Tilapia Tacos with Veggie Salsa & Rice

Tilapia:
8 pieces (about 2 lbs) fresh tilapia (cubed)
1 stick butter
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp dry cilantro
Melt butter in a skillet. Add tilapia and cook. Add salt & cilantro. Cook until fish is done, about 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Fish will be white and semi-firm when it's done.

Rice:
Make 4 cups rice using package directions, adding 1 T lime juice at the end. We use Jasmine rice for this recipe, about 2 cups dry rice to 5 cups water. This makes enough rice for the tacos, plus a side item on each plate.

Veggie Salsa:
Combine in a bowl:
1 small Vidalia onion (diced)
2 Roma tomatoes (diced)
1/2 C diced bell pepper (I used one I roasted last week & that was definitely better)
1 T lime juice
1/4 C fresh cilantro, or 1 tsp. dry cilantro
Mix together and serve on the tacos over the tilapia.

Assemble the Tacos:
Layer tilapia, rice and the Veggie Salsa on a warm, soft tortilla. Add sour cream if desired.

Sooooo yummy!!!

Menu Plan Monday

Week of March 2-8:

Monday: Tilapia Tacos with Veggie Salsa & Lime Rice, Salad
Tuesday: Tomato Soup (Note: save 8 oz tomato sauce for Thursday's soup)
Wednesday: Cheeseburger Rotini
Thursday (Mom's out of town): Tuscany Peasant Soup
Friday (Mom still gone): Chicken Patty Sandwiches, French Fries, carrots
Saturday: Kids' Night! (Make-Your-Own-Pizza for kids, Date Night for Mom & Dad!)
Sunday: Cereal

Menu Plan Monday

Just realized I didn't post this for this week. Ignore the fact that it's Tuesday night. Work with me, people.

Monday: Shrimp Tetrazzini (No, we didn't have it last week. Something came up.)
Tuesday: Meatball Subs - cooked ALL DAY!!! Mama's favorite and a general Family Hit!
Wednesday: Tacos & Burritos - Dora's choice for her birthday
Thursday: Spaghetti with the AWESOME sauce from Tuesday's meatball subs!
Friday: Teenagers here this weekend - Nachos!
Saturday: Out
Sunday: Enchiladas - Angel's choice for her birthday! Hope we can get these made - her birthday party is in the afternoon so we may have to convince her to choose something that can be prepared more quickly!

Menu Plan Monday

Note: Tuesdays & Thursdays are Soup Nights because we don't get home until around 8. Wednesdays are Quick Fix Nights because we have to leave for church at 6. Fridays are Easy Fix Nights because we are gone all day at co-op and I come home exhausted!

Monday: Almost Gyros (because they aren't made from lamb, but leftover roast from last night), Salad
Tuesday: Jamaican Pumpkin Soup, Croissants
Wednesday: Shrimp Tetrazzini, Garlic Bread
(We don't often eat shrimp for health reasons, but we were given quite a bit of shrimp, and we really do love the taste, so we're eating it for now!)
Thursday: Tuscany Peasant Soup, Rolls
Friday: Stuffed Tacos, Salad
Saturday: Valentine's Day - Eat Out!
Sunday: Homemade Pizzas - we usually do this on Saturdays but changed it this week because of Valentine's Day

Menu Plan Monday

I meant to start posting menus last week, sort of a Very Late New Year's Resolution. But, I forgot...oh well. I will try to post recipes to go with most of these each week. I may not get them loaded until the weekend, though.

Note: Tuesdays & Thursdays we don't get home until around 8, so those are Soup Nights. Wednesday nights we have church so we are on a tight schedule. Wednesday night meals must be prepared fairly quickly, and require very little clean-up. Fridays, we are gone all day at co-op, and I come home exhausted so these are often crock-pot days. Saturdays we usually have homemade pizzas. Sundays we often have company for dinner.

Here's last week's menu:

Monday: Cajun Blackened Red Snapper with Sauteed Squash Medley and Dirty Rice

Tuesday: Hot & Sour Soup

Wednesday: Lemon-Pepper Chicken Ziti, Lemony Green Beans

Thursday: Black-Eyed Pea & Sausage Soup

Friday: Cereal

Saturday: Homemade Pizzas

Sunday: (Company) Smoked Roast, Diced Garlic Potatoes, Salad

Monkey Bread

We LOVE Monkey Bread at our house!! This is a super-easy breakfast because you prepare it the night before, then just throw it in the oven that morning. Great for Christmas morning! Also a good dish to take to a breakfast, because it is easily transportable and always a hit!

