Soft taco shells are a staple in our house. I stopped buying hard taco shells years ago - somebody was allergic to something in the brands I could find, and I started buying soft shells to make our own tostadas and fresh chips (oh, yum!!). One night, I just didn't feel like the mess frying would make, so we had soft tacos. Delicious!
Fillings can be anything you'd like. We've found that "strips" work best for protein - ground meat tends to fall out all over. Sometimes I'll use fajita steak, but for this post, I told Luke to fine a tequila chicken recipe. He found about four pages of them, so he compared notes, mixed and matched, and came up with this. I have to say that I'm impressed at his "from scratch(pad)" skills. These were delicious!
Tequila Sunrise Chicken
3 limes, juiced (or 6 Tbsp bottled lime juice) + 1 lime cut into wedges
1/2 c. orange juice
2 Tbsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp black pepper
1 Tbsp chili powder
Combine ingredients.
Place 6 chicken breast halves in a one-gallon zip-top bag and carefully pour marinade over.
Seal the back most of the way, and then squish out any air. Seal the bag fully. (This marinade will make enough to flavor up to 10 pieces of meat, but it gets crowded in the bag. We should have made two recipes and divided it into two bags.)
Shake and/or massage the bag to coat all of the chicken with the marinade. Place the bag in a bowl (to catch any leaks, if your bag has any pinholes) and the bowl into the fridge for 30-60 minutes. Jiggle the bag around every 10 minutes or so to redistribute the marinade.
Don't marinate longer than an hour, or the acid in all of the citrus will start to "cook" the chicken. The acid denatures the protein, akin to cooking, but when you add heat to cook the meat properly, it will become "overcooked" and tough.
Grill or pan-fry chicken until it is cooked through, about 4-5 minutes on each side. Remove from grill to a cutting board and allow to rest 2-3 minutes.
Cut chicken into strips. Cut across the chicken (rather than lengthwise) so they aren't stringy. Use the wedged lime, and top chicken with fresh lime juice.
Serve with warmed corn tortillas and traditional toppings: cheese, pico de gallo/salsa, sour cream, etc. And of course, margaritas for the adults!
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