I have three boys in three different schools with staggered dismissal times. This means Joe walks in at 2:30, Luke at 3:15 and Zack at 4:00. I can’t help but want to spend a few minutes with each before we start our afternoon craziness – generally sports related but sometimes scouts or school events. This makes it tough to cook dinner in the small window I have between 4-5pm. I am making a concerted effort to come up with things that can be made in 30 minutes, eaten in 10 and cleaned up in 10 more. It makes for a busy hour but it is nice to have a healthy meal, cheap-ish and filling AND have time to chat with the boys as they do their homework at the kitchen island.

This is all you need! I have tortillas too.

Ingredients (in order of cooking):

Shredded Chicken – 15 mins.

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 whole cooked Chicken, shredded

1 tsp. cumin (I use Roasted cumin)

1 Tbsp. chili powder (I used a blend that my dad orders from New Mexico, which makes it extra special and spicy but regular store bought works great too.)

2 tsp. oregano (I use Mexican oregano)

¼-1/3 cup chicken stock

1 ½ Tbsp. butter

Guacamole

2 avocados, smashed

½ a lime, juiced

dash of garlic powder and cayenne pepper 

1 Tbsp. salsa

salt and pepper

Toppings

salsa (I like Jack’s medium fresh salsa. I buy it in a 32 oz. container and I can’t keep it in the house!)

lettuce, shredded

cheese, shredded

tomato, chopped

tortillas or corn shells, warmed

Let’s Cook!

Put a pan on the stove to warm up, add oil. Chop up onion, add to pan. Chop up garlic, add to pan. Shred the chicken, add to pan. Sprinkle with spices, chicken stock, stir and put butter in the center to melt, stir. The butter adds some fat and is my dad’s secret ingredient to extra yummy chicken! This took me 15 minutes! I swear!! I timed myself!

I happened to have two avocados so I made guacamole because my kids love it and it is such a good source of happy fat! Mash all ingredients in a bowl! That’s it… sure, you could add a chopped jalapeño, green onion, tomato and garlic but I was short on time. Make it how you like it!

Cut up your sides. If you can, have your kids do this part. Mine were busy doing homework before baseball practice.

Dinner’s ready! The boys ate while I packed a few tacos for my husband, Greg, who was meeting us at the baseball field and we were off!

You can do this! I know you can! And it is worth it!! It might take you a bit longer than 30 minutes until you get the hang of it. I have made this chicken a ton of times so it is easy for me. With some practice, it can be easy for you too!