Lisa’s Texas Chicken Taco Night! {Naptime Tales from the Trenches}
This is the latest installment of my Tales from the Trenches Series. An ongoing series where friends and readers share their stories and recipes about the great food they fit into family life. We all have tips and tricks to share with each other: when we cook, what we cook and how we cook the delicious food we love to eat. If you are interested in contributing a story and recipe please feel free to contact me. Today Lisa, a Texas transplant living in New York City, is sharing her go-to recipe for the homestyle Texas chicken tacos she makes after work with her family. She is a busy working Mom but still maintains her love of cooking. Lisa happens to work at Ellen Hanson Designs. Do you remember when Ellen herself shared her recipe for amazing Chicken Curry? As you can see by the photographs (taken by their friend Kristy Knight) this is a design firm with plenty of talent. When I saw these photographs (turns out the whole office ate tacos for lunch after the photo shoot) I told them they ought to add a food blog to their website!
A popular fall back for unprepared parents is the TACO night. At our house, taco night is chicken tacos with rice and beans garnished with shredded red cabbage, avocados and lime slices. We always add grated cheese and sour cream (or yogurt). My five year old son has had the job of chief grater since the day he could hold himself up on the kitchen stool. Being good Texan transplants, we keep corn and flour tortillas stocked in our crisper drawer. This dish is fun to put together as a family, and it works well if you have no meat in the house – you can sauté almost anything, and if you wrap it in a tortilla with cheese it will taste good!
All the Taco Fixings!
Recipe
Lisa’s Texas Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
What you’ll need:
For taco meat
Chicken breast (antibiotic free/organic if possible)
1 can of Ro-Tel tomatoes( I always have this miracle product but one small can of green chiles and a can of
simple chopped tomatoes works as a substitute)
1 onion (Vidalia or Spanish)
For beans
1 can black or pinto beans
Garlic
Cumin
Chili powder
For rice
Broth (vegetarian or chicken)
Rice
Butter (a smidge)
Salt
Garnishes
Red cabbage
Avocado
Sour Cream or Yogurt
Sliced limes
Cheese – Cheddar or Montery Jack
Olive or canola Oil
Flour and/or corn tortillas (the smallest size)
If you like spice have some hot sauce on the table (el yucateco,
chilula and goyas achiote are faves at our house)
we don’t serve this with salsa unless I have a fresh batch of pico
de gallo already prepared
Instructions
I’m a bit of a speed cooker and I’ll share my tips which make things go faster:
I begin by getting the rice going, I like a rice cooker because I can throw in the ingredients, hit a button, and forget about it. I add the rice, water, a dash of salt and a pat of butter then cover it. I then chop the garlic and onion tossing them into their pans as I go. The garlic goes into a saucepan on medium heat with heating oil and the onion into a cast iron skillet (also medium heat) for the chicken. As those are softening, I chop the chicken into bite-size pieces. When the onions are translucent, I add the chicken. Open the beans and mix them in with the garlic. Stir in salt, pepper, cumin and a little chili powder and leave to simmer. When the chicken looks cooked, open the Ro-Tel and pour it over, mix it in, and raise the heat. I chop my condiments and dispense in to little bowls to be set on the table (quartered limes, avocados, sour cream and cabbage). I call in my grating specialist and get him started. (can’t start him too early because he takes his percentage off the top!)
By this time the rice is finished cooking and while everyone is gathering, I place the tortillas in the microwave wrapped in a clean dishcloth witha sprinkle of water- 45 seconds is usually enough for 6 tortillas (make ‘em as you go). Prep each plate with rice and beans but bring the chicken to the table in a serving bowl. Once you sit no one has to get up for seconds and each person can customize their tacos. My son also likes to prepare his lunch tacos, rolling up a couple on the side of his plate for me to put in his lunch box.
Naptime Notes
Naptime Recipe Serving ideas
Other great fillers:
Eggs
Potatoes
Zucchini/ summer squash
Corn off the cob
Sliced radishes
Sausage or Bacon
Naptime Stopwatch
30 minutes!
Naptime Reviews
Have you ever had a taco in Texas you didn’t like?
The most delicious tacos I have ever had. Thank you!
[…] Check out the recipe for these savory Texas Chicken Tacos at The Naptime Chef. […]