Taco Tuesday

It's time for another Taco Tuesday. Today's offerings include Superstuffed Steak Soft Taco and Avocado Tacos. Enjoy!

EASY GREEN CHILE CHICKEN TACOS

This taco recipe is from Kaleigh McMordie, MCN, RDN, who not only posts recipes on VeryWell Fit, but has her own food site, called Lively Table.

For this recipe, Kaleigh wrote, “Instead of making the same old tacos this week, why not change things up with delicious and healthy green chile chicken tacos?

“This chicken taco recipe is super easy to make. Just boil the chicken in a bit of broth, shred, and add diced green chiles. It's a simple nutritious meal that the whole family will love.

“Corn tortillas are naturally whole grain, so they make a great choice for these tacos. Top with a bit of shredded red cabbage, creamy avocado, and fresh cilantro to make a weeknight meal.”

Total Time: 35 minutes; Prep Time: 5 minutes; CookTime: 30 minutes; Servings: 4 (2 tacos each)

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 (8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast

2 cloves garlic

1 fresh jalapeno

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

Water

1 can (7-ounce) diced green chiles

8 warm corn tortillas

1 small avocado, sliced

1 cup red cabbage, shredded

Fresh cilantro, to taste

Preparation

In a medium saucepan, add chicken, garlic, jalapeno, and broth. Add water to cover the chicken. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat until chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove chicken and shred using two forks. Discard garlic and jalapeno, reserving cooking liquid.

In a skillet, add green chiles and shredded chicken. Cook over low heat, stirring until warmed through and sauce is thickened. Add reserved cooking liquid as needed to keep the chicken moist.

Serve with warmed corn tortillas, avocado, cabbage, and cilantro.

Ingredient Variations and Substitutions

Use any type of tortilla that you like. Look for whole grain options, if possible.

You can also leave out the tortillas and serve the chicken on top of lettuce to make a taco salad or with brown rice and beans to make taco bowls.

Canned green chiles are usually found in the Mexican food aisle at the grocery store. They come in two varieties, spicy and mild. Choose the kind that best suits your taste.

Cooking and Serving Tips

Serve tacos with a side of low-sodium canned black beans for a quick and easy meal.

Add any toppings you like, such as your favorite salsa, tomatoes, or a dollop of plain Greek yogurt.

BUFFALO SOFT TACOS

To view this online, go to https://diabeticgourmet.com/diabetic-recipes/buffalo-soft-tacos

Recipe Yield: 4 Servings. Serving size: 1 taco

Source: Cooking Up Fun For Kids With Diabetes

Book Title: Cooking Up Fun For Kids With Diabetes

Ingredients

1/3 cup mild cayenne pepper sauce (such as Frank's™ Red Hot Sauce, not Tabasco sauce)

1 teaspoon corn oil

2 cups (about 10 ounces) diced cooked chicken breast

4 (8 inch) tortillas, warmed if desired

1/2 cup (2 ounces) finely shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup finely chopped lettuce

2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons light ranch dressing

Directions

Put cayenne pepper sauce and oil in a large zip-top bag. Add cooked chicken, seal bag, and shake to coat chicken well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow chicken to marinate.

Pour chicken and sauce in a microwave-safe dish, cover, and heat 2 minutes or until hot (or pour chicken and marinade in a pan and warm on the stove over medium heat).

Lay 4 flour tortillas on the counter. Spoon 1/4 of chicken in the center of each one. Drizzle with the warm marinade if you want to. Top each with 1/4 of the cheese and 1/4 of the lettuce. Drizzle each with 1/4 of the dressing.

Fold each taco in half, or roll it up. Slice in half if you want to.

Notes:

Cooking Up Fun For Kids With Diabetes authors Patti B. Geil, MS,RD,FADA,CDE, and Tami Ross, RD, LD, CDE, have planted their collective fingers directly on the food tastes that kids really love.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 351; Fat: 13 g; Saturated Fat: 5 g; Fiber: 5 g; Sodium: 1220 mg; Cholesterol: 72 mg; Protein: 30 g; Carbohydrates: 26 g

Diabetic Exchanges: 1-1/2 Starch, 4 Meat, lean

SOFT BEAN TACOS

This also comes from Vegetarian Times. Serves 4.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients:

8 (6-inch) flour tortillas

1/4 cup water

1 small red bell pepper, chopped

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (optional)

16-oz. can spicy fat-free refried beans

1 cup shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, reduced-fat if desired, or soy cheese

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Wrap tortillas in aluminum foil and warm in oven.

In large saucepan, combine water and bell pepper. Cover and cook over medium heat, 2 minutes. Add corn, green onions, jalapeño pepper and refried beans. Stir gently until mixture is heated through, about 5 minutes.

Remove tortillas from oven. Spread some of the filling on one half of each tortilla, then sprinkle with a small amount of cheese. Fold over and arrange on individual plates. Top with salsa and yogurt if desired.

Nutrition Information: Calories: 260; Protein: 12 g; Total Fat: 10 g; Saturated Fat: 5 g; Carbohydrates: 33 g; Cholesterol: 17 mg; Sodium: 455 mg; Fiber: 6 g; Sugar: g; Yield: 4 to 6 Servings

AVOCADO TACOS

This comes from Jeff Gordinier in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. The recipe begins, “Most top chefs will tell you the same thing: When they finally escape from the elaborate labors they oversee in the kitchen, they crave late-night street food that’s poetically simple and satisfying: hot dogs, fried rice, a bowl of noodles. For Enrique Olvera, the chef at Cosme in New York and Pujol in Mexico City, that hand-to-mouth haiku can be found in avocado tacos, which he scarfs down around the clock. They serve as both ‘a comfort,’ he said, and ‘a cultural expression.’ In its most basic form, an avocado taco is like a two-bite couplet in praise of Mexican ingredients: a chewy corn tortilla enclosing creamy slices of the-butter-that-grows-on-trees. Spare additions elevate that avocado: a pinch of salt, a spray of lime juice, a sprinkle of chopped onions and cilantro. But the chef takes elevation one step further with a salsa made of pasilla chiles and tomatillos.”

