Tacos – Sweet Heat Chefs

There is one thing my household loves more than avocado and that is bacon. That is why when I saw this recipe I instantly knew I HAD to make it, and soon.

This recipe is from my sweetest and most awesome friend Bernadette. Her fabulous blog is Rantz From My Crazy Kitchen. You can find many amazing recipes there including a page with 58 bacon recipes from breakfast all the way through to dessert, which means you can have a PORK PARTY all day! You can view Bernadette’s recipe for her outta this world guacamole here. Below is my version with just a slight modification.

INGREDIENTS

2 avocados
4 slices thick center cut bacon
1/4 cup purple onion, diced fine
3/4 tablespoon jalapeno, diced fine
4 heirloom cherry tomatoes diced
1/2 lime juiced
1/2 lemon juiced
2 cloves garlic, minced (small cloves or 1 big one)
handful of freshly chopped cilantro
dash of salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

Cut up bacon in bite sized pieces and fry the bacon with the onions until crisp. (this is money right here, in the voice of Guy Fierre!) If you prefer less done/burnt onions, remove as you are cooking. I enjoy crispy bacon and crispy onion and they cooked together the entire process in a pan of marriage bliss! Drain everything on a paper towels when done.
In a small bowl mash the avocado
Next add; tomatoes, lemon juice, lime juice, garlic, cilantro and salt and pepper. Stir until well combined.
Stir in the bacon and onion, cover tightly with plastic wrap pressed right on top of the guacamole and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.

This recipe fed 3 of us, 2 boys and myself. We ate every last drop.

I TEENY TINY PIECE OF ADVICE ON THIS RECIPE…..The yield here is NOT enough, plan to quadruple it for your first try. That way you won’t be licking the container clean just to get a little bit more.

I don’t really care if it is winter, spring, summer or fall, I am down for the BBQ any time any day. That is what is nice about California where I live, I have the liberty to do so. So, now that fall is officially almost here I don’t let that deter me from que’ing 😀 Last night was Taco Tuesday at our house and instead of the traditional tacos we normally have, I switched it up…NOTE TO SELF: make more next time! I came across a yummy recipe from Elle’s New England Kitchen and tweaked it to our (my) liking. It came out great and everyone wanted more.

MARINADE

4 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied and pricked with fork several times all over breast
1/2 cup olive oil
juice of 2 limes + zest
2.5 tsp adobo sauce + 1 chipotle chili sliced
1.5 tsp cumin
2 pinches cinnamon (no one will ever know it is in there!)
1 tsp onion flakes
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp pepper
3 tbsp honey

Add all marinade ingredients to a ziplock bag except the chicken. Mix all ingredients until well blended. Add chicken breasts and close the bag really well. Mix everything together to get a nice even coat on the chicken. Place in refrigerator to marinate overnight or as long as possible to soak up all the flavors this sweet and spicy sauce offers. I started my marination in the early afternoon for an evening dinner it was very tasty! My only regret was I didn’t do it over night! A great tip from Elle’s New England Kitchen, which I absolutely LOVED was to make this and freeze it. When it is un-thawing it is soaking up all the marinade as well!!

Remove chicken from refrigerator 30 minutes prior to barbecuing and allow it to come close to room temperature. While doing this you can prepare the salsa which is a…take your thumb and middle finger and…SNAP, SNAP, SNAP!

PINEAPPLE SALSA
1/2 fresh pineapple, diced
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1/4 of a large red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lime juiced + zest

Combine all ingredients well and let sit in refrigerator at least 30 minutes to chill and merry all ingredients.

Barbecue chicken until cooked thoroughly. I use the bag of marinate to coat chicken as I cook it to jeep it juicy! I just snip the tip off at the bottom corner and marinate while I cook. Discard any remaining marinade as it can not be re-used.

Remove from que and let sit on a platter covered with foil until ready to serve. This keeps it warm and keeps all yummy sweet heat juices inside.

Let’s talk tortillas. There are lots of tortillas out in the market. It is ultimately up to you what you choose. the while flour vs. corn debate is yours alone. All I can say is I am a CORN kinda girl when it comes to my tacos. To put a lower fat spin on mine, instead of frying them up (which I LOVE) I brush each side of one with extra virgin olive oil and brown for a few minutes on each side in a skillet.

Now, you are looking at this tortilla and saying…UM that is NOT corn! Well you would be wrong if you were gambling folks! This awesome tortilla is corn AND wheat. I can’t believe I haven’t seen these before, but this is a blue corn, wheat and flax-seed tortilla! YOUR WELCOME!

I heat the tortillas to order. In other words, I don’t cook them ahead of time and let sit. I think the best way to enjoy a taco is warm with a nice crispy tortilla at the base of the all goodies. You can serve these tacos with rice or beans or whatever Mexican side dish tickles your fancy. Assembly wise I just add some chicken in the tortilla, top with pineapple salsa, drench the whole thing with 1 slice of lime and a sprig of cilantro.