Lime and Cumin Mahi Mahi Tacos

A couple of weeks ago, Ben made Mahi Mahi tacos. The dish was prepared so that the tacos were optional, but who's going to turn it down? This recipe is from bigoven.com and I submitted the above photo and it is now the featured photo for this dish! You can see it here.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs Mahi Mahi
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large lime, juice
2 tablespoons Stoneground mustard
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:
Mix oil with all wet and dry ingredients until it becomes a paste. Brush paste onto the top and bottom of the fish. Light charcoal grill and wait until coals are gray. Spray grid with non-stick spray and let it heat over the coals. Place fillets on grill grid and cook for 6-7 minutes per side. Prior to turning, brush with paste mixture. When they are finished cooking, take them off the grill and let them sit for 5 minutes before serving.

We prepared the corn tortillas like usual, a little bit of EVOO (yes, I said EVOO) and browned them in a skillet. The slaw was Dole brand and can be found in the produce section. It had cumin, lime juice, a tiny bit of sugar and olive oil. Ben accidentally put cinnamon in the slaw instead of cumin. And while he added cumin, I thought the cinnamon gave it a nice taste, because it complemented the cinnamon on the Mahi Mahi.

We fixed an array of goodies for the tacos. Corn, onions, black beans, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, avocado, and jalapenos. Let me know if you have any questions!

Aprons Aprons Aprons!

Over the weekend I made some aprons (3 to be exact). Two of them were half aprons and one was a full apron.

To make the full apron, I had to get creative because I did not have a pattern. Instead, I used a paper bag and unfolded it and drew the pattern (just trying to be green!). I folded my fabric in half (it was about 1 1/2 yards of fabric).

I drew the pattern on the fabric then cut it out.

I then folded, ironed, and sewed around the edges. I cut out a 7" x 9" rectangle from a coordinating fabric and folded, ironed, and sewed around those edges. Then I cut some off-white ruffle for the top of the apron and the top of the pocket.

For the ties, I used a light tan grosgrain ribbon. I cut two 26" ties for the neck and two 32" ties for the back. I pinned these in place and tried on the apron to make sure it would fit OK. Then I just sewed them on!

The reason the ties for the back seem long is so that if I want to tie it in the front I have enough to do so.

Also this weekend, the gift shop at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute started carrying my aprons!!! Yeah for making my first sale!

Sesame Encrusted Tuna

For dinner this weekend, I made sesame encrusted tuna that was yummy!

Sesame Encrusted Tuna
4 - 6oz. yellow fin tuna steaks
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup black sesame seeds
1/4 cup white sesame seeds
juice from 2 limes
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 tablespoons of honey (if you want to add more you can)
4 tablespoons of freshly chopped Cliantro leaves

Directions
1. Add sesame oil, soy sauce, lime juice, garlic, honey, and Cilantro to a bowl and mix well.
2. Pour marinade into a large zip-lock bag and add tuna steaks. Make sure all of the air is out of the bag before sealing it. Marinade for an hour to hour and half in the refrigerator.
3. Remove tuna from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.
4. Remove tuna from marinade, shaking off any excess, and dry on paper towel.
5. Heat a saute pan over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Make sure the oil is not smoking when you add the tuna steaks.
6. While the pan is heating, pour some of the black and white sesame seeds onto a flat plate and press the tuna steaks on all sides so as to cover the entire steak.
7. Add the steaks to the pan and cook for 30-40 seconds on both sides.

We had a mango-kiwi-strawberry salsa and pasta salad to serve with this meal, as well!

Salsa!

Another Hostess Apron

Well I've caught the apron-making bug. I'm trying to think of something else I can learn how to sew, but it is just so much fun to find fabrics that I can mix and match for the aprons. Luckily my Mimi saved just about everything, so I have these great vintage fabrics and trimmings that I found in the garage. However, for this particular apron, I used fabric from Hobby Lobby, but the trimming is from Mimi's collection.

Below are pictures of the final product and pieces of fabric I used. If you know anyone who wants an apron, I have made too many, so point them in my direction!

here's the link to my previous post with step by step instructions. If anyone has a cute full apron pattern send it to me!

Lamp Makeover

This weekend I decided to take on a small project and redo a desk lamp. I got the yellow and white fabric from Cynthia East Fabrics in Little Rock. It was in the remnants section, so I got a little over a yard for $10! Then I purchased the cowboy-themed lamp from a garage sale for $2. The can of Dover White glossy spray paint was $5 and the lamp shade was $6. So I spent a total of $23 and I have plenty of paint and fabric left to do another lamp.

I found that to get an even coat of spray paint, lightly spray the object every 10-15 minutes, this way the paint will not get runny.

The lamp shade I got from Hobby Lobby makes re-covering shade so easy! It comes with a paper overlay and you can take off and trace onto the fabric so you get the perfect pattern. The shade also has adhesive so that the fabric sticks to it.

I carefully placed the fabric on the shade, making sure to smooth it out completely.

I glued a piece of lace ribbon to cover up the seem. One thing I did not like about the pre-adhesive lamp shade is that it does not have adhesive at the top or bottom rims of the shade, so I had to go back and glue all around that. But other than that, this was a simple project!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Taylor-Sawyer Wedding Cookies

For Diana and Dave's wedding, I made 500 polka dot cookies.  250 had a green background and a pink "S" and the other 250 had a pink background and a green "S".  This was a great opportunity for me to figure out how to make and decorate mass amounts of cookies.  With some help (I'm not sure how I could have managed this first project alone) we were able to pull it off!

This picture is of 440 of the cookies.  The bride's mother, Amy, picked up the other 60 the day before because they were for the out-of-town guests' baskets.  The rest of these were a party favor handed out at the reception.

Therese, a family friend of the bride, graciously let me use the oven at her church.  This made the baking process much faster!  In each bag there were two cookies, one pink and one green and on the back of the bag was a small label with my information and a picture of a cake I made.

I am going to have to take a small break from cookies, so this weekend I will be working on sewing another apron with some vintage-like fabric designs!

Party Potatoes

Ben's mom has a great recipe for a mashed potato dish called Party Potatoes. However, you do not necessarily need to have a party in order to make these potatoes.

This picture is of one of the two casserole dishes I used to bake the potatoes. I would say this recipe probably made enough servings for 12 people.

Ingredients:
8-10 medium potatoes
8 oz. package cream cheese
8 oz. sour cream
4 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup chopped chives
paprika to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Boil peeled potatoes until tender.
Beat sour cream and cream cheese together.
Add hot potatoes and beat until smooth.
Add butter, chives, salt, pepper.
Pour into a well greased 2 quart casserole dish.
Dot with butter and sprinkle with paprika on top.
Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

You will quickly realize that these potatoes are better than any mashed potatoes you've ever had! It probably has something to do with the cream cheese, sour cream, and butter...