Feliz Cinco de Mayo! For festivity sake, I made these shredded chicken tacos, with the idea thanks to Heather H.! This is my normal taco recipe that I make with ground beef but instead I needed to use up the rest of my rotisserie chicken. So I looked online for ideas and found the idea of sauteing the shredded chicken in salsa from Real Simple Magazine. Otherwise, this is my normal routine.

Making the Guac ©EverydayCookingAdventures 2013

I love the guacamole I make and it would be just as good as a dip for chips. The jalapeño is rinsed and seeded so that it doesn’t add heat just a nice extra zesty flavor. The cilantro actually seems to add the most “heat” although it’s mostly just a nice spicy flavor. These tacos however are not spicy so if you’re like me and fear the heat you don’t have to worry! Of course you can add on more heat as you wish to your own liking.

Double taco shells, hard and soft with cheese to stick them together ©EverydayCookingAdventures 2013

Prep time for the guac is about 5-10 minutes but otherwise this recipe is very speedy and you can have dinner in under 30 minutes. Here’s my Shredded Chicken Tacos with Guacamole:

©EverydayCookingAdventures 2013

Chicken Tacos with Guacamole

Recipe By: Everyday Cooking Adventures, 2013

Serves: 2
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
1/4 store-bought rotisserie chicken, cooled
1/4 cup red or green salsa (store-bought or make your own if you’re awesome like that)
6 sprigs fresh cilantro, stems removed
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and chopped (ripe to very ripe is important)
1/2 small tomato, diced
1 lime, quartered
1/2 jalapeño, seeded and diced
1/2 packet of taco seasoning (optional)
chili powder & garlic powder (optional)
salt & fresh black pepper to taste
shredded lettuce of your choice
2 taco shells/tortillas (2 soft & 2 hard if you want it to be crispy & soft!)
1/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese

Directions
1. Remove the meat from the chicken (white or dark is fine) and shred.
2. In a small bowl, combine the chopped avocado, tomato, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice and salt & pepper. Mash with a potato masher or the back of a fork until no large clumps remain. It’s okay if it’s a little lumpy. Taste for seasoning adjustment. If you want you can add the 1/2 packet of taco seasoning or a couple shakes of chili powder and garlic powder as desired.
3. This is an optional step! Heat an oven to 250ºF. On a small baking sheet put down two tortillas, sprinkle on half of each with cheddar cheese, place hard taco shell over the cheese and sprinkle the top of the hard shell with more cheese. Warm in oven for 3-4 minutes until cheese is slightly melted.
4. Meanwhile, heat the salsa in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and heat until warmed through.
5. Fill the taco shells with the chicken and top with the guacamole, shredded cheese (unless you followed step 3 above in which case no extra cheese is necessary), lettuce and extra fresh cilantro. Serve with sour cream if desired.