Give Your Guacamole The Grill Treatment

Every cook has their "foolproof" recipe. You know, a go-t0 recipe that is sure to please a couple at an intimate dinner party or a Super Bowl party for 20. My playbook includes rockstar guacamole recipe that calls for avocados, tomatoes, garlic, onion, lime, cilantro, a few splashes of hot sauce, and salt and pepper. That's it. It's not the simplest of guacamoles, but it's a winner every time.

How can we make this taco better? Add grilled guacamole!

Two nights ago Bryan and I had just gotten back from Las Vegas -- mostly business for me, mostly pleasure for him -- and we wanted an easy homecooked dinner. We went with steak tacos, knowing we could throw some meat and corn tortillas on the grill, top it with chopped onions and cilantro and call it done. That sounded great by itself, but I upped the ante and chopped up some homemade pico de gallo. Then Bryan said, "If you're going to make pico de gallo, maybe you could make guacamole, too?" How can I say no to an adorable man who loves my guacamole more than most things in life? Especially when he picks up the puppy and pretends to have Charlie ask for the guacamole?

Throw Your Avocados on the Grill & Thank Me Later.

Photo Credit: WannaBeAVegan.com

I was suckered in, but I was inspired by the grill. I threw a jalapeño, slices of sweet onion and halved cloves of garlic on the grill for a few minutes. No salt or pepper. The veggies were naked. When they got some nice grill marks, I chopped them up and added them to a small bowlful of chopped tomato, cilantro and lime juice. Then I halved the avocado, sprinkled it with salt and pepper and threw it face down on the grill. After about 2 minutes the avocado was sporting gorgeous grill marks, and I spooned it out into the bowl, mashing it ever so slightly into the other ingredients (keeping the integrity of the chunks). As a finishing touch, I threw in a few dashes of jalapeño hot sauce and the guac was done. Up until then, my signature guacamole had never been given the grill treatment, but I'm so glad I did it! Grilling the veggies gave the jalapeño and the onion a slight smokiness while mellowing out the garlic's bite. The heat made the avocado almost silky and incredibly easy to mash. Not to mention, the grill marks were a lovely touch.

Never grilled your guac? Try it out and share with your tips below!

Ginger & Garlic Marinated Chicken Soft Tacos

We must be in a taco mood because we made them again; last time with tilapia and this time with ginger and garlic marinated chicken. Actually, I must put the blame on Whole Foods as we were there when I spotted these foulish beauties. Yes, I consider marinated chicken breasts "beauties" because a) they're already packed with flavor and, b) it means less work for me! Of course you can use any marinade you enjoy most – I personally prefer Lawry's Baja Chiptole, Sesame Ginger and Caribbean Jerk marinades – but that day, the ginger and garlic was calling my name.

We decided to grab some corn tortillas, grill up some chicken, bell peppers, onion and mushroom and top the tacos with homemade guacamole and pico de gallo. The whole meal took about 30 minutes – I've got my homemade guacamole recipe down pat – and we were enjoying tacos and beer in no time.

Homemade chicken soft tacos!

Here's our recipe:

Ginger & Garlic Chicken Soft Tacos

• 8 corn tortillas
• 1 pound marinated boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat and cut into thin strips (Note: you can also slice them after the breasts are grilled)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• Canola oil spray
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 1 large green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup prepared hot salsa, plus more for garnish
• 1/2 cup prepared guacamole
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Spray large heavy skillet or griddle with canola oil (or use 1 tablespoon canola oil). Heat over a high flame until very hot. Add chicken and cook, stirring until browned on all sides, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. If you have grilled whole chicken breasts, let rest for a few minutes before slicing into strips.

Whole Foods ginger & garlic marinated chicken breasts

After it rests, slice your marinated & grilled chicken

In the meantime, reduce heat to medium and re-spray the griddle (or add another tablespoon or canola oil). Add onion, bell peppers and mushrooms in a single layer and cook about 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and cumin and flip, continuing to cook another 3-5 minutes, until the vegetables start to soften and brown around the edges. Remove from heat and set aside.

Add bell pepper, onion and mushrooms to grill

Grill vegetables until soft and brown around edges

While all the your cooking is going on, don't forget to warm up your tortillas! You can either warm them in the oven (wrap tortillas in foil, warm at 300 degrees for 10-15 minutes) or in the microwave (wrap tortillas in a damp cloth, microwave for 1-2 minutes...then wrap in foil to keep warm).

Heat tortillas until warm, then keep wrapped in foil

Now it's time to assemble the tacos! Bryan and I have slightly different taco-making styles, so we put our ingredients in separate small bowls, making ourselves our very own taco bar! That way we can make the tacos however we want, with the items that we like. Personally, I top a corn tortilla with a few slices of chicken, then with the veggies, then with guacamole and salsa. You can add whatever you want, like scallions, sour cream, etc. The taco world is your oyster!

Optional: If you're working in a skillet, you can combine the vegetables and chicken in the skillet and stir in the spicy salsa. Cook, stirring, until chicken is heated through, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Spoon into warmed tortillas and garnish with guacamole.

What's for dinner? Chicken soft tacos!