Tasty Chickpea and Avocado Tacos

Feb19

Almost 10 months ago I made the personal decision to stop eating meat. Stuffed Husband was supportive of my decision, as he always is, but made the personal decision for himself to not give up meat He has a thing for bacon…and ribs…and pulled pork…and flank stank. I completely respect his decision to continue to eat meat as I still go weak in the knees at the smell of bacon. For me, choosing not to eat meat had to do with my sensitivity to seeing animals mistreated and total shock when I learned about the types of hormones and genetic engineering used by major producers of meat in the United States. But enough of that, I’ll get down from this soapbox now.

Chickpea and Avocado Tacos

Often I try new recipes in hopes of finding foods that can satisfy my flavorful cravings. I stumbled across this recipe while reading Redbook magazine in my dentist’s waiting room. I also stumbled upon a brilliant workout plan from Gwyneth Paltrow in that same catalogue. Naturally I only retained the recipe. For the full recipe, click here!

This recipe was ridiculously quick, easy, and pretty healthy to boot. When I wasn’t looking, Stuffed Husband stole a bite and then gave himself away when he told me it was surprisingly tasty. Now let me be clear, chickpeas will NEVER be flavorful in the way meat is. Just isn’t going to happen. However, these chickpeas do have delicious flavor and are full of fiber and protein, so that’s pretty exciting. To take the yum factor to the next level I baked several corn tortillas in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 1o minutes. This way you avoid the fat gained when frying them AND you still get that satisfying crunch.

In my last post I offered a challenge to get active. While I am addicted to running, I am also trying to integrate other activities to give my body a break from the wear and tear running can do to my body. My goal is to fit in at least one or two body pump classes or a bootcamp or two. I would love to get some inspiration from your active life. Let me know how you are getting physical this week by commenting on this post.

It looks like that guy I married could use a little motivation to move as well. We’re all a work in progress.

Peace, love, and lazy sundays,

The Hungry Wife

Spicy Fish Tacos with Lime Cilantro Crema

Jun7

Sometimes cooking is as much about being creative as it is about being hungry. The hungry part I have down pat, refer to my muffin top for irrefutable proof…it’s the creative part I am working on. As usual, Stuffed Husband and I were running low on groceries (they seriously disappear in our house) so I decided to find a recipe for what I had on-hand rather than making a god-awful trip to… Wal-Mart. GULP. Nothing makes me want to cry like a trip to Wal-Mart. Ok, Old Yeller really chokes me up too. I’m only human!

After looking through the cobwebs in my pantry and the collective block of frozen boxes in my freezer, I decided to make something that would both appease the sweet man of my dreams and keep me from having to visit hell, a.k.a Wal-Mart.

Spicy fish tacos with lime and cilantro crema

This simple dinner was both quick and delicious. Here’s how I did it…

Crema:

1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise
3 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced

Tacos:

1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 1/2 pounds tilapia fillets
8 tortillas
2 cups shredded cabbage

Start by preheating the oven to 425 F. Then, to prepare the crema, first place the green onions into a bowl

Add cilantro

Dump in the mayo

and the sour cream

Then shave in a little lime rind

Slice up that lime and squeeze a little juice into the bowl

Then drop in your salt

and finally add your garlic

Place your nose as close to the bowl as you can without making a mess. INHALE deeply. Aaaah. Heaven. Now mix these gorgeous ingredients together. Try not to cry at the site of this wonder or because you just realized you are now completely out of sour cream which means you WILL actually have to go to Wal-Mart…eventually.

Now, enjoy a big bite of this cream and make sure it doesn’t need any extra salt. Mmmmm. Maybe two bites is better. Or three. Oops.

To prepare the fish start by adding some cumin and ground coriander to a clean bowl. Don’t be like me and realize that your coriander is not ground and try to crush it up with a spoon. Buy ground coriander. There’s another trip to Wal Mart. ARGH.

Add some paprika

Then dump in some crushed red pepper for heat. Come on, you can take it.

Then add garlic salt because garlic and salt are like sonny and cher. A match made in heaven. Before they divorced of course.

Blend your seasonings together. DO NOT USE YOUR HANDS and then touch your eyes and wonder why it feels like your eyeballs caught on fire. Use a spoon. You’ll thank me one day.

Now, place your fish on a greased baking sheet and ask your amazingly helpful husband to sprinkle this seasoning all over your thawed fish. Stuffed Husband likes to help with dinner.

I can’t get enough of a man who likes to work in the kitchen. And Stuffed Husband is a champion in the kitchen.

Bake the fish for about 9 minutes of until cooked through.

Here is the fun part, start by placing a heated tortilla on a plate. Homemade tortillas are always worth the work. Check out this easy recipe for flour tortillas that will make you sing for joy!

Then add a little shredded cabbage. I had some cole slaw mix left in my fridge from another recipe. Things like this make me feel that God must love me.

Then add a little, or a lot, of your scrumptious fish.

Now, here’s the good stuff, add THE CREMA

Top it with a little extra cilantro if you’re addicted and can never seem to get enough cilantro in your life. Cilantro for president!

Then repeat the whole process. Again. And Again. And Again until you run out of fish or your husband yells, “Hey! Leave some for me!” Sharing is not my strong suit.

If you’re anything like me, always hungry and ready to relax, add a little Margarita to your Mexican fiesta! Stuffed Husband fixed up a few real chilled beauties for us! Salud!

Just because you’re running low on groceries because the gnome in your house keeps eating all your fresh produce doesn’t mean dinner has to be take-out. Get creative…or at least get hungry enough to slap some pb&j on toast.

And just for good measure here is a picture of those rotten little animals I love so very much with their daddy…

Stuffed Husband with Isabella and Chloe

I just can’t seem to get enough of them.

Peace, love, and procrastinating a trip to Wal-Mart~

The Hungry Wife

I felt my Mexican pride shine through last week.

May10

I felt my Mexican pride shine through last week. I am the daughter of a very proud beaner so I’m only part Mexican but I like to embrace that part. I can call him a beaner because I am Mexican. So can you if you are Mexican. If you are anything but Mexican, don’t call him, me, or any other Mexican a beaner. You’ll get a wedgie…and probably a spanking with a chancla. Only my beaner friends will get that. I am not politically correct often.

Last Thursday was Cinco de Mayo. Coincidentally this is also my favorite Uncle’s birthday! He turned 40 years young. Again. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

After I got home from class I decided it fitting to throw together a Mexican feast. I decided to make homemade tortillas and ground turkey tacos. Now, let me clarify something, ground turkey tacos are not exactly consistent with Mexican cuisine. If I had any barbacoa, guisado, or good steak fajita I would have gladly had that instead. Instead I had some slightly healthier ground turkey.

If you’d like to try making the delicious and fluffy homemade tortillas I used for my tacos, check out my first recipe post here. It’s simple and totally worth every melt in your mouth bite. Enjoy! and Feliz Cinco de Mayo! (better late than never)

Here’s a picture of stuffed husband’s dinner…I had to stop him at 6 but I’m certain he could have easily finished up at least 8 of these. But I would have to listen to him moan in pain later. It’s a catch 22, eat less tacos or suffer in gluttony.