these tacos were ah-mazing.  

and totally not mexican at all.  well.. except for the whole corn tortilla thing.  and the salsa thing.

but the rest was totally a "whatever we had in the fridge" sort of thing that turned out super delicious!  and pretty ;)

mr p has been on this kick where he cooks chicken breasts in the crock pot in chicken broth and lots of herbs, then when it's done in the morning, we have insta-pulled chicken! ...for sammiches, salads, and... lately... tacos!

we've been adding spinach, plain greek yogurt, chopped onions, pickled jalapenos, and salsa we bought from a local guy, JC Hot Sauce at the craft fair.

hope you enjoy as much as we do!  we had it two nights in a row... so far ;)

Green Chicken Tacos

shredded/pulled chicken breast

yellow corn tortillas

plain greek yogurt ( chobani is best! it's super thick almost like sour cream)

fresh spinach, chopped

yellow onion, chopped

pickled jalapenos

green salsa ( JC Hot Sauce Jalapeno Onion is our green salsa of choice)

heat/toast tortillas under broiler until they begin to JUST turn brown, flip and repeat on the flip side (they shouldn't crack when you fold them into a taco, that's TOO crispy!).   smear yogurt on one side of the tortilla, add some fresh spinach, chicken, onions, jalapenos, and top with green salsa.  put on as much as you like of all things, but remember not to put TOO much or you won't be able to fold the taco without spilling!!  mr p also likes to use 2 tortillas like they do at our favorite mexican place in philly!

my tacos:  spinach on the bottom, 1 tortilla, and JC Hot Sauce

we know it's a little unorthodox to put yogurt and spinach on a TACO , but hey, we like to mix it up a bit and occasionally NOT use a recipe ;)

cheers!

(though, mr p didn't even realize we were having yet ANOTHER meat-less meal until i thanked him for not complaining that we were eating two different vegetarian meals in a row)

monday's dinner consisted of throwing together a quick stir-fry, using up leftover rice from last week.  it was SO good, took only a few minutes to make, and consisted of just broccoli, mango, and a homemade peanut sauce (recipe coming in the near future i promise!! first we have to make it one more time keeping track of all the things mr p decides to put in it!! haha)

tuesday night we had quinoa-stuffed peppers!  though it was a new recipe using quinoa instead of rice, stuffed peppers is definitely one of my favorite meals.  it's delicious AND balanced, with veggies, beans, and protein-rich whole grains.  after learning about all the crazy-awesome health benefits of quinoa (including being gluten-free), we've been trying to use it more in cooking, usually in instances where we would normally use white or brown rice (plus we found out that BJ's sells it in 2-lb bags for $5!! $2.50/lb is ridiculously cheap for this stuff!!)

we found this recipe on pinterest from One Lovely Life, but of course made some mods (because i think mr p is completely incapable of following a recipe word for word... which is totally not a bad thing though, because everything always turns out full of flavor and delicious!! ...unless of course its a baking recipe, then we're BOTH too scared we will mess it up if we change the recipe!!)

you can find the recipe for mexican stuffed peppers with quinoa and black beans here, but read on for our modifications and suggestions:

1. ortega taco sauce instead of red enchilada sauce

(might be the same thing? not sure, but taco sauce so good i could drink it, so we used that instead)

2. add 2 tsp cumin to quinoa/onion/salt mixture before boiling

(for some extra mexican-ish-ness)

3. added fresh sweet corn cut off the cob to the bowl before stuffing peppers

(just because we had it and needed to use it before it went bad.. added a nice hint of sweetness!)

4. add red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder to bowl before stuffing peppers

(we thought it needed some more pizazz when we tasted the mixture)

5. serve it on top of a dollop of guac

(again, simply because we had it already! but definitely a good add for the bits that fall out of the pepper while eating... mix up all the "leftovers" and scoop up with some scoops!!)

6. top with pickled (jarred) jalapenos or olives

(i used jalapenos, and mr p used olives. not sure about the olives, but the pickled jalapenos gave a nice hint of spice and tanginess)

not just ANY granola.

THIS granola.

well.. it's not really "granola", but it does have oatmeal, nuts, agave, and dried fruit though.  i guess it's sort of like granola, but in bar form, and uncooked.  yes, UN cooked.  which means you can throw it together in literally 10 minutes.  i've gotten so good at making it lately that i almost turn it into a game seeing how quickly i can make it.

one of the nicest things about it is that since you don't have to "bake" anything, the quantities of all of the ingredients (and even the list of ingredients too) are left to debate.  someone might like 3 times as much cinnamon, or maybe you want to substitute some of the agave for maple syrup (hint: this is a GOOD idea!)

but back to the yogurt.  crumbling up this granola and putting it on some vanilla greek yogurt is pretty much heaven.  i usually don't necessarily "look foward" to eating breakfast, i just eat because i'm hungry.  but this is one of those meals where i think about it all the way to work, then eat it as soon as i sit down (instead of waiting til 9am or 10am like i usually do).

besides taste, though, why is it so good?

1. granola (not the yogurt) is vegan and gluten-free (if you make sure to buy gluten-free oats)

2. it is the perfect topping for ice cream too! or, if you make your own ice cream, layer the oats with the ice cream (high five to mr p for thinking of this trick! see it here)

3. it makes a lot, so you get to eat it ALL week for breakfast!

anyways, you just have to try it!   then tell me what you think of apartment therapy's version, and what you would do differently!  here's what WE do differently:

half sunflower seed butter, half skippy natural creamy peanut butter

sub 1/4 of the agave with real maple syrup

all dried cranberries instead of whatever dried fruit is in it (we get huge bags of it at BJ's for super cheap)

peanuts, almonds, or walnuts instead of the nuts in the list.  we ALWAYS have these on hand (again, because we can get giant containers of them at BJ's for super cheap)

extra cinnamon to taste.  i don't know how much i really put in, but i know it's WAY more than it calls for!

cheers to great breakfasts!