The night before:

• Grease bundt pan and place 1 package frozen Parkerhouse rolls (about 2 dozen) inside it.
• Sprinkle 1 package regular butterscotch pudding (not instant) over the rolls.
• Sprinkle 1/2 C brown sugar, 1/4 C white sugar, 2 t cinnamon over the rolls.
• Melt 1 stick butter and pour over the top.
• Place towel over pan and let it rise overnight. If you are like me, "overnight" could mean around 5-6 hours for you. To the bread, "overnight" means at least EIGHT hours. Ridiculous, I know. Who sleeps eight hours?

The next morning:

• Remove towel and bake 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
• Dump the whole thing onto a round platter and enjoy!! This is super good with coffee!

Hot and Sour Soup

This soup is awesome. Incredibly awesome. Some of the kids balked a bit because it looked weird, but all but one liked the taste.


Ingredients

• 8 cups water


• 6 Chicken Bouillon cubes


• 5 T Soy Sauce


• 7 T Rice Vinegar (add 1 T more at the end if you want it more sour)


• 3 T Coconut Oil


• 1/2 T Red Pepper Flakes (add another 1/2 t at the end if you want it more spicy)


• 1 pkg Sliced Mushrooms


• 1 pkg Mung Bean Sprouts or Bamboo Shoots


• 1 can Water Chestnuts


• 4 eggs

Combine all ingredients, except egg, in crockpot. Cook on high 30 minutes, then on low 4-5 hours. Just before serving, beat eggs in a small bowl and then add to soup. Stir eggs in - they should cook and swirl all around.

Serve with sushi, dumplings and Fortune cookies. :0)

Adapted from http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/01/crockpot-hot-and-sour-soup-recipe.html. Thanks, Crockpot Lady!

Cajun Blackened Red Snapper with Seasoned Squash

This is a great dish, it has some kick to it but isn't so spicy that my kids can't eat it. The fish should be blackened but not burned, so watch it carefully. We serve this over dirty rice.

Ingredients

• 8 Red Snapper fillets (always be sure to check fish for bones)
• 1 1/2 C Unsalted Butter
• Red Pepper Flakes - 1/4 t
• Ground Cumin - 1/2 T
• Chipotle Seasoning - 1T
• Granulated Garlic - 1T
• Minced Onion - 1/2 T
• Ground Oregano - 1/2 t
• Crushed Thyme - 1/2 t
• Ground White Pepper - 1/2 t
• Cracked Black Pepper - 1t
• Salt - scant 1/2 T
• 2 Yellow Squash, cut into 1/4 inch slices
• 2 Zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch slices
• 1/2 Yellow Onion, cut into 1/4 inch rings

Melt butter in large skillet (preferably cast iron). Pour melted butter into a bowl and set aside. Wipe out the skillet with paper towels (be careful not to burn your fingers), but don't wash it out. Heat pan on high for 10 minutes until very hot.

Mix all dry ingredients. Then turn on your oven vent and open your windows because the fish will smoke a lot while it's blackening!

Turn oven or warming drawer to 250 degrees.

Once pan has pre-heated, dip snapper fillets, one by one, into melted butter, then sprinkle generously with dry mix, then place in hot pan with seasoned side down. Pour 1 T melted butter onto each fillet, then sprinkle the top side with seasoning. Cook 3-5 minutes, until you can see that the bottom is blackening, then flip. Cook 3-5 minutes on the other side.

When the fish is finished, place it on a plate and put in the oven or warming drawer to keep warm while you cook the veggies.

Use a paper towel to wipe most of the black flakes out of the pan. Don't worry about trying to get it all.

Pour all remaining butter into the skillet. Place all veggies into the butter, along with any remaining dry mix. Cook uncovered on high for 2 minutes. Then cook covered for 3-4 minutes while you get the plates ready.

Prepare plates with dirty rice and snapper. Place veggies on plates at last minute, and serve!