Fish Tacos and Shrimp Fajitas

All week long, I've been wondering what to serve for dinner tonight. Should I go with a vegetarian meal, or should I go with shellfish? Davis has already made it clear that he's not a fan of broiled fish fillet, but I was not about to serve a deep fried supper. That left crustaceans. But what to do with them? I have a great shrimp stew recipe, which I'll eventually make, but the boys don't really like it that much. I wanted something everybody would enjoy. I could have cooked crab cakes, except that crab meat costs an arm and a leg. Crab cakes work much better in the summer when we can catch the crabs right off the dock.

So what was I going to make for dinner? By 3:00 today, I was till undecided, but then someone on the radio mentioned Mexican food, and it hit me: shrimp fajitas! And since I was making fajitas, I might as well make fish tacos, because ever since my friend Beth turned me on to them, I've been a big fan.

Off to the Publix seafood counter I went, and I must say the meal was a success--even more so because a Tex-Mex meal looks faboulous on our new Fiestaware china! That's right! China was on sale half price last week, so we took advantage of the low, low price and bought a service for 12 of this long-standing tabletop favorite.

Okay, now here's how to make dinner. First, I provided the following "accessories" for either dish: diced tomatoes, sliced black olives, sour cream, shredded cheddar, guacamole, shredded lettuce, salsa. I also bought flour tortillas as well as Flat Out tortillas for the one member of my family (me) who sometimes likes to count Weight Watcher points. Tonight I used the spinach variety of Flat Out.

Fish Tacos:
2 tilapia fillets
seasoned salt
1 tbsp. olive oil

Season tilapia with seasoned salt. Put olive oil in electric skillet and heat to 300 degrees. Place fillets in skillet and heat about five minutes per side. Remove from skillet and set fillets aside.

Shrimp Fajitas
2 lb. large shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails off
1 onion
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
taco seasoning mix
2 tbsp olive oil

Cut onion and peppers into little fajita-like strips. Put olive oil in electric skillet and heat to 300 degrees. Add onion and peppers and stir fry until soft. Remove from electric skillet. Put shrimp in electric skillet and stir fry until pink and done. Add taco seasoning mix and 1/2 cup water. Mix seasoning into the water well. When the water/seasoning mix is bubbly, add peppers and onion back to the electric skillet. Reduce heat to simmer and cook a few minutes more until the water is absorbed. Serve with flour tortillas and the above "accessories."

I didn't ask for a verdict this time. My boys are too brutally honest. I couldn't help noticing, though, that Davis went back for seconds, as did Stephen. Lawson ate some shrimp but opted out of the onion and peppers. Clorox meowed at our feet until we gave him a shrimp, which he pushed across the kitchen floor with his tongue before eating. I think he would have preferred it raw.

So another Lenten Friday has passed without forgetting about the "no meat" rule. So far, we're doing pretty good staying on St. Peter's list at the pearly gates.