Chilicos

What?! An entry two days in a row?  I know.  Try not to get too excited.
Last night we had chilicos (pronouced chill-E-cohs) for dinner. Think tacos and a chili hybrid. Think delicious.  And yes, I am decorated for Valentine's Day, even though that bottom heart placemat is slightly askew and driving my mild case of OCD bananas. Also? Please don't judge my fine china. Washing dishes has been low on my list of things to do since getting the shingles.

So, I'm not sure where this idea actually sprouted from originally (because getting older sucks). My father recently had surgery and I went home to help my mother take care of him for a while. While I was there, I made an enchilada casserole from leftover salsa chicken that she'd made earlier in the week.  It was awesome! We were sitting around, bouncing recipe ideas off one another, and I don't know if this idea was born there or not.

What I am really thinking happened is that this idea came up from talking to some friends on PS4 while playing Destiny. Someone - it may have even been me - was making chili for dinner. Or talking about making chili for dinner. Or the subject of chili came up. Then the subject of tacos came up, and the idea of putting chili in taco shells.

"What do we call them? Chili-cos? Chil-acos?"
"I call them get in mah belly!"

The medications for shingles have actually robbed me of a bit of my short term memory.  I can't recall some details of conversations, and I am having trouble remembering the names of simple things from time to time. I blame the pain meds.

Anyway.

I actually started feeling well enough to cook a couple of meals and go out to the grocery store. So when I ran across taco shells that were nacho flavored? I immediately looked at my husband and told him that chilicos were happening, and soon!

Start with a great chili recipe. If you don't have one, I will include mine at the end. It looks basic, but what makes it a great recipe is that I make my own chili mix which is sooo much better than a packaged mix. If you use a package, no big deal. I am sure it will still be awesome. Trust me, toast those shells for a few minutes. Untoasted, and they really just aren't that good. Now fill them with chili and top just like you would your regular bowl.

I'm a chili purist at heart. I usually eat it as is, but I will admit the addition of fresh chopped onions were a welcome change.

My husband, however, does
things a little differently. See that blob at the bottom of the taco shell? That's peanut butter. I have found out many people eat peanut butter in tacos, but for the life of me, I just can't imagine it...and then to top it with cheddar cheese and onions? No thanks. It gives me flashbacks to being a kid and spending the night with someone whose mother made peanut butter pizza for dinner. Seriously, it was a pizza in every other sense of the word except that the sauce was replaced with peanut butter. Yuck.

Now don't get me wrong. Doritos Los Tacos these shells were not. That said, they were still great. I'd definitely keep this one in my meal rotation.

Now for that recipe:

Chili, from Food For the Single Dude

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 cup medium onion, minced
• 1/4 cup minced green pepper
• 1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• chili mix (I make my own, but a package is fine)
• 8 oz. tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water

Directions:

Brown ground beef with onions and peppers in large skillet. Drain and return to pan. Add chili mix, tomato sauce and water. Add more chili powder as needed for taste.
Cook on medium low heat for 20 minutes, then add kidney beans and simmer 15 more minutes to let flavors develop.