Simple Chicken Tacos and Black Beans

A very simple dinner using leftover chicken for tacos and a quick black bean side dish.

These tacos were completely unexpected and delicious.  I bought corn tortillas, made slaw, and had black beans warming in preparation for Fish Stick Tacos (which I'll post next time).  I was waiting for my husband to get home from work before I cooked the fish sticks when he surprised me by bringing home leftovers.

Unexpected leftovers make great tacos.  [Tweet this]

Someone from his work had barbecue/grilled chicken for lunch and couldn't finish it all so he brought me the leftovers.  I don't want y'all to think we can't afford to buy our own food.  We can, but my husband hates to see any food go to waste and he knew I had tacos planned so thought I might sub chicken for the fish sticks.  It wasn't much chicken but plenty for the two of us and even easier than the dinner I had planned.  So that's how these Simple Chicken Tacos came into existence.  Once again an unplanned meal rescued leftovers and tasted great.  This would work well with leftover rotisserie chicken too.

Rescue leftover rotisserie chicken with tacos.  [Tweet this]

Simple Chicken Tacos

Prep/cook time:  15 minutes or fewer
Servings:  2

Ingredients:

*Quick lime slaw
1 cup leftover chicken, shredded
4 Corn Tortillas, toasted/grilled
Cilantro

**Quick Lime Slaw:  1/2 head of cabbage sliced/shredded, juice of 1 lime, 1 Tbsp Mayonnaise, and 1 tsp sugar.  Toss the cabbage in the juice, mayonnaise, and sugar until thoroughly mixed.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until ready to use (it's great right away too if you're crunched for time).

Grill the tortillas quickly on both sides until pliable and sturdier (see my trick for more details).  Cover with a towel and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the leftover chicken (in the microwave is fine).

Lay out the tortillas (2 per person).  Spread some of the slaw on each tortilla, then 1/4 of the chicken, and top with cilantro.

Serve with black beans (recipe below).

Black Beans and Red Pepper Side

Cook time: 15-20 minutes
Servings:  4-6

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 cups pre-cooked black beans (or 1 can drained)
1 Tbsp garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste
Hot sauce or hot pepper flakes, optional

In a medium saucepan cook the onion and red pepper, over medium-high heat (with a sprinkle of salt and pepper), until tender.

Add the black beans (and salt if needed), garlic powder, and hot sauce if using (enough to make it spicy to your liking).  Stir to mix well, lower the heat to low, and cover until the beans are heated through.

Serve as a side dish for any meal.

Enjoy.

For more taco ideas check out:

Tequila Lime Shrimp Tacos

Cinnamon Spice Fish Tacos

Beans and Rice Tostadas

Linked to:  2 Cup, Treasure Box, Lou Lou Girs, Talk, Wake Up, Whimsy, Full Plate, Freedom, Food Friends, Pretty Pintastic, Best of the Weekend

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Asian Slaw

An Asian themed slaw made with cabbage, daikon, and carrot mixed with an Asian-style vinaigrette.  A great accompaniment to an Asian Pork Burger or any burger.  

I love slaws (I notice I say this about a lot of foods but it's true).  They are a great way to eat your vegetables and those vegetables are raw.  I like to add raw vegetables to my dinners when I can because they are said to retain more nutrients and be good for your digestion (I also like the crunchy crispness).  I think slaws are the perfect vegetable side/salad to serve with burgers and sandwiches.  When I made Asian Pork Burgers it was natural to make an Asian Slaw to go with them.

Ingredients:

1/2 head of Napa cabbage, shredded

2 carrots, julienned

1 small daikon, julienned

Vinaigrette:

1/3 cup olive oil

1 Tbsp minced ginger

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1/3 cup lime juice

1/2-1 cup sliced green onions

(you could also add some sesame seeds too)

Wash and shred or julienne the vegetables (when I say a small daikon, this was one that was about the size of a carrot.  I don't know about all daikons, but the usual ones I find here are more the size of a tree branch so it took me a while to find one small enough for my purpose).  Toss and mix the vegetables in a large bowl.

Whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients and pour over the vegetables.  Stir together with a large spoon, or I like to use a seal-able container and shake it, until vegetables are thoroughly coated and mixed.

