Easy Chicken-Black Bean Tacos


A couple of weeks ago I had grilled more chicken breasts than had gotten eaten.  I sliced them and stuck them in a baggie in the freezer.  I've had a very busy few days recently and last night I pulled them out to thaw.

I never did fulfill my earlier promise to cull down the contents of pantry, fridge and freezer.  In fact I seem to keep adding to it.  I'm such a bad girl that way.  So trying to decide what to make with the chicken  I spied a can of Bush's Fiesta Style Grillin' Beans: black beans simmered in a tasty chipotle sauce with corn kernels and red peppers
 I also had some tortillas, so I'm thinking tacos.  There's not a recipe here, because what I did was so simple.  I chopped a small onion, sliced up about 4 plump cloves of peeled garlic and cooked it in a sauté pan in a little olive oil.  I added a couple of cups of grilled and semi-thinly sliced chicken and about a tablespoon of Penzey's Salsa Seasoning.  Regular taco seasoning would work just fine, or even chili powder, but I am awfully fond of the Penzey's blend.

After the chicken, onions, garlic and seasoning got to know each other a little better, I poured the can of beans over it and simmered until most of the liquid was gone.  Then I added the finely grated zest and the juice of one lime.  That's it!

You can add whatever condiments you have and like.  I had salsa, shredded Napa cabbage, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and cilantro.  I think diced avocado or guacamole would be great with these as well.

I had some fresh corn, so I did my favorite thing to do with corn: into some soft butter I grated the zest of a lime and added the juice.  I spread the shucked corn with this, wrapped it in foil and roasted it in the oven at 350 for about 45 minutes.  Or you can do it at 400 for about a half an hour.  If you are grilling, you can cook them right on the grill. A sprinkle of the Penzey's salsa seasoning here is pretty tasty too.

Altogether it took about 10 minutes of my time and from start to finish was less than 45 minutes.  If you don't do the corn, it's about 20 minutes total.  If you go to a fast food joint during rush hour it'll take longer than that to drive through!

Comments