Meal Bite: Chicken Carnitas Tacos

Hi Busies!

TACOS.  I think that’s all that needs to be said here, right?!  Okay, see you next post!

…just kidding.  But really, tacos are just something special.  A perfect little bite of flavor, wrapped up in a warm tortilla hug.  And then another.  And another! 

The secret to making at-home tacos taste as amazing as restaurant, or even *dare I say it* food-truck quality, is doing the corn tortilla right. Corn tortillas out of the bag are dry and grainy – bleh!  But with a little spray of cooking spray, a quick 30 seconds per side on a hot pan, and a sprinkle of sea salt, and suddenly you have a crispy on the outside, warm and soft on the inside, WHY-didn’t-I-try-this-sooner, taco shell!  Just look at the before and after:

Taco Shell Heaven!

I recommend crisping these up immediately before eating, but the raw (?) tortillas freeze really well.  I buy them in packs of 50-100 and just pull out however many I need to thaw at the same time that I’m thawing the chicken carnitas that I meal prepped for these tacos.  

The filling for these is a super simple, dump and go crock pot recipe.  Then just add your favorite toppings and you’re good to go!  To make it more of a dinner, add my slow cooker black beans and spanish rice on the side!

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Slow Cooker Chicken Carnitas Tacos

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 8 hours

Servings 4

Author Sam - Busy Girl Bites

Ingredients

• 2 large or 3 small boneless skinless chicken breasts
• juice of 2 oranges (or ~1/2 cup OJ)
• juice of 1 lime (or ~2T lime juice)
• 1 can/bottle of beer
• 2 tsp chili powder (divided)
• 2 tsp cumin (divided)
• 1 garlic clove or 1 tsp minced garlic
• 6-8 corn tortillas
• optional toppings: avocado (cilantro, salsa, sour cream, etc.)

Instructions

Chicken

1. Add chicken, orange juice, lime juice, beer, garlic, and 1 tsp each chili powder and cumin to the crock pot. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours.
2. Remove chicken from crock pot and shred. Mix in remaining 1 tsp each chili powder and cumin, along with salt & pepper to taste. Place chicken on greased cookie sheet.
3. Drizzle chicken with 1/4 cup of liquid from crock pot.
4. Place chicken under the oven broiler for 3-4 minutes, watching carefully to prevent burning. Broil until ends of chicken turn golden brown and crispy.

Tortillas

1. Heat a nonstick pan to medium high heat. Spray lightly with cooking spray, place 1 corn tortilla in it, and spray the remaining side lightly with cooking spray. Heat ~30 seconds per side or until tortilla is lightly browned and crispy, using tongs or a spatula to flip. Tortilla may bubble or expand - this will go away once it is removed from heat.

Tacos

1. Assemble tacos by evenly distributing filling and desired toppings in each tortilla. Enjoy!