Yield: 12 tacos; Time: 45 minutes.

This recipe was featured in “Scouting the Scene” and can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

4 pasilla chiles

1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

2 garlic cloves

10 tomatillos, boiled in salted water for 15 minutes or until soft

3 avocados, sliced thin

12 corn tortillas

3/4 cup white onion, finely diced

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Preparation

Make the salsa: Snap the stems off the chiles and remove the seeds. Using tongs, carefully hold the chiles over a medium flame to char on all sides. Transfer chiles to a food processor, add the salt and process into a powder. Add the garlic and tomatillos and purée until smooth. (This makes 1 pint salsa, more than needed; refrigerate the rest in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.)

To serve, place 3 or 4 slices of avocado on each tortilla and top with salsa, onion and cilantro.

SUPERSTUFFED STEAK SOFT TACO

This was on the Runner’s World website (from Devin Alexander, posted on March 4, 2008), and begins, “Learn how to make this healthy dish in less time than it would take you to go through the drive-thru.”

Serves one.

View this online at https://www.runnersworld.com/nutrition-weight-loss/a20793128/superstuffed-steak-soft-taco-recipe/.

Ingredients

4 ounces top round steak

1 eight-inch-diameter low-carb flour tortilla

1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt-free Mexican or Southwest seasoning

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Pinch of salt, or to taste

Olive-oil spray

2/3 cup finely shredded romaine lettuce

1/4 cup chopped tomato

1 ounce shredded Cabot's 75% light cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon red taco sauce

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Place the steak between two sheets of wax paper. Use the toothed side of a meat mallet to pound both sides of the steak until it's 1/3 inch thick. Cut it into 1/4-inch strips.

Wrap the tortilla in foil and place directly on the oven rack to warm for five minutes.

Mix together the Mexican seasoning, garlic powder, and salt. Add the steak strips and toss to coat evenly.

Preheat a nonstick skillet to medium-high. Mist it lightly with spray. Add the steak strips in a single layer and cook two to four minutes.

Place the tortilla on a plate and spoon the steak strips over half. Top evenly with the lettuce, tomato, cheese, taco sauce, and cilantro. Fold in half.

The Nutrition Facts: Calories Per serving: 320; Fat: 14 g; Carbs: 17 g; Protein: 40 g

VEGETARIAN MUSHROOM TACOS

This was on the Runner’s World website (posted September 27, 2012), and begins, “Get the flavors of Tacos al Pastor, minus the meat...

“Back when I first became a vegetarian, I thought about meat all the time. I missed it. So I pulled the classic rookie-vegetarian move of trying to recapture the magic of my favorite meals through a steady intake of Chik Nuggets, Tofu Pups, and other dubious miracles of modern culinary science. Imitation meat products (well, and 'newly minted vegetarian smugness') were the staples of my new diet—a lifestyle I later learned goes by the glamorous name of 'junk-food vegetarianism.' Ah, the folly of herbivorous youth.

“Now, after more than 10 years off the meat wagon, I don’t fantasize about meat—or even unhealthy tofu substitutes—at all. I’ve found that some of the 'meatier' vegetarian meals can be made almost entirely from plants, eliminating the need for overly processed soy.

“That’s why I love these mushroom tacos. They have the rich flavor of a slow-cooked pork taco and a satisfying meaty texture. But unlike with pork, mushrooms start out tender and only take about 10 minutes or so on the stove. Plus mushrooms are cholesterol-free, fat-free, full of vitamins, and are rumored to have mystical cancer-fighting properties. It's hard to go wrong when you throw “cancer-fighting” into the mix.

“My partner invented this recipe based on the seasonings that go into Tacos al Pastor. Minus the pineapple and coke, but if you want to experiment with those too, knock yourself out. It's a fast and filling recipe that’s super easy to make for a large crowd.”

Recipe feeds 2-3 runners; Time needed: 30-45 minutes

View this online at https://www.runnersworld.com/nutrition-weight-loss/a20787900/recipe-vegetarian-mushroom-tacos/.

Ingredients

Pound of scrubbed assorted mushrooms (creminis and portabellos work well)

1 yellow onion

2 cloves garlic

6 small corn tortillas

1 orange

1 lime

1 teaspoon cumin

2 teaspoons dark chili powder

1 teaspoon oregano

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt to taste

Cilantro

Directions

Dice up one onion, setting aside three tablespoons for onion topping. Cut mushrooms into large chunks.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high-heat. Add onions and mushrooms and sauté for about 10 minutes until onions are tender and mushrooms begin to brown.

Mince garlic. Juice orange and lime. Reserve two wedges of lime.

Add garlic, cumin, oregano, and chili powder to onions and mushroom.

Saute for 30 seconds until garlic is aromatic, then add orange and lime juice, along with about a teaspoon of salt.

Cook for two to three minutes until the juice reduces.

Heat tortillas individually in a dry pan on the stove or all together wrapped in a towel in the microwave.

Spoon mushroom mix into tortillas and garnish with reserved raw onion and chopped cilantro. Enjoy!