Chicken Tacos with Thick Black Bean Salsa

I am definitely the kind of cook who wants to eat something that tastes fabulous but doesn't want to spend all day in the kitchen to get there. Of course I will put in the time if it is absolutely necessary... [insert Raspberry Ribbon Pie here] but it is absolutely not my personal preference.

Insert Tacos! Who doesn't love a good taco? I certainly love tacos and I don't mind getting quite messy to eat them up. My cute hubster is more conservative in the packing of his tacos but I love mine busting at the guts.

I have made this recipe SEVERAL times and, once again, I will apologize for my complete lack of photography skills. There is really only so much that you can do with a camera phone at night. So... it is what it is!

CHICKEN TACOS WITH THICK BLACK BEANS SALSA
A Shayla Original
Serves 2-4 (depending on the hunger level of those you are serving!)

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken, cut into chunks
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (optional, but amazing)

1/2 medium onion, sliced
1 (14.5 oz) can reduced sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups salsa (whatever kind is your favorite)
1 tsp arrowroot powder (or cornstarch if you aren't worried about gluten free)

Leafy topping of choice! I am very preferential to purple cabbage
Cheese topping of choice! Love love love the pepperjack
8 small corn tortillas

Turn on the broil option on your oven. I do high broil but you gotta keep a close eye on your tortillas if you do!

In a nonstick skillet mix together your chicken and seasonings. Cook thoroughly until no longer pink. I don't use any nonstick spray or oil to cook my chicken but you can if you must.

In the meantime, heat another nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add your onion slices and cook until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add in your black beans and heat just briefly before adding in your salsa. You can cook it for a few minutes and leave it more runny or you can do what I do and add in a bit of arrowroot powder to thicken it up. It sticks together wonderfully and stays in the tortilla shell better. If you add in the arrowroot, turn your heat to medium and cook until salsa reaches your desired amount of thickness. (About 5 minutes for me).

Place your tortillas on a cookie sheet. Place in the preheated oven and just heat the things until you reach your level of desired crispness. You can let them go longer and eat these tostada style or just warm them so they are flexible.

Serve by topping a tortilla with the thick salsa, chicken, leafy topping of choice and cheese of choice.

YUMMMMMMM delicious!

Classic Repeat : Taco Rice Bowl

We LOVE this one! So good and you don't even HAVE to have Doritoes to make it. Crush up some tortilla chips and mix in the salsa! YUM!

http://shaylaskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/02/super-simple-taco-rice-bowl.html

Beef Taco Bake

This is a true Shayla recipe! Super fast, super easy, basic ingredients, and SOOOO Tasty! My husband loved this one so much he was complimenting me throughout the entire meal! I really enjoyed it and it will DEFINITELY make an appearance in our house again! Thanks so much to Real Mom Kitchen for another fantastic recipe! By the way, we really like things SPICY in our house. If you aren't really the spicy type, use mild salsa and leave out the cayenne pepper. Also, you can't fail using flour or corn tortillas. I don't usually like corn tortillas but used them because we had them on hand and REALLY enjoyed them!

BEEF TACO BAKE
From Real Mom Kitchen

1 pound ground beef
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup (regular or 25% Less Sodium)
1 cup salsa OR picante sauce
1/2 cup milk
6 flour tortillas (8-inch) OR 8 corn tortilla (6-inch), cut into 1-inch pieces (I use my pizza cutter to do this)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)
¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Cook the beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it's well browned, stirring often. Pour off any fat.

Stir the soup, salsa, milk, tortillas, cayenne pepper and half the cheese in the skillet. Spoon the beef mixture into a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Cover the baking dish.

Bake at 400°F for 30 minutes or until the beef mixture is hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. (I put it back in the oven for 5 min to get the cheese nice and melty).

 *NOTE: I used a 2.5 quart stoneware cooking dish and cooked it for the 30 minutes with the lid on and it was PERFECT. When I added the extra cheese I left the lid off to let it get a little bit brown while I cooked it for 5 more minutes.