Fish Tacos

Alright - I didn't have any possible way to make this picture pretty, because it was a messy meal! But oh soo good. Plus - its a really fun meal to make because you can have all kinds of options for toppings... and it makes a great meal for a large group because you just set up a little taco bar and let people make their own! (I recently had fish tacos at a friend's house, so it inspired me to come up with my own to make for Brandon and me to enjoy). Also - it helps having a new taco place in town, the Local Taco, to inspire me to want to eat them as well.

Fish Tacos

feeds 2-3 people

• 3 Tilapia filets
• 2 limes
• 3 cloves garlic
• olive oil
• fresh cilantro
• flour tortillas - I recommend Trader Joe's handmade tortillas
• salsa - I recommend the pineapple salsa from trader joe's
• sour cream
• 1 can of black beans
  
• 1 small red onion, or half of a larger one
• a handful of cherry tomatoes (I used an heirloom tomato mix)
• 1 serrano chili, or any chili depending on the heat you like
  
• cumin
• cayenne pepper
• chili powder
• salt & pepper

1. First you'll want to mix the juice from one lime, a few tablespoons of olive oil, & 3 cloves of crushed/minced garlic in a small bowl... whisking until its well combined. Pour this mixture over the fish filets in a ziploc bag and let sit for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.
2. In the mean time, heat up a can of black beans on the stovetop, drained, with finely minced red onion. Cook until thickened. Toward the end, throw in some fresh cilantro and lime juice for flavor.
3. Chop the cherry tomatoes into smaller pieces along with the chopped chili pepper and some chopped red onion. Mix together in a bowl with some salt, pepper, fresh chopped cilantro and a little bit of olive oil. Set aside.
   
4. Once the fish has marinated, heat a skillet over medium heat with a little bit of olive oil. Season the fish filets with salt, pepper, a little cumin, a little cayenne, and a little chili powder... you know what you can handle.. Cook the fish until it starts to fall apart - do not over cook!! It will become dry and not very tasty at all. Discard the marinade.
5. Once the fish is done, let it rest on a cutting board for about 5 minutes... then using a fork, flake the fish apart into bite size pieces. Time to set up the taco bar! Make sure to steam the tortillas so they're nice and soft (in the microwave with paper towels for about 20 seconds should do the trick). Open up some salsa, sour cream, set out the cherry tomato mixture, some fresh chopped cilantro, a few lime wedges, and the black beans.
   
6. Assemble your tacos and enjoy! You can either throw some black beans in with the taco or leave it on the side..either way its good. You could probably even cook up some rice to add in... or mash up some fresh avocadoes.. have some fresh mango or bell peppers... tons of options.

So I hope I managed to get everything in there.. I made this 2 weeks ago off the top of my head, so its hard to remember everything I did.. But they were really really really reallly good. I want some now!

Enjoy!
Posted by LAUREN!

Mexican Lasagna

Ok - First of all I have to apologize for not posting in forever!! But - I've been documenting past meals and have plenty of stuff to catch up with!
Anyway - I'd forgotten about this gem of a recipe that I'd first heard about from rachel ray. Ok - I'm sorry! I'm a foodie and I mentioned rachel ray! I don't condone watching her show... nor listening to any of her advice... but I have to give it to her that occasionally she does have a pretty decent recipe. So I made a few changes to the recipe and its quite tasty. It also holds up really well for plenty of leftovers!

Mexican Lasagna
serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2lbs ground turkey 0r chicken
  
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
• 1 (14-oz) can fire roasted tomatoes, drained
  
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels (or I roasted fresh corn and scraped off the kernals)
• 2T ketchup or tomato paste
  
• Salt
• 8 (8 inch) flour tortillas, I think you may really only need 4 if you cut it just right!
  
• 2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar or shredded pepper jack
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• 2T fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil. Add onion and cook until tender. Add turkey and season with chili powder and cumin. Brown the meat, 5 minutes. Add fire roasted tomatoes and tomato paste/ketchup. Add black beans and corn. Heat the mixture through, 2 to 3 minutes then season with salt, to your taste. At the very end, throw in a few tablespoons of chopped fresh cilantro to taste.
   

3. Coat a shallow baking dish with remaining extra-virgin olive oil, about 1 tablespoon oil. I find the either an 8x8 square or the 2 quart oblong size works. Cut the tortillas in half or quarters to make them easy to layer with. Build lasagna in layers of meat and beans, then tortillas, then cheese. I would suggest a slotted spoon when scooping the meat/beans, you don't want too much liquid or the lasagna will be runny. Repeat: meat, tortilla, cheese again. Bake lasagna 12 to 15 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly. Top with the scallions and cilantro and serve.

Enjoy!
Posted by lauren

Tres Leches Cake... well, really quatro

So I do realize that I'm WAYYY behind on posting recipes. I apologize. I truly do. But at least I'm not as behind as the person who's NEVER POSTED ANYTHING. Yeah, you know who you are.

Sorry for the obligatory pestering of a CERTAIN SISTER...

Anyway, back to food. I made this cake for a company pot luck for Cinco De Mayo. It is so so tasty. Each time I make it I like to vary what I add in regards to milk and to liquor (definitely had a heavy hand this time) but no matter what - it's moist, just sweet enough, spongy, and most importantly delectable. I always get rave reviews. See, I made it for Cinco De Mayo 2008 and this year I actually wanted to do something different. However, when my coworkers found out I wasn't going to make it they protested. Alas, I gave in. But it did not disappoint. It's now my go-to Cinco De Mayo dessert.

Ingredients

The Cake:

• 8 large eggs, separated
• 2 2/3 cups granulated sugar
  
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
  
• 2/3 cup whole milk
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

The Four Milks:

• 1 14-ounce can evaporated milk
• 1 12-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1/8 cup dark rum or other liquer (roughly - I've also done variations with Disaronno & Frangelico)

The Topping (optional):

• Whipping Cream
• sugar
• sliced strawberries
• sliced mangoes
  

Directions

To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour a 11 by 15-inch baking dish and set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat the egg whites on low speed until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually with the mixer running and peak to stiff peaks. Add the egg yolks 1 at a time, beating well after the addition of each.

Sift together the flour and baking powder and add to the egg mixture, alternating with the milk. When you do this, you'll split the flour mixture into thirds, adding the milk (divided in half) in between adding the thirds of flour. The goal is to start and end with the flour mixture. Also, do this quickly so the batter does not lose volume. Stir in the vanilla. Then, pour into the greased pan. Bake until golden, 30-35 minutes.

To make the cream topping: In a blender, or using a large bowl and a whisk, combine the evaporated milk, condensed milk, heavy cream, and liquor and blend on high speed.

Remove the cake from the oven and while still warm poke some holes in the cake and then pour the cream mixture over it. Let sit and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.

Once cake is chilled and ready to serve, make the topping. Pour heavy whipping cream into a bowl and beat until it starts to thicken. Add sugar to taste. Continue beating until thick (but not too thick!). Spread over cake. Slice strawberries and mangoes and arrange over cake.

Buon Appetito!
-Lindsay