blackened fish tacos with homemade guacamole and pico de gallo

Man oh man....I LOVE fish tacos.  Once or twice a month my family will have "Fish Taco Friday", and it is the best.  These tacos are seriously one of my favourite meals in the world, and I would happily eat them every single Friday for the rest of my life.  Ha!

We're not too fussy about what kind of fish we use, and have tried out many different seasonings as well.  Sometimes we'll even swap out the fish for shrimp, which is equally delicious!  And I love the colours of everything that goes into these tacos, from the purple cabbage, to the green guacamole...so fun!

Now, I will say that these take a bit of time and effort to do, but it is so worth it.  You can always use store salsa instead of making your own pico, if you want to save some time (I won't judge you I promise).  I think it's a fun meal to make with a bunch of people, as there are lots of jobs to do!

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Fish Tacos

recipe: Kelsey Siemens
yields: ~3-4 servings (depending on how hungry you are)

Directions:

In a small bowl, toss together all of the spices.  Pat onto both sides of the fish.

Cook fish on medium-high for 3 minutes a side.

Assemble Tacos:

Load up tacos with fish and desired toppings.  Serve with chips (and daiquiris), and enjoy!

Ingredients:

~1 lb of firm white fish (we use tilapia or basa usually)

2 tablespoons paprika

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp salt

guacamole*

pico de gallo*

purple cabbage, chopped

soft tortilla shells

*recipes below

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Guacamole

recipe: Jordyn Siemens

Directions:

Peel, cut and mash your avocados.  Stir in tomato, spices, and lime juice.

Serve!  

*Guacamole is best enjoyed on the first day, but will last a couple of days in the fridge.

Ingredients:

2 ripe avocados 

1/2 medium Roma tomato

1/4 cup diced onion

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp cumin

1/8 tsp salt

juice from 1 lime

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Pico de gallo

recipe: Jordyn Siemens

Directions:

Mix together all ingredients and serve.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 medium Roma tomatoes

3/4 cup diced onion

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1/2 tsp garlic powder

pinch of cumin

juice from 1 lime

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P.S.  Here's the recipe for the delicious lime daiquiri that you see lurking in some of these photos.  It pairs so perfectly with the fish tacos!

I hope you enjoyed this!  And now you know what you're going to make next Friday.....you're welcome!

-Kels

toasted coconut waffles with chocolate whipped cream and raspberry sauce

Hello and Happy Monday dear friends!  Today we're talking about coconut...toasted coconut to be precise.  I was craving coconut waffles the other day, and these were the result!  Not only do they have toasted coconut in them, they're also made with coconut milk.  If you wanted to go super coconut crazy, you could probably use coconut flour too (with a few adjustments...I haven't tried it yet!).

I will say that the coconut makes these pretty heavy waffles, and I could only finish one by myself once I topped it with raspberry sauce and chocolate whipped cream.  So be prepared!

It's nice to mix it up once in awhile, and these waffles do just that.  They'd be great for brunch or even if you're having breakfast for supper.  And, as always, we pop any extras in the freezer and toast them the next morning for breakfast!  Win win.

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Toasted Coconut Waffles

recipe: Kelsey Siemens

Directions:

Heat your oven to 350 degrees.  Spread the shredded coconut on a baking sheet in a thin layer.  Bake for 7-8 minutes, stirring constantly, until the coconut is golden brown.  
*Do not walk away from the oven!  It's very easy to burn. 

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, toasted coconut (make sure it's unsweetened, and if it's not you'll want to reduce the sugar), baking powder, sugar, and salt.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the egg, coconut milk, and melted butter. (*Make sure that your melted butter has cooled down so that it won't cook the egg). 

Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and mix until just moistened.

Heat up your waffle iron, grease, and fill with batter according to the size of your iron.

Serve waffles hot with any topping of your choosing!  

