It was one of those days when the weather was really cold and rainy, and just plain nasty. A perfect day for doing your taxes, right? Papers were spread all over the dining table, but all I wanted to do was hunker down by a roaring fire in the fireplace. 

I had planned a dinner of grilled chicken on salad but, as the weather changed for the worse, a cold salad lost its appeal. It was time to put on my thinking cap, raid the cupboards, and come up with a comforting meal using what was on hand.

A quick search produced: chicken breasts, half a bag of tortilla chips, a partial bunch of sad-looking cilantro, a few dried chiles, some tomatoes, an onion, and several jalapeños from the garden. 

So, I set aside my taxes for another day, and used my creative juices to make crunchy Tortilla-Crusted Chicken with Salsa Roja. As a side dish, I made a quick version of Calabacitas with some of the onion and tomato, a summer squash, and some frozen corn. Comfort delivered; taxes evaded… well, at least avoided. 

~ David

35 Comments

  1. Jane Sanders

    February 11, 2023 at 9:34 am

    That looks delicious, David, and definitely an excellent reason for tax evasion! You are so incredibly creative……
    Jane

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      February 12, 2023 at 11:58 am

      As always, a lovely complement from you, Jane, especially knowing what you’re going through in your household during tax season!

      Reply
  2. Mad Dog

    February 11, 2023 at 10:39 am

    Time well spent and an excellent supper!

    Reply
  3. Jeff the Chef

    February 11, 2023 at 11:13 am

    I love this idea! I’ll bet that chicken was crunchy and delicious. And if I’m going to avoid doing my taxes, this is the way i want to do it! I’ll tell you, every January I always think I’m going to get to it right away, and somehow I always find myself behind the eight ball sometime in late February.

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      February 12, 2023 at 11:57 am

      The hardest part about getting your taxes done is… well, all of it! I just don’t like doing it at all. Like you, Jeff, I’d much rather be in the cooking creating a fun recipe to share with everyone.

      Reply
  4. Linda S Doughty

    February 11, 2023 at 12:55 pm

    This sounds delicious, a good use of tortilla chips, and a much better use of time than preparing taxes.

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      February 12, 2023 at 11:56 am

      I always feel that the amount of time I spent preparing my taxes is a huge waste of my energy. However, it must be done, right? Thanks, Linda, for your kind comment and I hope you get a chance to make this!

      Reply
  5. mimi rippee

    February 11, 2023 at 2:46 pm

    Beautiful meal! I want to make that pretty red sauce! I’ve got all of the chiles for it.

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      February 12, 2023 at 11:55 am

      And you can make this much spicier if you want, Mimi. I made it fairly mild, but very flavorful for a guest who doesn’t like food too spicy.

      Reply
  6. Eha

    February 11, 2023 at 3:08 pm

    When chillies and tortilla chips are mentioned, I know it is time to learn something new again . . . and today’s dish asks most inviting just asking to be copied. Am laughing as here we always talk about ‘tax avoidance’ but never about ‘tax evasion’ 🙂 ! . . . And very few do their own tax returns > one has one’s electrician and plumber and doctor and mostly one’s tax consultant whatever the wage or salary . . . ‘) !

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      February 12, 2023 at 11:55 am

      Well, honestly, tax evasion is a very serious term here in the United States. It’s usually used for politicians like Donald Trump, and it’s extremely illegal. However, I thought it be kind of a fun play on words. After all, I was only avoiding my taxes as you do.

      Reply
  7. Christina Conte

    February 11, 2023 at 9:07 pm

    Oh I’m with you! I’d much rather cook a delicious dinner than do taxes! This chicken looks wonderful and I’m sure it tasted even better than it looks, David! Now I’m sad because I’ve realized it’s almost tax time, ugh!

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      February 12, 2023 at 12:05 pm

      Tax time was bound to happen, Christina! Who was it that said “the only two sure things in life are death and taxes”? I’ll take the taxes for now, thanks!

      Reply
  8. Frank | Memorie di Angelina

    February 12, 2023 at 7:08 am

    Some of the tastiest dishes I’ve eaten were the product of scouring my fridge for odds and ends! And this is a great example of what you can do if you know your way around the kitchen.

    And by the way, I didn’t realize you had cold and wet days out there!

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      February 12, 2023 at 12:04 pm

      Those kind of meals are my favorite, Frank. There’s a real rush from the creativity of pulling a bunch of non-related things out of the fridge and coming up with a fantastic meal.

