Chicken Tacos

If you are a fan of South Park like me now is the time to sing the “Jennifer Lopez, Taco flavored kisses” song. Go ahead, I’ll wait... taco taco burrito burrito… Now that we got that out of the way lets get to the good stuff ~ Chicken Tacos! Up until a few years ago the only kind of tacos I ever made were the out of the box kind. When we went to California to visit Johns family his Grandma taught me how she makes tacos. Since Grandma is the kind of cook that throws in a little of this and a little of that (there is nothing wrong with that) I took the basics of her taco seasoning added some stuff and made it consistent. Most of the time I make this with ground beef, today I used chicken. The first thing I did was boil a chicken breast. Mine was large, almost 1 lb, and still frozen so I cooked it for about 1/2 hour. When it was cooked through I let it cool down for about 10 minutes, then shredded the meat. Add it to a pan with 1 cup of water and the taco seasoning. Cook on low for about 10 - 15 minutes and you will have some pretty killer chicken on your hands.

Amy's Basic Taco Seasoning
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1/2 bouillon cube (I use Goya chicken tomato because that's what Grandma does)
You have some decisions to make with your taco shells. You can use the boxed kind. You can use flour tortillas if you like soft tacos. Or you can go the Grandma way and use "fresh" corn tortillas. You can find these in the ethnic food section.

Add enough oil to the pan to cover the bottom (corn, canola, vegetable something neutral NOT olive oil). Put your burner on medium high and let the oil heat up. Add the corn tortilla let it sit for about 10 seconds, flip it over and fold it in half. Be very careful not to splatter oil on yourself.

I would start out with 1 tortilla at first and when you get the hang of it you can do 2 at a time. You cook the shells depending on how crispy you like your tacos, I usually do mine for about 30 - 45 seconds per side. Never walk away from the stove unless you want them to burn. It will take 10 minutes max for you to cook all of the shells. Once you have your desired crispness remove the shell from the pan and place it on a plate covered with paper towels. I prep my toppings while the meat is cooking so as soon as the shells are done we are ready to eat. You should not make these in advance as they are best served right away, letting them sit will make them soggy. I like sour cream, cheese, lettuce, onions and hot sauce on mine, the great thing is you can just set out the toppings and everyone can make to them to their liking.

Its defiantly worth the few extra minutes it takes to make these tacos from scratch. Trust me when I say that everyone who eats them will be very grate full :)