No Fuss Spicy Chicken Taco Meat

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It's Taco Tuesday and boy do I have a quick "No Fuss" SPICY Chicken Taco Meat recipe for you!!

This is a basic taco meat recipe that was passed on to me by a family that really knows their Mexican cooking!  They make traditional Mexican fare daily but also have a few tricks or fall back recipes for busy weeknights, such as this one.  

The "no fuss" part comes from using a rotisserie chicken that's cooked and ready to go from the grocery store.  Or you can use any leftover chicken you may have, just shred it up!  The opportune word in this title is SPICY, at least to me it is.  

By using a can of El Pato Hot Style Tomato Sauce, that you can pick up in the Latin section of most any grocery store, this will create a sauce with some nice heat to it.  The sauce is made with fresh chilies, tomatoes, onions, cilantro and garlic and has great flavor.  Now chilies have a heat source that hit people differently in their mouth.  This particular chile that is used is way up there for me on the heat scale, but may be milder to others.  So if you haven't tried this sauce before do a taste test before dumping the whole can in with the chicken.  I've already added some water to the recipe to dilute the flavor a little but you can certainly add more if needed.  Also, I would be careful if feeding this to kids, it may be too spicy.

This dish is pretty simple.  Sauté some onions, and then add the chicken and the sauce and some water and let it simmer.  This staple taco meat can be used in anything from tacos, enchiladas, burritos, tostadas to soup.  It's very versatile and you will want to have this recipe in the back of your pocket to pull out every now and again.

Enjoy!





No Fuss Spicy Chicken Taco Meat

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded or leftover shredded chicken
1 can of El Pato Hot Style Tomato Sauce (yellow can)
1/2 cup water
1 Onion, sliced
1 Tbls canola oil

Preheat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add canola oil and allow to warm up.  Add sliced onion to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently about 5 minutes until translucent.  Add shredded chicken, tomato sauce and water.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low.  Simmer about 10 minutes until chicken has warmed through and tomato sauce has cooked down a bit and has thickened.  This should not be a watery sauce.  If need be add additional time to cooking to thicken sauce to your liking.

Use taco meat in enchiladas, soft tacos, tostadas, etc...  Any leftover can be refrigerated for several days.

Herbed Scrambled Eggs in Toast Cups

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We are just loving our spring weather.  We have lots of sunshiny days along with some that they call "May Grey" but either way the days are nice, the flowers are in bloom, and everything seems just fine!

When we have a nice sunny morning on the weekend we tend to gravitate toward our patio.  Mornings are nice and cool, and quiet which makes the perfect atmosphere for sitting down with a nice cup of coffee or tea and enjoying some conversation before the days activities start.

Today we are having breakfast on the patio.  A nice special breakfast, something that is quick and easy to make.  So Herbed Scrambled Eggs are in order and I've placed them in Toast Cups.  Toast cups are simply bread that you place in muffin tins to form "cups" and toast them in the oven.  They are so cute when they come out!  The perfect little vehicle to hold your scrambled eggs.

HERBED SCRAMBLED EGGS IN TOAST CUPS

So get out your muffin tin and make these cute little toast cups.  You can even make them a day ahead and just reheat them.  And what's easier than scrambled eggs.  These have some fresh herbs mixed in along with some cheese to jazz them up a bit.  Add some bacon or sausage and your meal is complete.

Keep these in mind for a nice Brunch party, they are really cute to serve your guests.  Remember to keep it simple, and enjoy the outdoors by having breakfast or brunch on your patio or porch soon!

Enjoy!

Toast Cups

French bread slices
Butter

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Butter on side of the French bread.

Press bread, butter side down, into the cups of a regular sized muffin tin. The crust will be sticking out to help form the cup.

Bake cups in oven for 20 minutes. (Watch so they do not brown too much) They should be slightly browned and crispy.  Remove cups from muffin pan. Set aside. 

Herbed Scrambled Eggs

serves 2 

4 large eggs

1/4 cup 2% milk

salt and pepper

3 Tbls cheese, grated ( I used Swiss cheese)

1 tsp of thyme, chopped
1 tsp of chives, chopped
2 Tbls no-salt butter

Heat butter in a skillet over medium low heat.

In a bowl break eggs and add the milk.  Whisk together until fluffy.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper.  Whisk to combine.

Add eggs and allow to set up on the bottom slightly.  Push edges toward the center and tilt skillet to allow liquid to move to the edges.  Continue cooking and pushing edges to the middle until the eggs are soft and liquid is cooked.  Add herbs and cheese and allow to melt.  Stir to combine and then serve in toast cups if desired.


adapted from Stonegable

Parmesan Peppercorn Dressing over a Garden Salad with Avocado

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There's nothing like a good salad made at home, and even better is a great salad dressing.

Salad dressing is so easy to make at home, and tastes far superior to the bottled dressing you get in the grocery stores.  Once you do it you may never buy bottled again.

We make many of our salad dressings from scratch.  We usually go with an oil based vinaigrette but tonight we are craving a creamy dressing on a cool salad to tame the heat from the main dish.

PARMESAN PEPPERCORN DRESSING

This dressing is full of Parmesan flavor and bit of bite from the peppercorns.  It's perfect on a garden salad with it's cooling flavors.  We decided to make a simple Garden Salad with Avocado and top it with this dressing, which compliments it beautifully.

The dressing is easy to put together.  I just throw everything in a mason jar and shake it up.  I do like my creamy dressing cold so I make this about 1 hour ahead of meal time and refrigerate it well so the seasoning blend well and it is properly chilled.

The dressing is creamy and thick, and if you want a thinner version add more milk to the mix to loosen it up a bit.

Now for the salad.  Sometimes you need a quick salad to round out the meal.  In our case we were eating some spicy Grilled Cuban Flank Steak and wanted something cool to offset the flavors.  This simple salad of butter leaf lettuce mixed with tomato, cucumber, and buttery avocado is the perfect side dish.  Quick to throw together and the Parmesan Peppercorn Dressing is the perfect topper.  Add a few sunflower seeds for a little crunch and you are all set!

Enjoy a fresh salad and make your own dressing!  You'll just love the freshness and ease of making them.  Find both recipes below.

Parmesan Peppercorn Dressing


1 tsp. onion powder
1 garlic clove, finely minced
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
dash of hot sauce (I used Siraccha)
1 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup 2 % low-fat milk
juice from 1 lemon
dash of salt
2 tsp. ground peppercorns
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a medium jar or a bowl, add all ingredients but the Parmesan cheese. Mix together with a spatula. Add Parmesan cheese and mix until blended.

Refrigerate at least 1 hour before using. Drizzle over your favorite salad.

Garden Salad with Avocado

1 head Butter lettuce, torn
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 Persian cucumbers, sliced lengthwise and diced
1 avocado, seeded and diced
sunflower seeds
Parmesan Peppercorn Dressing

In a large bowl add the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and avocado. Toss salad and drizzle with dressing. Sprinkle on sunflower seeds.  Serve.