Crab and Avocado Salad

Phase one, so they say! Make a dressing from 2 tablespoons of mayo (I used lowfat ~ possibly nonfat ~ whatever I already had in the fridge, though the recipe didn't call for any particular kind), some chopped fresh cilantro, a few chopped roasted red peppers (from a jar), and some fresh lime juice. (FYI, I used not-fo-fresh lime juice, the kind that comes in a little green plastic lime? It was fine; I used about a tblspn), a dash of cayenne pepper (which I didn't have on hand so I used some other kind of spicy red pepper that I can't remember what it is because I bought it in a plastic bag from the Mexican super and transferred it to an unlabeled mini tupperware container). Look, basically, I'm just saying I didn't follow the recipe exactly, and it was still yummy, so do what you gotta do.

Anyway, mix that all together. Add a pound of crab meat. The recipe called for something named "lump crab meat". I have not the foggiest notion as to what that is. I just put in crab meat from the seafood counter at the grocery store. It wasn't spelled Krab though. Then dice up a whole avocado, mix it all in with the dressing you made. I added a dab of salt and pepper.

Makes 4 servings, 1 cup each, 230 cals

Balsamic Glazed Salmon

Holy shit, this is easy and tasty.

Just cook salmon steaks in the oven...like this: set it to 450 degrees, F. Season with salt and pepper. Set the timer for 12 - 14 minutes. Leave it alone.

Put a cup of balsamic vinegar in a saucepan, and fire it up on medium/high heat. Let it boil, stirring pretty often ("frequently", according to the recipe, but more like, eh, every 2 minutes, for me) for about 8 to 10 minutes. It will reduce down quite a bit, by more than half.

Pull it off the heat and add some extra virgin olive oil (I can't remember what the recipe said but it wasn't a lot...maybe a tblspn?) and some lemon juice, just a teaspoon or so. I think I also dashed in salt and pepper. Whisk-whisk-whisk and then pour it over the salmon.

SOOOOOOOOO easy and the vinegar gets really sweet, actually, so that was a nice surprise. I served it with cucumber and tomato salad.

When I put the leftovers on salad for lunch today (I ate the salmon cold, since I cooked it last night), the balsamic glaze had set over night in the fridge so it was the shade and consistency of tar. But...yes, you guessed it....yummy!

Swiss and Veggie Omelet

Cut up 1/4 onion and cook in a small (10 inch?) pan for a few minutes. Add a chopped red pepper (or green pepper, or whatever floats your boat) and 1 diced roma tomato (I can't say that's the kind called for in the recipe, but that's what I had and it was the right amount for my taste) and some Italian Seasoning (that's what it's called, it like basil and thyme and oregano and whatever already all mixed together...easy to get ahold of in the spice aisle. I've had it laying around for some time, but believe me if I found it, anyone can). Cook for a few more minutes and then remove to a plate.

Whisk together three eggs, lightly, with some salt and pepper to season. Cook in the same pan by pouring it in and letting it set for a couple of minutes. If the top of the egg-concoction is still runny, gently lift one side and roll the pan until the runny part trickles down underneath for more cooking.

You only have to cook the eggs for a few minutes, total. Dump the veggies on top of the eggs, add swiss cheese. I can't remember what the recipe called for...maybe one once, shredded? But I just used one of those reduced fat slices that you can get, the deli cut kind? It was fine.

Fold the cooked eggs over in half to cover the veggies and cheese. This is two servings, so my husband and I cut the omelet in half. It's not a HUGE amount of food, but it's plenty and I knew I was eating again in just a couple of hours.

Yummy!

Stuffed Baked Tomatoes

From their quick and easy cookbook, not only was it quick and easy, it was also super yummy.

Cut 4 roma tomatoes in half, lengthwise. Scoop out the pulp and mix it with 1/2 cup part skim shredded mozzarella cheese, 2 tblspns of grated parmesan, basil (I think it called for 1/4 cup or something, but I just eyeballed it and if you like basil you should do the same. 1/4 cup seems scant), some salt and pepper.

