You have to jazz up chicken tacos if you want them to compete with their beefy counterparts. You can with a few snappy ingredients. Just add some garlic, peppers and onions to the ground chicken; toss in some paprika, ancho chili powder, cumin, oregano and cayenne pepper. Ohh…baby! Now this ground chicken is ready to fly! With so much going on in the skillet, you’ll never miss the beef.
For the shells, I use Farmland’s uncooked tortillas with no preservatives, that you can find in the dairy case at Schnucks. But if you have a lot of taco eaters at your hacienda, the hard-shell variety is a lot faster and will save wear and tear on the cook.
Whichever you chose, the next time you observe Taco Tuesday, you might want to put this recipe in the rotation. It’s from Once Upon a Chef.
Chicken Tacos
Ingredients: (Makes 12 tacos)
- 1/4 cup corn oil
- 1 onions, finely diced
- 1 red or green bell pepper, finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 lbs. ground chicken
- 1 Tbs. paprika
- 2 tsp. ancho chili powder
- 1-1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1-3/4 tsp. salt
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 12 taco shells
- 2 cups shredded lettuce
- 2 cups chopped tomatoes
- 2 cups shredded Colby or Cheddar cheese
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onions and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft about, 10-12 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another few minutes.
- Add ground chicken, spices, salt and pepper. Using a wooden spoon, break up meat pieces and cook until partially done, about 5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, reduce heat, and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Season to taste.
- Heat taco shells according to package directions. Spoon chicken into shells and top with cheese, tomato and lettuce. Guacamole also makes a colorful, tasty topping.
