i <3 tacos.

who doesn’t <3 tacos?

if you know someone who doesn’t <3 tacos, please fill me in on who and WHY?! i’d love to meet such a unique individual.

tacos are undeniably wonderful and they are one of my favorite make at home meals. i love all shapes and sizes. soft taco, crispy shells, corn or flour tortillas. they are all golden. but why not lighten it up and mix it up with some lettuce tacos. lately i’ve been loving crisp, crunchy, refreshing iceberg lettuce cups and they are a a great taco vehicle.

chicken + mushroom tacos

serves: 4

prep time: 20 minutes

cook time: 20 minutes

total time: 40 minutes

ingredients: 1 lb chicken tenders. 8 oz cremini or white mushrooms, diced. 4 green onions, white & green parts thinly sliced. 1 lime, sliced into 8 wedges. 3 tbs olive oil. 1 cumin. 1 tsp chili powder. .5 tsp paprika. .5 tsp dried oregano. .25 tsp cayenne pepper. 1 tsp kosher salt. .5 tsp ground pepper. 1 head of iceberg lettuce, core removed and leaves washed and dried. .25 cup tequila. 1 cup fresh pico de gallo or your favorite fresh salsa. optional: 1 avocado, diced. 1 cup mexican cheese blend. handful of cilantro sprigs.

start by blending the cumin, chili powder, paprika, oregano, cayenne, half the salt and all the pepper. place all your chicken in a bowl, drizzle it with the olive oil and season with your spice blend.

squeeze half the lime, into the mix, stir well and set aside. reserve the rest of the limes for serving. heat a large, heavy pan over medium heat.

when the pan is nice and hot add in your chicken in an even layer. don’t crowed the pan or the chicken won’t get a nice brown. if you need to cook the chicken in two batches to not over crowed the pan, do so.

cook the chicken till browned on each side and just cooked through. about 4 minutes a side. remove the chicken and set it aside to rest.

add the mushrooms, the white and light green parts of the green onion and the rest of the salt to the pan.

cook until the mushrooms have released all their moisture. about 7 minutes. pour in the tequila to deglaze the pan. use the liquid to scrape up any little brown flavor bits from the pan. cook until almost all the liquid has cooked off. about 3 minutes. while the tequila cooks down, chop up your chicken.

add the chopped chicken and all it’s juices back into the pan.

stir in half the salsa and stir well to combine. cook for 2 minutes till everything is nice and hot and then turn off the heat.

to serve, fill your lettuce cups with a couple spoon fulls of your chicken mixture.

top with the dark green parts of the green onion, some cilantro sprigs, avocado, some salsa and cheese.

serve with a lime wedge and enjoy.

xo, a

chicken + mushroom tacos

serves: 4

prep time: 20 minutes

cook time: 20 minutes

total time: 40 minutes

ingredients: 1 lb chicken tenders. 8 oz cremini or white mushrooms, diced. 4 green onions, white & green parts thinly sliced. 1 lime, sliced into 8 wedges. 3 tbs olive oil. 1 cumin. 1 tsp chili powder. .5 tsp paprika. .5 tsp dried oregano. .25 tsp cayenne pepper. 1 tsp kosher salt. .5 tsp ground pepper. 1 head of iceberg lettuce, core removed and leaves washed and dried. .25 cup tequila. 1 cup fresh pico de gallo or your favorite fresh salsa. optional: 1 avocado, diced. 1 cup mexican cheese blend. handful of cilantro sprigs.

start by blending the cumin, chili powder, paprika, oregano, cayenne, half the salt and all the pepper. place all your chicken in a bowl, drizzle it with the olive oil and season with your spice blend. squeeze half the lime, into the mix, stir well and set aside. reserve the rest of the limes for serving. heat a large, heavy pan over medium heat. when the pan is nice and hot add in your chicken in an even layer. don’t crowed the pan or the chicken won’t get a nice brown. if you need to cook the chicken in two batches to not over crowed the pan, do so. cook the chicken till browned on each side and just cooked through. about 4 minutes a side. remove the chicken and set it aside to rest. add the mushrooms, the white and light green parts of the green onion and the rest of the salt to the pan. cook until the mushrooms have released all their moisture. about 7 minutes. pour in the tequila to deglaze the pan. use the liquid to scrape up any little brown flavor bits from the pan. cook until almost all the liquid has cooked off. about 3 minutes. while the tequila cooks down, chop up your chicken. add the chopped chicken and all it’s juices back into the pan. stir in half the salsa and stir well to combine. cook for 2 minutes till everything is nice and hot and then turn off the heat. to serve, fill your lettuce cups with a couple spoon fulls of your chicken mixture. top with the dark green parts of the green onion, some cilantro sprigs, avocado, some salsa and cheese. serve with a lime wedge and enjoy.

