By now, you should know that my husband and I are major foodies. In fact, I’ve jokingly said before that if people don’t enjoy food as much as we do, we aren’t sure if we can be really great friends! HA! That’s how serious we are about our love for food and enjoying it with those we love most!
Even more serious is our love for taco’s. I feel as though we actually need to take a moment of silence to really honour the taco. Let’s do that together now…
If you are in the food scene, you know that taco’s are having a moment of their own right now. They even got their own emoji! That’s how popular they’ve become.
Not only are taco’s one of our favourite foods to enjoy when we are out dining, they are absolutely our favourite food to make when entertaining. If you’ve been to our house in the last year, chances are, you were fed one of three tacos: chicken, steak or fish. If you are really lucky, you enjoyed all three at our Christmas party last December!
Chris has come up with THREE absolutely incredible taco recipes that we are going to share with you over the next three weeks! I’d like to think of myself as somewhat of a tough food critic and I’m not exaggerating when I say that my husband’s taco’s are literally some of the BEST taco’s I’ve ever had. And trust me, I’ve had A LOT of taco’s. Trust me when I say you are going to want to make these and wow your guests at your next dinner party!
So let’s kick this Taco Tuesday series off with these delicious southwest chicken taco’s!
There are five components to making this southwest chicken taco, but don’t let that intimidate you. It WILL be worth it, so let’s quickly talk through those five components and then I’ll add them all in the recipe below for you to save.
First and foremost, you gotta marinate the meat. You’re going to add in all the spices and oil and place it in a resealable bag for at least an hour, if not a few hours before to really get the flavours partying together.
While this is happening, you are going to make the four other components: southwest coleslaw, corn and black bean salsa, pico de gallo and taco sauce. All are very easy to make and most ingredients you can find at your local grocery store. Two items we’ve struggled to find at a regular grocery store in Canada are canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and queso fresco (note, we actually forgot the queso fresco for the pictures, but we do always sprinkle it on top on the tacos before serving). Both of these items can be found at a Mexican grocery store.
Once your chicken has marinated for long enough, cook it in a cast-iron pan for the best flavors. Then it’s time to build your taco!
It should be noted that we use only flour tortilla’s as those are our favorite. I know that’s not traditional Mexican (corn is), however, we much prefer flour.
Start with the coleslaw on the bottom layer. Then add in your chicken, followed by the corn and black bean salsa. Next it’s time for the pico de gallo. We then sprinkle on some queso fresco, which isn’t pictured on these (it looks just like feta). Finally, and also not pictured, we generously top it with taco sauce.
See below for ALL five recipe components and be prepared to enjoy one of the most incredible taco’s of your life! And make sure to come back NEXT week as we feature FISH tacos, my personal favorite of all three! You won’t want to miss it!
- 2 lbs chicken thighs, 1 cm dice
- 1/2 tbsp canola oil
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp granulated garlic
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp chipotle peppers, finely chopped
- 2 tsp Adobo sauce (from the can)
- 1 lime, juiced (add more if desired)
- Salt to taste
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 cups corn kernels, frozen or canned
- 1 medium purple onion, finely diced
- 1 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- Juice of one lime (add to taste)
- Salt to taste
- 1-2 Finely diced jalapeños (optional)
- A splash of your favorite hot sauce (optional)
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 2 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 small canned chipotle chile, minced, plus 2 tsp. adobo sauce from the can
- Juice from 1 lime
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bag of coleslaw mix
- 6 plum tomatoes, filleted and diced
- 1/2 white onion, minced
- 1/2 lime, juiced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- Combine all spices in a bowl and mix well. Place chicken thighs in a resealable bag. Add in oil first to coat chicken and then spices. Mix well. Let sit for at least one hour. Cook in cast-iron pan on medium-high heat.
- Combine all ingredients. Mix well. Place into a squeeze bottle and allow to sit for at least an hour before serving.
- Combine and mix thoroughly
- Combine sauce ingredients and then pour over coleslaw mix. Mix thoroughly
- Combine and mix thoroughly
Love & Blessings,