Stuff the tomato halves with the mixture and bake on a cookie sheet for 8 to 10 minutes in an oven preheated to 400 degrees, F.

90 calories for 2 tomato halves, makes 4 servings.

C0re ~ Fish

This is also from that same 2w c0re cookbook I've mentioned before. 3 oints per serving, if you're doing it that way, yummy and easy if you aren't using 2w whatsoever. (per serving info: serving counts as 1/4 pound of halibut and 1/2 cup tomato "sauce" = 181 calories, 3 g fat, 4 g fiber)

Again with the fish. It calls for halibut but you know I used talapia. Even if you don't like fish, this is one that could work. It's not terribly "fishy".

EASY EASY EASY and almost no time at all. (preheat oven to 450)

Take a skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Slice one onion and a garlic clove (calls for "minced" but I just crush it) and cook for 4 or 5 minutes, stirring often. Stir in 28 ounces of diced tomatoes (calls for 2 small cans, I had one large can on hand and used that), 7 or 8 chopped kalamata olives (recipe calls for 5), I squeezed in the juice from 1/2 lemon (calls for a tablespoon of lemon juice), and basil and oregano (1 teaspoon each). Add pepper (it calls for 1/4 teaspoon, but you know how I feel about measuring). Let this all boil up, then simmer for about 6 minutes. No need to cover.

I laid the fish (about one or one and a half pounds of talapia, though it calls for one pound of halibut) out in an 8x8 baking dish. (They make glass casserole dishes that size, and I thought I had one, but instead I found in my cupboard one of those aluminum ones you can get at the grocery store. This worked out great for me, because it came with a plastic lid that I used to store the leftovers.) The fish ended up overlapping a bit, but it didn't matter at all. Then pour the tomatoe mixture over the fish and pop it in the oven at 450 degrees f, cook for 10 minutes.

That's it!



It's actually harder than you might think to make food look good in a picture. Case in point? Anytime I've photographed fish it comes out looking shiny. It's not ugly in real life. Also, this is about 1/4 of the food. That's a lot of food. This is not a dinner sized plate, I guess it would count as more of a salad plate, but it's loaded up, so it's very filling and satisfying. I ate this 4 times, and never felt the need to sex it up with a salad or anything else.

Also, the recipe calls for capers. Now, I didn't use any capers. One, because everything else was already in the pantry and I wasn't going to go make a special trip for capers. And two, it's, you know, capers. I figured that anything that tastes good with capers should likely taste great without them. Any caper fan could set me straight, no doubt.

SUPER Easy Enchiladas

You may not think of enchiladas as easy OR nutritious, but these are the bomb. And so good. The first time I made them, I used a hotter enchilada sauce (by accident, actually) and they were pretty hot so I switched to mild and they were too mild. I think "medium" red enchilada sauce is going to be the keeper. I didn't even realize it came in different "hotness" before that, but I definitely saw the varieties the last time I went searching for them.

Most of the ingredients (a short, simple list) are not a problem. The cheese is always an issue. I modified it per the parenthetical info.

Ingredients and Recipe

10 oz monterey jack cheese (I used low fat, and I only used 6 ounces, for a total of 400 calories) 1000 calories or so
1/2 bag frozen corn kernels (about 10 or 12 ounces, total. The bag I had was 32 ounces, so when I used half it was heavy on the corn. Yummy, but the calories were more like 400 caloriesfor the extra corn.) 250 calories
1 can of black beans (15 ounces or so) 385 calories (and lots and lots of fibre grams, if you're counting those)
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped up (I use a whole bunch and don't count it, but if you're inclined to nitpick, call it 30 calories)
1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced up (again, I don't count it, but if you have to it would be about 25 calories)

Mix all of the above ingredients (reserve an ounce or so of the cheese for the top) with 1/2 can of the enchilada sauce (it's a biggish can, and you'll end up using the whole can, so it counts for about 200 calories total) in a pretty big bowl. That's your filling, so set it aside.

