Fried Chicken Tacos

This recipe is in "The Pioneer Woman Cooks" cookbook
 by Ree Drummond. It is amazing, but I have never made
anything by the Pioneer Woman that I didn't like. This
could easily be adapted to ground beef, turkey, or pork
tenderloin.  She has you fry the tortillas, but we just used
corn tortillas that we heated in the microwave for 20 seconds.
This is much healthier than frying the tortillas. But if you're skinny,
go for it.

Printable Version

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon canola oil (If you are frying the tortillas, you will need 1 cup canola for frying
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small cubes (I used 2 chicken breasts)
Two 4-oz cans diced green chiles (I just diced about 30 pickled jalapena slices) 1 can would be plenty
16 small corn tortillas (I used 4)
1 1/2 cups finely grated cheese - cheddar
sour cream
salsa
2 cups thinly sliced romaine lettuce (1/2 cup)
4 roma tomatoes, diced (10 grape tomatoes cut in 1/2)

Method:
1. Mix the chili powder, cumin, and salt together in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and chiles and saute' for 3-4 minutes, or until the chicken has lost its color.
3. Sprinkle the spice mixture over the chicken and saute' until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
4. In a separate skillet, heat 1 cup of the canola oil over medium high heat. Drop in a small piece of the tortilla to see if it's hot enough, it should sizzle as soon as it hits the oil.
5. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the chicken into a tortilla.
6. Grasp the tortilla closed between tongs
7. Lay it in the hot oil, holding dwn the top half of the tortilla so that it remains closed.
8. Cook until golden brown, 30-45 seconds, then flip the tacos over to fry the other side.
9. Cook the other side until browned and crispy.
10. Remove each taco from the pan, allowing the excess oil to drip out of one end.
11. Immediately wrap each taco in a paper towel and gently shake it to remove any excess oil.
12. If you use my method, you can skip #4-#11. Just put the tortilla on a plate and warm in the microwave for 20 seconds.
13. While the tacos are still hot, gently stick some cheese inside.
14. Next, using a knife, smear some sour cream on top of the cheese
15. Add drizzle of salsa on top of the sour cream
16. Add shredded lettuce and tomatoes.