Chicken Tacos (chicos as my 2 year old calls them)

Need an easy, fast dinner?  Too busy to stand over the stove and cook?

Here is your solution: Chicken tacos.  They are DELICIOUS!

When you ask my 2 year old what she wants for dinner, her response is almost always "Chicos!"

I usually make these on nights I have other things to do because they are quick and easy. 

I use Giant Eagle brand frozen boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins.  Any chicken will work.

1. Preheat oven according to instructions, in this case 400 degrees.
2. Bake chicken, I bake for 30 minutes.  In this time, I go do whatever it is I need to do.  To feed my family of now 4 I use 10-12 tenderloins and we usually have some left over.
3. When the chicken is cooked through, but not over done to where it is dry, take out and cut into small chunks.  If I have time, I shred the chicken, either way works.
4. Add chicken to a skillet.
5. Add 3/4 cup water and a packet of Ortega taco seasoning. (This is enough for 10-12 tenderloins; about 1 pound of meat, adjust for more.)

 

 

6. Cook on medium-high heat and stir until sauce thickens, takes about 10-15 minutes.
7. Remove from heat.

Now comes the fun part-putting the tacos together!

You can use soft or hard shells.  I use Chi-Chi's Wheat wraps found in the same location as the taco seasoning and other wraps.

1. Put the chicken in the shell.  I keep our wraps in the refrigerator so they are still cold at this point.

2. Add toppings: I use Kraft Mexican Four Cheese (if it's on sale) or I buy a 16oz block of the Colby Jack cheese and shred it myself-more economical.

*I add ranch to mine.  It really adds tang to the taco and tastes great!  My kids do not like it, so they just get cheese.  My husband adds taco sauce, found with the other taco products.
3. Pop them in the microwave for about 10-30 seconds depending on how many I have on the plate at once.  Again this is because I put our wraps in the refrigerator.
4. Fold in the ends, fold over one side and roll.  I would probably be fired from Taco Bell before I even started, I am bad at wrapping.

Enjoy!  Refrigerate leftovers if you have any.  This reheats great!  My husband who never reheats anything and hates leftovers, will reheat this!

Happy Blogging and Pinning!

Easy Peasy Homemade Chicken Strips

This is my mother's recipe and I LOVE these chicken strips.  I decided to make them last night for the first time.  It was a quick, easy dinner and something my husband would actually eat.

In the bustle of getting everyone fed, I forgot to take a picture of my final product, so I stole one off of google images, but it very closely represents what mine looked like.

What you need:
Chicken strips, thawed (I use Giant Eagle boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins from the freezer section.  I get these because I use them in a variety of dishes and they are the easiest to work with and you can cook them frozen and they still come out delicious!)
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour (approximately)
1/2 cup bread crumbs (approximately)
vegetable oil
frying pan skillet

1. Pour enough vegetable oil in the frying pan to cover the bottom.
2. Heat to medium-high heat. (My stove knob goes to 8 then High so I set it at 7.)
3. Mix the egg and milk together, it should be thin.
4. Mix the flour and bread crumbs in a separate bowl.  I used Market District bread crumbs and they worked great!
5. Dip chicken strips, one at a time, into the egg mixture, then the bread crumb mixture, and place in hot oil in the pan.
6. Fry until brown, flip over, fry until brown. (This took about 5-7 minutes on each side about 8 strips fit in my pan at once.   I cut open a few to make sure they were cooked through before pulling them out.)
7. Pull out of pan when done and place on plate covered with paper towel, to absorb the extra oil.

With the above recipe, I made 10 chicken strips and with a "starving" husband and 2 small children it fed all of us.  I made Bob Evans Family Size Macaroni and Cheese as a side.  It is about $7 at Giant Eagle, but we don't get it often and to us is well worth it.  It is delicious and super easy, just pop it in the microwave for 7 minutes and you have a quick dinner side.  The flour and bread crumbs are approximate, just use about a 50/50 mixture.  I put in a little more bread crumbs because I like my strips crunchy.

 

 

Let me know what you think of them!

Happy Blogging and Happy Pinning!