Use 12 corn tortillas (12 x 70 = 840 calories, though I've seen them for 80 calories too, so adjust as needed) Okay, if you're ever in the mood to be decadent but DELICIOUS, fry each one up (both sides, and briefly) in oil. Or, if you're like me and being calorie conscious, don't use oil, but still heat the tortillas, both sides, in a pan (I think I actually used a griddle so I could do two at a time). Pour about 1/4 of what you have left in the enchilada sauce on a shallow dish and lightly coat the tortilla with it; then fill, fold, and place in glass casserole dish (one of those 9x13s is perfect). Some people have problems dealing with the tortilla part. It totally doesn't matter, because in a pinch, you could layer the tortillas flat (half of them), spread the filling, and then layer another 6 tortialls flat over that. Seriously, it's still great tasting, but just not as easy to figure out your calories, or as cute on the plate, because you can for sure know that you've gotten 1 or 2 or 6 enchiladas if they're all cozy in their little tortilla). There is a little trick to getting comfy with the tortilla work, but once you're used to it, it's a fast set up. Even with the chopping and grating my own cheese, the entire part up to right here takes less than 10 minutes.

Once you have your enchiladas all nestled into the dish (I can fit 6 across the short side, then two rows down the long side, for 12 enchiladas...They're cozy though, so don't be afraid to shove them around and make room when they get into the dish!) pour the rest of the sauce over the top, then add a sprinkle of grated cheese. I cook them at 350 for 30 minutes (but again, I've got a badass oven, so if your oven is like my previous oven, it might take 5 more minutes because that damn thing was always off).

Total calories (with my modifications) for the entire pan of enchiladas is 2280 calories. Divided by 12 is 190 per enchilada. Two enchiladas are enough for anybody (even my husband, who can eat the entire pantry inventory when ravenous, will only eat 3 at the height of hunger) and one with a green salad is an amazing lunch for about 250 calories.

I made these when several of my teacher friends came over for dinner, and it was good enough for company, too.

Chili

Tommy is not a great eater. Not sure where he came from. But the kid has eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day for 3 years, and little else. He's always been like this. Anyway, he does go on little benders where he'll eat some favored food, and these have included cheese quesadillas, cheese pizzas, grilled cheese sandwiches, mac and cheese, (are you sensing a theme?), pancakes, french toast, and, against all reason, chicken nuggets dipped in ketchup.

Tonight he was asking me where chicken nuggets come from.

T: Where do these come from?
M: Chickens.
T: But, where do they come from?
M: They come from chickens.
T: What does that mean ~ chickens?
M: It means "chickens", like the big red hen in that song ~ bock bock.
T: How do the chickens grow them?
M: No, they come from chickens, on a farm. They used to be chickens. [If I could have brought myself to use the words, "We kill chickens", this would have been a much easier conversation.]
T: They grow on trees?
M: No! They really are chickens. Those nuggets used to be chickens! They are animals! Animals! From the farm!
T: [thoughtful] No. No, that doesn't make sense.

Fine. I remember when I first found out that food was animals, and I stopped eating meat for 6 years. When I was little I lived on a farm and belonged to 4-H but it was a disaster because I always got so attached to my animals. My dad finally put an end to the whole debacle the year I had to sell my lamb, Jesse, at the county fair auction, which ended with me crying so hard that my nose bled and I didn't sleep for 3 whole days. I still won't eat lamb. I don't care, y'all. It messed me up.

I'm mostly over it, but there are still some things I just won't eat ~ veal and lamb come to mind immediately, and I didn't eat any pork whatsoever until I was about 22. That's because of a pig named Moses. I went off all beef for 2 years after I met a cow named Mister Pibb. And, during one bleak period, I stopped eating chicken. That only lasted 3 months, but it was rough. I eat a metric ton of chicken per month, but one summer I was staying at my cousin's house (same cousin whose mom overcooked the veggies). They lived on a farm in Santa Rosa, but it was way more "farm-y" than our farm. We kept chickens for eggs, goats as pets, and horses to ride. My cousin's family road horses, and collected eggs, but they also raised animals to eat. I mean, they would raise them, some guy would come out and slaughter them, right there in the yard. Weird.

