Quick Tilapia Taco

4 oz frozen tilapia filet
2 corn tortillas (6 inch)
shredded cabbage (fresh or from coleslaw mix)
Low fat Cilantro Ranch Dressing (or 2 T yogurt ranch dressing from the store)

Saute filet on both sides until cooked through. Maybe 6 or 8 minutes in all (2 min/side if thawed). The filet will split down the middle. Heat up tortillas in saute pan after fish is cooked. Put half a filet in each tortilla with a handful of shredded cabbage. Top each taco with tablespoon of dressing.

This is my current lunch favorite. I have the dressing in the fridge ready to go. It will last at least 2 weeks, as long as the buttermilk can handle. The expiration of buttermilk has always been a bit confusing for me anyway with it already being soured and all. So it lasts longer then you might think.

Calories: 280. Serves 1.

No Bake Cookies

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/peanut-butter-chocolate-no-bake-cookies-recipe-2015085

These are a favorite of mine. I like to make a 1/4 batch for me and david. It makes about 8 cookies.

Almond Stuffed Chicken

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/almond-stuffed-chicken-10000001880000/

David loved this. I thought it was ok. There wasn't near enough stuffing in my opinion.

Serves 4. Calories: 288 per serving.

Coconut Cream pie

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/old-fashioned-coconut-cream-pie/

This was ok. I used a can of coconut milk in place of 1.5 cups of half and half based on some reviews. The pie was good, but I guess it didn't really thrill me. I guess I'm not a cream pie fanatic.

Tilapia Tostadas

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/tilapia-tostadas-with-roasted-corn-relish-10000001911363/
Tilapia tostadas.

I loved this recipe. David didn't rate it as high as me because he doesn't like fish as much, and that fish doesn't do well in tacos. But I disagree!

Calories: 470 per serving / 1 serving is 2 tostadas.

Saffron Rice

from Cooking Light.

1 c diced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 c uncooked basmati rice
2 c chicken broth
1/4 tsp saffron threads, crushed
bay leaf

serves 4.
calories: 196 per serving

If you make it in the crock pot, make sure to saute onion and garlic beforehand. I didn't this time and it tasted too raw onion-like. The score would go up if you do the saute first.

Cilantro-Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/cilantro-lime-chicken-with-avocado-salsa-10000001886432/
Cilantro-Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa

This was really good. We ate it with Saffron Rice.

serves 4. Calories: 289 per serving.

Whole wheat bread

http://thehappyhousewife.com/cooking/whole-wheat-bread/

This was tasty but I'd rather make a simpler loaf that doesn't have all that honey and oil. If I didn't care about calories this would be a winner.

Cornbread for two

1/4 c whole wheat flour
1/4 c cornmeal
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/4 c milk
1 tbsp cooking oil

Mix. Put in small baking pan and bake. Or in muffin tins.

Serves 2. Calories: 243 per serving.

This is a filling meal when combined with half a can of chili (per person).

This is the Betty Crocker recipe divided by 4 (which is the same as the Albers one on the back of the cornmeal box!). Except for the egg. I made this actually with 1/8 c milk by mistake and it was good. I think adding more milk would be fine.

Baked Apples

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/baked_apples/

I made this without the brown sugar, replacing 1 tsp of maple syrup instead. I made the mistake of using fuji apples, and it was too crispy at the end. Alas.

Calories: 192 per serving / 4 servings (1 apple is a serving) (calculated using my no sugar version above)

Amy's Almond Cake or Almond Bars

Amy's Almond Cake (or almond bars as my family calls them) is a traditional christmas and special occasion dessert for my family. It is somewhat finicky. It never baked quite right when I lived at sea level. It only seems to work at 5000 feet. (I made this later in WI at 1000 ft and it worked fine at that elevation.) It is supposed to be like a dense brownie, and not very cake-like. At sea level it was more like dense cake.

If you make it in a 10x15 cookie sheet, do 1x the recipe for the right thickness. If you make it in 12x17in. sheet, do 1.25x the recipe. If you make it 1x in a 9x13 casserole dish, it will be too thick.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, either way.

Here is the original recipe (perfect in 10x15 inch pan)
8 oz (2 cubes) melted butter
4 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tbsp almond extract

mix. put into greased cookie sheet. Garnish with sliced almonds.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes until golden.

Let cool and cut in triangles. (cut squares first, then run knife diagonally through corners)

Anecdote: One year at christmas my dad squashed a piece of this into the red tablecloth. Really hard. There was a big dark grease mark, to say the least.

Chicken pesto pasta

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chicken_florentine_pesto_pasta/

I used 2 or 3 times the amount of pesto called for. This was tasty. I put in ~ 1/2 cup toasted pinenuts.

Cherry Pie

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/06/sweet-cherry-pie/

This was really good. Double crust. mmm.

Rustic Pear Tart

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/healthy-appetite-with-ellie-krieger-/rustic-pear-tart-recipe/index.html

This was great. Perfect for 4 people. I just soured some milk with lemon stead of using buttermilk.

Southwest Taco Soup

http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/2011/06/emilys-southwest-taco-soup.html
Southwest Taco Soup

David and I both liked this. I did not drain the corn. The soup was sweet from the corn and the sriracha sauce I used in lieu of valentina sauce. I used like 3 or 4 tablespoons of sriracha, just squirting it over the chicken.

Next time only put in one can of corn, and drain it first. The soup is just too sweet I think.