      It is rather odd, to think of the desert with rain, but we get two rainy seasons in Arizona: the monsoon in summer, which is spectacular, and then the winter rains, which are usually storms that come up from the gulf of Cortez. Being that water is so scarce here, we are always glad to get rain. However, after a couple of days, most people in Arizona go crazy if they don’t see the sun. I used to laugh at that statement until I’d been here for five years. Now, when I see a forecast with three days of clouds, I start quivering…

      Reply
  9. Ronit

    February 12, 2023 at 11:18 am

    Who wouldn’t prefer crispy chicken with tasty sauce to doing tax! 🙂

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      February 12, 2023 at 12:01 pm

      I don’t know anybody, Ronit, that would prefer doing taxes to eating good crispy chicken!

      Reply
  10. Pauline

    February 13, 2023 at 4:05 am

    Your salsa Roja looks and sounds so very good David, with a definite Spanish influence. I love crumbed chicken, and I can only imagine how delicious it was with the corn chips. Taxes, a thing of the past with us, but our Accountant made short work of it back in the day, worth every cent. We are sweltering in the heat here, I’ve told hubby aircon goes on tomorrow, ha, ha. The thought of a nice fire is very appealing in your climate right now.

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      February 13, 2023 at 4:36 am

      How lucky you are that taxes are a thing of the past for you, Pauline. They never end here…

      The corn chips really do make this dish very different from others — and I thought of the salsa as more Mexican-inspired, but Spanish works, too!

      Reply
  11. Raymund

    February 13, 2023 at 3:24 pm

    This recipe sounds delicious and comforting! The Tortilla-Crusted Chicken with Salsa Roja and Calabacitas side dish make for the perfect meal on a cold and rainy day. I love how you were able to use what you had on hand to create this dish. The steps are well explained and I appreciate the tips for seasoning the chicken to your desired level of spiciness. Can’t wait to try this one out!

    Reply
  12. Caitlin

    February 13, 2023 at 9:51 pm

    This sounds so flavorful and delicious! And certainly perfect for a cozy rainy day in.

    Reply
  13. Max Ethan

    February 13, 2023 at 11:35 pm

    I love this idea!This recipe sounds delicious and comforting! The Tortilla-Crusted Chicken with Salsa Roja and Calabacitas side dish make for the perfect meal on a cold and rainy day. You are so incredibly creative……

    Reply
  14. sherry

    February 14, 2023 at 9:51 pm

    love the shot with all the pretty vegetables David. Calabacitas? Nope don’t know that one. So when does your tax year end? Ours is end of June each year unless you run a business and then it’s end April, I think! Good luck with them 🙂
    cheers
    sherry

    Reply
  15. Velva

    February 16, 2023 at 2:40 pm

    David, this dish so worked on a cold nasty day, made worse by the idea of having to get your taxes done (laugh). This is a great meal. I had calabacitas for the first time in New Mexico-although, living in the south I had plenty of zucchini and yellow squashes.

    Stay warm.

    Velva

    Reply
  16. Valentina

    February 17, 2023 at 12:13 pm

    Tortilla-Crusted Chicken is WAY better than taxes! 😉 Seriously, this looks delicious and the salsa roja is calling to me. I can imagine it with so many things. 🙂 ~ Valentina

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      February 25, 2023 at 11:18 am

      Thanks, Valentina! The Salsa Roja is really quite wonderful and good on so many different things!

      Reply
  17. Marty Schofield

    February 17, 2023 at 2:43 pm

    David, this looks delicious! I always have a partial bag of crumbs that I could eat with a spoon that will work perfectly! On the Tax note, I did taxes for a living for years. To me it’s like a big puzzle. I feel differently when it’s my own though.

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      February 25, 2023 at 11:17 am

      I used to do my own taxes many years ago, now, I just put my stuff together for an account! That alone is often way too much! I’m glad you like this recipe, Marty, and that you often have leftover tortilla crumbs to use for it.

      Reply
  18. 2pots2cook

    February 21, 2023 at 6:09 am

    This is so creative! And so much more interesting then taxes, right?

    Reply
  19. Ben | Havocinthekitchen

    February 21, 2023 at 5:29 pm

    This dish looks so comforting and soul-warming – perfect one for a nasty weather situation. Normally I’m not a huge fan of breaded chicken, but oh man – this looks absolutely gorgeous. Great idea to use tortilla chips for a perfectly golden and crunchy (and not soggy at all) exterior!

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      February 25, 2023 at 11:08 am

      Even though I have posted Chicken Parmesan on my site, I much prefer these tortilla crusted chicken breasts! And definitely not soggy!

      Reply
  20. Inger

    March 6, 2023 at 10:19 pm

    I was almost scared off my the word tax David! Pretty impressive dish for pulling from odds and ends!

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      March 17, 2023 at 12:07 pm

      I imagine your refrigerator/freezer/pantry is a treasure trove of things to make! If we put our minds to it, I’m pretty sure we could outlast an entire month!

      Reply

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