Beef Tacos and Flour Tortillas

Note to self: take it easy on the salt next time. I followed the directions/amounts and this came out too salty for me. The ground beef mixture by itself is really flavorful and a tad on the spicy side, but when it’s combined with the rice, cheese, pico and some sour cream its much milder. I don’t usually advocate the use of sour cream in Tex-Mex dishes, but this time it was needed to cool things down a bit.

Tonight was my first try at making tortillas – the recipe isn’t authentic because there isn’t a drop of lard in the mix. I have nothing against the use of it, but I didn’t want to try that kind of recipe, fall hopelessly in love and be required to make them for the rest of my life!;o) As a kid, my parents would take us to Old Town San Diego to eat at this amazing Mexican restaurant. I enjoyed watching the ladies make tortillas through the big windows in the front of the restaurant. For some reason I was entertained by that; but more so I knew that some of those freshly made, authentic tortillas would soon be in my belly! They were so good!

Overall these were pretty good. If I make these again, I will cut the amount of salt in half and season to taste toward the end of cooking. The tortillas were good, especially for a first try but I am open to finding a new recipe for my next attempt. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

All American Beef Taco Ingredients – adapted from Alton Brown

  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 16 ounces ground sirloin
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 recipe Taco Potion #19, recipe follows
  • 2/3 cup low-sodium beef broth

Taco Potion #19 – adapted from Alton Brown

  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons hot smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions –

Add 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. Once the oil shimmers, add the onion and cook until softened and lightly browned around the edges, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the ground meat, 1 teaspoon salt, and garlic. Cook until browned, about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, to break up the meat. Add Taco Potion and beef broth. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until sauce is slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.


Texas Flour Tortilla ingredients – adapted from Homesick Texan

  • Two cups of all-purpose flour (can make them whole wheat by substituting one cup of whole-wheat flour for white flour)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cups of warm milk

Directions –

1. Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and oil. Slowly add the warm milk. Stir until a loose, sticky ball is formed.
Knead for two minutes on a floured surface. Dough should be firm and soft. Place dough in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap for 20 minutes.
2. After the dough has rested, break off eight sections, roll them into balls in your hands, place on a plate (make sure they aren’t touching) and then cover balls with damp cloth or plastic wrap for 10 minutes. (It’s very important to let the dough rest, otherwise it will be like elastic and won’t roll out to a proper thickness and shape.)
3. After dough has rested, one at a time place a dough ball on a floured surface, pat it out into a four-inch circle, and then roll with a rolling pin from the center until it’s thin and about eight inches in diameter. (If you roll out pie crusts you’ll have no problem with this.) Don’t over work the dough, or it’ll be stiff. Keep rolled-out tortillas covered until ready to cook.
In a dry iron skillet or comal heated on high, cook the tortilla about thirty seconds on each side. It should start to puff a bit when it’s done.
4. Keep cooked tortillas covered wrapped in a napkin until ready to eat. Can be reheated in a dry iron skillet, over your gas-burner flame or in the oven wrapped in foil. While you probably won’t have any leftovers, you can store in the fridge tightly wrapped in foil or plastic for a day or so. Makes eight tortillas.


Cobb Salad

Quick Post: M requested this for dinner – I am usually appreciative of meal suggestions because that’s less pressure on me. Cobb salad has a lot going on, but it’s super easy to throw together. I made this one a little more flavorful by marinating the chicken “souvlaki style”. For my salad, I added bell pepper and portobello mushrooms to up the veg content! Thanks for reading:o)

Vodka Cream Pasta with Italian Sausage

I was introduced to tomato/cream pastas some time last year…dangerous! I don’t make them very often at all and our favorite so far is Penne al la Betsy via The Pioneer Woman. The first time I made it, I subbed chicken for the shrimp – see that was before I was comfortable cleaning, deveining, and cooking shrimp. My family loves shrimp, even my picky eater loves shrimp. Thankfully, she loves sausage (and bacon) too, and if she knows what’s good for her, she’ll eat some of this too!

I cooked the sauce much longer than what the recipe specified – actually, it doesn’t give a time limit at all. I also thought it best to use 1/2 cup of vodka and about the same amount of heavy cream, because 1 cup of each seemed like over-kill to me!

Verdict: rich, creamy, flavorful, yum! This makes a lot of pasta, so unless you want to deal with all the leftovers, invite some friends over! Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Vodka Cream Pasta with Italian Sausage Ingredients – adapted from Eclectic Recipes

  • 5 links sweet Italian sausage, cut in bite size pieces
  • 1 32 oz can Italian tomatoes (I used crushed San Marzano tomatoes)
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1/2 small onion, chopped
  • 1 cup vodka (I used 1/2 cup)
  • 1 cup cream (I used about 3/4 cup)
  • a large bunch of basil, roughly chopped or torn
  • olive oil
  • kosher salt
  • penne pasta (I used angel hair)

Directions –

Preheat large skillet. Drizzle with olive oil and add sausage to pre-heated pan. Brown sausage. Add onions and garlic and saute until translucent. Add tomatoes. Add vodka. Turn heat to a simmer. Break up tomatoes with a spoon or potato masher.

In a separate saucepan, while sauce is simmering, bring water to boil for pasta. Cook pasta according to package directions.

When pasta is done, Add cream to sauce and bring to a boil, then remove from heat. Add basil and stir until just wilted. Serve over pasta, and don’t forget the garlic toast!


Chicken Noodle Soup

Poor M is sick with the flu, but thankfully the fever and headaches haven’t made him nauseated. I asked what he’d like for dinner and of course, he requested chicken noodle soup. “Great” I thought…I always want to go the extra mile (as much as possible) when he requests something, and I really didn’t feel like making stock from scratch…it takes too long. This method I used seemed like a good substitute for it. I took a little help from the store with some stock in a box and doctored it up a bit to cook the chicken, which enriched the flavor and richness. This took more effort than I originally wanted to put into it (the rainy, cloudy weather makes me lazy) but it was so worth it because the whole family enjoyed eating it and the leftovers will taste even better. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Chicken Noodle Soup ingredients – a Mom Makes original recipe

  • 1 – 4 pound whole chicken, rinsed well
  • 1 carton of chicken stock
  • 1 carton of vegetable stock
  • 2 carrots, cut into chunks
  • 2 celery ribs, cut into chunks
  • 1/2 onion
  • 3 garlic cloves, smashed
  • 5-7 sprigs thyme
  • 2 sprigs rosemary
  • 1/2 TBSP of whole peppercorns
  • 4 – 6 cups water

Soup ingredients –

  • 3 cups egg noodles
  • 3 carrots, diced
  • 3 celery ribs, diced
  • 1 – 2 cups frozen peas
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 10 – 12 cups chicken stock
  • 3 cups of shredded chicken
  • 2 TBSP unsalted butter
  • 1 TBSP olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • dried parsley flakes (optional)

Directions for Stock –

1. In a 8 quart stock pot or larger, place all ingredients and cook for one hour. Be sure to skim fat and scum off the top while cooking. Once the chicken is cooked, carefully remove it from the stock pot and place on a foil lined half sheet pan to cool – at least 40 minutes.

2. Strain the stock through a fine sieve and discard all vegetables and herbs. Skim the remaining fat off the top of the stock.

3. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle shred into uniform pieces.

Directions for Soup –

1. Heat a saute pan to medium and add butter and olive oil. Once the butter melts, add all your diced veggies to the pan. Saute for 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Meanwhile, place a soup pot with the 10 – 12 cups of chicken stock to simmer and add the cooked vegetables and shredded chicken to the soup pot. Bring to boil, season to taste and add the egg noodles and peas. Cook until the egg noodles are tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Taste again, season if needed – enjoy the soup with a crusty loaf of bread…yum!

Fish Tacos

Quick Post: I’m not the most confident when it comes to fish or frying, but I tackled both for tonight’s dinner. Frying makes me nervous because it is pretty dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. Instead of deep frying, I only used about 1/3 of an inch of oil in my pan and flipped the fish halfway through the cooking time. Also, I recommend setting your oven to the lowest it will go – (mine was at 150) and placed the fish on a cooling rack on top of a sheet pan and let them hang out in the warm oven. Two pounds of fish is a lot to fry, and I couldn’t put more than 6 or 7 pieces in my pan at a time. These turned out to be really tasty and I would use this recipe again. We enjoyed these with my favorite Mexican “orange” rice and fresh pico de gallo. I would have liked to make the chile mayo because it would have added creaminess to go with the crunch of the fish, but I ran out of mayo the other day. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

The Ultimate Fish Tacos ingredients – adapted from Tyler Florence

  • 2 pounds mahi mahi (skinned, boned and cleaned) cut into 1-ounce strips
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 4 tablespoons water
  • 2 cups panko bread crumbs
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Vegetable oil, for frying

