“You want to get it trashy?”
My son frantically glanced at the menu and at me, wondering what he said wrong. Since I am an expert in pre-reading a menu and studying its ingredients prior to arrival at a restaurant, I knew what to do.
“Yes, trashy please.”
The girl taking the order, who could not be more than a year or two older than my son, reassured him.
“It’s really good that way.”
Still a deer in headlights, my son looked at me for clarification. At Torchy’s Tacos, “Get It Trashy” means swapping out the lettuce and adding queso to the crispy chicken taco, which is known as their “Trailer Park” taco.
I might be overly obsessed with tacos. My brother recently visited, and my #1 concern was getting him to my favorite Texas taco places. Taco Priorities.
Torchy’s is so good, that we waited in a long line to order. What’s worse is that we remained in line even after a mom came charging at us with her son that was throwing up. She rushed to get out of line and out the door. Everyone moved out of the way, yet stayed in line. Seriously, everyone just moved to the side of the trail they left behind and appreciated the fact that there was one less person to wait behind. Pretty gross, but it’s really that good.
My son loves the “Trailer Park” taco and to “Get It Trashy”, which is a fried chicken tender with pico de gallo, chiles, poblanos, and velvety queso. As usual, I immediately imagine how to make it at home.
First things first. I need a good queso.
Since I’m not into fake cheese, I make mine with the real stuff. Instead of frying a piece of chicken, I use lean white chicken and crush up corn tortilla chips to add crunch.
Making restaurant favorites at home is a healthier way to satisfy a craving. Not only can you ensure less fat, sodium, and overall calories, but you save money too. My son swears that he likes the at home version more. Whether I believe him or not doesn’t matter. The fact that he even says that is enough.
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast or tenders, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- squeeze of lime
- 1 poblano pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded and sliced into strips
- Green Chile Queso
- Pico De Gallo
- Crushed corn tortilla chips
- Soft tortillas - flour or corn
Instructions
- Season chicken with chili powder, cumin and salt.
- Saute in a nonstick pan with a couple teaspoons of oil.
- Cook until just done, turn off heat and squeeze lime juice over it.
- Warm tortilla.
- Lay a couple strips of poblano down the center and top with chicken.
- Layer crushed chips, queso, pico de gallo, and more chips.
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