So I have to take a few moments to pause and share some really good eats with you guys…

Shall I start with the healthy?

Yeah…probably should…So I present to you…KALE CHIPS!!!

Holy crap, these are good!  I discovered them while on sale at the local Food Lion over the weekend. While yes, you CAN put them in smoothies, you can also toss them with EVOO and the spices of your choice, toss them in the oven and within 10-12 minutes? A WONDERFUL snack:

Pre-Kale Chips…Good stuff, Maynard!

And once you’ve done the following (per one packed cup of de-stemmed kale leaves,) tossed one teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil – EVOO – with the sea salt and other seasoning of your choice-we prefer cayenne pepper and garlic powder with a touch of cumin, spread them out on a cookie sheet with the oven pre-heated to 350. Pop that cookie sheet in there, and start checking from about the nine minute point, on…Kale bakes quickly…goes from soggy to burnt in the blink of an eye, but watch them till they look like the following:

Crispy, healthy, tasty goodness…104 calories per one cup of greens…

Seriously good stuff…I am not lyin’….

So next, let’s talk about fish tacos…I have gotten REALLY sick of plain ol’ tilapia and/or swai…and when the hubs brought a bunch of swai home the other day, i KNEW I needed to find a good recipe to shake white fish out of its mundane routine and I surely found a recipe:

Sauce:

1 cup reduced fat sour cream
4 Tbs. chopped cilantro
2 diced jalapeño peppers, seeds removed
2-4 Tbs. lime juice

Blackening rub:

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika (I used spicy smoked)
1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

Swai, rub and sauce…

24 ounces of swai or tilapia, cut into bite sized pieces
1-2 Tbs Canola Oil, heated over Med-High heat in cast iron pan…
8 soft-taco sized flour tortillas, warmed according to package directions…
1/2 ripe avocado, sliced thin

Toss fish pieces in rub while oil is heating in cast iron skillet.

Once oil is hot, place seasoned fish into oil and toss regularly until fish is done:

Seasoned fish cooking in cast iron pan…

Once fish is cooked and tortillas are warm, separate sliced avocado and place equal amounts on tortillas. Divide fish into eight portions and place on tortillas and avocado. Spoon sour cream/cilantro/jalapeño/lime mixture onto fish tacos and serve warm:

This is lacking avocado, as youngest son does not like them…

State Cake Recipe….

Ok…let me just start this with I honestly thought that this was a ‘Stake Cake recipe…in that I got it from Middle Son, who learned how to make these during his “Unfortunate Incarceration” so I thought it was short for “miSTAKE cake…”  But the actual recipe is for a “State Cake,” which, apparently, was conceived in a state prison, therefore, on STATE property, thereby becoming a STATE CAKE…Who knew???

So I’m not actually going to give you the recipe, but I am going to take you through a pictorial tour of how these bad boys are made…and please know….DAMN are these good.

Ingredients: Honey buns (or cookie of your choice, or toaster pastry, or Moon Pie), Sandwich cookies (chocolate, or vanilla), Milk or Fruit Juice, 2’x2’ piece of plastic garbage bag (fresh, unused)….

So Middle Son brings me a “State Cake” to take a bite of last Saturday night. It’s made from two Honey Buns, some peanut butter, chocolate sandwich cookies and some milk…

It was amazingly wonderful. Apparently you can be MacGyver in jail, if you want to be…

So here we go: State Cakes – the Pictoral: (And I’m so not going to give the secret away…but I can tell you that there are no utensils, and no oven. Granted, we garnished ours with mint leaves from my herb garden. If you want more information? Drop me a message or an email at julie@wall2wallphotos.com. 🙂