Taco Bar

Paige and I decided to cook a special lunch for daddy today since he won't be here for dinner and since he eats pretty healthy, we decided to make one of his faves--suped up tacos!!  It is by far the most perfect meal when you have a) picky eaters b) children eaters c) health conscience d) people that just love all food.  This can be adapted to whatever you like and is also a fabulous option if you are feeding a lot of people but here is the basic concept of our taco bar...

Ingredients

1 -1.5 lbs of chicken breasts (I do 1.5 to have leftover for 2 lunches)

1 package taco seasoning (I use the lower sodium to make myself feel good)

Crockpot

For the bar:

Sour Cream

Cheddar Cheese

Shredded lettuce

Black Beans or Pinto Beans

Diced tomatoes

Jalepenos

1 red bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

1 small onion (we leave this out since Tyler hates)

Whole Wheat Low Fat Mission Tortillas

Regular white, delicious Mission Tortilla

Cook your chicken breasts whole in the crockpot with the taco seasoning--whatever you do-DO NOT add water to the crockpot!  All you need is the chicken and taco seasoning!  Seriously.  Chicken gets rubbery and nasty if you add too much liquid!  If your chicken is defrosted it only takes about 4 hours and if frozen about 6-7. 

When you have 30 minutes left on your chicken, go ahead and get the bar ingredients ready, make your side dishes and fire up a skillet to warm your tortillas!  You will also want to start cooking your bell peppers and onions in a skillet but it only takes about 10-12 minutes.  Just spray your pan with non-stick, cut your peppers and onions into strips and throw them in.  Put a lid on it and leave it on low-med low for about 5 minutes, stir, cover for another 5 minutes until your desired texture.  12 minutes was perfect for me!  Not too soggy but the crunch was gone! 

I had a couple guys here working today on some sheetrock we are having repaired and they would not stop asking me about the lunch I was cooking!  They were both eyeing the food and asking about each little thing they saw!  I wish I would have had enough to serve them but I had no idea they were coming until early afternoon but I'm telling you as easy as this is, it smells up your entire house and is so delicious!  After 4 hours when you stir the chicken breasts, the meat just falls apart and it becomes the best shredded chicken ever!! 

As a side dish I just made one of those instant Spanish Rice packets, if it were dinner I probably would have made my own.  Also, tortilla chips with salsa or guacamole is a nice touch! 

Sorry--I didn't take any pics--I was scrambling around making sure everything was ready by 11:30 so I forgot pics:) 

Enjoy!