I have a confession; I am in love with these AIP chicken tacos! After you try this recipe, I hope you will share my same sentiment.

Do you ever crave foods that are a little out of your norm? I do, but I don’t usually end up making them because they look difficult to make. I have seen several AIP recipes that looked delicious until I saw the long list of ingredients needed. The recipes say they feed a family of four, but they barely feed my husband. The ingredients and the processes are so long, it literally has taken me two hours to prepare dinner some nights. I don’t have that kind of time or energy, but I do have the taste buds for delicious meals, so I have turned my kitchen into a test kitchen.

The recipes I post here are tried and true. The recipes (for the most part) will be easy, really easy, to make in your home. If I can’t cook it with my teenage sons and get consistent results, I won’t post the recipe. If my food isn’t approved by my three guys, and me, it won’t make it to my website. I don’t like wasting my time or money making difficult recipes, and my guess is that you feel the same way. So join me on this eating adventure and hopefully you will be thrilled with the new flavors and ease of preparation. My goal is to fall in love with cooking again and to help you do the same thing!

AIP Plantain Tortillas

(Gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, nut-free, grain-free, Paleo)

The other day I wanted tortillas. Yummy, delicious tortillas. I am on the AIP (Autoimmune Protocol/Paleo) diet, so I can’t have corn or any grains, gluten, or pseudo-gluten flours, so my only options are vegetables or AIP approved plant-based flours. I remember seeing fresh tart’s recipe for plantain tortillas and it sounded interesting. I have a scale for cooking, but I am in the process of redesigning my family room and laundry room and everything in the house is in disarray, so I couldn’t find it. My portions were off for this recipe until I made it simpler. We tried making plantain tortillas before from another site, but they never turned out looking like the photos. So I tweaked the recipe a bit to make it work for me and my boys and I was able to get consistent results the next three times I made this. I made this recipe for dinner on a Friday and my boys loved it so much that they ate it again on Saturday morning for breakfast and again Saturday night for dinner. Winner, winner, chicken dinner. I know, I am crazy, but I love it when my guys get excited about eating food!

This recipe is simple, and if you have helpers in the kitchen it will go so much faster. There are four food items that need to be divided amongst the cooking crew: Chicken, tortillas, guacamole, and the kale, so I will explain how to do each food item, and trust me, it is simple.

AIP Chicken Tacos Recipe

Serves 4 Hungry Adults
Ingredients:

4 organic large sprigs of kale (or 1/person)
4 organic chicken breasts (or 1/person) + salt to taste

Tortillas:
1 1/2 medium sized plantains (green to yellow/green color works great)
2/3 c. filtered water (I love my Berkey water filter and I think it helps the food taste amazing!)
2/3 c. organic avocado oil (I love Chosen Foods)
1 tsp. sea salt

Guacamole:
4 avocados
7 sprigs of organic cilantro
1 green onion
A couple dashes of salt to taste (~3-4 dashes) Taste as you go to make sure it’s not too salty.

Directions:

Kale: Rinse and chop into small pieces to place on top of finished taco. I don’t usually use the bottom part of the stem; I just peal off the leafy parts and chop those.

Guacamole: Cut 1 avocado per person, mash in a bowl until desired chunkiness is reached. Add approximately 7 sprigs of chopped cilantro and 1 chopped green onion to the guacamole. Add a couple dashes of salt and mix well.

Chicken: Use one organic chicken breast per person. Heat gas stove to 7- or medium high. Coat cast-iron skillet with Avocado oil (or other oil- Avocado oil has one of the highest cooking temperatures, that’s why I use it.) I use a cast-iron skillet for health reasons and for the taste. You know that the skillet is hot enough if it makes a sizzle sound when you splash a drop of water in it. At this point, add the chicken and set a timer for 7 minutes. Cook it uncovered. After the timer goes off, flip the chicken and cook it uncovered for another 5-7 minutes depending on the size of the chicken breast. Set a timer. When the timer goes off, remove the chicken from the heat and set on a glass or ceramic plate. I usually cut the large end of the biggest piece of chicken to ensure that the chicken is fully cooked and has no pink spots. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, pull apart or cut chicken into bite-sized chunks.

Tortillas: Combine all ingredients into a blender (I use a Vitamix, but it’s not necessary). Blend until it looks thick and creamy (no chunks), sort of like hummus. Prepare two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Spoon out 6 dollops onto each cookie sheet – a total of 12 dollops. Disperse all of the blended tortilla batter to the 12 dollops. With a spoon, smooth the batter into a circle shape; they should be approximately 1/4″ high. These will be thin tortillas, but that’s what makes them look and feel like regular or “normal” tortillas. Bake the trays on separate shelves in the oven. Set the timer for 10 minutes, then switch the trays and reset the timer for 10-15 minutes depending on how your oven heats. My best tortillas cooked for 10 minutes, then 8 minutes (our oven is super hot). You can tell that they are finished cooking when they look light to medium brown. They shouldn’t take longer than a total of 20 minutes. When they are finished cooking, pull them out of the oven and serve on a plate.

Add the guacamole to the tortilla, then the chicken and kale. Then eat and enjoy your easy recipe.

Let me know what you think and happy eating!