Taco Tuesday!

I was looking for dinner inspiration, after hearing a story about a cookbook that embraces the kids for family dinner night. During my search for the book, I ended up stumbling across a blog called, "Once Upon a Chef", and their recipe for chicken tacos. The recipe reminded me of how Franny cooks, so of course I decided that would be the next day's dinner. Those were some of the best tacos I've ever had.

We only made a few changes:

1. ground turkey, instead of chicken
2. only red pepper--we rarely use green
3. soft artisan shells, not hard

http://www.onceuponachef.com/2011/02/chicken-tacos.

Chicken Tacos
Makes 12 tacos

Ingredients

For Filling
¼ cup olive oil
¾ cup diced red bell pepper (you'll need one small pepper)
¾ cup diced green bell pepper (you'll need one small pepper)
2 medium yellow onions, diced (about 2 cups)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds ground chicken (not extra-lean all breast meat)
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons ancho chili powder
1-1/2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more if you like it spicy)
1-3/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (you'll need one small bunch)
12 hard taco shells (I like Old El Paso Stand 'n Stuff)

Suggestions for Garnish
Shredded lettuce or purple cabbage
Shredded Mexican blend cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Heat olive oil in large saute pan over medium heat. Add onions, red peppers and green peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and just starting to brown, about 10-12 minutes. Add garlic and cook a few minutes more. Add ground chicken, paprika, ancho chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne, and salt. Turn heat to high; use wooden spoon to stir and break chicken into small clumps until chicken is partially cooked, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, then turn heat down to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally and breaking chicken into smaller clumps, for 10-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle with fresh chopped cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

3. Meanwhile, remove taco shells from package and lay sideways on baking sheet. Pull stack apart, overlapping edges slighly. Bake 6 to 7 minutes, or until crisp. Spoon chicken into shells and serve with suggested toppings.