Thursday, April 20, 2006

Dino-mite Birthday Weekend!



In about 36 hours I'm gonna have a bunch of energetic boys in our backyard, celebrating Noah's 6th birthday ...Dinosaur style! So much to do on Friday....but the least of these is to CLEAN the house. I swear, everytime I clean the house BEFORE a gathering it's dirtier after it's over than before I cleaned in the first place! :) So the bathrooms will be cleaned and the carpet vacuumed. That's it. We'll be outside most of the time anyway.... And this Jurassic Jumper (above) will decorate our yard for the day. :) (fun for the adults, too!)

I love my husband. He got me a new camera. :) I had been using a really OLD digital camera and had to hold the battery case closed with duct tape (lol) since my other digital camera just decided to quit around Christmas time. So today my new camera arrived and I am SO excited to use it at the birthday party! I cried the other day (hormonal moment) thinking that I was missing out on some really good photos of Noah because my camera STUNK. God bless my husband for being sensitive to that and knowing how important it is to me as a scrapbooker and memory keeper to have these photos. :) So tomorrow I'll become well acquainted with my new Canon Powershot S2 IS. YAY!

Oh man, the other night I made a really YUMMY new recipe! Well, new for me anyway. If you like fish tacos, you gotta try these. I used our indoor stovetop grill and it worked beautifully. You can do them on your outdoor grill, too. Just watch out..the fish flakes easily! The guacamole sauce is TO DIE FOR!

Rachael Ray's Halibut Fish Tacos with Guacamole Sauce

4 pieces fresh halibut, steak or filets, 6 to 8 ounces each (I used Tilapia)

Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Salt and pepper

1 lime, juiced

3 small to medium ripe Haas avocados, pitted and scooped from skins with a large spoon

1 lemon, juiced

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, eyeball it

1 cup plain yogurt

1 teaspoon coarse salt, eyeball it

2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped

2 scallions, thinly sliced on an angle

1 heart Romaine lettuce (I used shredded cabbage, already in a bag)

12 soft (6-inch) flour tortillas (I used corn tortillas that I softened on a non-stick skillet for 10 seconds)


Preheat a grill pan or indoor grill to high heat or, prepare outdoor grill. Drizzle halibut with extra-virgin olive oil to keep fish from sticking to the grill pan or grill. Season fish with salt and pepper, to your taste. Roll lime on the counter top to get juices flowing. Grill fish 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until opaque. Squeeze the juice of 1 lime down over the fish and remove from the grill pan or grill. Flake fish into large chunks with a fork. (this is why it's ok if it falls apart!)
While fish is cooking, in a blender or food processor, combine avocado flesh, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, yogurt and salt. Process guacamole sauce until smooth. Remove guacamole sauce to a bowl and stir in diced tomatoes and chopped scallions. Shred lettuce and reserve. To assemble, break up fish and pile some of the meat into soft shells and slather with guacamole sauce. Top with shredded lettuce, fold tacos over and eat!

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Have an AWESOME weekend! :)

- Jennifer

"A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers." - Robert Quillen

21 comments:

Unknown said...

My friend has that camera and LOVES IT!

I'll have to try your fish tacos--sounds pretty good!

xoxo,
Becca

Anonymous said...

Have fun with your new camera! I can totally relate with the frustration of not getting the shots you want.
Hope the party goes off without a hitch, that thing looks really cool!
I'm not a fan of fish.. blech! :)

Melissa said...

oh wow that camera rocks, have fun with it :) what a sweet hubbie you have

oh that recipe sounds really yummy, plus I love Rachel Ray recipes so I will definitely have to try that one. TFS!

Anonymous said...

Your camera is great, Jen! I love my Digital Canon Rebel. Glad you got it before the party. :)

Anonymous said...

whoo hoo! have fun with you new camera and I can't wait to see pictures of your ds birthday party!

kimber

Gwyn Calvetti said...

Enjoy the party AND the new camera! I agree, not worth cleaning until the celebrating's over!

Anonymous said...

YAY on the new camera. You are going to love it. I had the similar canon model in the G series before I got my SLR. I gave the G5 to my mom at Christmastime. And although I'm glad I shared the camera wealth (LOL), I still miss that camera. I think you are going to be tickled with how your canon works for you.

Good luck with the b-day party. You are a brave soul. I am loving that jumper thing you will have going in your yard. That is utterly PERFECT for a bunch of 6 year olds. WAY TO GO!

Jana said...

Noah's party is going to be great, sending good vibes for perfect weather and congrats on your new camera!!!!

Unknown said...

Yeah....

congrats on the new camera!

Toni

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the new camera!! Oh, I just LOVE fish tacos!!

Kara said...

happy birthday Noah!! :D

mmm....i might substitute shrimp in for the fish. i LOVE shrimp tacos. (sorry, fish just don't do it for me!!)

hope that you have a blast!! can't wait to hear about it!!

Anonymous said...

what a great hubby you have! so excited for you with your new camera & looking forward to seeing fabulous new photos!

Julia Sandvoss said...

Hope the party goes great and guess what..I have the exact same camera arriving today too! Can't wait to compare notes on it!!!

Anonymous said...

Jennifer,
I love reading your blog. Love the recipes... just the realness of it. This is so important.

Your quote really hit home for me today... thanks

Kim said...

Happy Birthday Noah! Have fun at your party.

Awesome camers. In my best Napoleon Dyanamite voice "Lucky"

glo said...

congrats on the new camera! hope you have lots of fun with it at the party! =)

Anonymous said...

OMGOSH...NOAH is seriously ONE LUCKY DUCKY! My DS would be so excited about a dinosaur party with that bouncer! WOW!!!!! And another WOW at your new camera!!! I am jealous!!! And as always.....so thrilled to try this new recipe. You are a serious WEALTH of knowledge!!

Cat said...

What a cool Mom - my kids would die to have that bouncer at a party! Have fun with your new camera!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday Noah...
Looks like fun will be held by all Jennifer. Great camera hope to see some great shots too.
Gotta tell ya I just don't think I could do fish tacos.. lol

Anonymous said...

Have a blast at the party! And you're right - the adults will love it as well. Years back friends of ours got one for the kids party and after all the kids left we all got in and had an awesome time!!!

Hatter J said...

I have the same camera also---cuz mine quit around Christmas also...

so far, I lOooooooooooove it--the true test will be my trip to DisneyWorld in 8 days!!!!