Fish Tacos

Although we live in Texas, I must admit that Mexican food is not my favorite! I know that is a horrible thing to admit, but spicy, greasy, and extra cheesy don’t always treat Kim very well. J And when I go to a Mexican restaurant, I have NO self-control with those chips! I get so mad at myself because I always eat WAY too many—even when they don’t taste very good.

Because I do live in Texas and my husband is in the ministry, we do eat out more than we should. And we usually find ourselves eating at Mexican restaurants more times than I prefer. So when we do eat Mexican, I usually order chicken fajitas and enjoy them!

But, I have found a new favorite dish at Mexican restaurants…FISH TACOS! Anytime I find them on the menu, I just have to try them.

I’ve been afraid to try to make them at home because I am not good at cooking fish. So I’ve been searching for fish taco recipes & I've finally found them! I have combined several different ideas & recipes.

My college roommate told me that she makes them by sprinkling taco seasoning on tilapia & then grilling them on her George Foreman grill. (Great idea if I could only find my grill in the storage boxes in the garage.) But I did cook them on top the stove with the taco seasoning & the fish was fabulous! She also makes a chipotle ranch sauce using ranch dressing & Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle seasoning. Sounds yummy!

I also found these two sauce recipes that are really good too:

Cilantro Sauce

· 1 bunch of cilantro- washed and dried

· 1/4 cup of REAL mayo

· 1/4 cup sour cream

· 1 clove of garlic peeled

· juice of 1 lime

· salt and pepper to taste

Throw all of the ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend away. If you would like a thinner sauce you can add 1-3 tablespoons of milk.

Tomato Avocado Salsa

· 2 cups plum tomatoes diced ( about 2 med)

· 1/3 cup diced onion

· 1 avocado diced

· 1 jalapeno minced-optional

· 2 tablespoons minced cilantro

· 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

· 1/8 teaspoon salt

· 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl; toss well.

You will also need shredded cabbage and warm corn or flour tortillas to make your tacos. I prefer corn tortillas for the fish tacos for some reason.

To assemble tacos: Place fish into warm tortilla, top with cabbage, cilantro sauce, tomato avocado salsa and/or hot sauce.

I hope you enjoy fish tacos as much as we do!

Messy Marvin!

Ethan loves our backyard sandbox...

he loves to let the dirt slip through his hands...

he loves to explore up close & personal...

and he loves to roll all around in the dirt/sand...

Boys will be boys!

Fun with Friends

On Thursday, we got to spend the day in Malakoff because Eric had a Singing Men concert.

Because it was the National Day of Prayer, we got up REALLY early to go to our city-wide prayer breakfast at our church at 6:30 AM (yes, in the morning!). We were really proud that we were able to get our whole family packed & ready & to the church by 6:32 AM!

Since we were up & ready to go, we just drove on to Malakoff.

As we were driving to Malakoff, Ethan said he was ready to go "home." We soon realize that he was talking about our home in Malakoff. We told him that the new music minister is living in our house there and he said, "how dares they!" And then he said, "You were supposed to lock the doors!" Poor thing! He misses Malakoff!

We were able to play with our friends all day long! It was a beautiful day too! So we decided to have a picnic lunch with some of our friends at Kiwanis Park in Athens...I didn't realize how much the sun was shining until that night when I got this huge burn!

I enjoyed getting to visit with so many of our friends throughout the day! And we were so thankful for Kristi & Nathan letting us spend the night with us too!

The Singing Men concert was really good too! There were around 600 people there!!! It was such a wonderful concert! Jesus really showed up that night!

Here are a few pictures from our time at the park...

Ethan & his "girlfriend," Kaitlyn

Evan slipped into the creek, so he decided to let his socks dry in the sun.

Ethan & Karter in their "house." They both have such imaginations.

They all loved the merry-go-round.

Sweet & Sour Meatloaf

I had an awesome college roommate at Ouachita Baptist University! And I'm so thankful that we are still close friends 20 years later and even though we live many, many miles apart...she's in Amarillo and I'm in East Texas.

I called her today for a fish taco recipe and then we started sharing other recipes & cooking tips...something we do often. And then I remembered my favorite meatloaf recipe that I got from another one of our college friends. I'm going to have to make it again really soon. It's so good!

Sweet & Sour Meatloaf

(I got this from Laura Wood Drury's Mom when I was in graduate school in Memphis years ago. It's still one of my absolute favorites. Do your favorite recipes have food stains on them like mine do? Or am I the only messy cook around?)

1 ½ lb. ground beef

1 c. dry bread crumbs

1 t. salt

¼ t. pepper

2 eggs

1 t. instant minced onion

1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce, divided

Topping:

Reserved tomato sauce

2 T. brown sugar

2 T. vinegar

½ c. sugar

2 t. prepared mustard

Mix together beef, bread, salt, pepper, & eggs. Add onion and ½ of tomato sauce. Form into a loaf in a 9x5x3 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. In a saucepan, combine topping ingredients. Bring to a boil. Pour over meatloaf after the 50 minutes & bake an additional 10 minutes.

Makes about 6 servings.

