Cooking or going to gym, we all know the obvious choice

This past Monday I had stress really getting to the best of me. As soon as I walked through my front door, I was confronted with the ultimate dilemma, go to gym or cook? It's like asking chicken or the egg...except not really. But I think both are good for my health. Since there is no such thing is summer here in San Francisco, I  turned my apartment into a crisper, cooking up a storm. The night ended with a big release, letting my frustrations out with two forks and some juicy chicken breasts, shredding away like my life depended on it!!

Well, it was less dramatic that that (although shredding the chicken was kind of fun!) and the end result was homemade taco bowls and Mexican shredded chicken; both were a success and total keepers! Both of these recipes came from the same site, Emily Bites, who is clearly obsessed with using cupcake tins to make anything...therefore dubbed GENIUS in my books. Kuddos Emily. 

So I'd seen these links floating around, on the interwebz, using cupcake tins to make taco bowls out of small, corn tortillas...except the tins were turned UPSIDE DOWN! These crevices literally hold anything you can stuff in a taco shell...or bowl in this case. I was going to use the standard, ground turkey, but sometimes I find it too dry for my liking; I wanted some moist (yup, used that word, deal, I know some you hate that word) chicken that was juicy, yet flavorful and light. And then I came upon this easy, affordable and versatile, recipe to make shredded Mexican chicken, which has lasted me days! Best of all, you don need a crockpot! (On that note, I really need one, I'm a terrible Indian girl for not owning one!)

Taco Bowls

adapted from Emily Bites

Ingredients:

• 6, 6-inch corn tortillas
• Cooking Spray
• Water
• Salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375.  Sprinkle each tortilla lightly with water and stack them on a plate. Cover the top with another plate turned upside down and microwave the tortillas for 1 minute or until warm. 

Turn two 12 cup muffin pans upside down. Mist each side of a tortilla lightly with cooking spray and center it in the space between 4 muffin cups, creating a bowl. Repeat with the 5 remaining tortillas, forming 3 bowls on each tin. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes.

Shredded Mexican Chicken

adapted from Emily Bites

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
• 2 tsp white wine vinegar
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 4 tsp taco seasoning
• 2 tsp oregano
• ½ tsp sugar
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 tb extra virgin olive oil
• 1 ½ lbs boneless (about 3 pieces) skinless chicken breast

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix together the tomato sauce, vinegar, garlic, chili powder, taco seasoning, oregano, sugar, salt and pepper until thoroughly combined. In a large skillet or sauté pan, bring the oil to medium-high heat. 

Add the chicken breasts in a single layer and cook for 3 minutes on one side, flip them over, and then continue to cook for 3 minutes on the other side. Add the tomato sauce mixture to the pan and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and cover the pan. Simmer for about 20-25 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked through. 

Remove the lid from the pan and transfer each breast to a cutting board, shredding it using two forks and then returning it to the sauce. When all the breasts are shredded, stir them into the sauce until thoroughly combined. Continue to cook for about 5 more minutes until the sauce thickens and soaks into the chicken. 

This dish is great in tacos, burritos, added to a salad and even by itself!