When I lived in Houston, my favorite restaurant was Lupe Tortilla and their #29 Soft Chicken Tacos. Lupe Tortilla never made it to Dallas, and I
rarely make it back to Houston. Thus, I had to come up with an alternative. For those that have never tried it, it is more like enchiladas than tacos.
But that really is just semantics when you taste something this wonderful!
Chicken filling:
4 boneless chicken breasts (no skin)
2 cans of chicken stock
1 medium onion chopped
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 large can of fire roasted green chilies
Poach the chicken breasts on medium high heat in the chicken stock. Meanwhile, sauté the chopped onion in the olive oil separately. When the chicken
is cooked, take it out of the stock and reserve the broth in a separate bowl. Shred the chicken with 2 forks and add it back to the pot with the
sautéed onions, the fire roasted green chilies and 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the reserved chicken broth so the mixture is moist but not watery.
"Ranchero" Sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped white onions
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon minced jalapeno
3 minced garlic cloves
1 can of fire roasted tomatoes with the juice
1 cup chicken stock
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
To make the Ranchero Sauce, in a medium pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and bell peppers, and cook, stirring, for 3 to 5
minutes. Add the cumin, salt, cayenne, jalapeno, and garlic, and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and their juices and cook, stirring,
for 2 minutes. Add the stock and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the cilantro. Allow the sauce to cool a bit
and then puree the mixture in a blender until smooth.
Assembly:
4-6 cups of shredded monetary jack cheese
Package of medium size tortillas
The chicken mixture
The "ranchero" sauce
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a large casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Take a tortilla, spread 1 tablespoon of ranchero sauce on
the face, add a portion of the chicken mixture to the middle (about 4-6 tablespoons) and 2 tablespoons of the jack cheese. Roll the tortilla up with
the mixture and place it is the shorter end of the casserole dish. Continue until the casserole dish is full.
Cover the tacos with the remaining ranchero sauce making sure everything is covered evenly. Then cover with the remaining jack cheese. Bake for 20
minutes and enjoy!