Easter Sunday

We had a great time for Easter this year with my family visiting us. We were sad that Kevin & Ami couldn't be with us because they were in Maryland for doctor visits. It was nice to have my Dad & Mom & sister & her 2 teenagers staying with us...9 people spent the night in our 1500 sq. ft. home & we all got ready & made it to church for Easter Sunday morning! It was so nice & cozy! I love having them here with us!

My favorite part of the weekend was cooking with my mom. I LOVE to cook & it was fun to make Easter dinner & the desserts...

Fresh Strawberry Pie for Saturday night...

Rice Krispie Treat Crosses for snacks...

Our traditional Angel Food Easter Cake...

Easter Bunny cookies & Rice Krispie Treats...

My little "tweenager"...he's growing up way too fast!

The kids' favorite part of the weekend was Grammy & PawPaw's Easter Egg hunt for them...they always save their change all year & fill the Easter Eggs with it! The kids LOVE it!

Even Eli (our puppy) was helping count the money!

Our traditional family picture...I set the timer & ran to get in the picture...not the most flattering...I almost didn't put it in here but it's our family history. :)

My Mom & Dad

Caleb counting his Easter Egg collection!

Mauri's protecting her loot!

Mauri & Grammy opening their Easter baskets

Shellye surprised Daddy with a bird house...he was thrilled!

The cool kid with his Easter basket

Ethan's excited about his Easter basket...he was most excited about TANGLED being in the mix! And don't you love his swollen eye? He woke up with ant bites! On Easter Sunday, no less!

Waiting as patiently as possible for some "sweet treats."

We hid the eggs inside since it was so windy outside.

Evan counting his money...don't you love how we color-code the eggs for each grandchild!

Can you guess what he's watching? TANGLED of course! I think we've watched it at least 10 times already! And he loves running around the house with a blanket around his head pretending it's long hair!

And he couldn't wait to go outside & play with his new toys!

Hope you enjoyed our summary of Easter Sunday! And I hope you worshiped our Risen Savior that day & every day!

Memory Verse #9

Psalm 32:7 (HCSB)

You are my hiding place;

You protect me from trouble.

You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance.

I'd love to hear what verse you are memorizing!

Lessons from Godly Teachers - Part One

Part One- Charles Stanley

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to travel with my husband to Branson with 14 senior adults to the Jubilee Conference. We had a wonderful time getting to know the people in our group (most of them from our church). What a blessing they were to us! And the conference was fantastic…great singing, preaching, and entertainment. We got to hear Dr. Charles Stanley and Dr. Johnny Hunt preach the Word, Mark Lowry entertained us and made us laugh so hard until our eyes watered, and we got to listen to Dino, The Inspirations, and The Perrys.

On the way home from Branson, the group dropped me off in Little Rock to join my sister & her church group at the Living Proof Live Beth Moore Conference. Wow! What another blessing!

I don’t want to forget the lessons I learned from any of these Godly teachers, so I’m going to summarize my notes. I hope some of the lessons will speak to you as well.

Dr. Charles Stanley

“Walk Wisely” from Genesis 37

If you had the power to change one thing in your life, what would it be?

He talked about JOSEPH and SEVEN CRISES that he faced in life.

CRISIS—A Moment of Opportunity…

1. In the family—his brothers were very negative, rejected him, jealous

2. In the well—Joseph was desperate but took advantage of those terrifying moments to renew his faith

3. In slavery—Again, Joseph responded by increasing his faith and being full of integrity

4. At the Egyptian slave lot—Remember, God is always AHEAD of your CRISIS

5. As an Egyptian slave owner bought him—He took the opportunity to learn how to be a servant

6. With Potiphar’s wife—Joseph RESISTED temptation! He took the opportunity to obey God in the midst of a crisis

7. In Prison—For nearly 10 years, Joseph lived in prison but he was respected and the jailor put everyone under his authority

Joseph always responded by using the crises as learning opportunities. Each crisis prepared him for the next one.

How can we respond to crises in our lives?

• · Remember Romans 8:28—God works ALL things together for our GOOD!
• · Remember Psalm 103:19—God controls all things!
• · Remember Isaiah 55:8-9—God says that HIS thoughts are not OUR thoughts…we can’t even fathom how to think like He does!
• · Don’t focus on the pain because that takes your eyes off of God!
• · Be in the Word DAILY!
• · Recall your past crises and reflect on how God brought you through those hard times.
• · Submit yourself to the will of God & trust Him!
• · Demonstrate gratitude even though you don’t feel like it!
• · Determine to look for an opportunity to LEARN from your crisis!
• · Refuse to listen to the misinterpretations of others’ reactions to your situation! Only talk to God!
• · Remember Isaiah 64:4—God “acts on behalf of those who wait for Him”
• · Pray without ceasing!

I couldn't post without a few pictures from our trip...

Mark Lowry was SOOOO funny! He is SOOOO talented too!

We ate quite a bit in Branson...this was at Steak & Shake! YUMMY!

We got to see the show NOAH at the Sight & Sound Theatre...what an awesome experience to see how it could have been during that time! The audience felt like we were actually in the ark!

This was a statue of Goliath at the Sight & Sound theatre! Can you believe he was that tall??

We had lunch at a country store on the way home! It was so much fun! I'm so thankful that we had the opportunity to travel with our senior adult group!