Tag Archives: taco

Buffalo Chicken Soft Tacos

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When I am asked to come up with my favorite foods, I am incredibly consistent and not picky with whatever form it comes in – like Tuna (a delicious fresh tuna steak, raw or canned) Artichokes (seriously, anything with them probably makes me happy) and anything buffalo/hot wing flavored.

Luckily, the husband shares my love for buffalo flavored anything. We love us some hot wings. We love buffalo shrimp, buffalo chicken pizza, buffalo chicken soup, buffalo chicken meatballs – clearly it’s a problem, but one of those good ones to have, right? I also feel like Bubba from Forrest Gump right now…

So I recently threw together some buffalo chicken soft tacos – and I figured we’d just go ahead and make this another edition of “Faux Bar Food Friday” – because we all know that an ice cold beer goes great with any and all buffalo chicken type items. And beer goes great with Friday. And long weekends.

See, that worked out so well!

This is one of those easy to throw together meals – especially because you can do a lot of the prep before you sit down to eat! I promise, once you smell the chicken cooking, you’ll want to devour it immediately! (And of course, it’s WW friendly – only 10 points…for dinner!)

Buffalo Chicken Soft Tacos (serves 2)

8 oz. raw boneless, skinless chicken breast

4 medium whole wheat tortillas

1/2 cup fat-free chicken broth

1/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

1/4 cup reduced-fat blue cheese crumbles

1/2 cup raw celery, chopped

1/2 cup raw carrot, peeled and julienne

1/2 cup lettuce, chopped

1/4 cup green onion, chopped

Extra hot sauce for topping

Add chicken broth to a medium pot and bring to a boil. Add chicken breasts and cook 20-25 minutes until cooked through.

In the meantime, cut up your celery, carrots and green onion and refrigerate until ready to use.

Once chicken is cooked through, remove from pot – reserving 1/4 cup broth. Let chicken cool a little and then begin shredding with two forks.

Once all of your chicken is shredded, place back in the pot with chicken broth and hot sauce.

Cook over low heat until liquid is mostly absorbed.

While that’s happening, dampen two paper towels – place one on a microwaveable plate and add your 4 tortillas, and top with the 2nd towel. Microwave for 20-25 seconds. This makes the tortillas a little more pliable and less likely to tear when you fold them!

Grab your veggies from the fridge along with your blue cheese and get ready to assemble!

I spread about 1 tsp. ranch in the center of the tortillas and top with chicken, celery, carrots, lettuce, green onion and blue cheese.

I threw a few more dashes of hot sauce on top (because I’m just freaky like that) – but you can just go ahead and devour…

Have a very happy and safe Memorial Day weekend everybody!

Taco Won Tons

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So the husband and I have been on a huge Mexican food kick lately.

I am normally a total Mexican food snob – I don’t like the “hole in the wall” type places – but lately I’ve learned, some of them tend to have the best food and are incredibly and deliciously authentic. Previously it was hard for me to determine authentic since all I ordered were quesadillas and cheese dip!

I also think our two amazing trips to Mexico (one being our honeymoon) probably expanded my horizons quite a bit! I’m still not a huge fan of the rice or beans though – and I  am actually quite disgusted by re-fried beans.

However, the spices used in Mexican food and fresh avocados have definitely been game changers. And being introduced to chorizo. And obviously, melted cheese.

Also, throw in an ice-cold cerveza or margarita and I am one happy lady!

So for Cinco de Mayo, I knew we were going out later for Mexican – but I wanted to make something “light” for lunch that was also festive. Enter Taco Won Tons. I made them for lunch, but it was more testing out an “appetizer” – and I could totally see this one being a hit during the summer! A little spicy, pretty substantial, and goes great with a Corona or well, anything involving tequila. (I know, what doesn’t – right?)

The best part? These are 1 WW point per item. You. Are. Welcome.

Taco Won Tons (Meal – serves 2; Appetizer – serves 4-6 or more if doubled)

4 oz. extra lean ground beef (I used 94% lean)

2 Tbsp. yellow onion, chopped

1 Tbsp. green bell pepper, chopped

3 3/4 oz. fat-free refried beans

2 Tbsp. shredded fat-free cheddar

1/2 Tbsp. ketchup

3/4 tsp. chili powder

3/4 tsp. taco seasoning

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. hot sauce (optional – we didn’t use but put a few dashes on top of won tons)

12-16 won ton wrappers

1/2 cup taco sauce

Preheat oven to 375.