Directions –

Prepare the fish. Cut the pieces of fish into 1-ounce strips. Set up a breading station of flour, lightly beaten eggs with water, and seasoned panko bread crumbs. Season all with salt and pepper. Dredge the pieces of fish in flour, egg then bread crumbs. Once all the fish is breaded deep-fry in small batches in (375 degrees F) oil. Drain on paper towels and season with salt. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Pico de Gallo ingredients – adapted from The Pioneer Woman

  • 5 whole Plum (roma) Tomatoes
  • ½ whole Large (or 1 Small) Onion
  • 3 whole Jalapeno Peppers
  • Cilantro
  • Lime Juice
  • Salt To Taste

Direction –

Chop jalapenos, tomatoes and onions into a very small dice. (Leave seeds in your jalapenos for a hotter pico). Adjust amount of jalapenos to your preferred temperature. Next, chop up a nice-sized bunch of cilantro. Just remove and discard the long leafless stems before chopping. No need to remove the leaves from the stems completely. Place all of these ingredients together in a bowl and give it a good stir.

Squeeze the juice of half of one lime into the bowl. Add salt to taste and stir again.



Grilled Portobello Mushroom “Burger”

M requested hamburgers, homemade buns and baked beans (with bacon, of course) for dinner…not health food by any stretch of the imagination! The other day, I saw portobello mushroom caps for sale at Publix which started the wheels turning in my brain…”what could I do with those?” I typed “portobello” in the TasteSpotting search for inspiration – it never fails me! There were several recipes for burgers using marinated caps, some topped with caramelized onions, others with pesto, brie or roasted red bell pepper. I combined a few different ideas to come up with what sounded good to me. Mine will have the roasted (on the grill) red bell pepper, pesto and some traditional burger toppings. I know the hubbs is going to look at me like I have a third eye or something, but I’m not making him eat it!;o)

Anyway, this meal was so tasty and I didn’t feel like I was missing out on the beef. Portobello mushrooms are pretty hardy and it absorbed the marinade perfectly. I would definitely make this again, although I would be the only one eating them next time too. M hates mushrooms and bell peppers, so I don’t think I could pay him enough to try them. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Marinated Portobello Mushroom “Burger” – a Mom Makes Origional

  • 2 Portobello Mushroom caps, gills removed and brushed clean
  • 2 TBSP olive oil
  • 1-2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
  • 1 TSP Italian seasoning
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • salt and pepper to taste

Toppings –

  • 1/2 roasted red bell pepper
  • 2 TBSP Arugula pesto
  • small handful of salad greens
  • fresh mozzarella cheese
  • 1 split Parmesan cheese bun

Directions –

Place the mushroom caps in a zip top bag, mix all the remaining ingredients and pour over the caps. Let marinade in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Grill the mushrooms for 2-3 minutes a side add cheese half way through cooking time if desired.

Toast your bun, spread pesto on both sides, add a slice of beefsteak tomato, some salad greens, half a roasted bell pepper then top with your mushroom cap. Enjoy!

Arugula Pesto Ingredients – adapted from Simply Recipes

  • 2 cups of packed arugula leaves, stems removed
  • 1/2 cup of walnuts
  • 1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
  • 1/2 garlic clove peeled and minced

Directions –

Brown 6 garlic cloves with their peels on in a skillet over medium high heat until the garlic is lightly browned in places, about 10 minutes. Remove the garlic from the pan, cool, and remove the skins.

Toast the nuts in a pan over medium heat until lightly brown, or heat in a microwave on high heat for a minute or two until you get that roasted flavor. In our microwave it takes 2 minutes.

Food processor method (the fast way): Combine the arugula, walnuts, roasted and raw garlic into a food processor. Pulse while drizzling the olive oil into the processor. Remove the mixture from the processor and put it into a bowl. Stir in the Parmesan cheese.

Cheese Burger Buns – adapted from King Arthur Flour

  • 6 ounces lukewarm water
  • 2 ounces butter
  • 1 large egg
  • 14 3/4 ounces King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • 7/8 ounce sugar
  • 3 ounces grated Parmesan cheese or the finely grated cheese of your choice
  • 3/4 to 1 1/4 teaspoons salt*
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder, optional but good
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons instant
  • butter for brushing on top
  • *Use 3/4 teaspoon salt if you use cheese powder, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt if you use grated fresh cheese

Directions –
To make the dough: Combine all of the dough ingredients, and mix and knead them — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — to make a soft, somewhat tacky dough.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl or other container large enough to allow it to at least double in bulk, cover, and let it rise for about 60 to 70 minutes, till it’s just about doubled.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into 8 pieces.

