Chicken & Black Eyed Peas Tacos

You are supposed to eat black eyed peas on New Years Day for luck. One for every day of the year, to be exact. Typical to my style, I'm always running a bit behind. It is no surprise that I decided on January 2nd that we HAD to have Black Eyed Peas for dinner. (Or maybe not, considering that I spent most of the day in the attic crawl space, covered in heavens knows what, trying to force feed cords between a wall and fireplace. I need more than luck.)

I had already taken out chicken, and what I really wanted was tacos. (I always want tacos for dinner.)

Here is what I did, to feed 3 hungry people:

I took 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts and sliced them, fajita-style. I marinated them in a bit of lemon-infused olive oil and the juice from half a lime.

While that was working on becoming delicious, I drained, rinsed, and placed two 15.5oz cans of black eyed peas into a saucepan. I added about 1/4 c. of broth (I used chicken, but you can use vegetable, if you are only making the beans, making this dairy kosher, or vegetarian) and 1/2 TBS of Dinosaur BBQ Cajun Foreplay. You can get this almost anywhere, and I recommend you do, but if you don't have it, use any cajun seasoning you like. Don't have that? Use a small amount of red pepper flakes. Some don't like it hot. If that is you, use some herbs de Provence.

Bring the broth to a simmer, and lower the heat. Let them cook for about 10 minutes, or until the beans are good and creamy, but not mush. (If they turn into mush, just smash them into the liquid and reduce, like refried beans.)

Then just let them sit.

All of this can be done well beforehand. The longer the beans sit, the better the flavor, and they reheat well so don't be afraid to make them in advance, then enjoy a cup of coffee.

Right before eating, dump the chicken and marinade into a pan and sauté until cooked through.

The last thing to do is set up the tortillas. I like these with soft tacos with Mexican cheese melted on top. We added a little sour cream, a little salsa, and I would have like shredded lettuce, but I forgot to buy it. Oops! Add corn salsa! Tomatoes! Raw onion, if you like them! Go nuts!

Enjoy!

This would be AMAZING with some mahi-mahi or Chilean sea bass, and that would make the meal dairy kosher. Marinade the fish the same way, with a little salt added.

Make double the beans and cut out the chicken for a vegetarian meal (and you could even sauté up some tofu in the lemon-lime mixture).

We used flour tortillas for this particular one (it was what I had), but I'd recommend corn tortillas (especially for the fish tacos! Mmmm...) and they are better for you, being Gluten Free and all.