in red.

Fish:

Any mild white fish will work, I used Orange Roughy. 

Pat fish fillets dry and squeeze lime juice over. Rub lime moistened fish with chili powder and sea salt. Pan sear in vegetable oil until flakey.

Mango Salsa:

Using food processor chop one small to medium onion and one green pepper. Remove from processor and corsley chop mango (I use frozen mango) and a small handful of cilantro. Add all ingredients together and stir in lime juice and salt to taste.

For info on making the homemade tortillas, go here.

Spinach and Artichoke Mac and Cheese (Rachael Ray)

I was unsure of this one, but it was good and my kids loved it too. Just don't tell them it's called Mac and Cheese or they'll have expectations that are very different from the result.


Salt
1 pound regular or whole wheat penne
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
3 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups milk
A few grates fresh nutmeg
1 box frozen chopped spinach (10 ounces), defrosted and wrung dry in a kitchen towel
1 box frozen chopped artichokes (10-ounces), defrosted and wrung dry in a kitchen towel
Ground black pepper
1 1/4 cups shredded Italian Fontina cheese, plus additional for sprinkling on top
1 1/4 cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, plus additional for sprinkling on top
PreparationPre-heat oven to 350ºF.

Place a large pot of water over high heat to cook the pasta. When the water is boiling, salt it well and drop the pasta in. Cook to al dente according to package directions. Drain the pasta and reserve.

While the pasta is cooking, place a medium pot over medium-low heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons, and the butter. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook the veggies until very soft, about 10 minutes.

Turn the heat up to medium-high and sprinkle the flour into the pan. Cook for about 1 minute then whisk the wine into the pan, cooking for another minute to burn off the alcohol. Whisk the milk into the pan and bring up to a bubble. Add the nutmeg, veggies, some salt and pepper to the sauce, and simmer until thickened, 2-3 minutes. Add the cheeses to the sauce and stir until melted.

Toss the prepared sauce with the cooked pasta and transfer to a casserole dish. Sprinkle some more Fontina and Parmigiano over the top and bake until the cheese has melted and the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Chicken Parmesan

I didn't actually use parmesan cheese so I don't know why it's called that, but this was really good and surprisingly easy.

Boneless, skinless chicken breast (enough to serve your family)
1/2 C. milk
1 egg
1 C. seasoned bread crumbs
Spaghetti noodles
Spaghetti sauce
mozzarella cheese

Place the chicken breast between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound it until it's 1/4-1/2 inch thick.

Get noodles cooking.

Mix 1 egg and 1/2 C. milk in shallow dish. Dip chicken in that mixture then coat in seasoned bread crumbs.

Cook it in a skillet with olive oil. It'll be golden and pretty on both sides. Put some mozarella cheese on the top and let it melt, either with the lid on the skillet or in your oven.

Serve over cooked spaghetti noodles with extra spaghetti sauce.

Cherry Chocolate Cake

1 pkg. chocolate cake mix
1 can cherry pie mix
1 tsp. almond extract
2 eggs, beaten

Beat eggs, add extract, cake mix and cherry pie mix. Stir gently. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes in a greased 9"x13" pan. I made cupcakes and baked them for about 18 min.

FROSTING:

1 c. sugar
5 tbsp. butter
1/2 c. milk
1 c. chocolate chips

Boil for 1 minute the first 3 ingredients, stirring constantly. Add chocolate chips and stir until melted and smooth. Spread on cake.

Coconut Cake

This is super easy and really yummy!

1 pkg. white cake mix
1 1/2 C. unsweetened coconut milk (I just use one whole can)
4 large egg whites

Beat together. Pour into 2 round 8" greased and floured cake pans or double recipe and pour into 3 round 9" cake pans. Bake at 350 for 22 min.

Frosting
3 1/2 C. powdered sugar
1/2 C. butter, softened
1 tsp. coconut extract
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

Combine and frost cake. THen press flaked coconut on top and sides.

I made cupcakes, baking them for 18 min. I frosted them then dipped them up-side-down into a bowl of flaked coconut. They came out really pretty and were so very easy!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

I got this original recipe off of allrecipes and changed it a bit to fit my needs better.

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 Tbls ground flax seed
4 Tbls water
(you could use two eggs in place of the flax and water)
1 cup Succanot
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup coconut or olive oil
3/4 cup apple juice concentrate, thawed
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup water (could use milk, or almond milk)
3 cups shredded unpeeled zucchini
1 cup shredded carrots

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking dish. mix all dry ingredients together, then add the wet. Lastly add the zucchini and carrots and mixed until just moistened. Bake for 35-45 min or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

Serve plain, or add this simple frosting recipe from Robyn, at greensmoothiegirl.com

1/2 cup powdered succanot (if you don't have powdered succanot just put succanot into a coffee grinder and make it)
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup water

My boys at this up like crazy! They loved it and I didn't mind so much letting them eat it!

Evil Jungle Princess

Weird name, I know, but that's what it's called at Thaifoon. This is a list of the ingredients, and while it's not a complete recipe (amounts), I'm entering it here before I lose the scrap of paper I wrote it down on. I'll perfect it hopefully after I try cooking it. If you want to take a stab at it, go for it. It's delicious at Thaifoon.

Chicken cut in chunks, salted and rubbed with fresh ginger
A couple large carrots julienned
Long beans or grean beans or peas
bean sprouts
red pepper julienned
mushrooms (optional)
water chestnuts (optional)
fresh basil

2+ Tbsp. peanut butter
Sweet Thai red chili sauce (found at Walmart)
1 Tbsp. Samall Oelek (found at Asian market)
Red curry
3 cans coconut milk (this seems to me like about 3 times as much as you'd need)

Cook the chicken, then remove from pan. Mix chili sauce, oelik, red curry and coconut milk in pan and heat. Add peanut butter. Add chicken and vegetables.

Serve with rice.