Yesterday after work/daycare, Lorelei and I stopped at the store to pick up some milk and and other things for the house. As I wandered the isles wondering what the heck I was going to do for dinner, I remembered that time was ticking on the leftover roasted chicken I had bought three days ago. I've been having a hankering for tacos, so I decided to attempt making them at home.*
I bought some corn tortillas, cheddar cheese, a lime, a packet of taco seasoning, some mild, dried chiles, and hoped for the best. (Now, I know that taco seasoning and cheddar cheese aren't traditional Mexican ingredients, but being a novice taco maker, I let those facts slide this time.)
When we walked in the door, Lorelei insisted that we go for a walk. It was a nice evening and I thought it would be a good idea.
So, I quickly chopped up an onion and sauteed it in a stew pot. Then I put the chicken pieces on top of that (wings, legs, and a breast) and covered it all with chicken stock and water, added some salt, 1tbsp. of the taco seasoning, a bunch of cilantro, and two of the dried chiles that I had stemmed and seeded (I left them in big pieces so that they could be easily pulled out). With a final squeeze of lime on top, I covered the pot and set it to boil.
As the mixture came to a boil, I changed out of my work clothes and put the rest of the groceries away. When we were all ready to go on our walk, I turned the heat down to Medium-low and off we went.
We returned about thirty minutes later and the house smelled amazing! I strained the juices from the meat and bones, reserving the juices, then pulled out all of the bones, skin and gristle leaving just the well-seasoned meat.
I then steamed the tortillas, and assembled the tacos:
- Meat
- Grated cheddar
- Sour Cream
- Fresh Cilantro leaves
- A sprinkle of salt
- And a squeeze of lime
As we ate our dinner, I thought to myself, "Yum! And just in time for Cinco de Mayo!"
I was really pleased with the results, and so was Lorelei. She said, "Mmmm, good job Mama! Tacos. Num!"
That's all the praise I need.
Mom's Tip
Tacos are messy business. For little kids, be sure to strain the chicken well before assembling the tacos... or do what I did and forget totally that they were messy and let the kid have at it!!
Santé
*Ingredients will be emboldened for your ease.
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