Not just any old food. I like to cook Good For You food.
I'm a tad bit paranoid about what I put in my body on most days…I avoid trans fats like the plague. When I see them listed (or hidden in the ingredient list) on nutrition labels, I shudder. My heart races. My eyes bug out. And this strange reflex kicks in where I throw the box back into the closest space that looks like it might fit. I'm like the trans fat Hulk of the grocery store!! I'm sure most of the boxes I pick up and throw back wind up in the marked-down-due-to-damages buggy. I rationalize my behavior. I tell myself its OK to damage food boxes due to my own paranoia because stores shouldn't be selling those foods for people to eat in the first place!!
And then I have those days where I get a hankering for ginger snaps. Those are the days that I throw caution to the wind and put tons of crap in my body (trans fat free, mind you). I'm not the type of girl who is satisfied with one cookie. Two or three? Nah. When I want cookies, I want cookies. Lots of cookies. Like the whole bag. Needless to say, cookies are NOT a staple in the pantry at my house. It's like I can hear the cookies calling my name, beckoning me to eat them. ALL.
OK. Back to my love for cooking Good For You food. Tonight was one of the good nights…a night with no ginger snaps since I resisted the urge to walk down the cookie aisle at Kroger today. A night of healthy food. And It. Was. Good.
So I'm going to share because it was THAT good. Especially if you like fish tacos, but don't love the massive amount of calories and fat that come with it when you order them at restaurants. It made a pretty presentation, too…I wish I had a picture to share, but Matthew and I had already snarfed down half of our dinner before it even crossed my mind to snap one.
Just a word of caution: The aroma from this dish will cause all fish loving creatures who reside in the house to go crazy. My beloved George had to go to kitty-jail during preparation and dinner. It smelled so good he lost his walnut-sized kitty mind. He climbed the curtains. He tried to snatch the fish off the counter. He was a bad kitty.
Here goes…
Fish Taco (minus the tortillas) Bowl
Servings: 2
1 cup of brown rice or long grain wild rice
2 tilapia fillets (4 oz. each)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8-1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, depending on how much heat you like
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
3/4 cup of frozen corn, thawed
1 cup of canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 avocado
1/2-3/4 cup of fresh cilantro
lime juice (optional)
1. Cook the brown rice or long grain wild rice. I like to cook mine a little differently…I fill a large pot with 8-10 cups of water and bring it to a boil. Once its boiling hard, I dump in 1 cup of rice; boil it on high, uncovered for 30 minutes; drain it and return it to the pot; put a tight fitting lid on and let it steam for another 15-20 minutes or so. I've found this keeps the rice from getting all clumped up.
2. While the rice is steaming, mix together the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.
3. Press both sides of the tilapia fillets in the seasoning mixture.
4. Add the EVOO to a large pan, and cook the tilapia until it's done. I usually cook each side for 5-7 minutes on medium-ish heat and only flip once.
5. While the fish is cooking (and your cat is going crazy), dice the red bell pepper and onion, and drain and rinse a can of black beans. If you don't rinse thoroughly, the beans take longer to cook and make the other veggies mushy. Gag.
6. Once the fish is cooked, remove it from the pan and set it aside. Mix the pepper, onion, corn, and black beans (along with any remaining spices from the fish) in the pan used to cook the fish. Don't rinse the pan or remove any of the remaining oil. You'll need it! Cook the mixture for 5-7 minutes. You want the onions and peppers still kind of firm, but you want everything to be hot.
7. Layer the rice (I used less than 2 cups in each bowl), 1/2 of the peppers and bean mixture, 1/4 cup or so of fresh cilantro, and one of the fillets (cut in to strips) in a large bowl.
8. Top the creation with 1/4 avocado and lime juice (if you like lime juice).
Let me just say…yummy. And it had less than 500 or so calories (depending on how much rice you use).
Pair it with a margarita or Mexican beer, and it's like you're sitting in Cozumel at a beach-side Mexican restaurant. Minus the sand, sun, warm weather, ocean…OK you get the picture. It's not like you're on a Mexican vacation at all. But I bet if you had enough tequila in your margaritas you could fool yourself!!
I'm going to try it next time with quinoa. I love that stuff.
And I think I'm going to add 1/2 a seeded and diced jalapeño in with the red pepper and onion mixture to make it a bit spicier.
