Tacos

 

It’s Cinco De Mayo season and it’s Tuesday therefore, it’s taco time of the week. There are many ways to make a taco, with beef, chicken, or even seafood. I prefer Beef, either ground beef or flank steak shredded and smothered with cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce, chopped onions, tomatoes, and mild taco sauce. Either that or fajita style with both beef and chicken. I’ve never been one for the fish taco, to me just sounds nasty, but to each your own.  Let’s make a beef or chicken taco today.

Taco Filling:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan.

1 1/3 pounds ground beef, the average weight of 1 package, or 2 pieces of chicken breast without the skin sliced into thin strips.  

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 chipotles in adobo sauce, chopped

1 cup tomato sauce

1 rounded tablespoons of chili powder, a rounded palmful

Salt

1/2 cup water

If you want to make it a fajita-style taco then add the following to your filling:

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 small green bell pepper, chopped

1 tablespoon ground cumin, a palmful

several drops of cayenne pepper sauce, to taste, I use Cholula sauce

1/2 teaspoon allspice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

1/2 cup water

Toppings and Sides:

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar

1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Pepper Jack cheese

Shredded Romaine lettuce, 2 hearts

6 scallions, chopped

Diced red plum tomatoes

Taco sauce, any brand

10 super-size taco shells, warmed to package directions

Directions

1. Taco Filling: In a small skillet preheated over medium-high heat, add oil and your chicken or beef meat. Brown meat for 2 or 3 minutes, then add onions and garlic. Cook onions and meat together for another 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in chipotles, chili powder and tomato sauce. Season your filling with salt to your taste. Stir 1/2 cup water into your filling. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until ready to serve.
2. For the fajita-style taco, Heat a small to medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and meat to a hot pan. You've already cut up your flank steak or chicken into strips, so there is no need to break up the meat while it browns. Just make sure you don't burn the meat. Cook for only 2 to 3 minutes or until browned. Add peppers and season the mixture with cumin, cayenne sauce, allspice, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to moderate and cook filling 5 minutes longer. Add 1/2 cup water to the meat and simmer for about 10 minutes over low heat. Keep filling warm until ready to serve.\

To assemble, arrange taco shells on a platter, add the fillings to small serving bowls along with the toppings in other small dishes, and assemble your tacos and enjoy.  

Elizabeth Kilbride is a Writer and Editor with forty years of experience in writing with 12 of those years in the online content sphere. Graduating with an Associate of Arts from Pheonix University kin Business Management, then a degree in Mass Communication and Cyber Analysis from Phoenix University, then on to Walden University for her master’s in criminology with emphasis on Cybercrime and Identity Theft and is currently studying for her Ph.D. degree in Criminology, her work portfolio includes coverage of politics, current affairs, elections, history, and true crime. In her spare time, Elizabeth is also a gourmet cook, life coach, and avid artist, proficient in watercolor, acrylic, pen and ink, Gouache, and pastels. As a political operative having worked on over 300 campaigns during her career, Elizabeth has turned many life events into books and movie scripts while using history to weave interesting storylines. She also runs 6 blogs that range from art to life coaching, to food, to writing, and opinion or history pieces each week.