Ole!

Last night for dinner I made these:

Austin's favorite food is Mexican, and I am always trying to think of new ways to for him to get his "fix", and for me to eat the same kind of food all the time without getting bored :)  Enter mini taco salads!!  These little guys are relatively simple to make, they taste great, and they look so cute!  So here's how I made 'em:

Mini Taco Salads

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

Salt

Pepper

Cumin

1 package of taco seasoning

1 can of rotel

Shredded lettuce

Mexican blend cheese

Tomatoes, diced

Avocado, diced

1 can refried beans

Salsa

Scoops tortilla chips

Here's the loot all laid out...

Directions:

First, bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Season both sides of the chicken with the salt, pepper, and cumin, and then drop them in the boiling water for about 10-15 minutes (I did mine for 12, but it depends on the size of your chicken).

While the chicken is cooking, shred the lettuce, and dice the tomato and avocado.  I like to make my toppings pretty small because after all, these are mini taco salads.

Once the chicken is done, let it cool down for a bit and then shred it up!  I use a fork, and it works pretty well.  This part is what takes me the longest, but it's worth it in the end.

Once the chicken is all shredded up, put it in a large pan and add the taco seasoning, 2/3 cup of water, and the rotel.  Cook according to the package instructions.

In the meantime in between time, heat up your beans...

Now it's time to start assembling everything!!  You can layer these anyway you want, but here's how I do it: Line a cookie sheet with foil, and throw on some scoops tortilla chips.  Then add beans, a little cheese, lettuce, tomato, avocado, chicken, and a little more cheese.  Pop them in a 375 degree oven for about 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.  Then, top with the salsa.

Ole!!

This recipe is really simple, and you could change it up a million different ways.  Use taco meat instead of chicken, add guacamole, jalapenos, sour cream, onions....whatever you have on hand or sounds good to you :) These would be great as appetizers for a little dinner party, or perfect for game-time snacks.  I just like them because when I'm eating them I feel like a giant.