Meatless Dish: Fish Tacos

So technically the title of this post is inaccurate.  I know that fish is meat, but for my purposes it is not meat.  I recently have been trying to change my diet to lower my cholesterol.  My doctor told me to reduce my animal products and my dairy.  He also indicated that fish is good for me so I should replace some of my other meat with fish hence why to me it is not meat.  Does that make any sense?

I have never really liked eating fish before but I am trying to find ways I like it.  I always hated it because I didn't like the real fishy taste and I thought it was gross that the whole house smelled like fish.  Well, come to find out the fresher the fish, the less fishy... who knew?  And as for having your house smell, well, it depends on how you cook it.

So this recipe I found as I was glancing through one of my cookbooks one day searching for new and yummy recipes.  A couple of summers ago, I helped pass out food at my local food bank and they were giving away these cookbooks to help people eat healthier.

I love how pretty the filling is... so colorful and vibrant.  The other appeal that this recipe has is that it has very little cooking.  Just chop up some veggies, and you cook up the fish in under ten minutes.  Nice and cool for summer.

So I've never really eaten fish tacos before, but my husband tells me that normally the fish is fried.  These aren't the traditional fish tacos, but yummy all the same.  The recipe calls for sour cream, I just put a dallop of plain yogurt which seemed to work just as well.  What also made them especially delicious was that we served them with hot sauce. It made them just perfect. 

If you want to check it out go to  Champions for Change and you'll find a whole list of recipes.  The actual recipe is called Simple Fish Tacos .

 

Card Series: Post 9

Here is this week's card post.  I missed last week because I was busy preparing for my little girl's birthday.  One years old!  Crazy!  So to keep in theme, here is a week of birthday cards!  Happy one year to my baby!




Birthday



Birthday



Birthday



Birthday



Birthday








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Meatless Dish: Black Pepper Tofu and Green Beans

So in my quest to lower my cholesterol I have been searching for yummy recipes that don't have meat or cheese in them.  I don't mind having tofu in a dish, but I don't like to pretend it's meat.  I remember when I was a child almost being fooled that Tofu was eggs, but whenever you bite into something expecting the taste of something else it's always disappointing.  Why not just call it what it is?  Don't try and pretend that the tofu is a burger... because it'll never taste the same. 

So this leaves a whole world of cultural foods to try because they seem to be more up front about calling it what it is. We've tried different Thai, Indian, Chinese recipes and often times they are quite delicious. 

My sister in law was going through Sunset magazine and thought of me when she saw a whole section on tofu.  She ripped out the pages and they've been sitting waiting for me to try.  I recently cooked one of them up and was quite suprised by how good it tasted. 

Black Pepper Tofu and Green Beans

I think it will definately go into our regular rotation.  It had a very nice kick to it, and the way you cook up the tofu leads to a nice texture.  Not soggy at all, and a very nice flavor.  The tofu was browned with brown sugar and then the whole dish flavored with a black pepper mix.. a little sweet with the hot.  Quite good... I recommend you give it a try!

Card Series - Post 8: Texture

Here is this week's round of cards.  I love when people give me unique types of papers and stickers.  Sometimes they give me items that I may not have picked out myself but work great.  Having different textures, colors, and patterns can give the card a whole new dimension.  It's fun to experiment and see what I can come up with!



Thanks



Thanks



Birthday - Brother - 30th



Sympathy



Wedding

Stay tuned for next week's episode. :)

Mommy Musings: Thankful

I have struggled with being a stay at home mom.  There are days I think I just might go crazy. There are days that I long for a job and adult conversation.  Today was not one of those days.   Today I sat and held my sick baby girl as she slept. As I sat there, I felt appreciative of the fact that I had no where I had to be, no deadlines to meet, and no timetable to follow. Sure, I had things that needed to get done, but it could all wait until later.  I could hold her for as long as she needed. I felt really thankful that I get this chance to stay at home and take care of her. 

What moments make you thankful about your life?

Dolls for Fiji

So some of my personal projects have been put on hold because we are making a TON of dolls to send to Fiji this summer.  Even though they are going in August, the church is trying to ship as much as they can ahead of time so we were working hard to get them done by this week.   I think we may continue to work on them up until they go, but it will be at a more lesuriely pace as whatever we finish will have to be packed into people's suitcases. 

Here is a bunch that I finished today during my girl's nap time. 

Below is a shot of all the finished ones as of this morning - With a close up shot of all the dolls and their cute personalities. 



Aren't they just so cute?  Wouldn't you want to just cuddle them if you were a little kid?

So do you want to know how to make your own cute handmade doll?

Card Series - Post 7: Inspiration

Whenever I make a card for someone, I always try to make it personally for them.  I try to think of their favorite color or something that reminds me of them.  I use that as my jumping off point and then match different colors, patterns, and stickers until I get the right combination.  I then cut things out and put it together.  Sometimes I'm in the middle and decide the card doesn't look right and I have to redo everything I just did.  Often times that happens when I picture an idea in my head and it doesn't materialize the way I visualize it. 




Birthday



Thanks - Friendship



Birthday - Dad



Birthday - Female



Thanks

What do you use as your inspiration for your crafts?