I made a simple raspberry sauce and chocolate whipped cream.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons sugar

1 egg

1 3/4 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 tsp salt

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Chocolate Whipped Cream

Directions:

Whip the whipping cream until it starts to thicken.  Add in icing sugar and cocoa powder, and continue whipping until desired consistency is reached.

Ingredients:

1 cup whipping cream

1 heaping tablespoon of icing sugar

2 tablespoons of cocoa powder

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So there you have it!  Hope you have a lovely week!

-Kelsey

fluffiest ever baking powder biscuits

I don't know about you, but winter always calls for lots of soups in my family.  They're just so cozy, and perfect for those chilly, blustery days.  And of course, soup isn't quite complete without some sort of bread, am I right?

This recipe is for our favourite biscuits, and is from my grandma!  These biscuits are super fluffy, and basically foolproof.  We sometimes add in other spices (fresh rosemary is a favourite for sure), and often shredded cheese to mix things up a little.

And without further ado, here is the recipe!

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Biscuits

yields: 10-12 biscuits (depending on size)

Directions:

Combine flour, salt and baking powder into a large mixing bowl.

Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or a fork until it resembles coarse crumbs of consistent size.

Stir in milk until dough starts to form a ball.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/2 inch thickness.

You can use a circle cookie cutter to cut out the biscuits, or we usually use a knife to make squares roughly the same size.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Serve warm (preferably) and enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

3 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 cup butter

1 cup milk

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Happy Baking!

-Kelsey

sauteed onion, spinach, and feta - savoury galette

Oh hey there!  May I present to you....my very first savoury galette!  

I've been seeing dreamy versions of savoury galettes all over pinterest made with roasted butternut squash and bacon, fig and goat cheese, mushroom and leek...the list goes on!  I knew I needed this in my life immediately, and after much deliberation over ingredients, I decided to keep it simple.  Spinach, sauteed onions, parmesan, and feta.  Things that you probably have in your fridge right now!

Pie dough lasts for several days in the fridge, or you can always freeze it, and then use it later!  Our favourite recipe (here) makes quite a bit of dough, so it's nice to have leftover dough to make something else later in the week.

Now if you're kind of nervous about pie dough, this is a good time to practice!  Or you can always pick up some pre-made stuff, no worries!

I'd say the toughest part about this recipe is the sauteeing of the onions.  Oh man....it takes a while on a low temperature, and let me tell you that I am not the most patient person in the world. Ha!  Besides, you could always make an actual pie, or a sweet galette, while you're waiting on your onions.

Also, the measurements here are pretty loosey-goosey.  If you want more spinach, add more spinach!  If you want to make more than two, or make one giant one, or do 6 tiny ones....go for it!  I prefer to stuff mine super full, but you do your thing!

And can I just say that this isn't really a proper recipe, per se, but more of guidelines/an idea!

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Spinach, Onion, Parmesan and Feta Galettes

recipe (if you can call it that...ha!): by Kelsey
yields: two 7-inch galettes

Directions:

Over a low heat, saute the onion in 1 tablespoon of oil, stir occasionally.  This will take about 20-30 minutes.  

In a separate frying pan, saute spinach in the other tablespoon of oil over medium heat.  Cover and let cook for about 5 minutes.  Stir and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

Roll out your pie dough into two circles about 8 inches in diameter, and about 1/4" thick.

Sprinkle parmesan as the bottom layer, leaving a 1 inch border around each circle.

Add spinach and then onions to each galette.  Pile them high!

Crumble a bit of feta over top.

Fold up a small section of the dough to create the crust edge.  Fold up a second section, which will slightly overlap with the first section.  Gently press the two sections together.  Repeat until all of the crust is folded up!  You may want to dip your fingers in a bit of water to help folded sections stay together. 

Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet at 400 degrees F for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

Ingredients

pie dough 

2 tbsp oil

1 white onion, roughly chopped

5 cups spinach, roughly chopped

parmesan

feta

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Happy cooking friends!

-Kelsey