Inspirations by D: February 2014

Fish Tacos

I wanted to try something different other than the ordinary beef or chicken tacos, so my inspiration was to try fish tacos. It was delicious! You don't have to be a master chef to cook fish. If it's prepared and ready to season and cook, you are good to go.

For this dish you will need the following ingredients:

Flour tortillas

For the Tomato Mix
4 cups of diced tomatoes (ripe yet firm)

1 red onion, or your onion preference,chopped finely (about 3/4 cup)

1-2 small garlic cloves, minced
Scallions/ green onion chopped
1 or 2 lime juice (as per taste)
optional to add cilantro sprigs
Salt to taste
Garnish
2 cups or so shredded lettuce
2 cups of shredded cheese

Fish

1 white fish, such as tilapia, snapper, cod, mahi mahi, or catfish
2 medium limes, halved
1 medium garlic clove, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder (optional)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for oiling the grill grates
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

NOTE: You have the option to bake your fish & use less oil!

Instructions:

Place the fish in a baking dish and squeeze a lime half over it. Add the garlic, cumin, chili powder, and 1 tablespoon of the oil. Season with salt and pepper and turn the fish in the marinade until evenly coated. Refrigerate and let marinate at least 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make the tomato mix and warm the tortillas.

Warm the tortillas by heating a medium frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tortilla at a time, flipping to warm both sides, about 5 minutes total. Wrap the warm tortillas in a clean dishcloth and set aside while you prepare the fish.

Place the chopped tomatoes in a colander. Now place the colander on top of a bowl and let it sit for 20 minutes. Half way through, add the onions, garlic and scallions and give it a light toss. This is to let the flavors mingle. After 20 minutes, shake the colander to drain off the excess tomato juice. You will see the drained juice in the bowl below the colander. Discard it. Take the same bowl, wipe it dry and toss the contents of the colander to the bowl. Add salt & lime juice. Give it a toss and taste. You can add more lime juice if needed.

Brush the grates of a grill pan or outdoor grill with oil and heat over medium-high heat until hot. Remove the fish from the marinade and place on the grill.

Cook without moving until the underside of the fish has grill marks and is white and opaque on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Flip and grill the other side until white and opaque, about 2 to 3 minutes more. (It’s OK if it breaks apart while you’re flipping.) Transfer the fish to a plate.

To construct a taco, place shredded lettuce and shredded cheese in a warm tortilla, break up some of the cooked fish, place it over the lettuce and cheese, and top it with the tomato mix and any optional garnishes.
xo-
Enjoy!

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Majestical Jewelry Review & Giveaway: ENDED

We Have a WINNER! Jeanne..."I like the silver matted cuff" Hope all is well D!
Congratulations Jeanne!

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial. All views expressed are my honest opinion, I did not receive any monetary compensation.

I received these earrings in the mail from Majestical Jewelry for review & giveaway. They are gold colored with textured detailing. They have long beads and textured feather shapes hanging from below. Dangle approx 4.5". They seem a little large, but are very light weight which makes it comfortable to wear. Their detail is beautifully done and would work well as a statement piece to a simple outfit. As with anything that may not be actual gold, mind your ears for any discoloration, but in general you shouldn't have a problem. If you like bold and beautiful, this is a great piece to have.

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To enter this GIVEAWAY simply leave a comment letting me know what is your favorite item at Majestical Jewelry, that's it. Make sure to leave your email for me to contact you. Good luck and hope that you enjoy! Don't forget to tell your blog friends, so they may have an opportunity to enter as well. Giveaway will end February 27th & winner will be announced February 28th.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Heart Donuts

After searching for some inspiring sweets for Valentine's Day, I hit jack pot and got inspired to make my own heart glazed donuts from here. Not only did I make glazed, but I sprinkled some with cinnamon sugar too, oh yum! Those may be viewed on behind the scenes on my instagram.

I used a different glaze for this recipe. I have to say, the kids were excited to see these. Who would have thought to use biscuit mix to make these lovelies? Love that!

For these donuts I used Biscuit Grands Flaky Layers.

I use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut my hearts out or any shape you wish.

I used the same Heart Cookie Cutter that I used to make my heart shaped pancakes.

When you are done cutting your hearts, fill a pot with about 3 cups of vegetable oil,

enough to cover your dough when frying.

Amount depends on the size of your pot, it should be about 3 inches deep.

Warm your oil on medium heat, set about 350 degrees.

Fry the donuts for about 1 minute or so on each side.

Remove from heat and set on paper towels to soak excess oil.

Let your donuts cool.

In the meantime, make your glaze.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup Confectioners sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2-4 tsp milk

drop of red food coloring for pink coloring

Place sugar in bowl, add vanilla and milk, slowly mix until you have your desired consistency. You will want your glaze to be thick. When you have reached your thickness level, put aside a bit of the glaze in a small bowl to mix with food coloring to add pink design to the donuts.

When the donuts have cooled off, dunk your donuts halfway into the glaze mix then pull up.

Allow excess to drip off into the bowl. Put aside and continue to do the same to each one.

For your pink glaze, take a plastic zip lock bag and pour your glaze into it.

Cut a small hole on a corner forming an icing bag. This will help you add the pink icing to your donuts with ease.

Let your glaze cool and enjoy the donuts!

Happy Valentine's Day!