A lighter alternate to Taco Bell's namesake ground beef tacos are The 99 Cent Chef's homemade ground chicken tacos. 99c only Stores carry hard corn taco shell 8-packs, one-pound tubes of frozen ground chicken and taco seasoning. Most markets carry ground chicken and turkey at discount prices. The Chef's recipe easily makes 8 tacos.
Once you have the Mexican spiced chicken prepared, don't stop at tacos; try a "99 Cent Mexican Bowl" comprised of rice, pinto or black beans, and Mexican-style ground chicken topped with chopped onion and tomato. Bags of rice and canned beans are always stocked at 99c only Stores; ground chicken and turkey comes and goes, so pick up extra to freezewhenever you find it.
Ingredients1 lb. 99.99c ground chicken or turkey
1 pack of taco seasoning
1/2 each chopped onion and bell pepper (optional)
1 tbsp. of chopped garlic
Pepper to taste ( there's plenty of salt in seasoning mix)
1 package of 99.99c taco shells; an alternate is soft corn or flour tortillas (heat soft tortillas on a hot grill 2
minutes before building your taco)
DirectionsAdd one pack of taco seasoning to ground chicken and saute with chopped onion, bell pepper and garlic until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Assemble tacos and finish with your favorite toppings (the Chef likes lettuce, tomato, cheese and avocado).
I like the idea of making it into a salad with beans, maybe some corn and rice. I don't eat hard shell tacos - I WEAR them!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Gretchenx,
ReplyDeleteI like your corn inclusion to a 99 Cent Mexican Bowl. Avacado & cheese are some more extra tasty additions. Yeah, hard "Taco Bell" shells are a guilty pleasure.
I'm making a version of this dish for tonight's dinner. I'm using ground turkey instead. Still similar. I didn't know that they burgerized chicken
ReplyDeletepasadenaadjacent
It is even blander than ground turkey. Be sure to season well and add plenty of aromatics.
ReplyDeleteI started using frozen ground turkey before it caught on, 24 years ago. I could get it for .59# at Save-a-Lot, then .70 for a long time. Now, it's $1.19.
ReplyDeleteTrick is to brown it slowly, perhaps with garlic/seasonings. Too fast, and the turkey toughens up.
As far as the tacos..Rock On! Another budget trick AND more intense flavor is to mix in a can of refriend beans w/lots of seasonings (onion, garlic, hot sauce,etc.). Then you have the "meat" part for tacos and other recipes.