So, they had this one chicken, he didn't have a name. (She? meh) That chicken loved me. Every day I would go out to their little pen and that chicken would perch on my arm while I took care of the chores. Then I'd sit and talk to it while carelessly sprinkling little corn and meal around and it was a nice way to spend some time, barefoot in the chicken yard, baking in the summer sun. My uncle (who was mean, I mean it, but we loved him to death) decided I needed to learn a lesson about getting too attached to farm animals. He thought my parents were soft on me when they didn't make me eat Jesse. I know. Anyway, he chopped my chicken's head off and made me pluck him. I cried the whole time.

My husband? Total carnivore. The guy could eat a big ol' steak every single night. Because it would be disastrous to try to elminate meats from our lives, I try very hard to make meat dishes that are healthy and low in fat. I use the leanest of meats which is pricier, and ultimately, less tasty (when you get rid of most of the fat and steroids, you also lose a lot of the flavor. haha) but that's the way it's got to be, and I just try to compensate with great recipes.

I found this chili recipe in a c0re w/w cookbook and I make it a couple times a month. It is good, really good, and it's completely c0re, and it's only 4 -0ints per 1 cup serving too. You know how sometimes, it says "4 servings" but it's really more like 8? or 2? In this case, I swear, every time I've made it, it's like exactly 4 cups. Just creepy, that's all.

Ch@mpion All B33f Chili

I use a dutch oven over medium-high heat. I drop in one top round steak (london broil, to most folks) that's been cut into cubes. Brown the meat, about 5 minutes. Add 2 chopped onions, at least 4 garlic cloves (minced up) and cook about 5 more minutes. (If you're inclined to use jalapeno peppers, add them with the onions. Most of the heat is in the seeds and the white roots in the pepper so get it nice and cleaned up. A couple of peppers should be plenty. I don't choose to use them.)

After you've let the onions cook for about 5 minutes, stir in the following (I'll give you their amounts, but I don't measure them. I use A LOT of chili powder, quite a bit of cumin, and probably double the recommended cinnamon): 1 - 3 tablespoons hot chili powder, 1 tspn cumin, 1 tspn dried oregano, 1/2 tspn cinnamon.

Stir in 3 cups of beef broth. I swear to christ, I just throw in 3 beef boullion cubes and 3 cups of water. It's fine. Let it boil, then reduce the heat to simmer with a lid (not totally covered though). Simmer for at least 45 minutes, but 75 to 90 minutes is better.

Sprinkle with optional sliced scallions, fat free cheese, or fat free plain yogurt, or fat free sour cream. All that stuff is optional though, it's really good on it's own.

(just the chili = 190 cals for 1 cup, 4 g fat)

Veggies

I've never been a great vegetable eater. I love raw veggies, but that's about it. A crudite table at a wedding, or any big salad ~ no problem. Load it up with all the raw veggies you can shake a stick at and I'm happy happy happy.

I think my aversion to cooked vegetables goes back to staying at my aunt's house every summer. She had the most amazing garden, and I would sit in it, among the huge flowering plants, and eat snap peas and green beans straight off the vine and rinse carrots, which I had dug up from the patch, under her garden hose and generally make myself sick eating tomatoes straight off the plant. But then at night, when it was time for dinner, those same luscious veggies were turned into bland, mushy, overcooked piles on our plates and I just about gagged trying to force them down.

Now I have a very few tricks because I'm starting to LOVE veggies, as long as I cook them because they've got to have crunch and they've got to have snap and they've got to be easy to cook.

Easy Asparagus

Asparagus, I've learned, is better with thicker stalks for a reason. Those thicker ones were among the first harvested. As the stalks regrow on the same plants, they get thinner each time. Those anorectic sticks are just not as tasty because they are further into the harvest season. But, if you've got a bunch of the thick ones, here's a super easy and yummy way to eat them.

