Tortilla Bowl Taco Salad

So, this is the first real meal I've cooked in a long time. AKA not pasta, pizza, or grilled cheese.

My mother-in-law gave us these pans a couple months ago and I honestly thought they were the actual taco bowls, not pans to bake taco bowls in. I figured out the truth when I was cleaning my pantry this past weekend and took a closer look. 

First, I thawed and trimmed a frozen boneless skinless chicken breast.

I am pretty picky with my chicken (along with most of the Schows), so I ended up cutting it into little chunks for quicker cooking and to clear all veins and fat.

I greased the pan with spritzes of olive oil and seasoned the chicken with Johnny's seasoning. 

You can use butter or oil to keep the meat from sticking to the pan and you can use whatever seasoning you prefer.

While the chicken cooked, I diced a small tomato and 1/4 of a white onion.

I cooked the onion in a small pan with olive oil. Craig and I aren't big raw onion fans, so I generally cook them.

I used raw tortillas, so they needed to be slightly cooked in a pan before I placed them into the shaped pans. I cooked the tortillas in the oven at 400 F for 7 minutes so they would hold their shape.

For the whole assembly: tortilla bowl, iceberg lettuce, chicken, tomatoes, cooked onions, sour cream, and salsa.

I ended up throwing some ranch dressing on top for a little extra flavor and moisture. Then I dipped the extra tortilla in the salsa and sour cream.
Overall I was very happy with the tastes and textures. One thing to put it over the top is to sprinkle the tortilla with shredded cheese before baking it.

Tortilla-Bowl Taco Salad

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

1 Chicken Breast, cut into 1" chunks

1 T Olive or Canola Oil

1/4 White Onion, diced

1 Tomato, diced

1 Head Iceberg, sliced

4 Tortillas

Seasoning for Chicken (taco seasoning, Johnny's, salt & pepper)

Salad Dressing, optional 

Sour Cream, optional

Salsa, optional

Shredded cheese, optional

1. Trim chicken and cut into bite-sized pieces. Cook in a pan with oil and seasoning.

2. Dice onion. Cook in pan with a little oil.

3. Dice tomato and slice lettuce. Place in fridge to keep cool until all ingredients are assembled.

4. Warm tortillas. If you have tortilla bowl pans, follow instructions.

5. Place tortilla in a bowl and top with lettuce, tomato, onion, and cheese (optional).

6. Serve with dressing, sour cream, and/or salsa. 

Do any of you have different ingredients you like to add into taco salad??