Oh, for F*ck's Sake, Buy My House Pasta

So.
As some of you are aware, J and I are moving.  With my latest promotion and his lack of employment, it doesn't make sense to live as far away from my job as we currently are.  As a result, we put our house on the market at the end of May to move closer to my job.  Originally, it was to cut the distance in half.  A crazy week in June later, I was only about 20 minutes away.  All good.
Buying and selling real estate is stressful.  You need to keep your house clean.  You're not really supposed to cook (not a huge problem, seeing as it was June and I was crazed).  You're supposed to remain unemotional and detached.  Yeah.  That doesn't always happen.
So early in July, the house was still on the market and being shown...a lot.  We had a couple come through twice and then make an offer.  It was ridiculously low.  Their parents were offering their input every step of the way.  Their agent was new and a total ditz.  And on, and on.
One week, I'd planned to make a pin from my boards on Pinterest (the lemon chicken and spaghetti in garlic gravy.  It still looks good) and bought all the ingredients.  After a trying day with the buyers wanting things they couldn't have (LIKE MY BBQ), I decided I couldn't take it anymore and didn't get off the couch in time to make the recipe.  I was also emotionally drained, and couldn't hack the thought of another restaurant.  When J asked what we were having for dinner, I told him I didn't know.  When he asked where we were going to eat, I told him at home, and to give me 30 minutes.  This is the result.
On the day that the idiot buyers take possession of my house, I present to you what I made that night, with the name that gained overwhelming support in my Facebook feed:  Oh, for F*ck's Sake, Buy My House Pasta.

Toasted Sesame Ginger Grilled Salmon

So.
We're working on healthy cooking/eating for J.  While this project has fallen a bit by the wayside while I clean out the freezer, I have promised that we will eat fish once a week.  With the help of Pinterest, that promise is coming to fruition.
This week, I decided to cook salmon on the grill.  I found a recipe, watched a tutorial on Youtube, and we were good to go.  I highly recommend the tutorial I watched.  It was dead simple to cook.
I present to you now How Sweet Eat's Toasted Sesame Ginger Salmon:

Dinner with Friends: Upsidedown Black Forest Cake

So.
I love a good dessert.  I also love an easy dessert.  Frankly, if I can share it with friends so much the better.
Everyday Food ran this recipe a couple of years ago as something to make for dessert with their Valentine's Cooking for Two menu.  Usually, I double everything and make plated desserts when I have people in .  It's easy enough for 4, and it's a large serving.  But I've never had anyone complain...or not finish.
I present to you now Everyday Food's Upsidedown Black Forest Cakes:

Go to Meal: Bake Thing

You know how there are things you make all the time that are time honoured recipes in your house?  Things that when you don't know what to make, you could always make that?  That's what Kraft Mexican Bake Thing is around here.
Once, back a long time ago, I was flipping through a Kraft What's Cooking magazine and came across this simple recipe that used Kraft Dinner, ground beef, cheese and salsa.  So easy, I made it one weekend.  So easy, I've kept making it.  I've subbed milk for the sour cream, but sour cream is better (it makes the whole thing thicker), I've crushed Tostitos and sprinkled them over the top (I love that).  Any taco seasoning and salsa will do, but I recommend Penzey's Bold taco seasoning and Pace Medium Picante Sauce.  It's pretty spicy like that, though.
The Kraft website give this dish the rather unexciting name, Taco Bake.  Our name comes from J's asking one time what we were having for dinner and my telling him, "You know, that Mexican Bake Thing from the Kraft magazine."  The legend was born.

Healthy Brunch: Breakfast Egg Pitas

So.
We're on the healthy eating trail.  I keep pushing the Choice Menus book on J, simply because there's a great deal of variety and a good deal of food in each menu.  A couple of weeks ago, J had a doctor's appointment at 1:15 that was about an hour away from home.  I convinced him that brunch was the answer!  We had breakfast at 10, with protein to keep us going until we got home.
I present to you now the centrepiece of this menu, Breakfast Egg Pitas:

Shepherdopolous Pie

So.
In the theme of all things healthy, I've been trolling for recipes.  In the theme of cleaning out my freezer, there have been some rather stringent requirements around what we eat.
According to the inscription in the front, I got my copy of Looneyspoons for my 24th birthday.  Their broccoli-cheddar soup is my go to recipe, but I've never made many other things from the book.  With J's new health requirements, that is about to change. 
For those familiar with Looneyspoons, and its successors Crazyplates and Eat, Shrink and Be Merry, it's a cookbook of lowfat recipes with huge taste and a huge helping of puns.  The book is old enough that some recipes are a little outdated for current nutrition trends, but as a basic book it's got some good ideas.
This is one of them.  I present to you now Shepherdopolous Pie:

Baked Fish en Papillote

So.
J has been told to lose weight.  Frankly, I probably have more to lose than he does.  We find that eating at home has helped us in the past year to shed a *little*.  I can fit into clothes that didn't fit this time last year, but there's a long way to go.
One thing that he has been told to eat is fish; at least twice per week.  I'm not a fan.  I've told J that I will try really hard to cook fish once per week.  I spent some time on Pinterest, looking for possible recipes.  I polled my friends on facebook for the ways they like to cook fish.  I also spent some time reading.
A cookbook that I have from some point in my past is put out by the Canadian Diabetes Association called, Choice Menus.  We have spent time studying the meals, looking for things we like and things we'd like to try.  This was our first choice out of the book.
I present to you now Baked Fish en Papillote:

Homestyle Classic: Peach Cobbler

So.
When my mother in law passed away, my sisters in law cleaned out her kitchen.  They left me a pile of cookbooks that they didn't want to go through and a kit to make pumpkin loaves because they knew I liked to cook.  I took a couple of small magazines, the loaf kit (which was delicious...I made mini loaves that we shared with friends), and one cookbook, Betty Crocker's Ultimate Bisquick Cookbook.  Yeah.
I bought a box of Bisquick and tried a few things, nothing which really thrilled us.  But then I made this cobbler.  As I said in the past, I made peach cobbler once a year.  J will tolerate it, and I love it the first night, and then reheated to pretend that it's still the first night.
I present to you now Peach Cobbler:

Go To Meal: Saucy Mexican Chicken

So.
According to the What's Cooking that this recipe was in, this is a heart healthy recipe.  I would agree that it probably is.  The black beans add fibre, the tomatoes have lycopene, and the chicken pieces aren't that large.  It does get better the more cheese you add to it too.
I have a mostly hate relationship with low fat cheese.  I think it comes from living in France and eating the good stuff for too long.  Low fat cheese doesn't really melt, and I always question what it's *really* made of.  But there's enough other stuff to counterbalance the cheese, and this is delicious on a bed of rice with a side of green veg like broccoli.
I present to you now the as healthy as you want it to be Saucy Mexican Chicken from What's Cooking:

A Treat to Share: S'more Cookies

So.
We went to the cottage with my parents in July.  While my father has lost his appetite as a side effect of his cancer, the rest of us did not suffer the same fate.  Mom and I planned a general menu, and we each brought half of the food.  Not shockingly, I brought most of the meat out of my stores in the freezer.  Somehow, we really didn't think about dessert.
Dessert is a hugely important part of meals with my family.  My mother is not done a meal until there is dessert.  It can be a piece of fruit, or a cookie; but there has to be something.  I took these with me to the cottage.  The three of us who were eating powered through the tin over the course of the week.  I've taken them to potlucks, and girls nights.  They always disappear.
While J will tell you that you need 2, I find one to be quite sufficient.  From the July/August 2009 issue of Everday Food, I present to you now S'more Cookies: