tacos

01.29.20

Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas

Posted on by Lexi's Clean Kitchen , Views: 3462

Switch up taco night and make Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas your new go-to easy weeknight dinner. Simple to prepare by adding sliced chicken, peppers and onions to your pressure cooker and then cooking with the push of a button. It can even be optionally prepared ahead of time and stored in the freezer (hello “dump” dinners). Serve with all your favorite fajita fixin’s! Made in partnership with my friends at Farmer Focus!

Instant pot chicken fajitas recipe.Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas

We are all about super simple weeknight dinners here, and this Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas checks all of those boxes. It takes minimal amount of time to prepare, is cooked using our favorite hands-off cooking kitchen gadget and is SO DELICIOUS. But the bonus? This can be prepared in batches ahead of time and stored in the freezer for the ultimate fast, healthy dinner. We’re talking another great dump dinner idea with this fajita recipe!

The truth is, fajitas are already a pretty quick dinner idea. But what makes cooking them in the Instant Pot so unique, especially when prepared ahead of time as a dump dinner, is that it truly is a place-all-the-ingredients-in-the-pressure-cooker dinner, set a button and walk away until you hear it beep. Some weeknights, especially when you have a busy family, are too chaotic to think about cooking. But everyone needs a healthy delicious dinner, so this recipe is good to have on hand. 

Serve the chicken fajitas with ALL the fixin’s (or the ones that are easy) like avocado, cheddar cheese, cilantro, shredded lettuce and cauliflower rice.

Dump instant pot chicken fajitas recipe.

How to Make a Dump Freezer Dinner

So let’s talk a little bit about the concept of a “dump” dinner!

A dump dinner is recipe that doesn’t really require too many steps in terms of preparation before it is cooked. Typically you just gather the ingredients, with minimal chopping, and dump them into the cooking equipment. Usually this is either a slow cooker, a stock pot or an Instant Pot. A Freezer Dump Dinner is a meal that is gathered ahead of time and frozen. When you want to cook it, you defrost in the refrigerator overnight and then dump the meal in the cooking vessel when ready to cook!

For this recipe, it will work either way. Gather all off the ingredients for the Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas and either prepare one (or more) batches ahead of time and freeze, or gather up all the ingredients and cook immediately in the Instant Pot.

Ingredients Needed

  • Chicken
  • Bell Peppers
  • Onion
  • Spices
  • Lime
  • Salt
  • Tomato Paste

A Note about the Amount of Liquid

Typically, Instant Pot recipes require a minimum of 1/2 a cup of liquid to work. This recipe doesn’t require any added liquid, minus lime juice. We originally started testing this with 1/2 cup of added liquid and the Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas quickly turned into soup, so we kept testing less and less liquid until we discovered that there was no added liquid needed because the peppers, onions and chicken release so much. We’ve tested this in 3 different types of Instant Pots, including an Instant Pot that has the “burn notification” ability. We never ran into a problem of there not being enough liquid released before the dish came up to pressure, and nothing ever burned.

If you are really concerned, you can add in liquid, but it will result in more of a soup than fajitas.

Why We’re All About Good Quality Chicken

I am so happy to partner again with my friends at Farmer Focus to bring you today’s easy Instant Pot chicken recipe! Farmer Focus has been my go-to, trusted chicken for years now, because they pride themselves in producing the highest quality meat grown on family-owned farms. I love being able to grab up a package of Farmer Focus chicken at the grocery store and not having to question whether it is truly coming from meat raised in a humane way.

Farmer Focus is building partnerships with growers through their innovative Farmer Focus Business Model

Farmer Focus is a company that supports their farmer partners and that is working hard to do things right and truly raise and produce the highest quality chicken! Every Farmer Focus product includes a 4-letter farm I.D. that traces your chicken to the farm that raised it. Buying meat from Farmer Focus also gives me peace of mind that I am supporting hard working family farmers.

