Chicken tacos/burritos

I took 2 chicken breasts, cut them into chunks and seasoned with my favorite seasonings. You can use whatever seasonings you like. I like to use a season all salt,garlic powder, CUMIN(cumin is a MUST in any tex mex or Mexican dish), and pepper.

I let that "marinate" for about 30 min.

Then take your chicken and place in a hot skillet. I did not use oil, rather just some cooking spray. This will aid in keeping the calories down. Cook until browned (about 10 min. on med.-high heat).

While the chicken was browning I took a can of beans, placed in a pot with about a quarter cup of diced onions, slice fresh jalapenos and chopped cilantro.

Then once that was warmed up(about 5 min. on med. heat) I started to put together the tacos.

I made one like taco bell with the hard shell and the soft. I took 1 flour tortilla and placed some melted Velveeta(processed cheese). This will act as the "glue" so to speak. Then I filled with chicken, the bean mixture, salsa and some spinach leaves(instead of lettuce).

For the burrito, I repeated the process minus the hard shell and added rice.

This time I chose not to use "Sour cream". But, a lighter version is Greek yogurt! I mix in a can of green chili's and it is delicious on any dish!

And waalllaaahhh. Happy eating y'all!

Fish and shrimp tacos

I started out with large shrimp(16-20 count), and some tilapia. You can use any firm fleshed fish. Cut the fish into bite size pieces and then place them in a large ziploc bag with a generous portion of flour(I like to use wondera instant flour) and cornmeal. I used equal portions of each and I just placed enough in the bag to coat all of the meat. Then close the bag and shake vigorously.

I personally don't like to deep fry but, you could if you would like. I think that it takes so much oil and I tell myself that it is healthier if I just pan fry(whatever makes one feel better about their choices. Right?? LOL). So I took a cast iron skillet and covered the pan with about 1" of oil. I use grapeseed oil because it has a lot of nutrients and works great on both high and low heat. Once the oil starts to bubble a little bit, I start to add the meat. I do it in batches b.c you only want a single layer of meat on the pan. And, since you are pan frying, you will need to flip the meat. I let cook about 4-5 min. per side. Once cooked I placed on a towel for any excess oil to drain.

I made both corn and flour tortillas. For the corn tortillas I placed them in the same hot pan(most of the oil is gone by now) and warmed them for about 2 min. per side.
Next I shredded up about 1/3rd of a head of red cabbage, placed in a bowl with salt, pepper, and believe it or not.... (here is a great secret ingredient) Light Cesar's dressing(I like Ken's brand). Just enough to coat the cabbage. It really gives a punch to the tacos!

I also made a copy cat sauce chipolte sauce from a tex mex restaurant called Taco Bueno. I took 1 tub of greek yogurt, 3 tablespoons of Mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons of lime juice, 1 tablespoon of canned chipolte chiles, 2 cloves of minced garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder. Mix well.

Now its time to make the tacos!!!!
Take a tortilla and top with shredded cheese

Top with your fish and shrimp..

Chipolte sauce...
Cabbage...
Serve with a side of beans or rice and guacamole...
And waaalllaaahhhhhaaa. Happy eating y'all!

Tex mex Carne Guisada

Being away from my home state(Texas), I tend to crave some good ol' tex mex!

Since I can not go to a local restaurant.. I have learned to make it on my own!

Do you like the chain of restaurant called Chipolte? Well, this recipe will serve 4 for about the price that you would pay for 1 meal at chipolte and it is amazing delicious!

(I didn't fully roll up for the picture so that you could see this MEGA burrito)
For the Carne Guisada:
Take 2 tblspns. of oil
2 lbs. of chuck roast
2 tblspns. flour
3 ribs of celery, chopped
1 med. onion chopped
2 (or more) fresh jalapenos, chopped
2 cups of beef stock(1 can)
1 tblspn. ketchup
2 tspns ground cumin
1 tspn. whole cumin seeds
1/2 tspn chili powder
I heated the oil in a dutch oven(or you could use a big pot), While that was heating, take the ground chuck, cut into bite size pieces and place into a large ziploc bag along with the flour.Then do what you do when you have shake and bake(lol). Shake the bag until all of the meat is coated. then place in the pot and brown the meat. While the meat is browning, chop up the the celery, onion and jalapnos. Add the vegetables along with the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for about 2 1/2 hours(or until the meat begins to fall apart) and the sauce is thick. And waaalllaaaahhh! Carne Guisada!

To make the burritos:
I added beans, rice, and cheese to the carne guisada.
For a very easy bean recipe...
I took a can of pinto beans and rinsed.
cut up 2 fresh jalapenos(optional)
Placed the jalapenos in a pan with about 1/2 tsp. of oil and cooked until tender(about 5 min.) you could also just use the pickled kind in a jar(then there is no need to cook ahead)
add the rinsed pinto beans along with 1/4 cup of water and 2 teaspoons of garlic(or to your liking)
allow to warm(about 5 min)

Take a large tortilla(I used a healthy spinach version), add your cheese, carne guisada, beans, rice and salsa!

Wallllaaaahhhhh Happy Tex mex y'all!

how to make great tex-mex chicken for tacos

This evening I made chicken tacos. Well, anyone can make tacos right??!!

What makes these tacos unique is how I cooked the chicken.

This recipe is very indicative of Tex-Mex food. I did make it with 2 chicken breasts(or you could use 4 thighs). This makes the dish more low calorie. But I promise, it will not be dry.

I took 2 chicken breasts, topped with the juice of 1/2 lime and seasoned(you could use a pkg. of taco seasoning to make it easy) with Cumin, fajita spice, garlic salt, season salt, paprika, pepper, and ground mustard.

In a dutch oven, I placed a tablespoon of chipolte in adobo sauce(freeze the rest for later), 1 whole habenero and 2 basil leaves. This is just for flavor. You will remove them once the chicken is done. As well as 1/2 of a diced onion. Place the chicken breasts(or thighs) into the dutch oven and place water in the pot until the chicken is covered. About 2 1/2-3 cups and add one cube of chicken bouillon. Place on med.-high heat until it comes to a boil and then move to a low heat and simmer until done(about 25 min.)

Take out the chicken breasts and place on a cutting board. Thinly slice to your liking and place back into the pot for a few min before serving. Since this the white meat and can tend to get dry, placing the meat back into the juices for 3-5 min. allows those juices to really get into the meat.

And wallaahha.. serve on tacos, a salad, or use for meat in enchiladas!

Happy eating y'all!