Fish Tacos

These fish tacos are AMAZING!!! I was first introduced to fish tacos about 3 years ago at The Taste of Ann Arbor and have been a huge fan since then.  This recipe for beer-battered fish on corn tortillas did not disappoint. We will be having these again very soon.  The only change I had to make to the recipe was to tone the sauce down a bit for my kiddos.  The 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper proved to be a bit too spicy but you can adjust it to your own liking. 

Fish Tacos
Source: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 c. flour
2 T. cornstarch
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 egg
1 c. beer
1/2 c. plain yogurt
1/2 c. mayo
1 jalapeño pepper, minced
1 t. minced capers
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. dried dill weed
1 t. ground cayenne pepper
1 quart oil for frying
1 lb. cod fillets, cut into 2 to 3 oz. portions
1 (12 oz.) pkg. corn tortillas
1/2 medium head cabbage, finely shredded

1. To make beer batter: In a large bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Blend egg and beer, then quickly stir into the flour mixture (don't worry about a few lumps).

2. To make white sauce: In a medium bowl, mix together yogurt and mayonnaise. Gradually stir in fresh lime juice until consistency is slightly runny. Season with jalapeño, capers, oregano, cumin, dill, and cayenne.

3. Heat oil in deep-fryer to 375 degrees F.

4. Dust fish pieces lightly with flour. Dip into beer batter, and fry until crisp and golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Lightly fry tortillas; not too crisp. To serve, place fried fish in a tortilla, and top with shredded cabbage and white sauce.

Skillet Cajun Spiced Flounder

I'm not a big seafood eater but I do love fish....well, at least the ones that don't have a super "fishy" taste. I  need to cook fish more often. This dish turned out really good and was great served on rice. It came from a website called Skinny Taste. Gina has some amazing recipes on her blog and she always includes all the nutritional information and even Weight Watcher points. It's a great place to search if you're in need of some healthy recipes.




Skillet Cajun Spiced Flounder
Source: Skinny Taste


1 t. olive oil
4 (6 oz) pieces flounder fillets (or any white fish such as tilapia)
3/4 c. onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 c. diced green bell pepper
2 1/2 c. tomatoes, chopped
1 T. Cajun spice seasoning

In a deep skillet, cook onion and garlic in olive oil on medium heat for a few minutes until soft. Add tomatoes, peppers and spices, stir and cook until tomatoes are soft, about 2-3 minutes.  


Lay fish fillets in the sauce, cover and cook on medium-low until fish flakes easily, approx 12-15. To serve, place fish on plate and spoon sauce on top. Serve immediately.

Fried Swai Fish with Dipping Sauce

Here's another one of my favorite Chinese recipes. I'm so excited to share it with you. It's another recipe that my sweet father-in-law taught me himself. I begged him to teach me several things before they went back to China. He used to own his own Chinese restaurant in the northern burbs of Chicago so he has many, many amazing recipes that he can just make by heart. He offered to teach me anything I wanted and this was sure to be one of them. I can't wait until their next visit so I can learn even more from him.

I love this fish because it's not fishy at all. It's so tender and frying it up makes it even that much better. Everyone (even my kids) devour this meal every time I make it!



Fried Swai Fish w/Dipping Sauce
Source: my wonderful father-in-law

2 frozen swai (or sole) fish fillets
1/2 t. salt
1 t. sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 T. cornstarch
1 1/2 T. flour
- - - - - - - - - -
1/8 c. ketchup
1 ½ t. chinkiang vinegar
2 t. sugar
1 ½ t. soy sauce
little squirt of hot sauce
¼ t. sesame oil

Cut 2 frozen swai fish fillets in half (length wise); then cut each half in 4 pieces cutting at an angle.

Put fish pieces in small mixing bowl and add ½ t. salt, 1 t. sugar, 1 egg, 1 ½ T. cornstarch, and 1 ½ T. flour. Stirring after each addition.

In large frying pan heat oil on high heat. Fry fish on med-hi heat for approx. 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden on both sides. Remove from oil.

To make the sauce:
Add 1/8 c. ketchup, 1 ½ t. chinkiang vinegar, 2 t. sugar, 1 ½ t. soy sauce, little squirt of hot sauce, and ¼ t. sesame oil to a small sauce pan. Heat up over med-high heat. Stir while warming up the sauce and don’t cook it too long or the sugar will burn.

If the sauce is too thick, you can add a little water to thin it out.

Cedar Plank Salmon

This is my all-time favorite salmon recipe! We've made it many times before. This is just the first time we've been able to take a picture of it before someone started chowing down on it. Don't be intimidated by the cedar planks. They can be found in most grocery stores. We were lucky enough to buy a large package of them on www.woot.com last year. The planks give the salmon that much more flavor. Just make sure you soak the cedar planks in water for several hours; otherwise they will catch on fire while cooking on the grill.

Trout Meuniere

This will forever be the dish that gave me the severe hot oil burns on my hand. My culinary school battle wounds if you will. This fish was so amazingly good that I was willing to try it once again at home (being much more precautious this time of course)!

This was also the first time that I've gone to a grocery store and ordered fish with its skin and head still attached. Luckily the sales associate was nice enough to chop off the head for me before wrapping it up to take home. Not sure why, but the head and the eyes staring back at me always grosses me out a bit, but I just try not to think about it too much because the end result is flaky, tasty, and oh so good!!!

Catalina Salmon

I don't cook a lot of seafood around my house except for the occasional fish dish. This was my first attempt at baking salmon and my expectations were pretty low for this recipe. I couldn't imagine how good salmon could be by just putting some salad dressing and peppers on it but it was really good! The crunchy green peppers were such a nice compliment to the soft, flaky salmon. Great dish overall and so easy to make!

Catalina Salmon
Source: Kraft

4 salmon fillets (1-1/4 lb.)
1 - 2 green peppers, cut into thin strips
1/3 c. Kraft Free Catalina Dressing

Heat oven to 375°F. Place fish in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Toss peppers with dressing; spoon over fish. Bake for 25 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork.

Simple Salmon Cakes

My Mom made these when she came to stay with us after the baby was born. It was the first time I'd ever had Salmon Cakes. They are delicious and I've made them several times since she's gone back to Indiana. Very easy to whip up for lunch or dinner!



Simple Salmon Cakes

1 6-oz. pouch boneless pink salmon
1/4 c. finely chopped green onions
1/4 c. mayonaise
1 T. lemon juice
1/2 t. garlic powder
Dash of cayenne pepper
1/4 c. finely chopped red bell pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 c. seasoned bread crumbs or crackers
3 T. butter, melted
1/4 t. seasoned salt

Mix all together and form into patties. (I made 5.) Spray skillet with Pam and fry for 3 to 4 minutes on each side until golden brown.

Here's what they look like frying in the pan.


My 3 year old and I think they go well with mustard especially when you draw something fun on them!