Meg Goes Nom Nom

Happy Labor Day friends! I hope that Labor Day means some time off for you, like it does for me. Three day weekends are such a gift. And today, I have a gift for you!

I can’t remember the last time I was as fired up to make a recipe as I was for these Fish Stick Tacos!

There are basically four elements to these fish stick tacos:

• slaw
• avocado crema
• fish
• tortillas

First, I got a batch of fish sticks baking in a hot oven.

Second, I got working on that slaw. A zingy combination of ingredients made for a wonderful coleslaw dressing, including tangy sour cream, creamy mayo, smoky minced chipotle in adobo, fresh lime juice, salt, pepper, and a splash of red wine vinegar to brighten things up.

To make things easy on yourself, I suggest purchasing a pre-cut slaw. I love the organic broccoli slaw with carrots and red cabbage that my grocery store offers. Toss the slaw in that zingy dressing.

Thirdly, it’s time for that avocado crema.

To achieve a thick, smooth, creamy sauce, I used my mini food processor, but you could also simply mash the crema ingredients together using a fork. Sour cream, avocado, lime juice, salt, garlic, made a lovely sauce, that I thinned out slightly with just a splash of milk.

To prepare the tacos, across the middle of each heated corn tortilla, I placed a dollop of avocado crema, and two fish sticks.

Then add a big scoop of that smoky, crunchy slaw to the top of each taco.

Finally, finish with a spritz of lime!

I have made these twice in the last two weeks and I am officially obsessed! I find the idea of using fish sticks to be brilliant! I adore fish tacos, but they’re not something I usually make myself. My ideal fish taco has breaded, fried, crispy pieces of fish inside, and I’m usually not up for frying up batches of fish myself, at home, for tacos. To me, that’s just a bit too much labor for a weeknight meal. Fish sticks offered up super delicious and easy protein for taco night!

If possible, you might consider purchasing an environmentally-friendly, sustainable brand of fish sticks for this dish. Cooking Light suggests “Ian’s,” for which I have been on the lookout.

I expect these Fish Stick Tacos to make many appearances in the MGNN kitchen. Enjoy!

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Fish Stick Tacos

Recipe from Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons light sour cream, divided
• 2 tablespoons canola mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided
• 1 tablespoon chopped chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lime rind
• 3/8 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups packaged cabbage-and-carrot coleslaw
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 ripe peeled avocado, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 16 sustainable frozen fish sticks (such as Ian’s; about 8 ounces)
• Cooking spray
• 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 8 lime wedges

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Combine 1 tablespoon sour cream, mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon lime juice, chipotle, sugar, vinegar, rind, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add coleslaw; toss to coat.
3. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sour cream, remaining 1 tablespoon lime juice, remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt, milk, avocado, and garlic in a mini food processor; process until smooth.
4. Arrange frozen fish sticks in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 27 minutes or until browned and crisp, turning once  [or, cook per package instructions].
5. Heat tortillas according to package directions. Top each tortilla with about 1 tablespoon avocado mixture, 2 fish sticks, and 1/3 cup slaw mixture. Serve with lime wedges.

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My rating: 9.2/10