Lay them flat on a cooking sheet, not piled on top of each other.
Drizzle extra virgin olive oil across them. Don't worry about coating it all and don't use a lot.
Sprinkle paprika across them.
Cook at 425 for 10 to 12 minutes. DO NOT OVERCOOK! I've got a kickass stove and it only takes 10 minutes. (You can cook the skinny ones like this too, but adjust the time down)


Here they are, before the oven, and you can see the oil is mostly on the pan, even.

Super yummy, couldn't be easier. When they are done properly, there is absolutely no wilt and they turn bright green. Yay. If you overcook them they turn reddish (from the paprika bleed) and they wilt. Boo.


Here they are when I pulled them out of the oven. Are you thinking they look almost identical? That's how you know you did it right!

Easy Carrots

I made hamburger patties tonight for dinner, and instead of french fries I made these carrots. Really good!

Take about 1 pound or 1.5 pounds of carrots, peel and slice into "coins".
Dump into a skillet on the stove top with some butter (about a tblspn, but less if you want to watch cals) and a cup or so of chicken broth.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 8 or 10 minutes.
Cook additional 5 minutes without lid.
Salt to taste (pepper too, if that's what you like)

So. Good. And you can't screw them up. Believe me.

Fish with Peppers and Clams

This is another one from the ever speedy Ms. R@y, and it has changed my life in a couple of different ways. First, it calls for exotic (to me) ingredients like "manila clams" and "wine". Second, it uses couscous in basically the only way I've found edible. Couscous is one of those items that I know is healthy and that I should like a lot, but I never have. Like bulgar wheat and quinou and millet and anything else that can be found in the health food store, I know it's there, I know if I were a vegan I'd kill for it, and that's about it.

I've made couscous before, actually, but because I'm not savvy, I usually dish it up plain and rely on the main dish (usually chicken or some kind of beef) to add flavor. A forkful of the meat with the couscous added was as far as I got in the creative department, but there was always a mealy aftertaste that just did me wrong. Blech.

This recipe lays on a bed of couscous, and I absolutely LOVE it. Everything about this recipe, actually, is a love affair for me. It's really fast, really yummy, lots of different flavors and textures happening (I'm crazy about different textures and generally have cravings that begin with, for example, "I'm in the mood for something chewy..."), and really very healthy and clean. Plus, though I'm no food photographer, it's absolutely gorgeous.

Okay, first, I cook with peppers. A lot. And here's a trick I learned to cutting up peppers so you don't have to spend extra time seeding and peeling out the white junk. First, hold the pepper by the stem, thusly:



And, using a sharp knife, cut down one side, turn and cut down the next side, and repeat until you've gone all the way around the pepper. When you're done, you'll be left with four perfect slabs of pepper meat, and the core, like this:



Okay, here are the ingredients and directions for making this:

4 (6-ounce) orange roughy fish fillets (I use a couple of pounds of talapia instead) seasoned with some salt and pepper. Use a good sized skillet that you have a lid for. Heat the pan and then add 2 tblspns of xtra virgin olive oil (I never measure olive oil, just a drizzle or two and spread it around). Add the fish and cook 2 minutes on each side, then remove the fillets from the pan and keep on a dish.

Add another shot of olive oil and then add 3 cloves of chopped garlic, a sliced yellow onion, a red bell pepper in 1/2 inch strips, and a handful of chopped pepperoncini hot peppers (found in a jar near the olives in the super). Add salt and pepper and then saute for 5 minutes, keep stirring it up. Add 1/2 of one of those plastic containers of whole grape tomatoes and cook for another minute. Pour in 1 cup of white wine and use a wooden spoon to scrape up the drippings on the bottom of the pan (I swear, it was presented just like that, for "flavor" apparently) and then put the fish back into the pan. Add about two dozen manila clams (you can make this without clams, especially if they're too expensive or looking tired, it's just as good without them) and cover the pan with a well-fitting lid. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Sprinkle a couple handfuls of fresh flat-leaf parsley over the whole thing.

