The EASY Working Mom way to make Fish Tacos

Seriously the easiest fish tacos you can make at home.....

Several years ago on a trip to California, I was introduced to the wonderful world of fish tacos. I loved them, but my hubs and family didn't share my taste buds for something new and different. Heck, we're southern! Why would I expect them to love my California treat? 

There are not many places to get yummy fish tacos in these parts, so I've learned to make my own EASY EASY EASY variety.  And with family approval! (We have a 13 Month old and work outside the home. If you get supper and it's not out of a to-go bag or a sandwich on a weeknight, you are getting a TREAT.)

The four ingredient must haves:

• Boxed fish - It can be the crispy baked fish, or the grilled. Either way, we get the boxed kind for quick week day meals. I buy it only when it's on sale at Publix. On the weekend when we've had more time, we've grilled catfish for our southern fish tacos. Way yummy. 

• Flour Tortilla shells (A pantry staple in this house)

• Packaged Coleslaw Cabbage from the Salad Aisle (No dressing, with the lettuce/bagged salads) 

• Southwest Ranch Dressing (We like the Marie's from the refrigerated section. Publix usually has it BOGO. We've also used the Hidden Valley Southwest Ranch, which was good.)

The quick  way - 

Bake the fish. Mix half a bag of coleslaw with a bit of southwest ranch dressing until it's lightly coated. Assemble. And EAT.   EASY. WAY TOO EASY.

To make it EVEN BETTER: 

If you are wanting a little more get-up and have these extras in your pantry, here are some suggestions. 

I add these straight in the slaw - so it's very easy assembly:

• Half a can of Mexicorn (Drained)
• Half a can of Black Beans (Drained and Rinsed)
• Fresh Lime Juice from one lime (This adds SO much!)
• Chopped Bell Pepper, Onions (We buy the chopped trinity from the veggie section in the grocery store) 
• A scoop of a good salsa (I love the Newman's Own Peach Salsa in mine. The black bean and corn is yummy, too!)

Other add on fish taco bar options, depending on your mood:

• Shredded cheese
• Sour cream
• Lettuce
• Tomatoes
• Cilantro
• Avocado (My kid love it!)
• Mexi-Rice
• More lime!

Just a note -  Making up half a bag of coleslaw usually makes enough for two nights. We bake one box of fish for the first night, and we'll do something different - (frozen section) grilled shrimp - the heat and eat kind the next night instead of fish.

And if you are feeding the ittybittys that are sensitive to the heat in the southwest dressing ---You can mix the slaw with just  a touch of the southwest dressing and use coleslaw dressing or regular ranch for the moisture. 


The most important part of cooking - Teaching and sharing with your family. 

 

Happy Taco Tuesday! What's your favorite way to eat tacos? 

Chinese Wednesdays

Oh how I love Chinese. Mainly rice and egg rolls, but my absolute favorite part....FORTUNE COOKIES!

As far as this one goes... Well, DUH. :-)

Bachelor Party Or Lingere Shower Boob Cake

If you are easily offended, stop right here!

This was my first cake since I took a cake decorating class as part of a 4-H event at the local extension office when I was like 10.

I usually don't bake cakes. Not the kind that require real decorating, usually just dump out of a box, and maybe make homeade icing. That's about the extent of my cake baking.

One of my friends, and the husband of my BF Brooke, asked me to make a boob cake for a bachelor party. You have to know this group of guys. They are super nice "good guys" who were opting for a funny cake instead of full blown strippers and nastiness. Surely I could pull this off.


After research....and a lot of research, I felt comfortable enough to take on this project. Main tips I learned....If you are baking a cake from a mix and you are planning on carving, you need to reduce the amount of oil by a lot. Usually down to just a couple of tablespoons. Also, over fill your pans! By overfilling your pans, you can slice off the top peaks of the cake so it's consistent, and makes a flat base. The boys wanted shot glass boobs, so that's what they got. Pretty crazy for boys who don't drink!

I used a 9x13 pan for the base, then used two pyrex glass bowls for the boobies. Once the cakes came out of the oven, I let them cool, then took the longest serrated knife I had, and shaved off the peaks flush with the top of the pans. I let them cool in the fridge for about an hour, then pulled them back out to carve the sides. I took a glass pyrex top that had a top knob for me to hold, and used my good serrated knife again to cut the torso so it would be nice and even.  Next step was the layer of dirty icing. Basically, I iced the entire cake with a really thin layer of chocolate icing, and set it back in the fridge to harden. This layer helps make sure you don't get little bumps of cake in your real icing layer.

The rest is just icing and getting your creativity flowing!  My mother and Aunt Robin would die knowing I used the icing out of the can and tub. I did manage to pull out my pampered chef icing tool to pipe around the base. The fun part! :-) This was a lot of fun, and I'm glad I didn't tell the boys no! I even got a thank you call from the bachelor, who I don't even know! :-)

 

I figure I can reuse this idea for a lingerie shower, and just put more clothes on the little lady. Fun, Fun!

Oh how I love concoctions.....

Yummy supper! We had Hawaiian rolls, and I wasn't wanting the spread of a big supper. So, I did the only thing a southern girl can do....I used my imagination to create supper!

I split the rolls to make a gigantic sandwich. Then I made a concoction of Italian dressing, mustard, mayo and a tad of curry. I put the spread on both insides of the giant sandwich, loaded it with ham and cheese, baked it a few minutes, and voilà! Yummy supper sandwiches! Delish! I'll eat salads tomorrow! :-)