Chicken Fajita Tacos

I really don't care for meat all that much, but I guess the one meat that I don't mind every once in a while boneless, skinless, chicken breast.  One of my favorite ways to eat chicken is in the form of chicken fajitas.  I love tender strips of chicken, scrumptiously seasoned and cooked perfectly.  For this meal I took the same idea and turned them into tacos (with crunchy corn tortillas) instead of fajitas (with soft flour tortillas and onions and bell peppers).

You will need:

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp lime juice

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp Seasoning Salt  <---Here is a recipe for mine w/out MSG.

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

2 large chicken breasts

I cut each breast in half, length wise and then I cut them into strips.

Combine all of the marinade for the chicken and then mix everything together.  Let sit in a bowl for 15-20 minutes at room temperature.

In a skillet or saute' pan (I am using a cast iron fajita pan.) melt 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat.

Once the butter is melted add your strips of chicken.  Be careful not to over fill your pan.

After a few minutes flip the chicken to continue cooking the other side.  Look at all of those yummy bits of seasoning.

You might want to turn your vent on over your stove, it can become smokey, but that's a good thing!

This is what you want.  You want it to be caramelized with all of those tasty seasonings.

It is imperative to make your own taco shells!  They are too good and too easy to pass up.  Fill with your chicken and whatever else you'd like... lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, salsa, sour cream, extra lime... I think you get the idea.

For a how-to on making your own taco shells click here --->Homemade Taco Shells

Homemade Taco Shells

It's really very easy to make your own homemade taco shells and makes all of the difference on "Taco Night"!  Before you start the process decide how many taco shells you will need per person and set aside that many corn tortillas and paper towels (I have also used flour sack towels and they work great, too.)

Heat canola oil or regular olive oil (not extra virgin) in a small fry pan.  I have chosen to use pure olive oil.  Heat the oil over medium heat.  It is imperative that you wait until the temperature is just right before frying your tortilla otherwise your tortilla will soak up all of that oil and it will be just plain gross!  A great way to tell when your oil is hot enough is by taking a wooden spoon, turn it upside down and putting it down in the middle of the oil.  Once the temperature is hot enough you will see tiny bubbles going up the spoon and then moving away from the spoon.  Here is what it will look like:

With tongs place your tortilla flat into the oil and leave for a few seconds.  You want it to crisp up a little, but not too much.

Flip the tortilla over and carefully fold one side and prop open with the tongs.  Here is where you are making room for the taco filling of your choice.

Flip and cook the other side and then when both sides are nice and golden, tilt and drain to get rid of any excess oil.

Even though it is nice and warm, wrap it nice and tight (be careful not to break the shell) in a paper towel to absorb the excess oil and keep it from becoming soggy.

Proceed until you fry up all of your tortillas.  If you have more than I have here then place them in a dutch oven with the lid on to keep them warm.  This process can take a while.

Unwrap, fill with your favorite taco filling and enjoy!

Taco Tuesday

Tuesday nights in our house are Mexican food nights and some of those nights will include homemade tacos. My guys love them, ok, so do I! Sometimes I fill them with the traditional beef taco meat, other times grilled or shredded chicken or numerous other fillings.  Years ago I quit buying the product that you see above. Even before I wanted to clean up my pantry from processed items I grew tired of the commercial taste of packaged taco seasoning and started just throwing my own favorite seasonings into the skillet with the meat, onions and garlic.

Now that I am more aware of the ingredients in packaged foods I was curious to see exactly what is in these cute little packets. I am pleased to know that McCormick has not added MSG to their packages similar to the one above, but it does include these ingredients: ONION, POTATO STARCH, WHEY SOLIDS (MILK), SALT, SPICES (INCLUDING CHILI PEPPER, OREGANO, AND CUMIN), PAPRIKA, SUGAR, GARLIC, AND CITRIC ACID. It doesn't sound too bad at a glance, however people with dairy allergies probably wouldn't be happy with the whey solids and why do we need more sugar as well as the added citric acid?

We rarely have meat be the main focus of our meals anymore, but when we do I usually try to buy organic. I know that buying organic meat is more expensive, but when you are using less meat you can afford to splurge a little bit. Here is how I personally make our tacos and they are yummy, if I do say so myself!

Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound lean ground beef OR ground turkey/chicken breast
1 1/2 TBSP Mel's Taco Seasoning (recipe below)
1 8oz can tomato sauce
salt
pepper

Since your meat is going to be lean, I add several drizzles of olive oil to a skillet and then add the chopped onion. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, not too much because you will be adding more later.   Once the onion starts to soften just a little I add the garlic.

Cook the garlic for a couple of minutes and then add the meat.

Cook until the meat is browned and cooked through. There shouldn't be any fat floating in the skillet, but you may have some moisture from the onions and meat come out.  Here I am cooking with 4% fat, lean organic beef.  If you have this moisture take a turkey baster and take all of this liquid out.

Add the taco seasoning and mix thoroughly.

Mix thoroughly and then follow with the 8oz can of tomato sauce.

Combine, reduce heat to low and simmer until the sauce is heated through.  See below, no greasy tacos here!

When cooking homemade tacos, regardless of the filling, it really is a must to fry up your own taco shells. I prefer white corn tortillas for some reason.  Not that I have anything against yellow corn tortillas or even blue corn, they're my friends too.  You could use canola oil here or regular olive oil (not extra virgin) for the frying. Heat the oil over medium heat and then add your corn tortilla and allow to cook for a few seconds on one side and then flip. Once you have flipped it, fold over one side and using your tongs prop it open a bit creating a nice pocket for the filling. Cook until a light golden color and then flip, continuing to keep it propped open. Once you finish frying the tortilla, wrap each tortilla in a paper towel like it's a blanket, stuffing the ends of the towel into the middle of the taco shell.  This will absorb any remaining oil and will keep them from getting soggy.  If you are making many, place all of the wrapped taco shells in a dutch oven with the lid on. This will keep them from getting soggy and will keep them warm. If you would rather see pictures of this process, please click here--->Making Homemade Taco Shells

You can top your taco filling with so much: lettuce, spinach, cheese, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, tomatoes, etc. Enjoy!

Mel's Taco Seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp seasoning salt...Click here for that recipe.---> Mel's Seasoning Salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

Mix together and store in an airtight container. This makes around 3 Tbsp of seasoning and can be easily doubled.  Use 1 1/2 Tbsp per one pound of meat or other taco filling of your choosing. 

This is a very mild, but flavorful, taco seasoning, because our son can not handle heat yet. To make the seasoning more spicy add chili powder, cayenne pepper or red chile flakes. If you add cayenne or chili powder to your mix yours will be more red than the one above.  You can also add red chile flakes to the taco recipe above when you add the garlic. That is what I did pre-children and it was yummy!