Taco Tuesday

It's time for another Taco Tuesday. Today's six yummy taco recipes include Slow Cooker Smoky Pulled Pork Tacos and Chicken Chili Tacos. Enjoy!

SOFT TACOS WITH CHICKEN AND TOMATO-CORN SALSA

This comes from Martha Rose Schulman, also in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Martha wrote, “Tomato-corn salsa is substantial, almost like a salad. These light, fresh tacos make a wonderful summer meal.” Yield: Serves four; Time: 15 minutes.

This was featured in “Sweet Corn: Getting an Earful in Summer”, and can be found online by clicking here.

Ingredients

1/2 small red or white onion, finely chopped

1 ear of corn, steamed for five minutes

1 pound ripe tomatoes, finely chopped

1 to 3 jalapeño or serrano peppers (to taste), seeded if desired and minced

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Salt to taste

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, poached and shredded (about 2 cups)

8 corn tortillas

1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese

Preparation

Place the chopped onion in a small bowl, and cover with cold water. Let sit for five minutes, then drain and rinse with cold water. Drain on paper towels. Cut the kernels off the steamed ear of corn.

Toss together the tomatoes, minced chiles, cilantro, onion and steamed corn. Season to taste with salt, and add up to 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice. Place the shredded chicken in a bowl, and season with 1 tablespoon lime juice and salt to taste.

Heat the tortillas. Wrap in aluminum foil, and heat through in a 350-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes; or heat through one at a time in a dry skillet over medium-high heat until flexible. Place one or two on each plate, top with shredded chicken and a generous spoonful of the salsa, and sprinkle some cheese on top. Serve, passing additional salsa if there is any at the table.

Tip

Advance preparation: The poached, shredded chicken will keep for three days in the refrigerator. The salsa can be assembled several hours before serving. Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.

CHICKEN CHILI TACOS

This is from the TODAY Show Recipes e-newsletter. Prep Time: 10 minutes; Servings: 4.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 1/2 cups prepared pico de gallo or salsa

1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 1 1/2 limes)

2 teaspoons cumin seeds, lightly toasted

2 cloves garlic. minced

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

12 taco shells (crisp or soft/flour or corn)

Preparation

Place the chicken, pico de gallo or salsa, lime juice, cumin seeds and garlic in a slow cooker and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. (You can also cook on high for 3 hours.)

Allow to cool a bit. Scoop the chicken out with a big slotted spoon and place it in a large serving bowl. Use two forks to pull the meat apart. The chicken will shred easily. Stir in some cooking juice from the pot and top with the cilantro.

Place the shredded chicken, your taco shells and desired fixings on the table and let everyone put together their perfect taco.

TACO PIZZAS

This is from Lena Abraham at Delish. The recipe begins, “Tacos and pizzas are meant to be together.”

Total Time: 20 minutes; Prep Time: 10 minutes; Level: Easy; Serves: 6 servings

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 lb. ground beef

1 packet taco seasoning

kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

6 tostada shells

1 c. salsa

2 c. Mexican blend cheese

1 c. cherry tomatoes, cut into rounds

1 c. Shredded lettuce

1/2 c. sour cream

Cilantro, for garnish

Directions

In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add ground beef and taco seasoning, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper, and cook until the beef is no longer pink, about 6 minutes. Drain fat and set aside.

Build your “pizza”: spread a spoonful of salsa on your tostada shell, then top with cheese, meat, tomatoes, lettuce and a dollop of sour cream. Garnish with cilantro if desired and serve.

SLOW COOKER SMOKY PULLED PORK TACOS

This comes from Heidi, self-described “photo-taking, storytelling, magazine and e-cookbook designing food blogger” for FoodieCrush. If you’ve never heard of her or checked out her blog, I suggest checking it out ASAP. Seriously.

For this recipe, Heidi wrote, “Just four simple ingredients tossed in your crock pot make this easy pulled pork shoulder recipe taco-night ready when topped with a crunchy Mexican slaw, smoky roasted salsa and guacamole.”

Total Time: 15 hours; Cook Time: 15 hours; Serves: 3-4 pounds pulled pork.

To view this on FoodieCrush, go to https://www.foodiecrush.com/slow-cooker-pulled-pork-tacos/.

