Hello, Tia here~
Today Cody and I decided to have a friendly taco competition 🙂 We brainstormed and went grocery shopping for our own individual taco ideas. Below is the product of our imaginations! Can you guess which one I made and which one Cody made?
Okay we will tell you…
On the left we have a salmon taco with a blood orange slaw and a chipotle cream sauce made by Tia! and on the right we have a shredded chicken taco cooked in a red sauce with jalapenos, veg, and a homemade ranch made by Cody!
This was truly a fun experience and we wish that we had taken more photos of the process! Both tacos turned out amazing and neither of us can choose a winner because they were both so wonderful and unique.
If you try the taco challenge, please let us know what your outcome is 🙂
Remember, there are no rules with homemade food!
Tia
Savory Sweet Bitters 
Omg that is amazing. You guys are awesome! I totally love it. So glad that you had such a fun day together! I am so very lucky to have you in my life!!
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Love it! Great ideas on flavors! Any recipes to share?
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Of course! The salmon taco is based on this recipe: https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/cuban-fish-tacos-citrus-mango-slaw-chipotle-lime-crema/
and the chicken taco is a Cody original he will post the recipe in a few!
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My shredded chicken taco with homemade ranch is easy!
For the tacos:
-1 lb, boneless skinless chicken breasts
-2 medium red tomatoes (diced)
-1 medium yellow onion (diced)
– 2 jalapeños (one diced, one cut into rings)
– 1 can of red enchilada sauce
– 2-4 cloves garlic (finely diced)
– a splash of your favorite salsa
– cilantro
– soft taco shells
For the ranch:
– Sour cream
– Mayonnaise (this is not the time to buy sub-par mayo…)
– Buttermilk
– Chives
– Oregano
– Parsley
– 2 cloves garlic
For these tacos I used our trusty and much-treasured Le Creuset dutch oven but a stock pot or slow cooker would work too. I decided I wanted the chicken to be shredded on my tacos because all those little strands of chicken retain the juices you cook the chicken in while also imparting an awesome texture. Home shredding chicken is typically a total pain in the butt, UNLESS you can just let meat cook low and slow all day. Using this method shreds the chicken effortlessly and makes an excellent sauce at the same time… It works… But only if you’re stuck doing homework all day and can periodically stir your creation.
Begin with the chicken by placing it, your diced tomatoes, onion, garlic and diced jalapeño over medium heat. Then add your can of enchilada sauce. Bring this to a simmer and stir it every 30-60 minutes. Eventually it will all reduce into a thicker sauce and the chicken will fall apart without any fancy forkwork. If you want another dimension of flavor added into the mix, throw in a splash of your favorite salsa. This is a good opportunity to throw in some flavor contrast, so try different flavors like habaneros or chipotles in this stage. I used chipotle and it helped a lot. Also at this point you will be close to ready to start serving so you can throw in a few tablespoons of cilantro. How much is up to your preference.
The ranch is easy and I poached the first recipe I found, this one coming from The Pioneer Woman…
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http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/homemade-ranch-dressing/
I’ll do my best to her numerous pages of commentary on things unrelated to ranch dressing into an easier recipe…
2 parts mayo for every 1 part sour cream. Add buttermilk until you achieve the desired consistency. Don’t worry about changing the flavor too much with the buttermilk, it’s mild. Then, finely dice two cloves of garlic, cover it in sea salt, and then mash it to a paste with the tines of a fork. Add to mix along with anything else you want in your ranch. Chives and parsley are suggested by the Pioneer Woman and worked well in my rendition too. I added extra Greek oregano and some pepper to mine.
Now, when you are satisfied with both your ranch and your taco filling its time to prep your tortillas… Broil them until they begin to become stiff and maybe even take on some color, but try not to make tortilla chips… With some broilers, the difference is 30 seconds…
Serve your chicken on the heated tortillas, but make sure the wring some sauce out of the them before serving. You don’t have to go crazy, but if you don’t want to wear that Mexican goodness around on your shirt all day, you should squeeze some of it out. Garnish with whatever you want. We used shredded spring mix (what we happened to have in the fridge), dived tomato, jalapeño rings and your homemade ranch… Its pretty darn good…
Pro tip: If you get hungry while you wait for the chicken, try dipping jalapeño potato chips in the homemade ranch… it will blow your mind…
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The taco throw down — great idea!
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