VERY IMPORTANT: Toss any clams that didn't open. DO NOT EAT a clam that stays shut after being cooked. It means it's already turned the corner.

Serve the whole thing over couscous:

Toast 1/4 cup of sliced almonds (I bought them in a package already sliced at the super) in a saucepan over medium-ish heat. You don't need to add any oil or anything, just heat them in the saucepan. Just a couple of minutes! They will blacken and get charred. *cough* Or so I've heard.

Anyway, set them aside and use the same pan. Add 1 and a half cups of chicken broth and 1 tblsp of xtra virgin olive oil. Heat on high until boiling. Immediately remove the pan from heat, and pour in 1 and a half cups of plain couscous (can be found in boxes, either near the rice, pasta, or health food aisle of your standard super, depending on the store). Also add "two navel oranges, zested"** and a handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley. Stir it all together, put a lid on it and let it stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and toss in almonds. Spread out on a big platter (BIG platter, this is a ton of food! My husband said the leftovers were even better.) and then put the fish and veggies over the top. Easy!

** I don't know about "zesting". I mean, I see them do it, with this long thing that looks to me like just a long cheese grater. That's actually what I use, the cheese grater, but I use the part that doesn't grate cheese (you know that part, it just looks all spikey and doesn't grate anything). Also, zesting TWO oranges seems excessive to me. I have to press down pretty hard to zest one orange, and it makes me crazy because I always think I'm going to rasp my knuckles from all the pressure and that smarts. Believe me. So I just do one orange, on the grater, and call it "zested".

Fish Tacos with Avocado Sauce and Stuffed Sweet Peppers

Here's a recipe that is not hard (like most recipes I favor) but it's super tasty. And good for you, pretty much, although I'm sure somebody else could shave more calories off of it. I originally saw this on the F00d Netw0rk's 30 Minut Me@ls, with the much put-upon R@chel R@y. I like her fine, though I concede your point if you find her entirely too perky.

Anyway, in the original show, I was really surprised to hear her call for flour tortillas because she found corn tortillas "crumbly and difficult to work with". The fact that I know how to deal with corn tortillas is more a testament to my California upbringing than to my prowess in the kitchen. Any good Cali chick has a great enchilada recipe or three up her sleeve, and corn tortillas are yummy, healthy, and easy to work with it...when they are heated (and, if you're not watching your waistline, heat them with oil ~ you don't need a lot of oil to make your own taco shells!). So, I modified her recipe.

I modified her side dish, too, as she called for stuffed tomatoes. I started making these just about a month ago, though, and a really great tomato can't be found in the dead of winter (most of them are mealy, even here in California) so I switched to a red bell pepper. I'm so glad I did. The crunchiness of the pepper, with the salsa-like mix of the veggies inside work together to make it seem like you're macking on chips and salsa, without all the calories.

Fish Tacos

Preheat a grill pan. Smoking hot is the key to keeping the fish (meat, chicken, whatever you're grilling) from sticking to the pan.


This is my grill pan. I've had it for a million years, I think it cost about 30 bucks on sale; it's a Caph@lon.

The recipe calls for a pound or so of halibut, but I always use talapia (pronounced tuh-LAH-pea-uh), because it's always cheap. If halibut's ever on sale, though, I might go for it. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil on the fish, and dust with salt and pepper.


This is new for me, but it's one of my "can't live withouts" now in the kitchen. For $7 or so at a Bed/B@th/Beey0nd, it makes using olive oil super easy. Olive oil is good for you, even when you are on a diet, and a little bit goes a long way in cooking.

This is it, just grill the fish for about 5 minutes on each side (turn the heat down to medium when you start cooking, after it's nice and hot), and right before you remove it from the pan, squeeze some lime juice over it. If the fish falls apart as you spatula it out, all the better; you want to break it apart into chunks anyway .

