Test Kitchen Tuesday

This week for the Test Kitchen, I thought I’d throw 2Chili a bone. The poor guy put up with almost six solid weeks of pretty much meat-free dinners like a champ.

So, now that No Meat November is in the history books, I wanted to make him one of his favorite dinners, chicken tacos. This is one of the first recipes I tackled when I started cooking more at home, and I have evolved it a bit over time. It is fast and tasty, and healthy to boot.

When answering the usual, “what’s for dinner” on Tuesday afternoon, I was informed that Chicken Tacos is not a test recipe anymore, and being Tuesday, didn’t he deserve a real test recipe? Wow. How things have changed around here! I am researching next week’s Test Kitchen already (preliminary indication is calzones). Apparently my audience is getting pretty used to experimental dining…

Easy Chicken Tacos
Serves 3 with 3 tacos each

Downloadable Word Document Recipe

Original Recipe/Inspiration: The original recipe is a tostada recipe from Cooking Light, but, it is so different now that that only real similarities are the ground chicken and chili powder. Hmm, chili powder. That probably explains why 2Chili likes this so much!

Time Required: 20 minutes from start to finish

Skill Level:

2Chili’s Taster Rating:
2Chili loves these tacos. Aside from homemade chili, this is his most favorite dinner.

Ingredients:

• 13 ounces lean ground chicken (If you can’t find ground chicken, have your butcher make it for you out of lean chicken breast. We have tried this recipe with turkey and it’s just not as good)
• Corn or flour tortillas, taco sized (unless using one of the other serving suggestions below)
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 2 teaspoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1-2 tablespoons chili powder (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons dried cilantro
• 4 oz. Mexican shredded cheese (optional topping)
• Pico de Gallo (optional topping)
• 3 oz. Avocado Slices (optional topping)

Method:

Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium/high heat. Add onions and bell pepper; sauté until soft. Add ground chicken, breaking up to scramble and cook through.

Drain excess water, if needed.

Add cinnamon and chili powder and sauté for about one minute. Add salsa and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add lime juice and cilantro and sauté for about one minute. Top with 2% Mexican shredded cheese, Pico de Gallo, avocado slices, or, just eat straight up!

Note: A lot of these ingredients are “personal taste” items. I like a lot of chili powder and lime juice/cilantro, you may not like them. Adjust accordingly.

Other serving ideas:

• Serve over one cup cooked bulgur to save calories. A cup of cooked bulgur is only 110 calories and it’s really good; Brown rice works too, but has more calories
• Serve with corn tortillas instead of flour for fewer calories; Buy the kind from the freezer section because they generally have no preservatives, therefore, no added salt
• Make tostada shells by baking corn tortillas in the 350 degree oven for about 6-7 minutes and have tostadas

Nutritional Profile:

Based on the 3-servings per recipe allotment, meat filling only, not tortillas or toppings:

• Calories: 179
• Fat: 5g
• Saturated Fat: .7g
• Cholesterol: 94.7mg
• Sodium: 254.9mg
• Carbohydrate: 9.1g
• Fiber: 1.6g
• Sugars: 3.7g
• Protein: 22.7g

The Verdict:

I like offering these tacos for dinner because they are easy, only require one skillet, and fill up my hard-to-please diner. 2Chili just likes them. Enjoy!