Come back soon Grandpa

We were all blessed to have Gpa Ray (Alan's dad) visit this past week.

Nora wants him to come back soon because he took her to Dunkin Donuts...

Let her play with his iPad. Nora said she wants one of these for Christmas (wink, wink - hehe)

And took her to her swim lessons...

She had so much fun! Come back soon Gpa!

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Steph's Pick - Fish Tacos

I've been searching for a Fish Taco recipe for quite some time. Both Alan and I love Rubio's Fish Tacos (don't knock it until you try it!) and were eager to make something similar at home.

Then along comes my friend Michelle - my trusty non-blogging, share her recipes type friend (thanks Michelle!)- with an AMAZING Fish Taco recipe. We've been making it ever since.

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Fish Tacos

(serves 2)

Ingredients.

1/4 cup sour cream

1 lime (juice)

1-2 cup shredded cabbage

4 scallions (diced)

1/2 jalapeno (seeded and diced)

2 Tilapia/Cod/Mahi Mahi filets (any frozen fish will do)

4 corn tortillas

1/2 cup cilantro

1 avocado

Directions.

1. In a medium bowl, mix sour cream and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer half of the mixture to another bowl (for serving as dressing). Mix the cabbage, cilantro, jalapeno and scallions.

2. Cook fish with evoo, either in a skillet or on a baking sheet in the oven, until it is cooked through.

3. Put 2-3 Tbsp Veggie Oil in a skillet over med-high heat. Put one corn tortilla in the hot oil, and fold into a taco shell shape until it is browned. Remove and put on paper towels and repeat with remaining tortillas. (**don't skip this part - these are AWESOME)

4. Put fish into taco shell, top with cabbage mixture, avocado and dressing.

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Steph's Pick - Epiphanie Camera Bag

Oh Epiphanie camera bag how I want you on my arm. You are so lovely and so sweet. My dream is to own you some day.

Alright - in all seriousness - isn't this bag soooooo cute! I've been dreaming of the day I might own one. The hubster says no b/c I already have a functional (but ugly) camera bag but maybe someday he'll say "yes!" (wink, wink)

For now, I'll keep dreaming...

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Photo Credit: Twice As Nice Photography

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Mommy SOS - Two Naps to One Nap

Ahhh how I was hoping this day would never come....Why can't Nora sleep from 9 - 11 am and 1 - 3 pm for the rest of her life??!!! I can just imagine it now. When signing her up for her freshmen classes we'd have to work around her nap schedule. Hehehe....right!

Well - we all know she can't keep up that routine. It's been fairly obvious over the past month or so that Nora is ready to switch from two naps to one. But the real question is - how??!!! How do I actually make that happen?

So... that's where ya'll come in! I'd love to hear your wisdom and experience. Tell me how you knew it was time to switch, how you made the switch and any other nuggets of wisdom you'd like to share. Comment below...

Note: Yes - I realize she isn't looking up with her sweet Nora smile in these photos. She's much too busy for that these days. So for now we'll have to make due with photos like these :)

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Steph's Pick - Pan-Fried Egg Rolls

Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE Cooking Light? Oh yeah, I forgot this post. :) It really is my favorite cooking magazine. Everything is so scrumptious....

Last night I tried a recipe from the June 2010 edition of Cooking Light, Pan-Fried Egg Rolls. And they were DELICIOUS!!!

Here's the recipe...

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Pan-Fried Egg Rolls

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sweet chili sauce

12 ounces fresh bean sprouts, chopped

12 (8-inch) egg roll wrappers (look in produce/refrigerated section for these)

12 cooked jumbo shrimp, peeled, deveined and split in half lengthwise

6 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup peanut oil (found by Olive Oils - not necessarily the Asian food section)

1 Tbsp rice vinegar

2 tsp. soy sauce

1/4 tsp grated peeled fresh ginger

1/8 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. Combine 3 tablespoons chili sauce and bean sprouts, tossing well to coat.

2. Working with 1 egg roll wrapper at a time, place wrapper onto work surface with 1 corner pointing toward you (wrapper should look like a diamond). Spoon about 2 heaping tablespoons of bean sprout mixture into center of wrapper; top with 2 shrimp halves and 1 1/2 tsp cilantro. Fold lower corner of wrapper over filling; fold in side corners. Moisten top corner of wrapper with water; roll up jelly-roll fashion. Place egg roll, seam side down, on a baking sheet. Repeat.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 6 egg rolls, seam side down; cook 7 minutes or until golden, turning occasionally.

4. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon chili sauce, vinegar and remaining ingredients. Serve sauce with egg rolls.

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Steph's Pick - DIY Strawberry Ice Cream Topping Favors

As promised in this post, this is my last birthday celebration post, I promise! Well... until next year that is! :)

So as I was trying to decide what to do for favors I thought it might be fun to do something along our Ice Cream Parlour theme. So.... Strawberry Ice Cream Topping it was....

Here's what they looked like...

Ingredients

• 1 pint strawberries, cleaned and stemmed
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. Cut about 1/3 of the strawberries in half. In a saucepan over medium high heat, combine strawberries, sugar and vanilla. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. In a blender, puree about 1/3 of sauce, then mix back into remainder. Store in refrigerator.

Recipe from AllRecipes.com

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...watch out world...part II

For those who keep up with us on The Flies Blend you may remember "...Watch Out World...Part I." Well I think it's safe to say that with Part II comes even more adventures...Check it out...

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