Ancho Chicken Soft Tacos

The good folks at Marx Foods sent me some of their dried chiles to try. Here is the first of what I made with them.



Ancho Chicken Soft Tacos (adapted from Rachael Ray)
Ingredients
• 1 lb chicken meat cut into small pieces
• 3 dried ancho peppers, stemmed and seeded
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
• 2 tablespoons sherry or sherry vinegar
• 1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 8 soft flour tortillas

Place the ancho peppers and chicken stock into a small pot over medium-high heat. Bring up to a bubble and simmer until the peppers are very tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of olive oil, about 2 tablespoons. Add the red onion and garlic to the pan, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
While the veggies are cooking, remove the skin and meat from the chicken, and shred the meat.
Add the sherry or sherry vinegar to the pan and cook for a minute to burn off the alcohol. Add the oregano, cumin, coriander, shredded chicken and ancho puree to the skillet and cook (add a splash of chicken stock if the mixture is too thick), until heated through, 3-4 minutes.

Pomegranate Guacamole
Ingredients
• 2 ripe avocadoes, skin and pit removed
• Zest and juice of 1 lime
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 large jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped or grated
• Salt
• 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

pomegrantes!

Pomegrantes are a powerful healthy snack and the juice has a number of benefits. For instance, did you know that when you compare a glass of pomegranate juice and a glass of red wine, tests found that ounce for ounce, pomegranate juice has 17% more polyphenol antioxidants than red wine. There are more polyphenol antioxidants in POM Wonderful pomegranate juice than other drinks.

A 2005 study published in the American Journal of Cardiology showed improved blood flow to the heart in patients drinking 8oz. daily of POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice for 3 months.

A few weeks ago, I got an email from Janny at Pom Wonderful asking if I would like to review some samples of their pomegrante juice. Naturally, I said yes. Because I love samples and I love pomegrantes! A few days ago, I received a box stuffed full of the fruity, tangy nectar! I looked over all the recipes on the Pom Wonderful site and settled on the Pom Velvet Cake. Similar to a red velvet cake, it was moist and tender. The recipe calls for the pomegante juice to be added to the 1/2 and 1/2, apple cider vinegar mixture. I iced it with the cream cheese frosting recipe included on the site with the cake recipe. Together its delicious!



YUMMY!


In the coming days I plan to make some pomegrante syrup, and I also am thinking about something with lamb or pork. Look for those posts soon!

Thanks, Janny and Pom Wondeful.