Happy Taco Tuesday Ideas and Recipes
Taco Tuesday is definitely a good thing. It’s popular and I have decided to start a new tradition with our friends called Happy Taco Tuesday.
Happy Taco Tuesday will be simple. We will start out having a fun dinner on the first Tuesday of each month and rotate who will host. We will include about 14 people and whoever can attend will just rsvp. I have so many menu planning ideas and for the first time, I made homemade white corn tortillas!
What’s On the Menu?
Tacos of course! Since I am hosting the first Happy Taco Tuesday, I decided to go old school and make my own tortillas. They aren’t hard to make, you just need the right tool to make them.
I am very spoiled living in Southern California. There are so many incredible spots for Mexican food. Little hole-in-the-wall places, incredible taco trucks, and there are some restaurants that have been around for many decades that make their own tortillas in-house. If you don’t want to make your own tortillas, just buy corn tortillas at your local market and meet me down the page at recipes!
How to Make Homemade White Corn Tortillas
- one – To make 8 tortillas, mix one cup of Masa Harina (I used Organic Masa Harina by King Arthur), one cup of lukewarm water, and 1/2 tsp salt. Mix thoroughly.
- two – Knead the dough with your hands for a few minutes and form it into a ball.
- three – Cut the dough into 8 equal portions.
- four – Form each of the eight portions into small balls.
- five – Cut the sides off of a Ziploc bag and use the piece of plastic to prevent the tortilla from sticking to the press. Place the dough on the plastic.
- six – Cover the dough with more plastic on top.
- seven – Press the tortilla maker firmly. Remove from the plastic. If it sticks, just rub a small amount of the Masa Harina on the bag. Store in a damp towel before cooking.
- eight – Cook the tortillas on a pan (use cast iron if you have it). Cook one side for a few seconds and then flip and cook for 15 seconds. Flip again and cook for about a minute. The tortilla should bubble a bit in the center. Remove from the heat and store in a towel to keep warm. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for a few days.
Mexican food is one of those cuisines that most people like. For all of the menu items I made, I kept the spice level low for those who don’t love heat and had hot sauce on the side for those who wanted to add it. I also kept the menu simple, but delicious – Chicken Tacos, Chicken Taquitos, and Vegetarian Mexican Pizza.
Chicken Tacos
We are eating less red meat and I recently discovered ground chicken. Ground chicken is preferred in our family and it also feels a little bit lighter. I also made my own taco shells by draping corn tortillas over the bars of the oven rack (not sure if there is a proper name for these, but you can see what I mean with the photo below).
I love to make taco shells this way because I don’t add anything to the tortillas before baking, like butter or non-stick spray, so they are pretty healthy. If you drape a tortilla across two bars, you get a really nice fat taco shell that will hold lots of goodies.
- one – Here is everything you need to make these yummy Chicken Tacos.
- two – Drape the corn tortillas over the bars of the oven rack and bake until golden.
Chicken Tacos
Using ground chicken keeps these tacos light.
Ingredients
- 1 Pound Ground Chicken
- 1 Package Taco Seasoning
- 2 Cups Shredded Cheese
- 1-1/2 Cups Chopped Tomatoes
- 15 Corn Tortillas
- Guacamole
- 4 avocados
- 4 TBL LiteHouse Jalapeno Ranch dressing (sour cream if you can't find this locally)
- 2 TBL Taco Sauce
- Season with Garlic Powder to taste
Instructions
- Add ground chicken and taco seasoning together in pan over medium heat. With a wooden spoon, crumble the ground chicken and combine with seasoning. Continue stirring until chicken is cooked through and well coated with seasoning.
- While the chicken is cooking, preheat your oven to 350.
- Warm your tortillas in a microwave for about 30 seconds so that the tortillas are pliable.
- Open your oven and pull out the rack. Drape the tortillas over the bars and bake for 8 -10 minutes.
- Once the taco shells are done, remove from them from the oven.
- To assemble the tacos, first add the seasoned, ground chicken.
- Add shredded cheese.
- Add diced tomatoes.
- Top with guacamole.
Guacamole
- Remove avocados from skins, discard pits.