Farmer Focus chickens are humanely raised and fed a diet free from animal byproducts, pesticides, and antibiotics. On their website you can see where all of the farms are located, so you know just where your chicken was raised! How awesome is that?!

You can also use their easy store locator to find where you can get this amazing quality chicken near you.

Instant pot chicken fajita on a plate.Fajita Toppings

  • Scallions
  • Avocado Slices
  • Cheese
  • Cilantro
  • Diced or Marinated Onions
  • Cilantro
  • Diced Tomatoes
  • Guacamole
  • Shredded Lettuce or Cabbage
  • Sour Cream

If you like this Instant Pot Chicken recipe, check out these others:

Watch the video:

Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas

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Prep Time 00:10 Cook Time 00:06 Inactive Time 00:10 Total Time 00:26 Serves 4

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Add chicken, peppers, onion, chili powder, salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, cayenne and lime juice to the Instant Pot and mix together. Place the tomato paste on top without stirring. Cover and set the steam valve to sealing. Cook on manual high pressure for 6 minutes, then manually release the pressure.
  2. Stir together the chicken and serve immediately with tortillas and desired toppings.

Recipe Notes

  1. To make it a dump freezer meal prep: Gather your ingredients and place everything in a gallon sized freezer bag and seal tightly. Storage flat in the freezer. To defrost, place in the refrigerator the night before and cook according to instructions.
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There may be affiliate links in this post! By clicking on them, or purchasing recommended items I may receive a small compensation, at no cost to you! However, I only recommend products I absolutely love and use in my own home! Thank you for supporting Lexi's Clean Kitchen when you shop! See my privacy policy for more information about this, the information we save, and more!
07.10.19

Taco Salad

Posted on by Lexi , Views: 96354

Looking for an easy weeknight meal? This easy and healthy Taco Salad recipe is it! It’s simple to prepare, deliciously satisfying, and customizable with your favorite taco toppings! Made in under 30 minutes, it’s the perfect family friendly dinner that is also gluten-free, Paleo and Whole30 friendly.

Easy Simple Taco SaladTaco Salad Recipe

Taco night can’t come easier when traditional ground beef tacos are turned into taco salad bowls! This easy and healthy Taco Salad recipe is most definitely going to be a crowd favorite. It’s delicious, so customizable and best of all easy-breezy to make! We take the classic flavor of a ground beef taco with seasoned meat and toss it together with all the usual suspects like romaine, avocado, tomato and (optionally) cheese. To make it easy-as-can-be, use a store bought salsa to help season the meat and to use as a dressing on the assembled salad. It works well with both a red salsa and a green salsa verde.

Want to make it a taco salad bar? If you have picky eaters in your family leave all the different salad ingredients in small bowls and let everyone make their own taco salad bowl! Plus the little ones will think it is fun and just might be tempted to try something new!

Ingredients for taco saladIngredients for Taco Salads

  • Ground Beef
  • Spices
  • Salsa
  • Romaine lettuce
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Red onion
  • Pickled jalapeños
  • Cheddar cheese (optional, omit for Whole30 or Paleo)
  • Avocado

Want to customize it to your favorite taco topping? Swap out what you don’t have or don’t like with what you’ve got on hand. Some other great additions are:

  • Canned beans
  • Shredded kale
  • Corn
  • Crushed up tortilla
  • Shredded chicken or pork
  • Hot sauce

How to Make Taco Salad

This couldn’t be easier! All you have to do to make this dish is:

  1. Brown some ground beef and add the spices
  2. Mix up your taco fixings in a large bowl
  3. Divide among plates and top with cooked ground beef
  4. Serve with a side of salsa or hot sauce

bowl of clean eating taco salad

If you like this simple and healthy salad recipe, check out these others:

Healthy Taco Salad

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Prep Time 00:15 Cook Time 00:10 Total Time 00:25 Yields 4

