Nautical Tablescape With Mahi Mahi Baked Tacos Recipe!

Living in SW Florida means we have access to fresh fish daily.

And of course a nautical tablescape is a must.

So it seemed fitting that I provide a easy to make baked fish taco and set up a pretty easy peasy nautical tablescape for the “catch of the day”.

For my nautical tablescape, I used the Kitchen nook to set up my Seafood theme.  I used a blue and white striped  lighthouse that I bought several years ago from Hobby Lobby in Kansas City. (you can do the math…it is old)…along with a blue and white row boat.   Love love love the crisp nautical look of blue and white. 

You know they say hindsight is 20/20 and in hindsight as I look and sort through my pics….I should have placed a white tablecloth on the round glass table. …that way the rug beneath the table would not photo bomb my pics.  😉  oh well folks….just keeping it real. 

I picked up the seafaring plates at Baell’s Department store last year. There is a crab, anchor and Starfish.  The lobster plate was out of stock at the time and I just never checked on it and instead found another anchor plate at HomeGoods or Marshalls….can’t remember exactly where.

The Navy blue napkins are from Pier 1 (also several years ago) and I placed them on top of the rattan charger and underneath the white dinner plate.

I love the little white Adirondack chairs which can double as a place card holder…I found them  at Pier 1.

The sea gull and sail boat was another purchase from Hobby Lobby in Kansas City.  I believe I am going to paint the sail boat white…just haven’t got around to it yet. 🙁

The blue goblets are a Target on-line purchase and the red handled flatware …well, I have had them so long that I honestly don’t remember where I purchased them.

I debated on using my all navy blue flatware or my all white flatware OR a mixture of red, white and blue….as you can see, I decided on the all red….though the all blue would have worked just as well….perhaps better now that I think about it. 🙂

The sea shells are some of my collection that I have picked up mostly on Sanibel Island here in Florida!  

The beach on Sanibel is rated as the most popular for collecting sea shells and I just took a bit of fish netting and gathered up a few of my collection and sat them on the tablescape.  I also placed a few of them around the burlap table runner which I thought resembled sand.  The rattan chargers are sitting on red oblong place mats that I had out for the 4th of July which I had not put away yet. ;(

Soooooo, what to serve with a nautical themed tablescape?

Why Fresh Fish Tacos of course!

I used fresh mahi mahi which is dolphin….no, not Flipper dolphin or Winter or Hope dolphins…different looking fish completely!….and simply delish!

I also made my taco shells by placing soft pliable corn tortillas draped over the oven racks but you can get your taco shells already made up at the supermarket.  I do have to confess that I had a bit of drip over in the bottom of my oven so you might want to consider that.  That was because I sprayed the tortillas to make them a bit crispy. 

I also like to use El Pato brand tomato sauce for any of my Mexican (or any other kind of cooking)….see above cans….and you can buy them at Walmart, if not on your grocer’s shelf.

So there you have it my dear readers….

An easy peasy meal AND with just a little effort…a pretty  nautical tablescape to serve your meal.

The handy dandy printable recipe is below.

I’d love to hear from you!  Please leave a comment! ????

Baked Fish Tacos.....Yum!

2016-07-11 07:46:46

This is a baked corn tortilla with a wonderful fried fresh fish filling taco. However, you can use ground beef if fish tacos are not your thing. But living in Florida...we love our fresh fish.

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Ingredients

1. 8 corn tortillas
2. fresh grouper or mahi mahi, cut in 1 inch cubes and lightly breaded in panko crumbs (OR you can use 1 pound lean ground beef if fish tacos are not your thing.)
3. 8 ounces refried beans
4. 8 ounce can tomato sauce (I use El Pato brand tomato sauce)
5. 1 1/2 tablespoons taco seasoning (about half of a package, more if you like spicy)
6. 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
7. taco toppings: shredded lettuce, avocado, chopped shallots or onions, tomatoes; sour cream; chopped cilantro; etc.

Make the crispy taco shells

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Meanwhile soften the tortillas in a damp paper towel for about 20-30 seconds in the microwave. Then spray each shell with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Carefully pull out the top oven rack and drape tortillas over rungs so they are hanging upside down and forming taco shape. (or you can use premade taco shells.)
3. Bake for about 6-8 minutes, until crisp, then carefully (don't break the shell) remove from the oven with tongs and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
4. Turn oven temp to 400 degrees, then spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the filling by browning the fish chunks in a little hot oil until lightly browned (do not over cook as these are going into the oven for about 10 more minutes. If using ground beef, brown in a heavy skillet and drain excess grease
6. If making fish tacos, drain and set the fish aside while mixing up the tomato sauce, refried beans, and taco seasoning. Heat on medium-low for a few minutes to heat through. (If making ground beef tacos, mix tomato sauce, beans and seasoning together.
7. Fill each cooled taco shell with the beans/seasoning/tomato sauce and add the chunks of fish or just fill with the ground beef meat mixture. Stand each filled shell up in prepared pan. Sprinkle with cheese, and bake just until the cheese melts (about 10 minutes).
8. Serve with your favorite salsa, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese, avocado, etc

Notes

1. You can also use shredded cooked chicken, fresh shrimp or any other meat of your preference.

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