In a medium skillet, brown ground beef with onions and bell pepper.

Once beef is cooked through, scoop into a medium bowl. Add cumin, chili powder and taco seasoning.

Add your cheese, refried beans, ketchup and hot sauce. Mix until everything is incorporated.

Now, take your won tons and place one on a plate. Spoon about 1/2-3/4 Tbsp. in the center of each wrapper. Dip a pastry brush in water and spread a light amount over the edges of half the wrapper.

Fold “dry” half over on top of “wet” half and press together. Using the tip of a fork, press into the edges to “crimp” and ensure a good seal. (It also looks pretty!)

Repeat with all of mixture and add to baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray and bake 5-7 minutes on one side. Flip and bake another 5 minutes until edges are lightly browned and won tons are crisp.

Serve with taco sauce for dipping – and devour!

So I’ve had these for lunch, and now I want to make them as an appetizer. First, I’d probably have to have a party though. Surely I can come up with a reason…

 

 

 

Pulled Beef…Any Way You Want It!

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Hopefully you have Journey stuck in your head now. For that, you are most certainly welcome.

So normally for the Super Bowl, I am cooking up a storm. This year, as I mentioned in a previous post, we played it low-key. But I couldn’t watch the game without making something tasty to go along with it even if my team lost! I have been a long time fan of a certain food blogger many of us know and love…and she featured a recipe that just screamed “game day food” to me – slow cooked pulled pork.

Oddly enough, living in a city that prides itself on barbecue (of the pork variety) – there was no pork shoulder available in my grocery store. So after pacing the aisles and having the hubby quite annoyed at my lack of a back-up plan, I just went for the beef roast. And I must say it did not disappoint!

Spicy Pulled Beef (adapted from The Pioneer Woman)

The Starting Line-Up

2-3 pounds beef roast (mine was choice beef chuck boneless english roast)

1/2 yellow onion

4 ounces chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

8 fl. oz. Dr. Pepper

1/3 cup barbecue sauce (not pictured, would add this next time)

1/4 tsp. Kosher salt

1/4 tsp. Pepper

1/4 tsp. Garlic Salt

1/4 tsp. Smoked Paprika

Serves 8-10 depending on size of roast.

Season both sides of the roast with salt, pepper, garlic salt and smoked paprika. I gave each side a light dusting of each and pressed it into the meat. If desired, trim some of the fat from the outside (fewer points and there is still plenty in the roast for flavor).

Turn your slow cooker on low and set for 7-8 hours. Chop your onion half into large pieces and scatter on bottom of slow cooker. Add roast on top. Pour chipotle peppers in adobo sauce on top (note: I used about 6 ounces in the photos and it was just too spicy – and I have a pretty high spice tolerance!). Pour barbecue sauce on top of the roast and then pour Dr. Pepper over the top.

Place lid on slow cooker and cook 6-7 hours on low setting, flipping every 1 1/2 hours. At about 6 hours, I cranked it up to high for about an hour to get the meat really tender so that it was easy to shred (we were competing with an exciting game AND commercials) – but I’m sure it would be fine leaving it longer on low if you’re making this while you’re at work or something! Once beef is tender, turn slow cooker off and remove meat, setting aside on a deep baking sheet for shredding.

Take two forks and shred, shred, shred! Skim any fat off the top of the liquid in the slow cooker, and return the meat to the liquid. Set slow cooker to warm.

Now here’s what’s great about this recipe – there are so many options at this point! My dad and mom made sandwiches with the shredded beef topped with cheese. The hubby and I made tacos with shredded cheese, lettuce and tomatoes (well, he didn’t have tomatoes, I did).

 

For leftovers – we had shredded beef with mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus. I really want to try the shredded beef on a baked potato with some sharp cheddar and extra barbecue sauce drizzled on top. Anyway you want it…that’s the way you EAT it.

(I’m honestly laughing at the rest of the parody to the song I am now singing in my head. It’s a gift I tell you!)