TNS

Hi! We've been up to some more comida Mexicana lately. We've had tacos four times in the last three weeks. As a result, we are currently suffering from TNS, better known as Taco Neck Syndrome. One well known person affected by this syndrome is Shaquille O'Neal (see below). 

Now, without further ado: Creamy Chicken and Greens with Roasted Poblano Tacos (recipe here).

Last week we were blessed with the chance to spend some time in beautiful Laguna Beach, CA. My mom brought my two sisters (Cati and Jessica), my niece Grace (20 months!), and Mason (my younger sister Jessica's boyfriend) out to spend some time on the beach. Of course, we took this opportunity to share our love for comida Mexicana, tacos in particular, with these fellow taco lovers. What's Mexican food without some yummy guacamole? See the fresh avocados?!

And the finished product with some tomato, garlic, and lime juice.

For the tacos: First, we cooked up some onions in the skillet with a bit of garlic. Once that was done, we added our greens and chicken broth and cooked until they were good and tender. We used Swiss chard and spinach for the greens.

Here are the greens once they'd been cooked down.

While all of that was cooking, we roasted the Poblano peppers in the oven (top rack, on broiler setting for ~10 mins, flipping once) until the skin was blackened. This was a good alternative to the way that we usually do, which is flame roast on our gas range. This condo that we were staying at only had an electric range, but the broiler actually worked very well.

Once the peppers had cooled, we skinned and seeded them and cut into strips to prepare for the taco filling.

Since this recipe makes a creamy chicken taco filling, we had to use some cream! Rather than use heavy whipping cream (or creme fraiche) we took Rick Bayless' advice and used some Mexican Crema, which turned out to work very well.

So we added the cream to the skillet with the greens and cooked for a while longer. We also added the peppers and some chicken. We bought a rotisserie chicken from the store, it was cheap and very convenient for this recipe. See the final step below:

And here are the TNS culprits all plated up with some chips and guac, yummy!

Of course, we did what we usually do, heated the corn tortillas in the microwave in a wet paper towel and plastic bag so that they came out nice, warm, and pliable. This recipe was pretty fast, very creamy, and super delicious. The greens gave the tacos a little more filling, and a nice texture. The roasted poblanos added depth to the dish and just the right amount of spice. Overall, highly recommended - just ask Mason! You can find the recipe here.

Here are a couple of pictures from the week:

Here's to family, we had a great vacation, and were happy to share some Rick Bayless with them!