I'm sure you've all heard of and have seen the Gorton's Fisherman: the bearded man at a boat's helm, wearing a yellow rain coat and hat. He's the icon of Gorton's Seafood of Glouster, Massachusetts, a historic brand in business since 1849. The company strives to provide high quality seafood products that surpass the consumer's expectations. I must say, they sure surpassed mine.
I'm a big fan of seafood. I know all about its health benefits: it's lean, full of vitamins and minerals such as iron, zinc, vitamins A, B, D and the best source of omega-3s. Omega 3s have been proven to enhance brain development and considering the fact that a child's brain quadruples in size from birth to teenage years, it's one of best "brain foods" to feed your children.
My in-laws live on the water in Florida. We visit them often, and while there, eat seafood every chance we get. But I live in land-locked western North Carolina. There's very few chances for truly fresh seafood in the mountains. And who wants to eat frozen when you've spoiled your taste buds with yummy fresh fish?
Recently, Gorton's sent me free coupons to sample their products. Anyone that knows me knows I rarely pass up free. What do I have to lose? Everyone's been talking about fish tacos and I have yet to try them so this was as good an opportunity as any. Gorton's even sent some recipes with the coupon and I combined two that looked most interesting (you'll find their recipes at http://gortons.com/recipes; I used the recipe for Authentic Fish Tacos and Down Home on the Ranch Fish Canoes). The recipe below serves 4.
Ingredients:
- 1 small onion, peeled and minced
- 1 (11oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
- 1 (15 or 16oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 tomato, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro (can use parsely if you prefer)
- 2-3 tablespoons prepared salsa
- juice of 1/2 lime
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 package Gorton's Crunchy Breaded Fish Fillets (or really, any other variety you choose)
- 1 cup Mexican blend shredded cheese
- 1 cup shredded cabbage or iceberg lettuce (I used red cabbage)
- 1/2 cup prepared low fat Ranch salad dressing (optional)
- 10 flour or crunchy taco shells, warmed OR 12 large chilled iceberg or romaine lettuce leaves (I used butter lettuce leaves)
Directions:
1. Prepare Gorton's fish according to package instructions.
2. To make salsa, combine onion, corn, black beans, tomato, cilantro, salsa and salt and pepper in a bowl. Add lime juice and mix well.
3. To assemble tacos, add a few tablespoons of salsa to bottom of taco shell, top with cut-up fish, and about 1 tablespoon each of cabbage or lettuce, cheese and ranch dressing.
Note: we found the ranch dressing to be unnecessary; the tacos were juicy and jummy without the extra calories of the dressing. And since I am on a low-carb diet, I substituted lettuce leaves for the taco shell.
The result was a delicious dinner enjoyed by my whole family. My 6-year old daughter wasn't pleased to hear we were having fish for dinner but when she tried a bite of Gorton's Crunchy Breaded Fish Fillet, she said "This fish is so good; I love it". She ended up asking for more fish and enjoyed building her own tacos. The fish was nice and crunchy and had fantastic flavor. Even though we used crunchy fish, the meal didn't taste greasy at all; you can definitely substitute any of Gorton's grilled fish but we liked the crunch of the fried variety. I can't wait to make this again; so glad I have a big bag of Gorton's fish waiting in the freezer!
Want to try Gorton's product for dinner with your family? Enter for a chance to win one of three FREE product coupons!
The coupon is good for any Gorton's Frozen Seafood Item. The expiration date is 3/31/2013.
How to win:
- Leave a comment at the end of this article by 11pm Monday, April 16th, 2012. Be sure to use a valid email address. Let me know which Gorton's product you would use the coupon to try.
- You may enter one time every day to increase your chances to win.
- "Like" us on Facebook and look for extra ways to gain additional entries.
The fine print:
- You must be a Macaroni Kid Hickory subscriber to enter the contest. If you are not a subscriber and choose to enter this giveaway, you are authorizing us to use your email to subscribe you to our awesome newsletter. Comments with invalid emails will be deleted.
- Odds of winning depend on the number of entries received.
- Three winners will be chosen using random.org and will be notified via email on Tuesday, Apr 17. Winners will have until 5pm to accept the prize and provide a valid mailing address to which the product coupons will be sent; if prize not claimed by this time, another winner will be selected. By accepting the prize, winners give permission for their names to be used in announcements on the website, in the April 19th newsletter and on Facebook.
- No purchase is necessary; you must be 18 or older to enter.