- Mash avocados using a potato masher or pastry blender.
- Add Jalapeno Ranch dressing, Taco Sauce and Garlic Powder.
- Combine thoroughly, season to taste.
Air-Fryer Chicken Taquitos
I must be a child at heart, because I really, really love these taquitos. I always think of taquitos as an item on the children’s menu, but these are a bit elevated. All I do is add a small amount of cream cheese and diced green chiles. Oh, these are so, so yummy!
- one – All of the ingredients you will need for my favorite Chicken Taquitos.
- two – If using an air fryer, the toothpicks are essential, otherwise the tortillas will blow around in the air fryer.
Chicken Taquitos
These might be one of my favorite appetizers to make, serve and eat!
Ingredients
- 1 pound of ground chicken
- 1 package of taco seasoning
- 1/2 cup softened cream cheese
- 1 can diced green chiles
- 15 corn tortillas
- tooth picks (to keep the tortillas from unrolling in the air fryer)
Instructions
- Add ground chicken and taco seasoning together in pan over medium heat. With a wooden spoon, crumble the ground chicken and combine with seasoning and diced green chiles. Continue stirring until chicken is cooked through and well coated with seasoning.
- Add cream cheese and stir until combined.
- Warm your tortillas in a microwave for about 30 seconds so that the tortillas are pliable.
- Add chicken mixture to a torilla, top with about an 1/8 of a cup of cheese (or as desired).
- Close tortilla and secure with a toothpick.
- I air-fryed mine for 8 minutes, until golden and crispy. Your air-fryer may take longer or shorter. The goal is crispy and golden.
- I like to serve these with Litehouse Cotija Cilantro dressing.
Mexican Pizza
I wanted to add something to our menu that was a little bit Mexican and also vegetarian. I used Pillsbury ready-made pizza crust to keep it easy and quick. Think of this pizza as a Mexican Margherita pizza!
- one – Roll out the dough to your desired thickness.
- two – Spread the seasoned tomato sauce.
- three – Add shredded cheese and diced green chiles.
This countertop pizza maker from Breville is my favorite. We use it all of the time and I absolutely love it!
Mexican Pizza
Simple, easy and oh so yummy!
Ingredients
- 1 Pizza Dough (I used Pillsbury pre-made dough)
- 1 Can Tomato Sauce
- 1/2 package of Taco Seasoning
- 1 Cup Cheese
- 1 Can Diced Green Chiles
- 1 Large Tomato, sliced
Instructions
- I used my Breville Pizza Oven which needs about 20 minutes to warm up.
- While the Pizza Oven is warming up, mix together the tomato sauce and taco seasoning.
- Roll the dough out to your desired thickness.
- Cover the pizza stone with a piece of parchment paper (this is to help remove the pizza from the pizza oven without it sticking to the pizza stone)
- Place dough on top of the parchment paper.
- Top the dough with the tomato sauce.
- Add desired amount of cheese.
- Add diced green chiles, sprinkling them evenly across the top.
- Add tomato slices.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until crust is browned and cheese is melted.
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Ready to host your own Happy Taco Tuesday? Below is everything that I used to host mine!
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Love, love, love Mexican. query?, what are green chile’s? How hot are they, are they in a jar?
Thanks for some great recipe ideas.
Kim
Such a great idea and fun way to break up the weeknight dinner menus. Thanks for sharing all these tips Leslie. Let the fun begin!
I have recently been making my own ground chicken with my Ninja. And organic chicken breasts. So much better than packaged, super quick and moist!
Oh Yummm! I love your taco-draping technique too – another stroke of brilliance. Can’t imagine your Happy Taco Tuesday was anything less than a roaring success! Thanks for all the great inspiration, as always!
Sounds so delisc and eye appeal is like 100.. I also use the large flour tortillas to make pizza.. quick easy and delis.. you can use pizza sauce and whatever topping you choose. I do heat flour tortilla just a few seconds in oven before adding topping and then again after adding it.. I’ve had so many people wanting this recipe..
I made the chicken tacos but with store bought corn tortillas and they were a delight! Thanks for sharing!