Round each piece into a smooth ball, and place on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Gently flatten the balls to about 3″ diameter

Cover the buns and let them rise till they’ve expanded nicely, about 1 hour. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

Brush each bun with melted butter.

Bake the buns till they’re a light, golden brown, about 18 minutes.

Remove buns from oven, and brush with melted butter again. Place them on a rack to cool.

Yield – 8 big buns

Greek Night!

Our first ever! Lots of prep, but it’s hopefully well worth it all. I made Greek dressing, tzatziki sauce, and marinated the chicken souvlaki. Oh – and I decided to make the pita bread to eat the chicken like a gyro. I love making bread especially different types like this one. The recipe is super simple with one rise lasting an hour, shaping then a rest of 15 minutes. They baked up really quickly too – just make sure your oven has preheated for at least 20 minutes.

Anyway, this dinner turned out fantastically which is always the desired outcome – especially when it’s my first try! The chicken flavorful, moist and juicy; the tzatziki sauce was creamy, garlicky and perfect with the gyros and the pita bread was a hit too. I bet the leftovers will be even tastier.

Souvlaki Ingredients – adapted from The Eclectic Cook

  • 2 lbs pork loin and/or chicken cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice (the juice of about 1½ lemons)
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper

Whisk together garlic, oregano, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Combine the marinade with the pork in a large freezer bag. Marinade in the refrigerator for at least 24 and up to 48 hours. Rotate the bag to redistribute the marinade at least twice during this time.
Preheat the grill to medium high heat. If you are using wooden skewers, soak them in water before using, or use metal skewers. Thread about 5 pieces of meat onto each skewer, enough for one serving. Grill the skewers for about 15 minutes, turning two or three times. The chicken will take less time to cook than the pork, so start checking for doneness at about 10 minutes. The meat should register about 150°F for the pork and 160°F for the chicken when you take them off the grill. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Because of the marinade ingredients, the meat (both the pork and the chicken) may still be slightly pinkish inside even when fully cooked.

Tzatziki Sauce Ingredients – adapted from Culinary Cory

  • 2 (7 oz) containers of Greek yogurt
  • 1 hothouse cucumber, seeded and unpeeled
  • ¼ cup sour cream
  • 2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
  • 1 TBSP white wine vinegar
  • 1 TBSP fresh dill, minced
  • 1 ½ TBSP garlic, minced
  • salt and pepper

Directions –

Shred the cucumber with a grater and squeeze out the excess liquid. Add the dip ingredients to a medium mixing bowl. Stir until well combined. Garnish with any remaining dill. Serve with assorted fresh vegetables. Makes approximately 2 cups of dip.

Golden Pita Bread ingredients – adapted from King Arthur Flour

  • 3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions –

1. Combine all of the ingredients, mixing to form a shaggy dough.

2. Knead dough, by hand ( 10 minutes ) or by mixer ( 5 minutes ) or by bread machine ( set on the dough cycle ) till it’s smooth.

3. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, and allow it to rest for 1 hour it’ll become quite puffy, though it may not double in bulk. If you’ve used a bread machine, simply let the machine complete its cycle.

4. Turn the dough onto a lightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 pieces.

5. Roll two to four pieces into 6″ pieces ( the number of pieces depends on how many rolled-out pieces at a time can fit on your baking sheet ).

6. Place the circles on a lightly greased baking sheet and allow them to rest, uncovered for 15 minutes, while you preheat the oven to 500 degrees. ( Keep the unrolled pieces of dough covered. Roll out the next batch while the first batch bakes ).

7. Place the baking sheet on the lowest rack in your oven, and bake the pitas for 5 minutes; they should puff up. ( If they haven’t puffed up, wait a minute or so longer. If they still haven’t puffed, your oven isn’t hot enough; raise the heat for the next batch.)

8. Transfer the baking sheet to your oven’s middle-to-top rack and bake for an additional 2 minutes, or until the pitas have browned.

9.  Remove the pitas from the oven, wrap them in a clean dishtowel ( this keeps them soft ), and repeat with remaining dough.

10. Store cooled pitas in an airtight container or plastic bag.





Quick Post

I was contemplating not having the promised pizza night because of my laziness…I needed to roast the chicken, brown the sausage, make a batch of pizza dough in order to have this dinner ready tonight. I promised the family pizza, and I kept that promise. Because the kids already knew it was coming, I decided against the lazy-butt-mom route and did all the extra work anyway. I’m glad I did, cause this pizza was so good. I made two pizzas, but this one is the mom/kid pizza – you see, normally one pizza is the “Mom/Dad” pizza and then there is the “kid” pizza – that way everyone is happy. M gets his BBQ chicken pizza with smoked gouda and the kids get their pepperoni. I thought it best to load up my half with bell pepper, tomato, mushroom and chicken while the kids’ side was sprinkled with Italian sausage…( Publix deli is so slow…I couldn’t pick up the good pepperoni ). Thanks for reading!:o)

Smoked Gouda and Gruyere Mac n’ Cheese (oh, yeah!)

