Thursday, March 21, 2013

Quick and Easy Fish Tacos

With a new baby keeping me busy, I’ve had to find ways to save time in the kitchen. The first step was to be as organized as possible with the initial meal planning and grocery shopping. On Friday nights at dinner, we decide as a family what meals we’re going to have for the following week. Everyone gets to pick at least one meal. I was hoping this would result in less whining at mealtimes, but unfortunately the boys often change their minds and decide they don’t like what they originally picked. Seriously? I don’t have the energy right now to worry about it too much though. If they don’t like it, too bad, I tried. Anyway, on Saturday morning I take that meal plan and make a shopping list, then I take crayons and colour-code the list by sections in the grocery store so I can get my shopping done faster and more efficiently.

I put the meal plan on the fridge so everyone can see what’s on the menu for that day and I don’t have to cringe at that perpetual question: “what’s for dinner?” It also makes it easier for Tony to help get dinner started if I’m preoccupied with the baby. He does alright with cooking as long as he knows what he has to make and has a recipe for it. I’ve been trying to keep meals as simple as possible so that he can help out more. These fish tacos are definitely simple enough for him. We used frozen fish sticks as a shortcut and they worked great. Dinner was ready in 20 minutes and it was a big hit with everyone, even the boys. They loved being able to assemble their own tacos with their favourite fixings. There was no whining…except when the tacos were all gone!

Quick and Easy Fish Tacos

10 frozen fish sticks
10 small flour tortillas

Suggested Toppings:
Avocado lime sauce (recipe below)
Shredded cheese
Coleslaw mix
Diced tomatoes
Salsa

Cook fish sticks according to package directions. Wrap tortillas in foil and put them in oven with the fish sticks for the last 10 minutes of cooking. When fish sticks are cooked, cut them into bite-sized pieces and put them on a plate. Serve fish sticks, tortillas, and toppings buffet-style and let your family dig in!

Avocado Lime Sauce
1 avocado
1 small lime
2 tbsp sour cream
1/2 tsp honey
1 tsp taco seasoning
salt, to taste (optional)

Remove pit and skin from avocado, cut avocado into chunks and put them in a small bowl or large measuring cup. Squeeze out lime juice over the avocado. Grate about 1 tsp of lime zest over top. Add sour cream and honey. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Stir in taco seasoning. If your seasoning doesn’t have added salt, you may want to add some.