since i grew up in sunny socal, tacos are basically a food group. and in our house, they are eaten in one form of or another a few times a week. so i decided to start diving deep into my taco recipes on the first taco tuesday of every month.

first up on the list is one of my favorite fish tacos. salmon makes a tasty, beautiful substitute to the usual white fish options used for fish tacos. the sauce is zesty and bright and the purple cabbage adds some delicious CRUNCH to each bite.

salmon tacos

serves: 2

prep time: 20 minutes

cook time: 10 minutes

total time: 30 minutes

ingredients: 8 oz wild salmon (i like the skin on, but if you are not comfortable cooking the skin to a crisp, ask your fish guy to remove the skin, remove it your self or purchase salmon with the skin already removed). .5 cup greek yogurt. .25 mayonnaise. 1 tsp kosher salt. .25 tsp fresh ground pepper. .5 tsp garlic powder. .5 tsp cumin. .25 tsp paprika. 2 lime. 1 clove garlic, minced. 3 tbs coconut oil. 1 shallot, thinly sliced. .25 tsp apple cider vinegar. .25 cup cilantro leaves. 1 cup thinly sliced purple cabbage. 6 small corn tortillas. large non-stick pan.

start by patting your salmon down with paper towels. put it in the back of your refrigerator, uncovered to dry out the skin about while you prep your other ingredients. combine your shallots and the apple cider vinegar in a small bowl to make quick pickled shallots. zest one of your limes and juice it. slice the second lime into wedges and reserve for serving. combine all but .5 tsp of your salt in a small bowl to make your spice blend.

then in a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, greek yogurt, .25 of the spice blend, the lime juice, the lime zest and the garlic clove. mix well to combine and set it aside. start heating your pan over medium high heat.

while the pan is heating, season the fish with .5 tsp of salt and then rub it with the remaining spice blend.

when the pan is hot, add in the coconut oil till it is shiny and hot. cook your salmon, skin side down first if you have skin on, until the skin is really crispy and you can see the fish is cooked a little more than half way through. flip the fish and continue cooking until you can see that is cooked through. remove the salmon and allow it to rest for 5 minutes.

while the fish is resting, wipe out your pan and heat your tortillas for 30 seconds a side until they are nice and toasty. chop up your salmon.

to assemble your tacos, spread some of your zesty sauce on the bottom of your taco.

top with salmon, crunchy cabbage, pickled shallots, some cilantro leaves and a squeeze of fresh lime. serve hot and enjoy.

xo, a

salmon tacos

serves: 2

prep time: 20 minutes

cook time: 10 minutes

total time: 30 minutes

ingredients: 8 oz wild salmon (i like the skin on, but if you are not comfortable cooking the skin to a crisp, ask your fish guy to remove the skin, remove it your self or purchase salmon with the skin already removed). .5 cup greek yogurt. .25 mayonnaise. 1 tsp kosher salt. .25 tsp fresh ground pepper. .5 tsp garlic powder. .5 tsp cumin. .25 tsp paprika. 2 lime. 1 clove garlic, minced. 3 tbs coconut oil. 1 shallot, thinly sliced. .25 tsp apple cider vinegar. .25 cup cilantro leaves. 1 cup thinly sliced purple cabbage. 6 small corn tortillas. large non-stick pan.

start by patting your salmon down with paper towels. put it in the back of your refrigerator, uncovered to dry out the skin about while you prep your other ingredients. combine your shallots and the apple cider vinegar in a small bowl to make quick pickled shallots. zest one of your limes and juice it. slice the second lime into wedges and reserve for serving. combine all but .5 tsp of your salt in a small bowl to make your spice blend. then in a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, greek yogurt, .25 of the spice blend, the lime juice, the lime zest and the garlic clove. mix well to combine and set it aside. start heating your pan over medium high heat. while the pan is heating, season the fish with .5 tsp of salt and then rub it with the remaining spice blend. when the pan is hot, add in the coconut oil till it is shiny and hot. cook your salmon, skin side down first if you have skin on, until the skin is really crispy and you can see the fish is cooked a little more than half way through. flip the fish and continue cooking until you can see that is cooked through. remove the salmon and allow it to rest for 5 minutes. while the fish is resting, wipe out your pan and heat your tortillas for 30 seconds a side until they are nice and toasty. chop up your salmon. to assemble your tacos, spread some of your zesty sauce on the bottom of your taco. top with salmon, crunchy cabbage, pickled shallots, some cilantro leaves and a squeeze of fresh lime. serve hot and enjoy.