Blackened Fish Tacos

These tacos have quickly become one of the regulars in my monthly meal plan. They are quick, light and flavorful...perfect for summer when no one wants to turn on the oven!

I put all different types of toppings on depending on what I have in my fridge at the moment, but some of my favorites are a light cabbage slaw, corn, roasted onions and peppers, salsa and lime of course :). Serve with brown rice and beans and you have yourself a fab meal.

(This is a cooking light recipe)

All you do is make your spice mix, coat the fish, cook in a skillet and you are ready to eat!

While the fish cooks I assemble my toppings and heat my tortillas. I break the fish up into pieces to put into the tacos and then set everything on the table for a "build your own taco night." Yum!

Blackened Fish Tacos

3 large Tilapia or Salmon fillets

1 1/2 tsp paprika

1 1/2 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp dried oregano

3/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground red pepper ( leave out if you don’t want it spicy)

Combine all the spices 

Heat 1 T oil or butter in a large skillet over med/high heat. Coat both sides of the fish with the spice mix and cook on each side about 5 min each or until fish flakes easily

Serves 4

Chickpea and Spinach Burgers

The Husband wasn't too excited about these when I told him what was for dinner, but he actually liked them! :) I loved them so I had to share. Who doesn't like dinner in 15 minutes? On the spices I just added what I thought sounded good at the moment and didn't measure so do what your family likes. I served them with organic baked sweet potato fries that I tossed in olive oil, sea salt and Herbes de Provence at 400F for 40 minutes or so. You could also serve with a salad or in between a bun.


Chickpea and Spinach Burgers

1 can chickpeas ( garbonzo beans) mashed
2 cups organic spinach, wilted or sauteed
1/3-1/2 cup panko bread crumbs, or your bread crumb of choice
1/4 cup quality all natural mayo ( if the mixture seems too dry add more mayo)
seasons to taste: salt, pepper, garlic powder, dill, basil and paprika

Smash all ingredients together and form into patties. Cook in a large skillet coated with olive oil over medium/high heat until browned on each side, about 5 min per side.

Makes 4 large or 6 small

Peanut Butter Granola Bars

My friend Jenny let me borrow her collection of recipes and I found this little gem! I hope it's ok that I am sharing this here Jenny :)

These are so easy and yummy to have on hand for a quick sweet snack and you can add whatever you want. Perfect.

In my batches I substituted half of the peanut butter for some yummy chocolate almond butter from TJ's. It never hurts to add a little chocolate right?!

Peanut Butter Granola Bars


1/2 cup raw honey
2/3 cup all natural peanut butter ( or nut butter of your choice)
1 cup oats
2 cups rice cereal

any add ins: nuts, raisins, ground flax etc.

In a large pot melt the honey and peanut butter, stirring until smooth. Mix in the remaining ingredients and dump onto parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Coat hands with cooking spray and form into a rectangle. Place the cookie sheet in the fridge for 5 min to firm up the bar a bit. Cut the rectangle into individual bars and place back in fridge until hard. Store at room temperature in an air tight container.

Langers Pastrami

You gotta check this place out!

Andrew has gone here for a couple lunch meetings and their pastrami sandwich gets a lot of press...so I asked him to bring me home one and it was amazing! I mean really really good...super tender flavorful meat, awesome bread with a crispy crust ( best Rye i've tasted!) basically a perfect sandwich, and it's huge.

If you are ever near downtown LA go to Langers!

The Costco Sandwich

Whenever I shop at Costco, I never leave without these items in my cart: a couple rotisserie chickens and the rosemary olive oil bread. The chickens are amazing and the price is unbeatable and the bread is just so yummy and fresh! I use the chickens for a handful of recipes and pop the bread in the freezer ( the package come with two big loaves) until the perfect meal requires it.

Today I thought I would make a sandwich with my fav Costco deals since I am always hungry and tired after an adventure there!

Simply slice the yummy bread, spread with your favorite dijon mustard, add some crisp lettuce and some shredded chicken still warm from the store and your treat is complete!

Mmmmmmm :)