Chicken and Pinto Bean Tacos

Part of me never wants to develop and post another chicken recipe for as long as I live. I have so many chicken recipes and I feel like I have exhausted the entire chicken race. The other part of me recognizes that chicken is cost effective, low in fat, everyone likes it and it tastes like rattlesnake, from what I have heard. Only one side of the battle is going to win. And from the title of this recipe, you can tell who won.

With this pregnancy and it's most-wanted foods, I would like to think that the only tacos in the world are shrimp tacos and fish tacos. Magic is seafood in a tortilla. Guess what recipe on here is the most popular one according to my Sitemeter? Shrimp tacos. Rookie Cookie's ad revenue could survive alone on Google searches for my shrimp taco recipe. We recently made them and they were as excellent as I remember. Ethan put together a little chipotle pink sauce to go with them and he Googled Rubio's white sauce recipe to guide him. And guess what Rubio's white sauce is? Nothing but equal parts mayo and plain yogurt. That's it. And it is so delicious.

To try and part ways with bland chicken dishes, I have added a few things to give these tacos a bit of a punch. We have pinto beans, which will add additional protein to go with the chicken. There are also green chiles to give the chicken some added depth of flavor and spice. Everything is piled into a corn tortilla and finished off with fresh vegetables, avocados being the most essential in my opinion.




2 large chicken breasts
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 15 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 4 oz diced green chiles
1 tsp kosher salt
A few grinds black pepper
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chile powder
Corn tortillas for serving

In a large pot of boiling water, boil chicken breasts until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove chicken from water and set aside to cool. Once cooled, shred chicken into bite-size pieces, discarding fat. Set shredded chicken aside.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, add olive oil. Once oil runs quickly in the pan, add onion and 1/2 tsp salt. Saute onion until softened and lightly browned. Add shredded chicken, pinto beans, green chiles, 1 tsp salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin and chile powder. Gently stir to combine, being sure to not smash the beans. Cook until beans are heated through, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.

Serve chicken in tacos shells with tacos toppings.

Yields 6 servings.

Rookie's Notes: Not sure what you prefer on your tacos, but we had shredded iceberg lettuce, diced tomatoes, diced red onion, diced avocado and shredded cheddar cheese. I wanted to use cilantro too and I thought I had bought some at the store, but I couldn't find it in the fridge. You know what else I can't find? That pound of ground beef I swear I got from the butcher. I really hope it isn't in the trunk of my car rotting away and making everything stink.