Day Thirteen--Fish Tacos

Posting the day after again. Sorry. I have discovered that the hardest thing about this challenge is making up menus. What a pain in the arse. I want to try new things but I also need to keep in mind that Aidan is picky. I had full intentions of working on the menus on Saturday night but was so tired after a couple of days being outside working in the gardens and volunteering. Sunday morning rolled around and I woke up thinking about it still. I turned to the internet and tried to find some new things. Tim had been saying that he wanted some fish tacos so that is what we had on Sunday night.

Fish Tacos with a side of refried beans.

I have learned to plan fish for Sunday or Monday. I typically go food shopping every Sunday. I'm getting pretty good at making sure we have everything we need for the week and that saves us trips back to the store during the week. It saves money in the long run. I do wonder sometimes if it's better to go every couple of days and get fresh produce. Right now I think it's better that we just drive in once a week. Let's face it, the produce in grocery stores isn't all that fresh. It's usually picked before it's prime and then shipped. Where was I going with this? Oh yeah, fish. If fish is in our menu for the week I try to do it on Sunday or Monday so the fish doesn't sit in my refrigerator and go bad.

These tacos came together really easily and quickly. First I made a guacamole. Then I shredded a small head of cabbage and dressed it with canola oil and fresh lime juice with a little salt and pepper. With both of those things done and set to the side all I had left to do was cook the fish. The recipe called for 2 lbs of red snapper. Wegmans had red snapper for $21.99/lb. First of all, I knew there was no way that we could eat 2 pounds of fish. Second of all, I could not stomach spending 22 bucks on fish. I don't think I've ever had red snapper so I don't even know if I like it. I ended up just getting a pound of tilapia. I know we all like it and I was much happier with the 7 dollars. With the tacos we had some refried beans. I found a can of it in our cupboards and opened it up to heat up and then freaked out. How can I use this in my dinner? I checked the label and was relieved that there were only a couple of ingredients and I recognized all of them. Whew. So, to make the tacos, I took a tortilla and spread it with guacamole then put some of the cooked fish. Then I added a couple of slices of tomato and a handful of the cabbage slaw. Add to the mix a beer and it was a perfect meal.

The meal was a success. Everyone really enjoyed it. The only thing we had left over were tortillas and guacamole. That will make for a tasty snack today. I have some thoughts on grocery shopping that I want to write about/figure out, but I need to get back to school with the wee ones. Perhaps I'll be able to stay awake longer tonight and post again tonight after dinner. Happy cooking everyone!