This mac n’ cheese is so good! I used eat so much of this stuff, but this time will be different. I have learned depriving myself of the “good stuff” isn’t worth it. All in moderation and supplement the second serving with a big green salad with tons of veggies. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Macaroni & Cheese Ingredients – adapted from PW
  • 4 cups Dried Macaroni
  • 1 whole Egg Beaten
  • 1/2 stick  butter (1/4 cup)
  • ¼ cups All-purpose Flour
  • 2-½ cups Whole Milk ( *I used 2 cups 1% and the rest was half and half )
  • 2 teaspoons (heaping) Dry Mustard, More If Desired
  • 1 pound Cheese, ( *I use smoked Gouda and Gruyere )
  • ½ teaspoons Salt, More To Taste
  • ½ teaspoons Seasoned Salt, More To Taste
  • ½ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
  • Optional Spices: Cayenne Pepper, Paprika, Thyme

Directions –

Cook macaroni until very firm. Macaroni should be too firm to eat right out of the pot. Drain.

In a small bowl, beat egg.

In a large pot, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Cook mixture for five minutes, whisking constantly. Don’t let it burn.

Pour in milk, add mustard, and whisk until smooth. Cook for five minutes until very thick. Reduce heat to low.

Take 1/4 cup of the sauce and slowly pour it into beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking eggs. Whisk together till smooth.

Pour egg mixture into sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth.

Add in cheese and stir to melt.

Add salt and pepper. Taste sauce and add more salt and seasoned salt as needed! DO NOT UNDERSALT.

Pour in drained, cooked macaroni and stir to combine.
Serve immediately (very creamy) or pour into a buttered baking dish, top with extra cheese, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.


Taco Night!

Taco night is everyone’s favorite night:o) I have used this recipe before and it’s always a hit. Whenever it’s taco night, I always make my “orange” rice. It’s something I grew up eating and all the ladies in my family make variations of my Gram’s. It’s so simple and so comforting to me, and I love that my kids both really enjoy eating it, too. I remembered I had some homemade salsa verde in the freezer that was waiting to be used, so that’s what that green sauce is on the taco. I will be sure to post the recipe for that the next time I make chile verde or my husband’s favorite – chicken enchiladas with roasted tomatillo salsa. I haven’t made that meal in so long – it’s a lot of work and it makes so much food, but the flavor is excellent.

Anyway, these turned out great – the two men of the house had seconds. I however refrained from indulging in more carbs (frown). I did eat a nice green salad with lots of extra veggies, though. I am on my annual “health kick”…well, I guess it can’t be called annual if this is my third time this year. The holidays and all the yummy-bad-for-you-food caught up with me, along with the lack of exercise. Basically I have been feeling uber-blah, so in the past when this blah-ness has reared its ugly head I cut out a lot of junk and add in lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains and cut out lots of empty carbs. I feel a difference within a day of these changes so it’s totally worth it and then I wonder why I don’t eat like this all the time. Oh, yeah! It’s because it takes thought, preparation and discipline! Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Shredded Tex-Mex Crock-Pot Chicken – adapted from goodLife(eats)

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (*I used 2 pounds)
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon coriander
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/3 cup chicken broth
  • 1/3 cup (packed) cilantro leaves, chopped
  • 2 limes
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

Heat the oil in a medium sized sauté pan. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the cumin, chili powder, coriander, paprika and garlic and sauté two more minutes. Deglaze the pan with the chicken broth making sure to scrape up any browned bits. Turn off and set aside.

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Add to crock pot. Squeeze the lime on top, add the cilantro, jalapeno, and pour the onion and garlic mixture over top.

Cook on low for 3-5 hours, or until cooked through (different crock-pots cook at varying heats) and tender. Remove chicken breasts from the crock pot, shred and place in a bowl. Scoop out the onions and add to the chicken. Depending on the amount of juices produced, you may want to add some or all of the juice back to the shredded chicken.

For fast and easy soft tacos, add this chicken to taco sized flour tortillas with shredded lettuce, avocado, tomato, cilantro, red onion, and cheese (I like cheddar, pepper jack, or feta best). Add a dollop of sour cream and salsa, too, if you like.