While the fish is cooking, I'll give you the recipe for the sauce. (In parenthesis is how I modify it) Make this as the first side of the fish cooks up.

2 avocados (I just use one, because good fat or not, I can't see the calories)
juice from 1/2 lemon (yep)
fat free yogurt, plain, 8 oz. (I never eat plain yogurt, but I always have fat free sour cream on hand, so I use that. I don't measure it, but I probably use about 1/2 cup)
some salt
some cayenne pepper (start with a pinch, mix it up, test it, add another pinch until it's the right spiciness for you)

Mix all this together in a food processor, or a blender if you don't have a food processor. Or a blender if you prefer it, actually. I can't think of any reason why one is better than the other.

Make the side dish as the second side of the fish cooks up.

Here are the ingredients (no reason not to mix and match, substitute and elminate, as far as I can tell):
2 tbsp diced cilantro (I just use about half a bunch)
pimentos (a small jar; if you're like me and had no idea what the hell this was, it's just red peppers, minced up, and you can buy them near the olives and condiments at the super)
1/2 red onion, diced finely
1 jalapeno, diced (I learned, late, that the trick to dealing with hot peppers is to elminate all seeds and the white roots inside.)
1/2 zuchinni, diced
lemon juice of 1/2 lemon
a drizzle of xtra virgin olive oil
1 tsp oregano
salt and pepper
2 tblsp breadcrumbs (she kept apologizing for this...I have a hard time believing it changes the calories content much)
one diced tomato

Chop everything up, mix it together in a bowl, and then spoon it into red bell peppers (or yellow tomatoes if you want to do it her way!). I just chop the top of the pepper and the core part pulls right out with it, and then a quick trim to the bottom makes it sit flat. This is enough "stuffing" for four peppers.

Home Stretch
I usually use a small griddle pan (because they are easy to clean up after) and a smidge of olive oil. I'm sure there are professional tricks for getting the oil to all parts of the pan; I use my finger if it's not hot yet, a paper towel if I'm feeling grimey (I wash my hands about 40 times while cooking a meal, because I use them all the time to pick up meat or mix together ingredients, but I can't STAND that feeling of food on my fingers!). Then I lay a few corn tortialls on the pan, heat for a minute or two on each side, and heat a few more the same way. The recipe makes about 6 tacos, but we're WAY full on two tacos and a pepper, and one taco and a pepper easily suffices...they're just so yummy I always have another.

To assemble, lay the warmed tortillas flat, spread a spoonful of the avocado sauce over one half, lay fish on the sauce, and fold over the bottom half of the tortilla.

Easy and yummy!

About

I am somebody who knew nothing about food. Well, actually, that's not true; I knew if it tasted good. But to be honest, that's never been a prerequisite for eating it in my case. (But that's a story for my other blog)

I'm learning how to cook now, and I use magazines, "diet" recipes, the food network, friends, and google to collect and try recipes that will [I hope] be tasty and nutritious for my whole family.

This is not a blog for experienced cooks, unless you would like to come here and make fun of me, which, you know, have at it, or unless you actually like slumming once in awhile. But be warned; I use recipes that call for a "can of cream of mushroom soup", or instant rice, or what have you. I will also write about what could hardly be called "recipes" in that there's not really much going on there, but it's still news to me, so it will get documented.

My mom is a great cook ~ in a meat and potatoes kind of way. I'm trying to learn a different way of cooking that is better suited to the healthier lifestyle I've adopted as an adult. Having said that, I don't automatically gravitate toward exotic grains or flax seed oils. My palatte is not terribly sophisticated, so I have to retrain myself to find things that aren't over-processed and/or over-sugary as tasty and to actually start craving *those*... you know, instead of twinkies.

I also recently went through a kitchen reno, in which my gorgeous pops did the whole thing in his spare time...over 18 months or so. So, living without a kitchen for that long really helped me get motivated to use it to it's full advantage now!

I always want to hear about other recipe ideas, new foods, and related websites.