High Maintenance Mom

I've had some of the curry sauces before. I thought they were good, but the kids thought they were too spicy (especially the green curry). Last night I tried the Pepita Simmer Sauce for the first time. It says "spicy" on the bottle, so I was a bit worried the kids wouldn't eat it. I have to say, I was a bit disappointed. It looked and tasted very much like LaVictoria chunky salsa. I guess I was expecting something different. I didn't really follow the cooking directions (cook chicken, beef, tofu, etc. until done, add sauce and simmer until hot), so maybe that was part of the problem. Instead, I poured the sauce over whole pieces of chicken (with skin and bones) in a big baking dish, covered with foil, and baked it for an hour. I took the foil off and broiled it for a few minutes to brown the skin at the end. Don't get me wrong, it was tasty, but I could've used some of the salsa from the giant Costco jug I already have open in the fridge.

I have two pieces of leftover chicken as well as a lot of the sauce from the cooking pan. I think I'll shred the meat, heat it with the sauce and roll or layer it onto tortillas for an enchilada casserole. This is usually a big hit (as long as there aren't any beans or recognizable veggies in it - then it becomes too tedious to pick them all out for the preschool set) with everyone and it also freezes well.

I've never had TJ's version, but I do have a great recipe for a soy/orange marinade that I use a lot on fish. Measurements are approximate, but here goes:

Ingredients:

*1 lb. fresh fish fillets (anything works- halibut, swordfish, catfish) or peeled, medium shrimp

3 Tbl. soy sauce
2 Tbl. oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tbl. chopped fresh or pickled ginger
Zest of 1 orange

Optional: 2 chopped green onions and/or 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Preparation:

Put fish in a ziplock baggie with remaining ingredients. Turn to coat and let marinate from 15 minutes (if pressed for time) to one hour (thicker fish fillets). Remove fish from marinade and either bake in a 450 degree oven, pan-cook in a hot frying pan, or grill for 10 minutes per inch of thickness and the fish flakes easily.

Good garnished with chopped cilantro and served with steamed rice topped with toasted sesame seeds.

*This is also great with boneless skinless chicken. Marinade at least an hour or even as long as overnight. Cook at 375 in a covered baking dish for 45 minutes. Slice before serving and spoon some of the pan juices over the top before garnishing.

I bet you would end up with a good salad dressing if you took the marinade ingredients and added more oil, some of the juice from the orange and some red wine and rice vinegars.