Tilapia Fish Tacos

Today after school, Scott told me that he was craving tacos (this is not news... that boy is always craving tacos).  I reminded him that I was on a diet and I'd rather not be tempted by eating at a Mexican restaurant, where I knew I'd order the wrong thing or overeat.  Besides, we just went grocery shopping and we have tons of food left over.  But he couldn't get the taco bug out of his brain, so I finally convinced him to make tacos at home.  I wasn't going to have any, but I went to the grocery store with him to get tortillas and ground beef, which is where I saw some fresh tilapia on sale.  I'm no dummy... I know that when fish goes on sale, that it's probably not as fresh as it could be, or that it is nearing its expiration date.  But I figured if I used it to make fish tacos today, it would probably be just fine.  And BOY am I glad I made the decision to buy it!

My favorite fish tacos are at Ragtime Cafe, where the fish is well-seasoned and topped with some home-made cole slaw, nothing else.  I didn't have any cole slaw or cabbage at home, but I could improvise.

I seasoned the tipalia filets with a spice blend I made that I thought best replicated their recipe: 1/2 teaspoon of each: cumin, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and chili powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons of no-salt seasoning, and a pinch of salt.  Then I got a small frying pan searing hot and cooked the filets about 1-2 minutes on each side (it doesn't take long to cook tilapia!).  I warmed up some 6" tortillas and shredded some romaine lettuce, which I tossed with just a smidge of my favorite salad dressing: Ken's Steakhouse Light Sweet Vidalia Onion.  That's all I needed... tortilla, fish, salad, and a squeeze of fresh lime.  They were almost exactly like my favorite tacos from Ragtime, but much cheaper and probably a lot healthier!  They clock in at just about 300 calories for two tacos, which was plenty enough to fill me up, and I was HONGRY.

I have some leftover tilapia, so I will probably make these again for lunch tomorrow... quick and easy!