Sail Away on a Taco Boat

It’s Taco Tuesday. Now I know that yesterday was National Nacho Day, and we didn’t have Nachos. So it seemed fitting that today, Taco Tuesday, we not have Tacos. At lease not in the traditional sense.

Taco Boats are sort of like tacos. There’s a hard corn shell, like a taco, except it’s called a Flat, despite the fact that it really isn’t flat. Tostadas are flat. These are more like canoes made from corn tortillas, or bowls or boats. The can hold more than a traditional taco. And that’s good because we’re gonna fill ‘em with a whole lot more than just meat.

If you didn’t know by now, let me enlighten you – my guys would love it if we ate Mexican food every night of the week. Okay, maybe not every night. We’d need one night for burgers and another for pizza. The rest would be Mexican. Because they love Mexican Food so much, over the years I’ve perfected my cooking skills. That’s good for them, bad for me. I can pretty much outshine any Mexican Restaurant north of the Rio Grand. There are only two reasons to eat out – someone else cooks, someone else cleans. I don’t mind the cooking, but there are times when the kitchen looks like a bomb went off or something – pots, pans, mixing bows, spoons, and on and on, all dirty and piled up in two sinks, with more strewn across the counters.

Oh but who cares? Not when the food is this delicious, and the margaritas flow. Now if only I could perfect Deep Fried Ice Cream, we’d be set.

Slow-Cooker Chicken and Rice Taco Boats
Slow Cooker Chicken
4 Bone-in Chicken Thighs
1 (15 oz) Can Whole Black Beans
1 cup Hot Salsa
1 (4 oz) diced Green Chilies
2 teaspoons New Mexican Red Chili Powder
1 Lime

Remove skin and excess fat from the chicken. Place in the bottom of a slow cooker. Drain and rinse black beans, scatter of chicken.

In a bowl, stir hot salsa, green chilies and chili powder together. Taste, adjust heat as desired.

Pour salsa mixture over the chicken mixture. Cover and cook on LOW setting for about 3-1/2 hours, until juices of the chicken run clear. Remove chicken from the slow cooker, remove and discard bones from the chicken. Shred meat, return to the slow cooker. Cut lime in half, squeeze juices over the mixture. Stir, taste and adjust seasoning as desired.

Rice Taco Boats
2 cups Water
1 box Farmhouse Mexican Rice
Pinch Salt
Pinch New Mexican Red Chili Powder
2 Roma Tomatoes
3 Green Onions
10 Corn Tortilla Flats
3/4 cup Nacho Cheese Sauce

Fill a saucepan with water. Add seasoning mix from the rice, whisk to blend. Add rice, salt and a pinch of Chili Powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 25 minutes.

Seed and dice tomatoes, set aside. Trim green onions, slice and set aside.

Separate and lay Tortilla Flats out. Divide rice among flats. Top with shredded chicken. Finish boats with a scattering to tomatoes, green onions and a dollop of Nacho Cheese.

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In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.