Crock Pot Chicken Tacos for #SundaySupper

I was very excited about this week’s topic of Dishes in 5 Ingredients or Less, because I just made an amazing batch of these crock pot chicken tacos.  Not only does this recipe use only THREE ingredients, but since the meat is prepared in the crock pot, it’s effortless to throw together and comes out extremely juicy and tender.  Since I cook for the girls in the office, I love to toss all the ingredients in the crock pot before I go to bed and cook on low overnight.  In the morning, I pack the chicken to-go and take it in for lunch.

There is a an endless combination of meals you can make featuring this succulent and zesty chicken.  I like to use a wheat wrap and pile on the chicken, low-fat cheese, lettuce, onion, avocado, etc. for a healthy burrito; top shredded lettuce with cowboy caviar, the chicken taco meat, and drizzle with a balsamic vinaigrette for a flavorful salad; or make nachos by topping tortilla chips with cheese, chicken, cowboy caviar, lettuce and Greek Yogurt.

Whichever way you choose to serve it; it’s guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser!

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

printable version

This recipe is as easy as…

1. 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2. 1 packet taco seasoning
3. 1 16oz. jar of salsa

Place chicken breasts in crock pot. Cover with taco seasoning and top with salsa.  Seal the lid of the crock pot and turn the crock pot on low.

Cook for eight hours and serve!

step one

step two

step three

step four

wake up in the morning to this! smells amazing

shred and it’s ready to serve!

taco salad is a delicious way to serve

Check out more delicious 5 Ingredient or Less recipes from the #SundaySupper community below!

Join us, September 30th, 2012 as we share our delicious, mouth-watering recipes! Here’s a sneak peak at what everyone is bringing to our #SundaySupper table. Be sure to stay after dinner at 7pm EST as we share our recipes during our #SundaySupper live chat!

Breakfast, Starters, Butters and Jams:

• Pa Jun or Korean Scallion Pancakes – Kimchi Mom
• Homemade Instant Oatmeal – Home Cooking Memories
• GlutenFree Apricot Bacon Onion and Cheese Spread or Dip – Cooking Underwriter
• Caprese Bites – My Catholic Kitchen
• So Simple Pizza Puffs – Hip Foodie Mom
• Toast Topper #11: Allspice Peach Butter – What Smells So Good?
• Strawberry Balsamic Jam – The Messy Baker Blog
• Broccoli and Feta Frittata – Kwistin’s Favorites

Main Dishes:

• Fresh Basil and Tomato Pasta – I Run For Wine
• Gulasch – Galactosemia in PDX
• Spaghetti with Kale and Sausage – Dinners, Dishes and Desserts
• Appley Kielbasa – The Meltaways
• Shrimp Stuffed Potatoes – Juanita’s Cocina
• Hawaiian Chicken Sandwiches – Supper for a Steal
• Sun Dried Tomato and Sausage Pasta – Small Wallet Big Appetite
• Pork Loin with Port Shallot Sauce – Vintage Kitchen Notes
• Chipotle Honey Lime Pork Tenderloin – Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Crockpot Chicken Tacos – The Hand That Rocks The Ladle
• Roasted Shrimp With Chili-Lime Sauce – Magnolia Days
• Peanut Butter Noodles – In the Kitchen with Audrey
• Soy, Orange Juice and Red Wine Marinated Flank – That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Beef Tenderloin with Stilton Pecan Butter – Noshing With The Nolands
• Herbed Butter Pork Chops – Brie’s Bites
• Creamy Ham Linguine – The Daily Dish Recipes
• Pesto, Tomato & Feta Pizza – Momma’s Meals
• Quick Black Bean Burritos – Diabetic Foodie
• Lumachine with Fresh Parmesan and Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce – Mama’s Blissful Bites
• Stuffed Shells – Cravings of a Lunatic
• Potato Kugel – From Fast Food to Fresh Food
• Garlic Butter Fried Rice – My Trials in the Kitchen
• Goat Cheese Alfredo – Family Foodie
• Roasted Moroccan Rack of Lamb – Maroc Mama
• Sweet and Nutty Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes – Mama.Mommy.Mom.
• Baked Sweet Potato with Maple-Jalapeno – Comfy Cuisine
• Freezable Bacon Egg and Cheese Sandwiches – Big Bear’s Wife
• Grilled Polenta Cakes – Lovely Pantry

Desserts:

• Nutella Ice Cream – Shockingly Delicious
• Fresh Mint Ice Cream with Mint M&M’s – The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
• Grilled Mango Parfait with Greek Yogurt & Silvered Almonds – Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
• Honey Macaroons – Pippis In the Kitchen Again
• Strawberry Frozen Yogurt – Damn Delicious
• Homemade Caramel Sauce – Chocolate Moosey
• Easy Chocolate Chilli Fudge – Soni’s Food for Thought
• White-Chocolate Raspberry Puff Pastry Doughnuts – The Weekend Gourmet
• Easy No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars – In The Kitchen With KP
• Chocolate-Caramel Ice Cream – Basic N Delicious
• Pumpkin and Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake – Baker Street
• Peanut Butter Cup Popcorn – Mom’s Test Kitchen

Beverages:

• Five Most Food Friendly Wines – ENOFYLZ Wine Blog

Please be sure you join us on Twitter throughout the day during #SundaySupper. We’ll be meeting up at 7:00 pm (Eastern) for our weekly #SundaySupper  live chat where we’ll talk about our favorite 5 Ingredient Recipes! All you have to do is follow the #SundaySupper hashtag, or you can follow us through TweetChat!  We’d also love to feature your apple recipes on our #SundaySupper Pinterest board and share them with all of our followers!

