I hate to be a tease, but my kitchen right now is churning out frozen treats like no one’s business!  That’s right – 2 days back, and we are back into the swing of things, in our kitchen at least.  Don’t even talk to me about the large mound of laundry piled in our bedroom.  Doesn’t everyone have that when they get home from vacation?  Does it ever go away?  I wonder about these things.

Anyway, with my focus primarily on next week’s exciting week of recipes, our dinners have had to become quicker and simpler than usual.  These chicken tacos from Cooking Light were pulled out a few months ago.   In fact, they were the main meal with our delicious Avocado-Orange Salad I posted on Friday.  If you haven’t tried it yet, you should!  In fact, make it with the chicken tacos – they go extremely well together.

John brought a limited number of kitchen items from his old apartment when he moved.  The one thing he did bring?  Canned peppers in adobo sauce.  I kid you not.  Between that and Awa’s generous chicken gift a few weeks ago I did not have to buy a single thing to make these tacos.  That is the perfect dinner in our house!

Chipotle-Garlic Chicken Tacos (adapted from Cooking Light)
Serves: 4 (2 tacos each)
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce, minced
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 pound chicken cutlets
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
3/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided 
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 small red bell pepper
1 small green bell pepper
1 small Vidalia onion, cut into 1/2-inch rings
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1/2 cup shredded green leaf lettuce

In a large bowl, combine garlic, chipotle chili, and oil.  Place the chicken in the bowl and toss so the chicken is evenly spiced.  Let sit 10-15 minutes.  Meanwhile, preheat the grill to medium heat.  Sprinkle chicken cutlets with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.  Place on grill rack, grill 3 minutes on each side or until fully cooked through.  Either remove from the grill or move it to the side of the grill that is off so it stays warm without overcooking.  

Combine remaining oil, salt, black pepper, and all the chili powder in a bowl.  Add peppers and onions and toss together until the vegetables are well-coated.  Grill vegetables about 5 minutes on each side (until soft, and lightly charred).  If you wish, also grill the tortillas.  Thinly slice the chicken.  Divide chicken, bell peppers, onion, and lettuce among tortillas.  Serve immediately.  

Nutrition Facts, per serving, from CookingLight.com:

Calories: 312
Fat: 9.8g
Saturated fat: 0.9g
Monounsaturated fat: 4.8g
Polyunsaturated fat: 2.8g
Protein: 29.5g
Carbohydrate: 27.8g
Cholesterol: 66mg
Sodium: 533mg

Until the next time my oven is on...