... Ancho Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Slaw and Avocado Cream

What a find this recipe was!  Fresh and delicious, quick and easy... what more could you ask for?  (unless a reminder to not leave a tortilla browning in a skillet when you go out on your balcony to chat with your neighbors...)  Not that I would know personally, of course.

The cilantro slaw and avocado cream were so tasty and I'll definitely be incorporating them into other recipes in the future.  Fish tacos... no brainer.  Nachos... absolutely.  

Ancho Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Slaw and Avocado Cream
serves 4 (2 tacos each)

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4-inch strips
3/4 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
cooking spray
1/8 teaspoon grated lime zest
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided
1/4 cup light sour cream
2 tablespoons 1% low-fat milk
1/2 ripe peeled avocado, diced
2 cups packaged angel hair slaw
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas

Heat a large skillet over high heat.  Sprinkle chicken evenly with chile powder, garlic salt, and cumin.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove chicken from pan.

Combine zest, 1 tablespoon juice, and next 3 ingredients (through avocado) in a blender or food processor; process until smooth.

Combine remaining 1 tablespoon juice, slaw, onions, cilantro, oil, and salt, tossing to coat.

Heat tortillas according to directions.  Divide chicken mixture evenly among tortillas.  Top each tortilla with about 1 tablespoon avocado mixture and 1/4 cup slaw mixture.

Taylor's Notes:
With the weather we had today (aka terrific), I had to grill the chicken instead of cooking it inside.  Either way would be great, of course, but the grill added that extra bit of oompf.  Instead of slicing the chicken and tossing it with the spice mixture, I just rubbed the mix onto a couple of chicken breasts and put them on the grill.  Other than that, I played by the rules.  I warmed the tortillas (and yeah, ok, charred one or two) in a hot skillet for just under a minute on each side right before the chicken came off the grill.  


We had black beans and chips as sides, but it was a brilliant move when we added the beans to the tacos.  Well played.  Now, if only there were leftovers...


Enjoy!