Fish Tacos

Story:

Another one from Monica! I adapted the sauce... it's pretty easy really.

Ingredients:
small corn tortillas
fish sticks (click here for our favorite kind)
salsa (click here for our favorite kind)
cabbage, sliced "as thinly as humanly possible" (as Monica puts it)
Cafe Rio dressing (click here for recipe)

Directions:
Bake fish sticks according to package directions. (I like 'em nice and crispy, so I leave them in longer than the directions say.)
Rub a little oil on each side of each tortilla and put it in a pan to crisp it up a little.
To eat, take the tortilla and layer on 1 1/2 to 2 fish sticks, salsa, cabbage, and dressing.
That's it! Enjoy...

San Francisco Chops

Story:
This is another recipe from Traci's mom, Julie. It was in the original cookbook that she made for Ben and me for a wedding gift. I'm not usually a big fan of pork chops, but the flavor of these is awesome!

Ingredients:
4 pork chops (1/2 to 3/4 inch thick - about 1 1/2 lbs)
1 T oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 t oil
4 T beef broth
4 T soy sauce
2 T brown sugar
1/4 t crushed red pepper
2 t cornstarch
2 T water

Directions:
Trim fat of pork chops.
Heat oil in skillet. Brown chops on both sides
Remove the pork chops and add a little more oil if needed.
Saute garlic for a minute, being careful not to burn it.
Combine oil, broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, and red pepper.
Place chops back in skillet and pour the sauce over them.
Cover tightly.
Simmer over low heat until chops are tender and cooked through (30-35 minutes).
Add a little water (1 to 2 T), if needed, to keep sauce from cooking down too much.
Turn once.
Remove chops to a platter. Stir in the cornstarch, dissolved in water. Cook until thickened. Pour over the pork chops and serve with noodles or rice.

Monica's Granola

Story:
I have a good friend here in KY named Monica. And I love that we can hardly ever get off the phone with each other without sharing a recipe with each other. (Actually it's usually her sharing something new she discovered... which I am always anxious to copy.) She shared her granola recipe with me... and I fell in love with it. Thanks, Monica!

Ingredients:
14 C rolled oats
2 C wheat germ
2 C coconut
2 t salt
1 1/4 brown sugar

1/2 C honey
1 C oil
1 C warm water
1 T vanilla

Directions:
Mix all the dry ingredients in a big bowl.
Mix the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl.
Pour the wet over the dry and mix together.
Pour the granola onto two baking sheets.
Bake at 225 for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.

To serve, you can add anything you'd like... like peaches, bananas, raisins, craisins, almonds, etc. I like to sprinkle on some flaxseed and I love it with nutmeg!

Taco Soup

Story:
Believe it or not, somehow I grew up never having Taco Soup. My mom gave me this recipe soon after I was married and I thought it was the best creation ever! It was then that I realized that everybody else in the world already seemed to know what it was. And everybody else already seemed to have their own version of this yummy soup. Oh well. This one is my all-time favorite recipe for Taco Soup. I love it. Ben loves it. The kids love it. And it makes a lot, so be prepared for leftovers!

Soup Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 C chopped onion
2 C water
1 (12 oz) can of V-8 juice
3 (14.5 oz) cans of diced tomatoes
1 (16 oz) can of red kidney beans (drained)
1 (11 oz) can of corn (drained)
1 (14.5 oz) can of green beans (drained)
1 pkg. taco seasoning
2 T sugar

Garnish Ingredients:
Fritos (I like the Scoops!)
Grated Cheese

Directions:
Cook the ground beef with the onions.
In a big pot, add all the soup ingredients except the corn and beans.
Simmer for 20 minutes.
Add the corn and the beans the last 5 minutes.
Serve with Fritos and grated cheese.

Notes:

• The original recipe called for 3 cups of water. If it seems a little too thick for you, feel free to add more.
• The original recipe called for 16 oz can of V-8. I either just use one 12 oz can... or sometimes I have some of the little 5.5 oz cans (Costco) on hand, so I use 2 or 3 of those.
• I buy taco seasoning in bulk, so I use 1/4 cup of that instead of the individual packages.
• Other ideas for the garnish: green peppers, green onions, sour cream, olives, chopped tomatoes, or avocado.