Favorite Family Recipes: PinkSodaPop

June 22, 2009 at 7:59 AM by Cafe Kim - Comments (10)

Photo by PinkSodaPop

I'm always posting my own family's favorite recipes. That's why I thought it might be fun each week to devote a post to YOUR favorite family recipes. After all, CafeMoms are such great cooks. Here's one from PinkSodaPop for Disappearing Fish Ole!, which can be grilled on the barbecue or even over coals on the beach!

Here's what PinkSodaPop had to say about why her family likes this recipe so much:

We just love this meal because it's fast, simple, and tremendously tasty. We can make it together easily, and it's fun even for the kids to get involved when we do cookouts! They assemble their own "packets" and feel so darn proud afterwards. It's also nice that you can "eat" out of the container when cooking out at the beach, and it's awesomely appealing to the taste buds!

Here's the recipe with PinkSodaPop's helpful notes:

Disappearing Fish Ole! Over White Rice

Boneless, skinless, white fish fillets, fresh or frozen, 2-3 oz. per person (Flounder, tilapia, or grouper is usually what we use).

Butter or a very close substitute (A lot of flavor comes from using real butter. Even when used more sparingly than the directions say, real butter will turn out better and less "watery" than using a "water-based" margarine or other butter/margarine substitute butter.

Your favorite jarred salsa (You can also make fresh, but keep in mind the hotness of some salsa's will intensify by oven cooking—especially if you make it homemade with real fresh jalapenos! We used medium hot, but you can use any hotness level you desire! We like Pace, but you can also use just about any kind under the sun! We used a southwestern one last time we threw this recipe together, and it had corn and black beans in it. It was ULTRA FAB!)

Seasonings (Use these seasonings to your taste, meaning a light dusting of each on each portion of fish and eliminate any you do not like. Please eliminate the chili powder and red pepper flakes if you don't want it too spicy!)

• Garlic powder (not salt!)
• Garlic chunks
• Onion powder
• Onion flakes
• Black pepper
• Red pepper (If you want to spice it up a bit more!)
• Chili powder (If you want to spice it up a bit more!)

Aluminum foil

Cooked white rice

Place a portion-sized fish fillet into the center of the aluminum foil (I usually use a piece of foil torn off from the roll that is about the length of a keyboard! Hehe!) Lightly sprinkle each seasoning over the fish fillet. Place two 1/2-inch thick pats of butter (about 2 teaspoons) on top of the fish fillet.

Place 3 tablespoons of salsa over the butter. Fold up the sides of your foil packet to meet the edges lengthwise, and then seal the ends of the packets by pulling up the excess foil on the edge and scrunching it together to seal it. Make sure that all sides are well-sealed and slightly pointed upward to make sure the juices do not escape when cooking. The fish juices, and butter, and salsa will become a hot liquid inside of the packet, so you don't want this to escape the packet!

Forming a handle with the foil allows me to easily handle it over the grill.

Bake the fish at 375 for approximately 25-35 minutes depending on the size of the fillets, or until the fish is flaky and cooked thoroughly. Serve packets and all packet contents over hot, steamy cooked rice. If you time this right,  the rice is finished just about the time the fish is finished for a perfectly timed marriage on the plate! The liquid contents of the packet are a great "rice dressing" for the fish, which is also served over top of the rice.

You can also top this meal with different condiments/additions after cooking for presentation: a bit more of fresh cold salsa, sharp cheddar cheese shreds, sour cream...think Mexican-style and taco night, and experiment with different additional toppings!

I like to serve this meal with fresh steamed broccoli or asparagus, and I also like to sometimes serve it with warm flour tortillas (homemade, of course!).

Send me your favorite family recipe, and I'll post it here next week!

FILED UNDER: family meals, food, grilling, kid-friendly, recipes