Salsa Fish with Rice and Beans

I'll tell you what, this dish had us dancing the salsa!  Guacamole was made and waiting in the refrigerator.  I'd had a bag of avocados that were getting to the "I'm going to rot tomorrow" stage.  Sunday, I cut them up and dumped in some diced tomatoes, finely minced onion, garlic, lime juice, Worcestershire and cilantro.  The guacamole sat in the fridge til Wednesday when I was finally home to fix a real dinner.  Monday was lasagna I'd fixed on Sunday and Tuesday was pasta sauce out of the jar.  I know, not the best dinner but better than going down the street to Arby's.  Bleech.  But, Tuesday, we were trying to get the house ready for the carpet to be cleaned.  Here's the end result of the carpet cleaning: our dining room and living rooms are pretty cleared out.  Our kitchen and hall are stacked with furniture.  Knick-knacks are piled everywhere.  How many hours is it going to take to get all of this put back together????  No griping here though.  At least I didn't move like my friend Sara at Caffe Ina.  And, she posted this incredible maple cake a couple of days after she moved.  OMG - how in the world did she do it??? 


So the guacamole is cooling it's heels in the refrigerator.  Connie calls the office about 6:45 and tells me the coast is clear.  I'm just about done with a big asset allocation and I'm more than ready to head home!  But, if I do fish tacos, I've got to stop at the grocery to buy tortillas.  Something about the ones in the refrigerator having an expiration date of August 2010.  Hmmm.  Can you say buried in the refrigerator?  Yup.  I quickly googled, "Mexican Fish."  Up pops a recipe from Allrecipes.  Cool.  It uses jarred salsa.  I had coupons for that so have about four jars.  That's three too many.  And, it's topped with sliced avocados.  Guacamole will do just fine, thank you. 


What did we think?  Going into this meal, I'd have expected a three at best.  Our vote?  A five.  Fantastic.  Totally fantastic.  The fish was so moist and flavorful.  It went perfectly with the rice and beans.  And, the crumbled chips on top.  Just the perfect amount of crunch.  I used catfish instead of the cod the recipe called for.  One other note, if you don't have a Trader Joe's nearby, just kick up a can of well drained and rinsed black beans with a bit of green pepper and onion and chili powder.

Mexican Fish with Rice and Beans
serves 4

Ingredients:
4 catfish filets
1 jar cup salsa
1 c grated cheddar cheese
2 handfuls tortilla chips, crumbled
2 c cooked rice (not two cups of rice, cooked!!!)
1 can Trader Joes Cuban Black Beans
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 c guacamole

Directions:

Lay the catfish filets in a 9x13 baking dish or pan.

Cover each filet with about 1/4 c salsa.

Sprinkle on each filet 1/4 c of the grated cheddar cheese.
Sprinkle the crushed chips over the fish.

Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes or until the fish flakes easily.

While the fish is baking, cook the rice.  When it's done, drain it and toss it in a medium bowl with the black beans. 

Just before serving, add the chopped red onion.  I also like to add a little red wine vinegar and olive oil.

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Serve with the rice and beans, then the fish, then a good dollop of guacamole.  If you'd like, you can also add some sour cream.