My New Best Friend and Fish Tacos with Garlic Aioli

I refuse- REFUSE!- to drink tap water. Why? I’ve lived in Abilene for almost 23 years and practically gag every time I am forced to drink water from the tap. Last semester, I took Natural Hazards with a professor who also refuses to drink Abilene water. He runs tests on the creeks and lakes in and around Abilene, and though he would not state what he found, he would only say that he will only drink bottled water. 

Well, what if you can’t afford to drink bottled water every single day and/or don’t have a refrigerator with a built-in filtered water dispenser?  Nathan and I would go through a case and half of water each WEEK. On average, a 24-pack of water is $3 or more. That’s almost $20 a month on water. 

So, I turned to Amazon and found my new best friend:

This is the PUR 18-cup filtered water dispenser. It was only $26.87 with Amazon Prime. It holds 18 cups- the equivalent of nine bottles of water. To give you an idea of how much water we consume, we usually fill this up once a day or so.  It’s a cheaper alternative to bottled water and a tastier alternative to tap water!

Now it’s on to the good stuff. As promised, tonight I made fish tacos with garlic aioli. I served the tacos with cilantro lime rice and sautéed corn. THEY WERE AMAZING! I buy the frozen tortilla crusted tilapia at HEB or United and have been serving it on its own with the rice and corn. Last Friday my mother and I had lunch at The Beehive in Abilene and their lunch special was fish tacos. They used the tortilla crusted tilapia and it was delicious! Inspired, I decided to try making them myself!

  

Fish Tacos with Garlic Aioli, Cilantro Lime Rice, and Sautéed Corn

Ingredients:

Tacos:

1 package frozen tortilla crusted tilapia- $5

4 tortillas

Toppings of your choice (I used lettuce, tomato, and cheese)

Garlic Aioli: (I had all of these ingredients)

½ cup mayonnaise

½ cup Greek yogurt

1 tsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

Cilantro Lime Rice & Sauteed Corn  (I had all of these ingredients)

1 package Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice

1 can of regular corn

2 tbsp dried cilantro (or fresh)

Juice from 1 lime

Olive oil

Servings: 4

Total: $5

* I had most of these ingredients at home. The only item I purchased was the tortilla crusted tilapia!

Directions:

Prepare fish according to directions on package.

Combine mayonnaise and Greek yogurt. Add olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix well and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Prepare rice according to package. Heat olive oil in your pan and add corn. Sautee for five minutes over medium heat. Next, add cooked rice, cilantro, and lime juice to the pan. Cover and let cook for an additional five minutes.

When the fish is cooked, let it cool and then halve the fillets. Add to the tortillas and top with garlic aioli and toppings of your choice.

Enjoy!