Macho Tacos

For anyone that may have missed it, we’re in the midst of Movember.   Movember is the month formerly known as November, during which men are encouraged to grow a mustache in order promote men’s health awareness.  Somehow, my fiance has not yet discovered this reason to grow facial hair, and that’s just fine by me.  Shhhh…let’s keep this one a secret.

To celebrate this testosterone-laden month, try serving these manly tacos filled with brisket and cabbage.  The hearty little Mexican entrée is guaranteed to satisfy the “y” chromosome carrying residents in your household.  Just be sure to serve with extra napkins…these guys tend to get messy and you don’t want anyone disheveling their ‘stache.

Tacos to make any Mo-Bro smile

Brisket and Red Cabbage Slaw Tacos

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 heads garlic, unpeeled and halved crosswise, plus 6 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt
• 4 to 4 1/2 pounds brisket
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 3 large red onions, halved and thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 2 cups beef stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 16 to 20 small flour tortillas
• Red cabbage slaw, for topping (below)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place the halved garlic heads in a single layer on a sheet of foil. Drizzle with the olive oil and season with salt. Fold the foil into a packet; roast until tender, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the brisket: Pulse the 6 garlic cloves in a food processor to make a paste. Season both sides of the brisket with salt, pepper, the paprika and chili powder. Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches if necessary, add the meat to the pot in a single layer and brown on both sides, about 5 minutes total. Remove the meat from the pot and spread with the garlic paste.

Drain the oil and wipe out the Dutch oven. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon canola oil to the pot and warm over medium heat. Add the onions and cook 5 minutes. Season with salt and stir in the brown sugar; cook 5 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and cook 2 minutes. Return the brisket to the pot, add the wine and simmer, 25 minutes. Add the stock and bay leaves and return to a simmer. Cover, transfer to the oven and cook until the meat is tender, 2 hours to 2 hours, 30 minutes.

Remove the brisket from the pot and let rest 15 minutes. Meanwhile, discard the bay leaves and put the pot with the braising liquid over medium heat; simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of its skin and whisk into the liquid. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if necessary. Thinly slice the brisket against the grain and toss with some of the roasted garlic sauce. Warm the tortillas; fill with the brisket and top with slaw.

Red Cabbage Slaw:

Combine 1 small head shaved red cabbage, 4 sliced scallions, 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar, a splash of olive oil and a swirl of Sriracha in a bowl; season with salt. Set aside to allow the vinegar to work its magic.

Related articles

• Remember, remember the 1st of Movember (pinnaclelife.co.nz)

Not a Five, a Ten

Even in college I considered myself a foodie.  How can you not be in Athens?  Not only does the Classic City have a plethora of bars, but the restaurant selection is amazing.  So are the prices.  An added bonus is you can pretty much go anywhere in jeans and a t-shirt.

So when I was at UGA and local chef, Hugh Acheson, was featured on the cover of Food & Wine as one of the best new chefs of 2002, I knew that I needed to visit his restaurant immediately.  Now, this post is not a review of Five and Ten {which is ah-mazing BTW} but when his recipe for Fish Tacos popped up on my weekly email from Saveur, I knew I needed to make them.  This recipe (tweaked a bit), like his restaurant, did not disappoint.

Roasting veggies for salsa

Homemade Salsa

Yummy Fish Tacos

Fish Tacos with Roasted Tomato Salsa

Printable Recipe

• 3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• 2 plum tomatoes
• 1 serrano chile
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper
• 3 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• Salt to taste
• One packet of Splenda
• 1 cup canned pinto beans
• 16 6″ corn tortillas
• Canola oil, for frying
• 2 boneless, skinless flounder or halibut filets
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and thinly sliced
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Make the salsa: Heat a 12″ cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, tomatoes, serrano chile and bell pepper and cook, turning occasionally, until charred all over. Transfer vegetables to a plate and let cool. Peel the garlic and stem and seed the serrano chile. Transfer vegetables, 2 tbsp. chicken broth and 1tsp cilantro to a small food processor and process into a chunky purée; set aside. Season salsa with salt and Splenda, transfer to a bowl, cover, and set aside.

Make the tacos: Put beans into a small pot and heat over medium heat until hot; cover, remove from heat, and keep warm. Heat a 12″ skillet over medium-high heat. Pour oil into a 5-qt. pot to a depth of 2″ and heat over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, season fish with salt and chili powder and dredge in flour, shaking off excess. Add fish to the oil and cook, turning occasionally, until golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, transfer fish to a rack set in a baking sheet. To serve, use1 tortilla per taco. Divide beans among tacos; top beans with fish, avocado, the remaining cilantro, a squeeze of lime juice and a tablespoon of salsa. Serve warm.

Related articles

• Texas Caviar (aka Black Bean Salsa). (homemadeincredible.wordpress.com)
• Taco cookbook takes readers out of the box (knoxnews.com)
• Meatless Monday recipe: Zucchini & Red Pepper Enchiladas (greenlinglocal.wordpress.com)

Dining in the Redneck Riviera

You may have heard of a little stretch of beach known as the Redneck Riviera.  That would be Panama City Beach, FL.  A town known for its abundance of spring-breakers, hairy backs and keg stands.  After enjoying a to-go lunch staring at the sea, I believe it should also be known for its fish tacos.

The Mahi Mahi fish tacos at Schooners in PCB are the bomb.  The grilled fish rests in flour tortillas and is topped with shredded cheddar-jack over a bed of key lime slaw.  Get the black beans and yellow rice on the side, stick your feet in the sand and enjoy the sound of the ocean. 

(Did I mention you can order them to-go and wait on the beach?  They’ll call your cell when it’s ready.  Oh, and ask for Wayne.)

Mmmm...tacos.