One Pot + 7 Ingredients = Chicken Tacos

Tacos, tacos, tacos!!

It was such a nice surprise having my family come visit Jimmy & me last weekend, but I was a little bummed that my kitchen still wasn't fully restored from the remodel. As of today, however, the kitchen is complete! I'm thrilled at the way it turned out all thanks to my super hard working hubby and will be sharing pics soon. 
Having my whole family here at home with me doesn't happen too often, so it made me happy which in turn made me want to feed them! With my cooking stuff spread out between the guest room and the garage, I knew I would have to make simple meals that wouldn't require too many dishes or gadgets. I had a bunch of chicken thigh meat in the freezer, so with some other ingredients I had on hand, I was able to make these hearty tacos without much fuss. I just threw everything in my trusty dutch oven & let it cook while I joined my Mom & sister for a day of shopping. We came home to a house that smelled of Mexican deliciousness and all chowed down! So next time your loved ones visit you at home, whip up this easy dish that will have them wanting to visit you more often!

My sweet baby nephew so wanted to get his little hands on these, so you know they were good!!

Isn't my taco holder neat? I got it as gift for our 5th wedding anniversary from a long time friend & I love it!

Ingredients
1 pound boneless chicken thigh or breast meat
1 can diced tomatoes with chiles
(I used Rotel-Hot)
1/2 large yellow onion, sliced up
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf (I prefer using fresh when possible)
3 tablespoons chicken taco seasoning
(or your own combination of cumin, garlic & chili powders)
Handful of fresh chopped cilantro
Kosher salt & course ground black pepper (Which don't count as "ingredients" since they go in practically everything!)

To make the chicken taco meat, either use a slow cooker or a heavy pot with a lid like my lovely red dutch oven. Add full chicken thighs or breasts, the can of tomatoes with juice, the onion slices, chicken stock, bay leaf & taco seasoning in the pot. Liberally (at least one tablespoon each) add the kosher salt & pepper then stir it all together to combine. Put the lid on the pot and place it in the oven at 300 degrees for about 2-3 hours. If you need it to cook longer, say you want to throw it in early then use it for dinner, lower the temp to about 200. My oven has a slow cook function that can be set at either low or high, so that's what I used. Once the chicken is almost done, add the cilantro so it keeps that nice green color and bright flavor. (I didn't add much because my Mom's not a fan, so you can't see much of it in the pic.) Of course you can also just toss it in with the other ingredients at the beginning if you want. Be sure to taste the meat once it's cooked to be sure the flavor is good. Remember you can always add salt, but too much will ruin your hard work.

Once the meat has cooked down so much it falls apart on its own, it is done. Stir it around to break up any big chunks, but it shouldn't take much effort for the chicken to break down into stringy pieces like in the pics. Take out the bay leaf and drain the meat well if there is still a lot of juice before serving. 

Corn tortillas, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream & shredded cheese obviously put the ingredients well over 7 items, but these are all things that can be switched up to make the dish your own. For example, try crema oaxaquena or crema fresca instead of sour cream. They are a bit sweeter and add more depth to the flavors of Mexican dishes, especially spicy ones. Or add avocado if you don't like cream. You can also try using queso fresco or cotija cheese instead of shredded cheddar, which are crumbly white cheeses that are also used in Mexican cuisine. If you're trying to limit your carb intake, use butter lettuce leaves to make chicken lettuce wraps. Ooo, good idea Jackie! I'm gonna have to do that next time since I need to get serious about shedding these extra ten pounds I've gained this year. Especially considering it's only July! *sigh* :-/