Fish Tacos with Jalapeno Cream Sauce

You HAVE to try these....Plain and Simple.

Fish Tacos with Jalapeño Cream Sauce 

Yields 3-4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Tilapia fillets
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cups shredded green cabbage
• 1 carrot, peeled and grated
• 3 cups baby spinach
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 12 (6-inch) flour tortillas
• 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese

For the jalapeño cream sauce:

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth

• 3/4 cup sour cream

• 2 jalapeños, seeded and minced

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS:

Drizzle fish with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook in a counter top grill (I used my panini maker) for 3-4 minutes.  You could also cook the fish in the oven or on the stove top.

Remove from grill and let cool before chopping into bite-size pieces.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil a 9x13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions become translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the cabbage, carrot, spinach, oregano and cayenne. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach just begins to wilt, about 1-2 minutes. Add the fish and gently toss to combine.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a large saucepan. Whisk in the flour until lightly browned, about 1-2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the chicken stock and cook, whisking constantly, until incorporated, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the sour cream. Add the jalapeños and garlic powder and simmer until the sauce has thickened, about 2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro.

To assemble the tacos, lay the tortilla on a flat surface and spoon 1/3 cup of the shrimp mixture in the center; sprinkle with cheese. Roll the tortilla and place seam side down onto prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas and fish mixture.

Pour half of the jalapeño cream sauce evenly over the top. Place into oven and bake, covered, until lightly golden and bubbly, about 20 minutes.

Serve immediately with remaining jalapeño cream sauce, garnished with cilantro.

Like, Love and Don't Like

This week, I like the 2010 SEC Championship Game. Recently (last night), I watched my DVD copy of the 2010 SEC Championship Game, one of 4 special DVDs that I purchased to commemorate Auburn’s national championship season. This particular DVD is my favorite because that was my favorite game of that season. Auburn’s offense was relentless against South Carolina that day and, other than a poor opening drive and some breakdowns here and there, AU’s defense played well too. Watching this DVD brought back a lot of great feelings – feelings that I haven’t associated with Auburn football for the past two seasons. I don’t know if Auburn will play that well ever again but it was neat to travel back in time and make mental notes of things I couldn't have possibly known back then.

• There’s not a lot of sense in getting worked up with college football recruiting. Two star freshman running backs from this game (Michael Dyer and Marcus Lattimore) left their schools before graduating, under very different circumstances. I would argue that neither lived up to their hype. 
• Ellis Johnson (South Carolina’s defensive coordinator at the time and Auburn’s current DC) apparently worked wonders with the South Carolina defense that year. They led the conference in sacks and were the best against the opposing rush. One would think that he could do the same with Auburn’s talent. Still, his abysmal record as Southern Miss’s head coach last season keeps me from getting my hopes up too high.
• A lot of Auburn players from this game are no longer on the team, and it ain't because they graduated. Same goes for coaches. While watching the DVD, it was easy to notice that Trooper Taylor’s antics hadn't reached a level of annoyance yet and Chizik’s slow, back-and-forth pace on the sideline masked his ineptness. With Cam Newton running the show, third-and-long didn't scare the heck out of me because Gus Malzahn’s offense was unstoppable. Everyone was happy.

I’ve always said that every...single...last star lined up perfectly for Auburn that season. The favorable road schedule, Cam’s legendary season and some lucky breaks along the way all contributed to the magic – nothing could stop it. Let’s hope for a repeat of that season soon! 

This week, I love family walks. Despite a recent cool snap, the weather has been a little warmer, which goes well with the longer days. Julie and I have recently developed a nice routine of taking Graham for a stroll around the neighborhood after dinner each night. Graham loves, loves, loves riding in his car, a wonderful gift from my coworkers. We like it too because it seems to zap any leftover energy from Graham before he takes his bath and goes to sleep. I like these walks for other reasons too. Julie and I have great walk-n-talks and they give me a good reason to move around after eating as opposed to hitting the couch.

"Stop looking and start pushing."

The only bad part about these walks is the nightly fit Graham pitches when it’s time to come inside!

This week I don’t like email elitists. I created my Hotmail account in 1998 and had no security issues with it up until last year, when it (along with my bank account) was hacked after linking it to my iTunes account (coincidence??). In college I had an Excite account and a Yahoo! email address as well. Within the last year or so, I opened a Gmail account and, more recently, I created an Outlook account, which is what all Hotmail accounts have been converted to – at least in appearance. Through it all, I’ve gathered that email is email is email. There wasn't a lot of communication about this Outlook conversion and it left a lot of people confused. It really gave Gmail elitists (who don’t want you to know that they also use Hotmail) an opportunity to proclaim Gmail’s greatness, with no facts to back it up. The same people have been quick to blame Hotmail for spawning of SPAM and they make sarcastic comments about Hotmail’s longevity. What they overlook is Hotmail’s worldwide use – up until LAST NOVEMBER, Hotmail was the most-used free email provider on the planet.

