shrimp and orange roughy soft taco

A few days before Christmas i made shrimp and fish tacos. I simplified things by chopping up scallions, tomato and avacado and got some green salsa and sour cream ready for the side. i lightly panko breaded the shrimp and orange roughy and quick fried them in a mixture of sesame, oil and coconut oil. i sued spring salad mix for the greens. yum. the shrimp tasted like coconut shrimp and paul loved it. it was so good.

Haxelnut Shortbread Sticks

Aunt Mona sent out an email article from Epicurious containing several holiday baking recipes. I have baked five of those recipes to date, and this is by far my favorite *and a bonus* the easiest and fastest to make. I know this does not exactly follow the theme of this blog, but I think it appropriate for the season.

* 1 cup all purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup finely ground husked toasted hazelnuts (about 2 ounces)
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract


* 4 ounces high-quality milk chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina), chopped
* 1/3 cup coarsely chopped husked toasted hazelnuts


Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until smooth. Beat in 1/2 cup finely ground hazelnuts and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture until just combined.

Shape dough by tablespoonfuls into 3-inch-long logs. Place on prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake cookies until light golden brown around edges, about 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 5 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool cookies completely.

Stir milk chocolate in top of double boiler over barely simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove from over water. Place 1/3 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts in small bowl. Dip 1 end of cookie into melted chocolate, then into coarsely chopped hazelnuts. Return to rack. Repeat with remaining cookies. Let stand until chocolate is set, about 1 hour.

Crock Pot Mexican Casserole

2 lbs. ground beef
1 6 oz. can tomato sauce
1 pkg. taco seasoning
4 - 6 oz.'s of diced ortega chilies
10 oz. can of diced tomato
1 - 2 lbs. grated cheddar cheese (or whatever you prefer)
8 - 10 flour tortillas

*You can also substitute the ground beef for chicken (cooked and chopped), the tomato sauce for cream of celery soup, and the diced tomatoes for double the chilies, and usually change the cheese to jack - I make this recipe often and we tend to prefer the chicken.

Brown the meat and add in the taco seasoning, tomato sauce, chilies, and diced tomato.
In the crock pot put a ladle full of meat mixture on the bottom then layer 2 tortillas, meat mixture, and cheese. Repeat tortillas, meat, and cheese as many times as you have ingredients for. The crock pot is the perfect pot for this recipe because of its round shape and depth. Top with two tortillas and cheese.
Heat on High for about 1 1/2 hours.
I always have sour cream and salsa on hand for the meal, and this is a meal that is even better as leftovers.