Taco Cups for Cinco de Mayo - chili powder

Method

• Start by marinating your chicken.
• Mix the dry spices together and rub it all over the chicken breasts.
• Let these marinate for about 30 minutes.
• Spray a 12-count muffin tin with cooking spray, and preheat your oven to 375 F.
• While the chicken marinates, warm your tortillas in the microwave or in a skillet on medium heat just until they are nice and pliable.
• Keep them warm in a tortilla warmer, or wrapped in a towel until you are ready to cut and place them inside of your muffin tin.
• Now you need to figure out how to best cut your tortillas.
• You can use a large cup, placed over the tortilla and use a sharp knife to cut the rounds.
• Or you can use one of the best things I probably ever purchased, and use a round cutter and cut it into perfect rounds (the rounds should be about the size of the muffin tin hole, so it goes up the sides and covers the bottom).
• Place each round inside a muffin tin.
• Repeat until your muffin tin is full.
• Heat a large non-stick skillet on medium high heat.
• Add the chicken breasts, and cook for about 6 minutes per side.
• Once the second side is cooked, add about 1/2 cup of water into the skillet, cover the skillet and remove from the heat.
• Place your muffin tin inside the preheated oven and cook the tortilla cups for about 6 minutes.
• After 6 minutes, remove from the oven and set aside.
• Remove the chicken from the skillet, and cut it into small, bite-sized cubes.
• Your goal will be to have small enough chicken bites to fit inside a tortilla cup.
• Ok, now we are ready to assemble.
• Add about a tablespoon of cooked, refried beans to the bottom of each taco cup.
• Add chicken to to top of the beans and top with the shredded cheese.
• Pack it in there, and press gently into each cup.
• Add more cheese if necessary.
• Place the muffin tin back into the preheated oven and cook another 6 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted.
• When done, remove pan from the oven.
• Remove the taco cups from the pan by running a knife around the tortilla cup, and place on your serving dish.
• Top with shredded lettuce and avocado cubes.
• Let me just say this.
• My wife made me make this twice last week they were that good.
• And I even served them for dinner for the kids (making some without the beans) and they loved them as well.
• What was great about these taco cups, was that they were bite sized, did not fall apart, and were just the perfect bite.
• I think taco night now will get replaced with taco cup night.
• They were that amazing.
• Oh yeah, that extra cheese crisps up around the cup while cooking, and is just an added bonus.
• Hope you enjoy, and happy Cinco de Mayo!