Ingredients

6-8 pound bone-in pork shoulder

1 pint jar Smoky Roasted Salsa or smoky-flavored store-bought salsa

6 whole cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

3-4 canned chipotles in adobo sauce, chopped

6-inch corn or flour tortillas

Mexican coleslaw

Guacamole

Cotija cheese

Cilantro leaves, chopped

Instructions

Place the pork shoulder in a 6½ to 8 quart slow cooker. In a medium size bowl, mIx the salsa with the smashed garlic cloves and the chipotles in adobo sauce. Pour the salsa mixture over the pork. Cover with the lid of the slow cooker and cook on low for 12-14 hour, or until the pork falls off of the bone. Chill the crock with the contents still in it until cold all the way through.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Scrape away the congealed fat around the pork shoulder and use a bit of the fat to grease a 9 X 13-inch baking dish. Discard the rest of the fat but reserve the cooking juices.

Transfer the meat to a large cutting board and scrape away any visible fat. Use your hands to shred the meat into same-size pieces. Transfer the meat to the baking dish and bake, uncovered for 20 minutes or until the pork is hot all the way through. At the 10 minute mark, check to see if the meat is getting too dry. If so, toss it with a fork to keep it from drying out too much.

While the pork bakes, strain the cooking juices through a fine mesh sieve into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer and cook until reduced to 1/4 its original volume.

When the pork is hot, pour the reduced pan juices over the pork and toss to coat.

Warm the tortillas, either in a damp towel in a warm oven at 200 degrees F, or lightly char the tortillas over the flame of a gas stove. Assemble the tacos with a 1/3-1/2 cup pulled pork, Mexican coleslaw, guacamole and sprinkle with cotija cheese. Garnish with cilantro and serve with more smoky salsa if desired.

Pulled Pork recipe from Not Your Mama's Canning Book, by Rebecca Lindamood.

SPICY TURKEY TACOS

This is from Judy Kim on Delish and begins, “Thought ground turkey was blah? Think again.”

According to Delish, “Judy Kim is a NYC-based food stylist, recipe developer, and photographer. She also writes recipes for her website The Judy Lab.” Check out both Delish and The Judy Lab.

Total Time: 20 minutes; Prep Time: 15 minutes; Level: Easy; Serves: 4

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

8 hard corn taco shells

1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 lb. ground turkey

4 tsp. Mexican seasoning

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

1 c. crushed tomatoes

1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish

1 c. grated mozzarella

1 c. Pico de Gallo

1 c. sour cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°. Place taco shells on a sheet pan.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil and add ground turkey; brown while breaking up with a wooden spoon. Season with Mexican seasoning, cayenne, salt and pepper.

Add garlic and onions; sauté until softened, about 4 minutes. Add tomatoes and cilantro and stir until warmed through. Turn off heat and cover to keep warm.

Just before serving, bake taco shells until warmed through, about 2 minutes. Spoon spicy turkey mixture into taco shells and top with mozzarella, pico de gallo and cilantro. Serve with sour cream.

TURKEY TACO BOWLS

This is from page 35 of the June 2017 issue of Runner’s World, and begins, “A large egg adds 6 grams of muscle-rebuilding protein.”

Makes 4 servings

To view this, as well as other recipes in the article, online here.

Ingredients

5 teaspoons olive oil, divided

1 pound lean ground turkey

1 tablespoon taco seasoning

4 cups shredded red cabbage

2 cups chopped kale

Juice of 1 lime

Salt to taste

4 eggs

2 whole-wheat tortillas

1 tablespoon crumbled feta

1 avocado, sliced

1 tablespoon salsa (optional)

Instructions

Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add turkey, taco seasoning, and 1/2 cup of water. Cook, breaking up meat with a spoon, until water has evaporated and turkey is browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Meanwhile, in another large skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add cabbage and kale and cook until bright-colored and slightly wilted, about 4 minutes. Stir in lime juice and sprinkle with salt. Divide mixture among 4 bowls. Wipe skillet and heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil over medium heat and cook eggs sunny side up, 3 to 4 minutes. Warm tortillas, then cut into 1/2″-wide strips. Top each bowl of cabbage mixture with turkey, an egg, and tortilla strips. Sprinkle each with feta, avocado, and salsa, if desired.