Taco salad is a regular occurrence at the ZugHaus. So is Chicken Taco Soup. Really, anything containing black beans and/or green chilies is a staple in our house.
Normally I make taco salad with ground beef, onion, green chilies, and black beans. But every once in awhile I like to change it up. Because I’m spontaneous like that.
Last night I made fish tacos using frozen tilapia fillets from the frozen section of the meat department. If you’re unfamiliar with tilapia, it a light, white, fish that doesn’t have a strong fishy taste. It’s also reasonably priced if you’re shopping on a tight budget. For the locals, the cheapest place I have found tilapia is at Winco, in the meat department’s freezer section, next to the whole fish with the eyes staring back at you.
(Pictured is a package from Fred Meyer – I used 2 for this recipe).
The other beauty of tilapia is that it’s a fairly small fish, so it thaws quickly when frozen. I cooked these, however, without thawing. I just opened up the package, put them in a pan on medium heat with a little water, covered them, and went outside to make sure my kids weren’t drowning in the kiddie pool.
A few minutes later I came back and they were thawed and cooked through (you can tell fish is cooked when it turns opaque).
I sprinkled some salt and a chili seasoning over it all (pick your favorite seasonings), and broke it up into pieces. I then added two cans of black beans and the juice from two limes, and stirred it around a little.
This was done so fast, I went out to sit on the back deck with the kids – where I may or may not have enjoyed an adult beverage – until Bryan came home. When he walked in the door we assembled all our favorite taco toppings together – green onions, cheese, fresh salsa, sour cream – and served it as a salad. Obviously you can serve it with chips or tortillas if you prefer.