Taco Tuesday

I made dinner last night and forgot to blog about it...but it's ok b/c it wasn't much to blog about anyway.  Perhaps I will use it as filler for a night that I forget to cook!

I have had fish tacos once in my life...last summer with Eric.  There is something about a fish taco that just grosses me out. I don't know if it's just the concept or the idea of fishiness..in tacos...I don't know.  But I tried them that one time and didn't like them so I have stayed away from them since then.  For some reason, last night I decided to try them again but make them myself.  Whole Foods had a sale on king salmon so I found it to be a perfect opportunity.  We made 2 different types, salt and pepper salmon and lemon butter herb halibut.  My 2nd fish taco experience went something like this...

I started by making the rice since I knew it would take a lot longer.  For the mexican rice, I chose to use brown rice just for the healthier option.  Ingredients were:

brown rice

chicken broth

tomato sauce

diced tomatoes and green chills

onions

garlic

cumin

To start, I chopped up the onions and garlic and threw them in a pan with some olive oil.  Once those cooked for a couple of minutes, I added the rice and cooked it to brown (make sure it doesn't burn!)

To the rice, I added the tomato sauce and chilis and just let that cook for a brief minute

Finally, added the chicken stock and cumin to taste and gave it a quick stir.  Once it came to a boil, I turned the heat down and covered it, letting it simmer until it was done.  Surprisingly, it took A LOT longer than I wanted it to and I had to add more broth about twice.  I think that's the problem with brown rice though, it takes a lot more liquid to soften. 

For the tacos, I started by chopping up the veggies.  I don't have a picture of ingredients b/c I started getting a little scattered with everything but I took pictures of what I remembered.  The salsa included the following chopped veggies:

roma tomatoes

orange bell pepper

onion

plumcot (plum+apricot mix)

green onion

salt

lime juice

Next, I just chopped up some cabbage and put it to the side. 

Finally, I started the fish.  I waited until the rice was almost done so it wouldn't be something I had to worry about.  The salmon came first.  I decided to keep this simple and only sprinkled it with some salt and pepper and then cooked it in olive oil. 

For the halibut, I made a lemon herb butter.  To do this I melted butter in the pan, squeezed half a lemon, and added fresh parsley, oregano, and thyme.  I let it cook down and come together and then placed the halibut in the pan, braising it with the butter. 

For the tortillas, we opted for corn instead of flour just for less carbs, even though they're less delicious. In order to heat them, I just threw a little olive oil in a pan and cooked them for about 2 min on each side just so they were hot.  

Finally, it was time to eat!! We topped our tortillas with pepper jack cheese, fish, salsa, pineapple and mango habanero salsa, cabbage, and sour cream. 

This meal took a lot longer than expected to make and with so many parts at times it was a little hard to keep up with just due to my lack of organization.  However, in the end, it helped me find a likeness for fish tacos! I don't know what it was about the ones we had before but I thought these were great! Maybe it was the fact that I junked them up with so much stuff you couldn't even really taste the fish but either way, I liked them!  They were incredibly filling even though it was mostly veggies and "filler" but also not fattening which is the best part. I will definitely be making these again, maybe with different flavor combinations.