Cover, or seal, bowl and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving (over night is even better).  As the slaw sits, the flavors meld and it tastes even better.

Makes about 6-8 servings.  I prefer to serve it cold, but room temperature is ok too.  Enjoy.

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Moroccan Raw Carrot Salad

A delicious and colorful carrot slaw with bold flavors.

I believe this original recipe comes from the book Olive Trees and Honey by Gil Marks, but I found it here.  This recipe quickly became a favorite.  It is crunchy and sweet and spicy with warm flavors.  I make this salad all the time.

The main reason I bought a food processor was for this salad.  You can use coarsely grated carrots, but I prefer julienned, and it is so much quicker and easier to cut them with a food processor.  For years when I made this salad I would have to purchase a bag of juliened carrots, for slaw, because my knife skills are not good enough to do it by hand.  So when I finally decided to get a food processor I made sure to get one that had a julienne blade.  Just a couple of minutes and I have all the julienned carrots I need.

Ingredients:

4 cups carrots, julienned
1/4 cup olive oil
3-4 Tbsp lime juice
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp harissa (or cayenne), optional

Place the carrots in a large bowl.


In a smaller bowl mix the oil, lime juice, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, garlic and harissa (I've used all kinds of hot sauces, cayenne, and I've even used a habanero--blended to a puree with the liquids--they all taste great).

Pour the dressing over the carrots and mix until thoroughly coated.  Lastly, stir in the chopped cilantro.  Often I make the salad in a large seal-able container and just shake it to combine (with the lid on of course).

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or over night to allow the flavors to meld (the longer it sits the better it tastes).  Serve cold or at room temperature (I prefer it cold).

makes 5-6 servings.

This salad is great with sandwiches, burgers, and barbeque (just about everything).  Try it instead of your usual slaw.

Enjoy.

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Barbecue Pork with Cheddar Ranch Scalloped Potatoes and Slaw

A delicious smoked pork butt sliced thin and served with creamy, cheesy, scalloped  potatoes and a red cabbage slaw.  A very satisfying weekend meal.

There is nothing better, to me, than a pork roast sitting on the smoker all day.  I had this pleasure over the weekend.  My husband brought home a pork butt (which is actually the shoulder) and he spent all day with it on the smoker.  We didn't do anything too fancy with the pork, just put a dry rub on it and let it smoke for hours.  The rub consisted of brown sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, and onion powder.  I made the rub a while ago so I don't remember exactly what proportions I used but that is the basic contents.  The main thing to make this great is a long slow smoke with occasional 'sopping' (brushing or spraying with a beer and spice concoction).

Since my husband manned the smoker I made the sides.  The scalloped potatoes are a pretty basic recipe that I use all the time, but I spiked it with about 1/2 cup of ranch dressing.  Here is the recipe.

Cheddar Ranch Scalloped Potatoes:

2 large russet potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
1 small onion, chopped small
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cup milk, I used skim but any will be fine
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, I used mild
salt and pepper to taste
pinch habanero flakes (optional)

First I made a white sauce.  I sweat the onion until soft, in a small amount of oil or butter.  Then I added the 1/4 cup of butter until it melted and added the flour.  I stirred for about a minute or too until cooked then added the milk and ranch and habanero flakes, if using.  I kept stirring over medium low temperature until the sauce thickened and began to simmer.  Then I turned off the heat and stirred in the cheese until melted and smooth.  Finally I added salt and pepper.

Once the sauce was made, I layered an 8 by 8 inch baking pan with a layer of potatoes, then sauce, then potatoes again, finishing with a layer of sauce.  This was covered with aluminum foil and baked for 45-60 minutes at 350 degrees F until potatoes were soft.  Serves 4.

The slaw was nothing fancy, but it tasted very good and the colors were pretty.

I shredded 1/2 of a small head of red cabbage, 1 carrot, and thinly sliced 4 stalks of celery.  To this I added the juice of 1 lemon, 2 Tbsp brown sugar and about 1/4 cup olive oil.  I also added some salt, pepper, and hot sauce.  Mixed it all up and let it sit for at least 1 hour.

All together this made a great evening meal.  The pork was so tender and juicy.  The potatoes were creamy and the slaw was colorful and fresh.  We will be happily eating this for another night or two.  Enjoy.

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