Shredded Chicken Tacos

I love Mexican food.  No wait, I love Mexican food.  I think I could eat it every night.  I love Americanized Mexican food and I love Mexican Mexican food.  I especially like to enjoy it with an ice cold beer!  Do you agree?

I am very fond of tacos; meat, veggies, yummy sauce, all wrapped up in a shell!  I mean, how much more wonderfulness can you get in a meal? 

In my never ending quest to find yummy taco fillings, I stumbled on a recipe for Shredded Chicken for Tacos at Smitten Kitchen.  It looked easy enough, and since the chicken required only 30 minutes of simmering, it was something that I could get on the stove and then play with the Toddler while it cooked.  I did do the other prep work before getting the chicken on the stove: diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, etc.

I decided to serve the chicken in homemade crunchy taco shells.  The Husband likes crunchy shells.  I do not have a preference.  The homemade ones were not that fast to make, but they sure beat the stuff in the box! I found a video of how to make the shells here.  

Regardless of your shell preference, I hope you enjoy this filling!  As I mentioned above, I served with shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes as well as fresh salsa from the store and a sprinkling of cheddar cheese.

Shredded Chicken for Tacos
from Smitten Kitchen
Adapted from The New York Times
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients:
2 pounds boneless chicken thighs
1 large white onion, peeled and quartered
5 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 ancho or other mild dried chili, optional
Salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:
1.  Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and add water to cover. Turn heat to high, bring to a boil, and skim any foam that comes to the surface. Partially cover and adjust heat so mixture simmers steadily. Cook until meat is very tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from liquid and cool.

2.  Shred meat with fingers. Taste and adjust seasonings; use within a couple of days.

I took a few pictures of the taco shells as well, so I will post a brief tutorial. (But if you are going to make them, I suggest you check out that link above!)  Like I said, they were pretty tasty, but very labor intensive since you had to continually flip the tortilla to make sure it didn't burn. 

Heat pan and add a thin coat of oil to it.  Allow it to heat up and add your corn tortilla to the pan.

Using a fork and a butter knife, flip your tortilla over so each side starts getting a little brown.  Once you have done that a few times, fold the tortilla in half.

Keep flipping the folded tortilla so it doesn't burn, but allows some browning.  Once it is browned to your satisfaction, remove from pan and put on paper towel to absorb excess oil.

So after writing this and looking at the pictures, I really want one of these tacos!  And it is 6:20am!!

Leave a comment, let me know your favorite taco filling.


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