Mexican Chicken Salad

This is the perfect use of leftovers from taco night. I mixed up shredded chicken with part mayo and part avocado before adding corn and black beans. Customize it with any add ins from the leftovers!

It is great scooped up with chips or on a roll! It even keeps pretty well.

Mexican Chicken Salad
Ingredients: (for 2 servings)

1 1/2 cups shredded chicken
1 small avocado
2 tablespoons mayo
1 teaspoon taco seasoning
1/4 cup corn
1/4 cup black beans

Directions:
Mix together the chicken, avocado, mayo, and taco seasoning. Gently mix in the corn and black beans.

Serve with tortilla chips or on a bun. Top with pickled onions or jalapeños or cilantro or tomatoes and spice it up as you like.

This was so good. I refrigerated a portion to see how it was the next day – survey says: yup! It was good! I squeezed some lime to wake it up and loosen it up. The avocado isn’t the same green the next day, but the whole thing didn’t look as sad as old guac.

Chorizo Eggs Benedict

I’m using the “benedict” term loosely – queso is in place of a hollandaise but these still have English muffins + meat + egg + sauce so they are very much like a benedict.

The Three Bite Rule - Chorizo Eggs Benedict

These make a great dinner in case you aren’t having leisurely brunch. Me! I’m not having lots of slow morning meals! This was lunch and I’m sure I’ll make again as dinner!

Chorizo Eggs Benedict
Ingredients: (for 2 servings)

1/2 pound chorizo without casing
2 English muffins
4 eggs
1/3 cup queso sauce

Directions:
Pan fry the chorizo until cooked through, then drain.
Toast the English muffins.
Warm the queso.
Warm a pan to medium heat for the eggs. Cook sunny-side up, or over easy, or poach them, as you like.
Spread a teaspoon of queso to each English muffin, then top with chorizo and eggs as soon as the eggs are cooked. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.

Spoon on the remaining warmed queso to the very top.
Enjoy!

We are mild-medium spice people at our house so these were fun and not too spicy for us. Make your own chorizo to really control the spice level – season ground pork with paprika, chili, garlic, oregano, cumin, and cinnamon as you like.

The Three Bite Rule - Chorizo Eggs Benedict

I’d definitely have these again as this was the easy way to do so. Another way to level- up would be to melt some pepper jack cheese and actually make hollandaise.

Taco Beans

I took our love for beans, especially pizza beans, and gave them a taco twist. They were such a hit – especially with our littlest eater. The toppings and customization make it easy for a win.

The Three Bite Rule - Taco Beans

Taco Beans: 
Ingredients: (serves 4)

2, 15-oz cans of seasoned black beans (or see alternative below)
1 cup corn
1/2 chicken breast (optional)
1 avocado
cilantro
cheese
pickled onions
any condiments: salsa, hot sauce, salsa con queso, sour cream
chips

The Three Bite Rule - Taco Beans


Directions: 
Warm the beans through, over low heat for ~10 minutes. (Alternative if using plain canned beans: drain, rinse, and add to a pot with 1/2 cup veggie broth and a sprinkle of cumin, chili powder, and salt to taste). 
While beans are cooking, slice the avocado, chop cilantro, and prepare all the toppings
Assemble bowls with beans and any toppings, as you wish. 
Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Taco Beans

Mr. J and I went with almost all the toppings, but the kids loved their beans with cheese, avocado, sour cream, and salsa.

What I Ate: Nacho Burger

I feel like a genius. I created an amazing burger out of nowhere. I made burgers out of ground pork, taco seasoning,  and some salsa con queso.

The Three Bite Rule - Nacho Burger

Ingredients:
1/2 pound ground pork
1 tbs taco seasoning
2 tbs salsa con queso

Directions:
Mix the ground pork (or beef/chicken/turkey) with taco seasoning and salsa con queso.
The Three Bite Rule - Nacho Burger
Form into patties and grill
The Three Bite Rule - Nacho Burger
Top with sliced pepper jack cheese and some more salsa con queso!
The Three Bite Rule - Nacho Burger

This had some great spice and perfect cheesiness. I think the cheese sauce was a perfect way to keep the meat juicy. I served it with a vinegar based bean salad. We loved this one!

Flautas with Ground Pork and Spinach

I’m expanding my non-authentic Mexican food repertoire. I made flautas. I first googled to find out what the difference was between flauta and a taquito. Again, from non-authentic sources, it seems like flautas are flour tortillas and taquitos are corn tortillas.
The Three Bite Rule - Pork Flautas

I prepped some of it in the morning before work, which always makes me feel like a rockstar. The pup was very into these. When I say he’s under my feet in the kitchen, I mean it. See? He’s just to sweet to totally kick out of the kitchen. It makes me feel loved since I come in second to Mr. J in his eyes (unless I’m cooking).
The Three Bite Rule - Pork Flauta

Ingredients:

½ pound ground turkey/pork/chicken/beef (I used pork)
3 tbs taco seasoning
12 small flour tortillas
2 cups baby spinach
6 oz shredded monterey jack cheese
oil for frying

Directions:

Cook the ground meat with taco seasoning until cooked through and mix with spinach after removing the meat from the heat.
The Three Bite Rule - Pork Flauta
Heat about ¾ of an inch of oil to fry the flautas when they’re assembled.
Lay tortillas out and top with 2 tbs each shredded cheese, and the ground meat and spinach mixture.
The Three Bite Rule - Pork Flauta
roll up the filled tortillas into skinny cigars and secure with a toothpick
gently drop into the oil for a few minutes, rotating them to crisp evenly.
The Three Bite Rule - Pork Flauta
When they’re evenly golden, remove and let hang on paper towels. Don’t forget to pull out those toothpicks!

They stayed together nicely and I served them with a little chipotle ranch dressing (also known as: ranch with a touch of BBQ sauce for smokiness, a dash of hot sauce, and taco seasoning). They were really good. I loved how different they felt from burritos or enchiladas.
The Three Bite Rule - Pork Flauta

Frying anything stresses me out. I only did a few at a time and kept the others warm in the oven at 200 degrees.

These are a great use for leftovers :ahem:spinach:ahem. I would have thrown in any other veggie I had around. Think: corn! onions! zucchini! mushrooms! They also didn’t require a ton of ground meat. I end up with weird amounts of leftover ground pork or chicken and almost always use it for a Mexican meal.

Serve these with my favorite Mexican bean salad for a quick & easy fiesta! They also are great reheated in the toaster oven for lunch the next day at work!
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