To all the keyboard warriors out their bashing Hotmail: get over yourself and please realize that you’re making an argument about two providers of an EXACTLY IDENTICAL service. Email is email is email.

He is Risen Indeed!

Easter is always a very special day.  It is a beautiful reminder of the mercy, grace and sacrificial love of our Savior.

We stayed in town this year and enjoyed spending the day with Nick's parents and sister.  These were our attempts at family pictures...FYI 15 months olds are not the most cooperative when it comes to taking pictures.

Taking a little ride before opening his Easter basket.

The Easter bunny came!

Time to eat!

After a good nap the rain finally stopped and we went for an afternoon ride.  This kid LOVES to be outside.

After such a fun filled day the boy passed out!

This week we have been getting ready for a visit from these two precious girls!  They are stopping by for a quick visit on their way to the beach.  They live in St. Louis, and we definitely don't get to see them enough.

Like, Love and Don't Like

This week, I like Cheers. I’ve been expressing my appreciation for certain television shows a lot lately and Cheers is a unique example for two reasons. First, we’re coming up on the twentieth anniversary of the series finale (May 20th). Secondly, I never watched Cheers during its original run because it wasn’t a show I would have particularly enjoyed from the ages of 4 to 15. But I do remember Cheers for being an iconic, primetime show that NBC proudly showcased on Thursdays nights, well before the networks devolved into platforms for talent contests. You may not have watched many episodes either but I bet you recognize the theme song.

So I was browsing through the TV shows that Netflix offers for instant viewing and I came across Cheers. Learning that all 275 episodes are available online struck me as a disappointing result for this show that was once so hugely popular. I dunno – I imagine that, for TV shows, being made available for unlimited online viewing with no commercial interruptions is the equivalent of a sick horse being put out to pasture to spend his final days alone. It’s like the owners of Cheers (NBC or whoever) have finally thrown their hands up and said, “We can no longer make any money off of this show. It can’t hurt to give it to Netflix.”

Let me get back on topic. Cheers is a great show and although I’ve only seen the first few episodes of Season 1 from 1982, they touch on some topics that remain very relevant in today’s world. A parent’s awkward dealing with a child’s homosexuality, the Boston Red Sox / New York Yankee rivalry and more. Other neat observations: men’s and woman’s fashion has changed A LOT since 1982 and even though he had been in the NBA for 3 seasons by 1982, Larry Bird was already revered enough to have his poster on the wall of the pool room in the back of the bar.

One last quality that I enjoy about Cheers: each episode is only 30 minutes long. Episodes of my current and all-time favorite shows (The Walking Dead, Twin Peaks, Breaking Bad, LOST, etc.) are all an hour long. So the shorter episodes of Cheers seem like small-but-refreshing bursts of entertainment.

OH! One more thing! I don't go to bars but if there was a bar like "Cheers" nearby, I would definitely go to it.  Nice open floor, well-lit, lots of tables and all that brown wood and shiny brass!

This week, I love NES nostalgia. I was the last kid in my class to get a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) but unlike the other kids, I had unlimited access to a huge library of games to play thanks to my parent’s video rental store. I don’t get to play video games very often these days but I recently came across a YouTube channel that brought the NES nostalgia flooding back. The NES Guide’s lone purpose is to provide gameplay footage of every NES game that was produced for North America. Most of the videos are about 10 minutes long and even though I haven’t played these games since Cheers was on the air (see what I did there?) watching these videos makes me vividly remember guiding Mario to his next mushroom, getting pummeled by Mike Tyson, breaking tackle after tackle with Tecmo Bo and so much more. All of this nostalgia has made me scout eBay for used NESs and even learn more about the virtual console offered for the Nintendo Wii that allows you to play these classic games online. I don’t know if Graham will want to try video games but I sure would like to have him start where it all began for me.

This week, I don’t like Duke’s situation for next season.  Let me first just say that, even though Duke advanced a lot further in the NCAA tourney than I thought they would, I was still crushed when they lost to Louisville in the Elite 8. My main issue was the way they lost. Duke didn't lose many games (six this season) but when they did lose, they lost BIG.  Looking forward to next season, I don't anticipate any leadership coming from the few "big men" that will be returning.  Lots of fans will be looking to Josh Hairston to be a leader but he's much better at providing comic relief in the locker room. That's Josh goofing off in the background at the 1:00 mark of this video.  Duke has one (1) player returning next year that is taller than 6'8", and that guy will be a sophomore.  Even if Duke snags a tall, high-profile recruit that plays center, he'll still be a freshman.  It will be an interesting season indeed.