Fish Tacos

After hearing the raves of other bloggers about fish tacos I tried it recently when we went out to eat. Wow! What a great combination of flavors and a great summertime dish. Not too heavy and easy to make. Here's my first homemade attempt combining several recipes I found online. I missed getting a good pictures. They were gone before I could find the camera.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Cost: Approx. $7.00
Serves: 8

2 pounds of white fish ($4.00)
Alaina's Taco Seasoning
16 small white corn or flour tortillas warmed($2.00)
1/2 cup sour cream ($.25)
1/2 cup mayonnaise ($.25)
Cilantro chopped
cabbage shredded ($.25)
1/2 onion diced ($.25)

Cook fish in microwave or skillet until it is white and flakes easily with a fork. Sprinkle with 1 Tbsp of taco seasoning and cook for another 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, saute onion and cabbage in butter until warmed through, but still crunchy.

Prepare sauce by mixing sour cream, mayo, cilantro (desired amount), and remaining seasoning together well.

Serve on warmed tortillas and enjoy!

Preserving: Corn

I will likely never have a big garden to harvest. I'll be happy if my few tomato plants bless us with some fruit this summer. But I am determined this summer to take advantage of the great sales on fresh produce and store some away for winter. My plan is to preserve through freezing rather than canning since I lack the necessary supplies, but have a ton of freezer space. The next few months I'll be sharing with you our stockpile as it grows. Enjoy!

Corn On the Cob

I read about this on a blog last week and it definitely lived up to its claims. This corn far surpasses any that I've boiled or grilled. It has a perfect crunchiness and sweetness. The best part? There is no required desilking. The husk just falls away.

Place ears of corn directly on baking sheet. Bake at 450 for 30 minutes. Let cool slightly, peel back husks, cut corn off the cob and freeze.

Ears of sweet corn were $.15 a piece this week. I picked up 40 to start and it yielded 7 pounds of corn for the freezer. That works out to be $6.00 total or $.85 a bag. Comparable quality would cost $1.39-$2.39 frozen or $.89 canned.

Orange Shake-ups

I spent many a summer making lemon and orange shake-ups in a family friend's hot stand at a county fair somewhere in the Midwest. Recently I bought a huge amount marked down oranges for $2 and improvised to serve a no mess version of this special treat. It just tastes like summer!

Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: none
Serves: 4 glasses
Cost: Practically free

3 oranges sliced
1/8-1/4 cup sugar or sugar substitute to taste
ice
water
large jar (I used a very large plastic applesauce jar)

Place the sliced oranges in the bottom of a large jar. Using the end of a wooden spoon smash oranges until just rinds are remaining. Fill the jar to the rim with ice. Add water. Seal and shake for about one minute.

Hotel Food

My kids love staying in hotels. Of course, they love to swim. But they are also BIG fans of the complimentary breakfast where they are not restricted to just one bowl of cereal or oatmeal like at home. Their eyes pop out of their head with sight of bagels and waffles and sugar cereal to choose from. Many times I have relied on this big breakfast to help make it through a long morning.

This weekend we didn't fair so well. We found an affordable suite with three queen beds, but no pool and no breakfast. We considered walking over to the Cracker Barrel, but we knew they couldn't fill up for the day there. Besides it would cost over $50 at least.

So last night I snuck out to the store and served them donuts, hot pockets, fruit, chocolate milk, j fruit and juice this morning. All together it cost $16 and they were more than pleased with these special treats. Whatever is left over, I will use for snacks later.

**I'm excited to show you a few new recipes coming soon that we'll be trying- fish tacos, crunchy baked chicken, salads and grill foods. So don't give up on this blog. I will post again soon:)**

Cooking Rut

Coming out of winter and into the summertime menu, I feel like in a cooking rut here. Winter just seems so much easier with stews, soups and casseroles. Summer is a different situation altogether. Everyone is a bit hungrier because we are more active and yet, nothing sounds good.

So, I'm calling out for help. Please share you favorite summer main dish! You can leave it in a comment, give me a link or email me. I'll try it out and feature it on this blog. And my family will be forever grateful that they are not eating the same ole thing.