In Mexico, Max eats tacos almost every day. He loves them.
In Canada, he doesn’t eat them ever. Not once in four years.
Partly because I’ve never made them for him and partly because peanut butter sandwiches are KING around here (cut into triangles, not squares, got that?).
Seeing as I had this free* kit, I thought that I’d cook up some tacos for Max.
It wasn’t until I was 10 minutes into cooking the ground chicken that I realized it was a FAJITA kit and not a taco kit. No matter really because A) I dislike the hard tacos anyways and B) although I dislike the hard tacos, I like them slightly more then the soft wheat flour tortillas. At least the hard taco shells are made from corn.
Now that we’ve confirmed that Old El Paso will not be knocking down my door to have me review either of these products, I’ll tell you how things went. From the beginning.
Besides not reading the front of the box, I did what I always do when I’m cooking… read the instructions. After “Step 1: Slice chicken…”, I knew that this wasn’t going to work for us (note that I still didn’t realize that I wasn’t making tacos) so I abandoned the instructions all together (the horror) and put the ground chicken in the wok.
I added half the package of seasoning (because it said to add the whole thing to all your food) and a ton of paprika. In Mexico, when you buy already prepared chorizo (ground pork, in bulk or in sausage form), it comes with achiote. To tell you the truth, I’m not even sure what it is or what it tastes like only that it’s sold as a dark red (dry) paste and if it isn’t in Max’s tacos then he’s not eating them. Seeing as The Kids were already giving me the shifty eye for making tacos in the first place (or cooking for that matter), I wanted things to go as smoothly as possible.
Back to the chicken.
I cooked it in the wok for about 15 minutes at a lowish temperature (see how precise I am, it’s a wonder I’m not a professional cook or cookbook writer) and chopped at it continuously until it was crumbly (look at the pictures if you have no idea what I’m talking about). Then I placed it in a separate bowl.
I wasn’t sure that the kids would want the vegetables mixed in with the meat because we don’t put any in our “Mexican tacos” and I didn’t want to be stuck with 1 pound of fajitas which I don’t like so I cooked them separately.
Then, I stirfried the vegetables.
With a bunch of soya sauce. I didn’t check the instructions but I don’t think that soya sauce was an ingredient. No matter. Around here, French fries and soya sauce are a food group. I then cooked the vegetables for a while but not until they were soggy. If I can cook vegetables with no instructions then surely you can too.
The final step, warming up the flour tortillas.
I didn’t want to heat up the oven for two tortillas (one for Max and one for me, to try, for the sake of this review, besides, I was hungry). So, I decided I’d do what I did in Mexico and put it on my makeshift “comal” (otherwise known as directly on the element) and it worked like a charm! I only put it on for 15 seconds on one side and 10 seconds on the other. The whole time moving it around ever so slightly so it wouldn’t get burned.
If I’d been better prepared, I would have purchased cilantro and fresh lime. Everything tastes better with lime. I added some of the accompanying Topping sauce and it added some flavour but it was pretty mild. Note that if I’m saying that it’s pretty mild, it’s mild. As for the remaining seasoning, I’m going to add it to tomorrow mornings eggs. Mmm.
And the final result…
Five tacos later and with no chicken leftover, I’ve decided that it’s all in the toasting of the tortilla.
Here’s my number so call me… Old El Paso. Maybe?
*Disclosure: I received a free product coupon for this Old El Paso fajita kit off of a coupon site. Websaver I think. This is an unsolicited review.
I really think you should be hosting your own cooking show. Cooking with the Zoo? This might go viral…
Mommy Outside recently posted…Flu, Cold or Something Else? Symptom Checker
good meal to eat we like there here too, but on the spicy side
I like how between the two of them (and you) a complete meal seems to be consumed. Great photos – you know I’ll be expecting something fancy and cooked next visit. 😉
Everything does taste better with lime! This made me smile because I rarely follow the instructions when I cook.
Fajitas AND tacos are a favorite here….loved reading YOUR version! lol
I really enjoyed reading this, we all know how finicky children can be – see my grandson, one day he’s loves chicken the next he hates it (at the ripe old age of 3 life is really tough) & refuses to even touch it let alone eat it. Tears & sobbing etc.
I love tacos! I love Mexican food! I think it’s the one food no matter how picky some of my offspring have been, none have turned down a taco or burrito or really anything else Mexican!
i love old el paso they taste great
We’ve never enjoyed the taco kits in our house, nor the flour tortillas you can buy. I have been making my own tortillas for years, it takes me about a half-hour, including making them from scratch and cooking them. It probably helps that I enjoy cooking and really dislike the all the salt and other ingredients put in pre-made products.
AlwaysARedhead recently posted…I thought he would remember her, I was wrong.
you are brilliant I am so gonna do this thanks for the post
My family loves these! So yummy and easy!
I love Mexican foods! They taste great and it’s something we all enjoy! 🙂
we had fajitas last night….used beef not chicken. So gooood!
It might say Fajitas on the box but the box next to it probably said “Soft Tacos” and essentially had the same thing in it. I love the way you cooked the fajita shell and am definitely going to try that in the future. I make taco/fajitas about once a month or so and have found that rather than buying the box you can get the individual seasoning packets and then buy whole wheat fajita shells for less than the boxes and you get the benefits of a healthier wrap. The Taco Pie can be pretty fun for the kids too.
Marion Scharf recently posted…Win Ottawa Sens tickets on Canadian Blog House
Dear Marion,
I swear by cooking the fajita on the element. We will definitely be making more Fajiacos or Tacitas. Mmm taco pie. Thanks for sharing.
Besos, Sarah
Blogger at Journeys of The Zoo
We love Old El Paso products, I’ve been buying the reduced sodium version and it’s great!
Hey lovely: I was just popping by hoot suite and spied you in my feed and thought hey now I haven’t read Sara in awhile and I miss her hi jinks. Then I read this and laughed my butt off. Thank you. The best part was the ending call me, maybe and the fact you thought you were making tacos with the fajita kit. I LOVE the spicy fajitas. Nom nom
Paula schuck recently posted…Three Simple Steps to #TreatsforToys #Christmas
Dear Paula,
You know that I always love it when people have a laugh at my expense. I have to admit that I was laughing pretty hard myself. Off to see what’s up with you and your lovely family.
Besos, Sarah
We always stock up on this because it’s never fails us! Yum!
My kids love the Old El Paso Fajitas!