A long time ago a friend of mine asked me to bring chicken tacos to a party she was having, I had never eaten chicken tacos, let alone made them. Over the last ten years or so, since that time, I have been making this recipe. I recently came across it actually written down and was surprised it was not what I had remembered and thought this is a good one to start this page off with. I might had to do these tonight and make them right!
I hope you enjoy it and please add your comments or variations.
Andy-
Makes 12 tacos
Ingredients
¼ cup olive oil
¾ cup diced red bell pepper (you’ll need one small pepper)
¾ cup diced green bell pepper (you’ll need one small pepper)
2 medium yellow onions, diced (about 2 cups)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds ground chicken (not extra-lean all breast meat)
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons ancho chili powder
1-1/2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more if you like it spicy)
1-3/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (you’ll need one small bunch)
12 hard taco shells (I like Old El Paso Stand ‘n Stuff the ones with the sort of square bottoms)
Suggestions for Garnish
Shredded lettuce or purple cabbage
Shredded Mexican blend cheese
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Heat olive oil in large saute pan over medium heat. Add onions, red peppers and green peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and just starting to brown, about 10-12 minutes. Add garlic and cook a few minutes more. Add ground chicken, paprika, ancho chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne, and salt. Turn heat to high; use wooden spoon to stir and break chicken into small clumps until chicken is partially cooked, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, then turn heat down to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally and breaking chicken into smaller clumps, for 10-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle with fresh chopped cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
3. Meanwhile, remove taco shells from package and lay sideways on baking sheet. Pull stack apart, overlapping edges slighly. Bake 6 to 7 minutes, or until crisp. Spoon chicken into shells and serve with suggested toppings.
