Ray’s Recipe’s – It’s Taco Time

Taco Time

I live in south Texas. South Texas. If you are unaware of a south Texas factoid, taco time is a south Texas tradition. Since today is Thursday, I could call it Taco Thursday. Hold that thought. Every day is taco day except for burrito or fajita day. Guacamole doesn’t have its own day. Not to worry, I want to start a petition drive to make June 11, Guacamole Day. Why did I pick Junio once? The only truthful answer I can give is that I’m right brained, random, and skip around my thoughts like a bee on rose bush flitting from flower to flower. Babe always told me the way I think is the reason she would insist on hiring electricians, plumbers, tree pruners, and anything that requires concentrated attention for more than ten seconds.

It’s time to get down to serious Taco Time business for a guy dancing alone. Since my concentration wavers after ten seconds, I go with a single guy’s trusted friend, slow cooker. The only decision I need to make is eight hours or four hours. How hard is that? Let me think about it, I’ll get back to you in an hour (guy humor).

If I use the slow cooker, it’s twenty minutes prep time tops, walk away and come back eight hours later. Talk about a walk in faith – the slow cooker told me to chill, it’ll all work out.

I like to make my cooking life easy. The biggest problem with a slow cooker is clean up – NOT SO FAST! I buy cooking inserts and place one in the slow cooker. Right after I line the slow cooker with the liner, I add a whole jar of low sodium, high on the heat salsa. What’s a taco without the heat? Check it out.

So far, thirty seconds. I walk to the fridge, open the freezer. I’m in luck, one baggie of chicken filets. I didn’t check earlier. This is one of the reasons, I don’t qualify to be a pilot, surgeon, or electrician. I place the frozen chicken in the slow cooker, hustle to the yard and pick some rosemary and let it add color and flavor to mix.

The rosemary and chicken holler the fiesta is boring, they need company. I hear a knock on the door, open it, and I hear, “Let the party begin.” It’s poblano pepper, jalapeno pepper, onion, and red pepper. Tagging along behind the group is basil.

I put the cover on the slow cooker, set the time for eight hours. Hasta luego baby. In a couple of hours, it is smelling good. I toss in a bit of red pepper (I wasn’t kidding about the heat), take a long slow breath because it’s smelling so good. I put the cover on the slow cooker and a bib on me because I’m drooling.

I had a good day and didn’t worry about dinner. A half hour before dinner, I go to work, set the table, make a salad, and a dish of first of the season strawberries and blueberries. It’s easy. It’s healthy. It’s yum-oh. And, it’s Taco Time. I kept the tradition alive.