Pulled Chicken Tacos

I made some pizzas last week and had some left over pulled chicken from Trader Joes.  Usually I would make my own pulled chicken and my own BBQ sauce but I was tired and exhausted from a long week and figured I'd give this BBQ Pulled Chicken a shot.  I was really happy I did, it was tasty, spicy, smokey but not too sweet.  Perfect!  Like I said, I made pizzas last week and they turned out really well, post on that later but for now I used leftovers to make these tacos and it was truly a magical moment.

Pulled Chicken Tacos:

Leftover Pulled Chicken in BBQ Sauce from Trader Joes

shredded cheese - I used smoked Gouda

thinly sliced red onion or shallots

cilantro

pea shoots (left over but you can use cabbage or any other green you want)

lime zest and juice

corn tortillas

Spoon pulled chicken mixture onto a few corn tortillas, top with some cheese, put in the microwave for 45 seconds or so.  Top with the onion, cilantro lime zest, any greens you desire.  Roll into taco form and chomp down on, chew, swallow, repeat.  Nom, nom, nom.

I loved them so much I ate 3 tacos.  Usually I cap it at two, but I couldn't resist one more.

Carne Asada Fajitas

This past weekend the boy and I went down to my parents house to help decorate their Christmas Tree.  Needless to say, we were both tired when we returned to San Francisco.  The boy was craving Mexican food and instead of him getting a burrito at a questionable Taquerilla, I convinced him that I would cook Fajitas and we could relax and recover together in the comfort of our own home.  That settled, we dropped in on our local Trader Joes and picked up some ingredients.  I was set on making Carne Asada and was looking for the right cut of meat at TJ's.  They didn't have anything I wanted (Filet Mignon is not ideal here) so (Mom - don't hate me) I grabbed the TJ's marinated Carne Asada steak.  I came home and started to make another marinade for the meat because I wanted to add a bit more flavor to it.  Once the meat marinated for about 20-30 minutes, I grilled it on an indoor grill pan, served it with sauteed vegetables and some cheese and voila, Fajitas!

Carne Asada Fajitas:



1 package of pre-marinated Carne Asada steak from Trader Joes (make sure you slice the pieces into more manageable sizes, roughly the size of your hand)

1 small shallot, chopped roughly

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp ancho chili powder (optional, if not add a bit more chili powder)

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly cracked pepper

1 tbsp honey

2 limes, zest and juice

1 orange, zest and juice

2 tsp soy sauce

2 tbsp peanut oil - or any neutral flavor oil





Indoor Grilling



Mix all the marinade ingredients and add the Carne Asada and let sit for at least 20 minutes room temperature.  Heat a grill or your grill pan to high.  Sear the meat for 3-5 minutes on both sides until medium rare and tender.  The time will depend on the size of your meat and the hotness of your grill/grill pan.  Serve with a whole wheat flour tortilla, shredded cheese, sauteed peppers and onions and some salsa and you have yourself a rocking fajita.



Peppers and Onions