Fish Tacos

I've had several requests for this recipe and I can't seem to find it in the blog so now I'm just going to repost if I have already posted!  This is one of my kids favorite dinners and it is sure a lot cheaper than eating fish tacos out!  I don't like many fried, breaded things so I developed this recipe without frying the fish.  I think the secret is the dressing on the salad!

Fish tacos

1-2 pieces of frozen tilipia per person
1/4 cup lime juice
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon taco seasoning
1 chopped jalapeno or serrano pepper (I use the frozen chopped ones I have from summer)

Place all the above into a ziploc bag and let thaw while marinating. Once the fish have thawed and marinated for about an hour, place all ingredients into a skillet and cook on low heat until the fish falls apart.  Stir it all together and cook off the water for about 5-7 minutes.

while I am marinating the fish, I make a package of Zatarain's spanish rice. I make it with a can of chopped tomatoes with chilis (Rotel).   Keep covered and warm as you stir up the salad.

Salad topping:
4-6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1-2 tomatoes, chopped small
1-3 tablespoons chopped onions (depending on how much you like onion) can be green onions
1/4 cup chopped red pepper

Mix together in a bowl and toss with dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1-2 tablespoons lime juice, to taste
1-tablespoon taco seasoning
Stir until smooth and thin like salad dressing.
toss with salad

I place a bit of fish on a warmed tortilla, then rice and grated cheese and top with the salad mixture.  I usually make guacamole (or get it from the freezer) and serve with salsa.

My kids brag about this dish to their friends and people they don't even know!  I know I've hit on a keeper recipe when that happens!

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

Nothing like a spicy meal that can be made in about fifteen minutes and on the table in from start to finish in under an hour! I prep for this meal earlier in the week so I have leftovers to use. I use any leftover rice or rice-a-roni and chopped chicken, either from the freezer or from earlier in the week. Plan on a chicken breast or 3/4 cup chicken per person, if you have eating machines like me. I usually make extra for either leftover lunches or for that extra person sitting around the table.

This is a make-what-you -meal so I'll be a little loose with the directions.

Large flour tortillas- figure at least one enchilada per person; if you have big eaters, use two.

1 chicken breast or 3/4 cup chicken for each person, cooked and chopped (remember your chicken breasts in the freezer? Go get them!)

at least one can of drained and rinsed beans like pinto, kidney, black- if you're cooking for more than four people, you may want to use two cans

one can cream of chicken soup, undiluted; making more than eight, use two cans

one can fiesta cheese soup, undiluted; making more than eight, use two cans


monterrey jack or co-jack cheese, about 1/2 cup for each person

Mix the soups and diced onion if you like together. place about 1/2 cup of this in a 9x13 pan, sprayed with no-stick spray. Take a flour tortilla and place about 1/4-2/3 cups chopped chicken, 1/4 cup beans, cover with a bit of shredded cheese and about 2 tablespoons of the soup mixture. Roll up and place seam side down in the pan. Continue until you have about two enchiladas per person. If you have a large family, use two pans and double the beans! If you have a small family, make two 9X9 pans and freeze one for later.
Cover the enchiladas with the remaining soup and cover with foil. Bake at 375F for about 30 minutes until hot. Uncover and top with remaining cheese. Serve with spanish rice. If you have leftover rice, just mix in a little salsa before reheating.

Of course, I always serve guacamole and chips and a green salad!

Spicy beats cold!

At this time of year, I feel like eating spicy foods. I guess because it's so cold, I figure eating spicy foods warms me up from the inside and out. My family will eat almost any tex-mex dish and as my kids have gotten older, they will almost out-spice their mama! It warms my heart to see that in more ways than one!

Taco night is super easy at my house because the meat is already cooked and frozen. Everything else is just chopping and shredding. One thing that my son has to have at every tex-mex night is guacamole. One must plan ahead for guacamole because if you try to buy an avocado for the same day you are going to use it, you will be really disappointed. An avocado needs to be soft to the touch and at this time of the year it's sometimes difficult to find. Usually they are as hard as baseballs when you buy them. Put a hard avocado in a brown paper bag for a few days and it will ripen up nicely.

The stores around me occasionally have avocados for cheap. I buy a bunch and make a pot load of guacamole. If you make guacamole often you know that it turns brown in just a few hours. To keep this from happening, I put a little lemon or lime juice in my guacamole. I then line a cookie sheet with waxed paper and drop by cupfuls the guacamole. It will look like gross green cookies! Place the cookie sheet in the freezer overnight The next day, take the guacamole blobs off the waxed paper and place them in a large freezer bag for storage in the freezer.

Now, when it's tex-mex night at your house, you can take as many as you need out, place them in a bowl for a few hours and you'll have fresh guacamole!

Here's my recipe for guacamole. Many people have their favorite so use yours if you like it.

Guacamole:
2 ripe avocados- cut in half and squeeze the insides onto a plate. Throw away the seed.
1 T chopped onion, if you like less, use less
Juice of one lemon, about 2 T.
garlic powder, paprika, salt, red pepper to taste- add a little at a time
I use about 1/2 teaspoon each
1-2 T mayo, do not use miracle whip, it is sweet
If you want, add 1-2 T salsa

Mash avocados and mix in all the other ingredients. It always amazes me that those high prices mexican restaurants charge about $6 for this!

I'll be posting more tex-mex recipes this month. I figure if it's cold outside, I'll be sweating inside!