Kitchen sink tacos: chicken, grilled veggies, pickled onion, etc...

Show me a day of the week and I'll show you a day that myself and my fella are in the mood for Mexican.  As I sit here and try to rack my brain for all the ingredients I used in these tacos, my mouth is literally starting to water.  If I was Guy Fieri, I'd say that I was looking forward to a "one way ticket to flavor town" but I'm not him, so I'll just say this meal was DAMN good. (Sorry mom).

The chicken was grilled on Sunday, and waiting in the wings.  (Hehe.)  I cannot stress enough the importance of grilling and how it can simplify your life by allowing you to cook multiple dishes and not make your kitchen a mess.  Hear my words.  Embrace them.

Most of this dish came together as a hodge podge of fridge leftovers.  Pickled onions and coleslaw were leftover sides from the salmon dish and the grilled veggies (mushroom, onion, and squash) were leftover from sunday's grilling spectacu-lar.  I added fresh onion and bell pepper for some crunch and garnished with cilantro, sour cream, and lime juice.  I'll be having a variation of this for lunch tomorrow and we're going out for Mexican on Friday.  I have a craving that CANNOT be satiated.  Mexican food 4 life.

Chipotle Marinated Chicken (adapted to serving size from Cooking Light community)
2 garlic cloves
2 chipotle chile
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1/2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tbsp lime juice
1/8 tsp ground cumin
black pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Place all ingredients in small chopper/process.  Pour over chicken; cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight.  Grill chicken over medium-high heat, about 8 minutes on each side, or until no longer pink in center.

Firecracker Rice (adapted from my pal Jennifer Laurent)


Rice (4 servings)
1 can chicken stock
1 poblano, (roasted, skin peeled, diced)
4 ounces manchego cheese, chopped
2 tsp lime juice
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
1/2 tbsp smoked paprika

Cook rice according to package directions using chicken stock and a bit of water in a rice cooker.  If you don't have a rice cooker, go to the store and buy one.  Trust me: it's worth it.  Once rice is cooked, let cool for a few ingredients, then stir in all other ingredients and serve.