Tartar Sauce and a Grilled Fish Recipe

Most people buy Tartar Sauce

already made in a jar.

But, it's so quick and easy to make

and the fabulous fresh flavor is

WORTH IT!

Tartar Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sweet pickle relish

1 Tbs. sugar

1/2 tsp. dried parsley flakes

1/4 tsp. onion powder

Mix mayonnaise and pickle relish in a medium bowl.

Add the remaining ingredients

and mix well.

Refrigerate the tartar sauce to meld flavors

while you prepare the fish.

I buy these frozen bags of Tilapia when

they are on sale.

You can also use other white fish like cod or catfish.

The tilapia shrinks a LOT when cooked,

so make sure you buy enough.

2 bags feed just two to three people.

Thaw the Tilapia.

Prepare your COLD grill before lighting.

Clean off any debris with a grill brush.

Wipe a light coating of vegetable oil (I use Canola)

over the grates with a paper towel.

Don't use too much or the

grates can catch on fire!

Heat grill to high.

Mix up a half cup of olive oil

with McCormick's Creole Seasoning to taste.

(found with grocery spices)

This seasoning is a bit hot and spicy, so go sparingly at first.

Sprinkle with salt.

You can also add some minced garlic.

Brush this onto the thawed tilapia.

You can sprinkle on more creole seasoning if

you like things hot and spicy.

Grill the fish about 3 minutes on each side.

This is a quick and yummy meal.

My family thinks the fresh tartar sauce

is the star!

Fish Tacos

When we were in San Diego, everyone told us we HAD to try the fish tacos

at Rubios. I couldn't imagine fish on a taco, but

we LOVED them!

The authentic San Diego fish tacos use deep fried fish.

I wanted to figure out a recipe using grilled fish.

It took a few times of trial and error, but this

is the recipe I perfected:

Preparing the Fish

For my family of four, I buy two 1-lb. bags of frozen Tilapia fillets.

This way, we have some leftovers for lunch the next day.

Marinade

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 packet of Taco Seasoning Mix (find by Taco fixin's in Mexican food section)

Juice from 1/2 fresh lime

Heaping TBS minced garlic from the jar

Mix up the marinade and brush it on the thawed Tilapia fillets.

Set aside to marinate for about a half hour.

Prepare the grill by oiling it lightly.

BEFORE you turn on the grill, use a wire brush to remove any debris on grill.

Pour vegetable oil (I use Canola) onto a paper towel.

Wipe the oil onto the grill grate.

One time, I put on too much oil and the grates caught  fire!

So, go LIGHTLY with the oil.

This will keep the fish from sticking.

Heat grill to high.

While grill is heating make the:

Salsa

4 large tomatoes seeded and chopped

1/2 cup red onion chopped

1 serrano chili peppers seeded and chopped

3 TBS fresh cilantro chopped

2 TBS fresh lime juice

2 TBS olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste.

The seeds in the serrano chili peppers are HOT!

Cut in half lengthwise, flip on your garbage disposal,

then immediately put cut pepper under running cold water.

Remove seeds with cold water running over them, and do not take pepper out of running water

until the seeds have gone down the drain and been ground by the disposal.

Chop the pepper, onion and tomatoes...

Mix together in a bowl with the cilantro, olive oil and lime juice.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Also mix up:

White Sauce

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 TBS. fresh lime juice

2 seranno chili peppers, finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Repeat the seeding process for the serrano chili pepper

and finely chop.

Mix all the ingredients together.

Salt and pepper to taste.

I snip chives from my herb garden on top, but that's optional.

With grill heated, cook Tilapia directly on the hot grate.

Cook for about 4 minutes.

Flip over and grill the other side.

When fillets are cooked through, transfer to a cutting board,

and run a large knife through them.

You can use hard or soft taco shells.

We prefer hard.

Cover a cookie pan with foil and spread out hard shells.

I LOVE the new Stand 'N Stuff Shells by Old El Paso!

Crisp shells at 300-degrees for 10 minutes.

Soft taco tortillas can be wrapped in a clean, damp dish towel and

microwaved for 30-60 seconds to steam them.

Layer the tacos with fish first, then salsa, then the white sauce.

You can also add shredded cabbage.

This makes an awesome summer meal!