Spicy Chicken Tacos
The good thing about this recipe is you can make most of the components in advance and then just throw your tacos together in fifteen minutes, which allows you time to relax and watch the PBS News Hour while you dine.
The down side is you have to be organized enough to remember to do that advance prep. Otherwise it does NOT take fifteen minutes and you miss the PBS News Hour because you are too busy cooking. You are then ignorant about why Elizabeth Warren is mad at Obama and about how many Republicans are currently running for president.
Last week, I cooked the chicken breasts the day before serving the tacos and took some tomato sauce out of the freezer. (If you are absolutely desperate you can use canned tomato sauce. I have been there, believe me.)
Thanks to this rare display of efficiency, I was able to watch the news while dining and thus to learn why Bobby Jindal is toast and why we in L.A. need to rip up our lawns and stop showering.
However long it take you to make them, these tacos are tasty. Unless you are my husband, who will not eat food that contains spices that start with the letter ‘C’.
Spicy Chicken Tacos
(Yield: 6 tacos)
2 chicken breast halves, skin on and bone in
1 teaspoon olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
¾ cup tomato sauce (preferably home made)
½ cup chicken broth (ditto)
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cumin
6 corn tortillas (size)
Preheat the oven to 350º F.
1. Place the chicken on a baking sheet or in a baking dish, rub with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for about 40 minutes or until cooked through.
Allow to cool.
2. Stack the tortillas, wrap them in foil and place them in the oven to warm up. (Give them a good 20 minutes.)
3. Meanwhile, combine the tomato sauce, broth, chili powder, coriander and cumin in a small pan over medium-low heat. Bring to a simmer, lower heat, cover and cook to blend the flavors, abou 10-15 minutes.
4. Remove the skin and bone from the chicken and tear the meat into bite size shreds.
Add the chicken to the sauce and keep warm.
Remove he tortillas from the oven and unwrap them. Place a heaping spoonful of the chicken mixture in the middle of a tortilla and fold it over, so it can be picked up and held in your hand. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and serve immediately with Scenic Vegetable Salad on the side.
Note: An alternate method for heating tortillas is to place them, individually, directly on a hot burner (on low heat) until they are hot and blistery.
Tags: bel air lawns, bobby jindal for president, finger food recipe, leftover chicken recipe, Mexican food, party food, tacos, tex-mex recipes, the drought in Southern California, tortillas
