Fish Tacos

Fish Tacos...I've been making them for years. Way before they became popular. I suppose they've been popular in Southern California for some time, but it wasn't that long ago that I would get grimaces and yucks when I even mentioned them. I dunno...maybe they just sounded icky...but to me they were wonderful. I even entered a version them in the Pillsbury Bake-Off about six years ago. They didn't get me anywhere...maybe because the fish was encrusted with pecans. A little much, no? It made me happy that a Fish Taco was a category winner in the last Bake-Off.

I've simplified my Fish Tacos over the years. Now, I sometimes just grill the fish. Or, sometimes I coat the fish in panko bread crumbs and fry them in olive oil. On occasion, I'll top the fish with tomatoes and cheese. I prefer to use flour tortillas, but I have been known to change it up a little and use corn tortillas. But, I always, always top my tacos with shredded cabbage (from a bag...easy) and my green chile sauce.

It really is all about the sauce...

So, the fish part is easy. I generally use Tilapia, which has gotten some bad press, lately, but any mild, firm fish will due. Cod would work. Whatever you choose, just dip it in seasoned flour, then egg, and then dredge it in panko crumbs. Fry it in olive oil, over medium heat, for 3 minutes per side, or until it's flaky. Cut it into chunks and put it in a warm tortilla. Now top it with your favorite things...I really like avocado...and then top it with "the sauce".

The Sauce

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoon hot picante sauce

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 can (4.5 oz) green chiles,  drained

Just mix it all together and chill until needed.

Roll it all up in a tortilla



Don't want tortillas? Just throw some chips on the plate with your fish, and call it a day.

If you're really feeling rebellious, put it on a biscuit.



 What do you put on your Fish Tacos?



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Tomato, Corn, and Black Bean Soup

Look at what I got in the mail:

A six pack!

Of tomatoes!

Red Gold Tomatoes sent me such a cute little sampler of their tomato products to try that I wasn’t quite sure what to make with them first, but a quick glance out the window helped me to decide.

Soup! It’s downright wintery out there!  Unbeknownst to the Red Gold peeps, I actually had a can of their tasty tomatoes in my cupboard, so I’m saving the sampler pack for some other quick tomato meals. Stay tuned for those. In the mean time, let’s cook some soup.

I am not a fan of most canned soup, I’ll have you know. Frankly, I’m not quite sure of what’s in it. Usually, there’s too much salt. Sometimes, there’s stuff like corn syrup and fillers. And if your argument to me is that canned soup is convenient, then I will counter that with the fact that making your own soup is almost as easy.  Check it out—I did this on the fly, with some things I had in the cupboard (and the freezer).

Tomato, Black Bean, and Corn Soup
Printable Recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, crushed

½ large, sweet onion, chopped

2 cups frozen corn (fire-roasted, if available)

1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes, chopped, with liquid

1 (15-19 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

4 cups vegetable stock

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Lower the heat to medium and add the garlic, onions and corn. Sauté until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, beans vegetable stock, chili powder and Italian seasoning. Stir well and bring mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer soup for 20 to 25 minutes.  Serve the soup hot; garnish with crushed tortilla chips and shredded cheese, if desired.

I chose to use some fire-roasted frozen corn that I had in the freezer. It added just a hint of smokey flavor.

Canned tomatoes make easy work out of soup—of this I am a great fan. Good, fresh tomatoes are hard to find this time of year (not to mention, pricey), so canned tomatoes are a must. The thing is, they work in so many things. Besides soup, you can sub canned tomatoes for fresh in spaghetti sauce, on pizzas, and in casseroles. My mother-in-law likes to take a can of stewed tomatoes and use them as gravy over mashed potatoes.

So why Red Gold brand tomatoes? It really wasn't a fluke that that was the brand in my cupboard. The Red Gold company is a third generation family owned company out of Indiana. They started in 1942 and all they do are tomatoes. They know their stuff! Red Gold is located right in the middle of tomato country and I've found all of their tomato products to be of stellar quality. But, I digress. Let's get back to my soup.

This was tasty just the way it was, but I felt it needed just a little something.

How about using all of those crushed tortilla chips at the bottom of the bag? It's a shame to waste them, even if they aren't so good at scooping anymore.

Now, just add some shredded cheese and you are good to go.

See? Wasn't that easy? And now that all of my soup is gone, I've got some ideas for the rest of those cans. Next up on the menu: Cincinnati Chili Pizza. 

Is there something special you make with canned tomatoes?

Disclaimer: I received free product from Red Gold Tomatoes in order to do this review. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.

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Quinoa Salsa Salad....three ingredients.

I love Trader Joe's. Yesterday, Pete and I made our weekly grocery store rounds and just had to stop in to get some of their tortillas. Have you seen them? They are called "hand made" tortillas and I'm guessing they are as close to homemade as you can get from store bought. Just a guess, though, since I've never made them.

My new favorite tortillas....

 At any rate, the first thing we usually do when we get to Trader Joe's is to hustle on to the back of the store where they are giving out product samples. Yesterday's sample was a quinoa salad. I was disappointed, at first--healthy food? I did have a box of it at home that I had been reluctant to try. You know what? It's really good! They had it prepared with black beans, roasted corn and sun dried tomatoes. I was shoveling it in my mouth when another customer asked if they used a recipe or if it came made that way. It was a recipe, and a pretty darn easy one.

Ok--here it is: Prepare 1/2 package quinoa (about 1 cup) per package directions, stir in one package of Trader Joe's sun dried tomatoes and one container of Trader Joe's Black Bean & Roasted Corn Salsa. Finished. Period. The End. Oh--I did squeeze a little orange juice in it, just because I never leave well enough alone.

The quinoa only took about 15 minutes to cook

Quinoa is gluten-free, high in protein, cooks up fast, and doesn't have a heavy flavor so it pairs well with almost anything.

My sister and my niece were on their way over...I simply threw some biscuits in the oven and whipped up the quinoa. Lunch was ready when they got here.

The quinoa went over well. I served it warm for my sister (who even heats up her ice cream--she needs everything warm), but you can eat this cold or at room temperature, too. There weren't too many leftovers...for dinner I made myself a quinoa burrito with one of those handmade tortillas. :)