The Best Chicken Tinga Tacos

                         The Best Chicken Tinga Tacos

      You take the usual suspects (garlic, onion, spices, chipotles, and some unpictured crushed tomatoes) and you make a sauce out of them.

Ingredients for Chicken Tinga Tacos in blender:

      Then you throw your sauce in a pan with your chicken.Shredded chicken and tinga sauce in pan.Then you have chicken tinga for your chicken tinga tacos.

Chicken Tinga in pan with tongs:

       Avocado is necessary for these tacos (and/or for life?!?!), so you can either put some chunks of avocado on the tacos as Classy Melissa does in the book, or you can be like me who needs help with messy taco situations and you can just mash up your avocado on the bottom of the tortilla, like a little spread.

Pro Tip: a little lime and garlic salt in your avocado mash won’t be sad. It won’t be sad at all.

    Obviously, finally, you will lean hard into those toppings and generously sprinkle cilantro, red onion, and cotija over top to crown each beauty.

    Prep Time:                         Cook Time:                                Total Time:

              10 minutes                   10 minutes                               20 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken Tinga Tacos:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup roughly chopped sweet onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1–2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin

3⁄4 cup canned crushed fire-roasted tomatoes

1⁄4 cup chicken stock

1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt

3 cups shredded cooked chicken (rotisserie chicken works!)

For Serving:

10 (6-inch) corn tortillas

2 ripe avocados, sliced

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup diced red onion

crumbled cotija

1 lime, cut into wedges

INSTRUCTIONS:

Sauce: 

1.Heat a large skillet over medium. Once warm, add the oil and onion. Sauté for 4 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. 

2.Add in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more. Stir in the chipotles, oregano, and cumin, and toast for 1 minute.

3.Add in the tomatoes, stock, and salt. Bring to a simmer, and cook for 7 minutes.

Blend: 

1.Place the tomato mixture in a high-powered or regular blender, and blend until smooth.

Chicken: 

1.Return the blended sauce to the pan over low heat. 

2.Add the chicken, and cook for 5 minutes. Taste and add more salt if necessary.

Serving: Prepare the garnishes. To assemble, top the tortillas with the chicken and garnish with the avocado slices,cilantro, red onion, and cotija. Serve with a lime wedge for squeezing.

NOTES:

Instant Pot Chicken Tinga Tacos: Blend all sauce ingredients . Add sauce to Instant Pot along with about a pound of chicken breasts. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Shred chicken in sauce and serve.

Spiciness: I like to use two chipotle peppers for optimal “medium” spiciness. If you want a mild version, just use one chipotle pepper. If you want it hot hot hot, go for three.

Avocado Mash: I found my avocados sliding out of the tacos because I am a taco monster and things got a little messy. To make sure I got every ounce of avocado goodness possible, I mashed up the avocado, squeezed in some lime juice, sprinkled in some salt and a super light dusting of garlic powder, and spread that on my tortillas before adding the chicken.

                                                                                                                     THANK YOU,READERS!