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once hot add beef and cook until browned, about 8 minutes. Drain excess fat. Add all of the spices to the beef and ¼ cup salsa and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
  2. Meanwhile assemble salad: In a large bowl toss together lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, jalapeños, and cheese. Divide between 4 bowls and top with ground beef.
  3. Serve with remaining salsa on the side for dressing.
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There may be affiliate links in this post! By clicking on them, or purchasing recommended items I may receive a small compensation, at no cost to you! However, I only recommend products I absolutely love and use in my own home! Thank you for supporting Lexi's Clean Kitchen when you shop! See my privacy policy for more information about this, the information we save, and more!
05.29.19

Mahi Mahi Tacos with Tropical Salsa

Posted on by Lexi , Views: 43868
Fish Tacos with Tropical Salsa {Whole30, grain-free, dairy-free, paleo-friendly} | Lexi's Clean Kitchen

These Mahi Mahi Tacos With Tropical Salsa are the perfect low-carb, light and healthy lunch or dinner! The crunch of the lettuce with the creamy tropical salsa and perfectly spiced fish makes for taco perfection. These flavorful fish tacos will be loved by all and are also dairy-free, gluten-free, paleo and whole30 friendly.

Tray of Mahi Mahi tacos with tropical salsa

Mahi Mahi Tacos with Tropical Salsa

These Mahi Mahi Tacos are everything! And when served alongside this outrageously flavorful tropical salsa and drizzled with a sriracha mayo it makes just the perfect combination of spiced, tangy, creamy and bright tacos! And the best part about this dish is that it truly is easy to put together! The most “work” this recipe requires is some chopping and cooking of fish. Other than that it’s basically just assembly! 

How to Make Mahi Mahi Tacos

Like most fish, cooking Mahi Mahi is quite simple and quick! There is a blackened style spice mix rubbed over the fish first, and then it is cooked on a grill pan! Here are the spices used:

  • chili powder
  • cumin
  • garlic powder
  • onion powder
  • salt and pepper

Mahi Mahi Fish tacos in a lettuce cup

How to make the tropical salsa:

This tropical salsa has an explosion of different flavors and textures! It has sweet mango and oranges, with creamy avocado and bright tomatoes and of course lime juice and cilantro! All you have to do is dice up the ingredients and toss it all in a bowl for serving.

What to serve with these tacos:

You can serve these Mahi Mahi tacos either in a romaine lettuce leaf for crunch low carb option, or in hard taco shells! We recommend serving it with some lime wedges, shredded cabbage and a spicy sriracha mayo! It also might be really nice with this easy cabbage slaw.

Mahi tacos in lettuce

If you like this taco recipe, check out these others:

If you like this seafood recipe, check out these others:

Mahi Mahi Tacos with Tropical Salsa

Print shopping list
Prep Time 00:05 Cook Time 00:10 Total Time 0:15

Ingredients

    For the fish

    Tropical Salsa

    • 1 mango, diced
    • 1 orange, diced
    • 1 avocado, diced
    • 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
    • 1 cup grape tomatoes, chopped
    • 2 tablespoons lime juice
    • 1 teaspoon cilantro
    • 1 teaspoon ground garlic from garlic mill

    Homemade Spicy Sauce

    • 1/4 cup organic mayonnaise, homemade or store-bought
    • 2 tablespoons Sriracha

    Ingredients for Assembly

    • 6 Organic romaine lettuce leaves
    • 2 limes, sliced
    • red cabbage, shredded
    • Organic non-gmo corn tortilla shells

    Directions

    1. In a bowl combine seasoning for the fish; season fish and place in the fridge until ready to cook.
    2. In a medium mixing bowl, mix the tropical salsa ingredients together. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Store in the refrigerator until ready to assemble.
    3. Spray grill pan with oil of choice and cook fish over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes on both sides, or until fish is opaque and flakey.
    4. Move fish to cutting board, chop into pieces, and place into a bowl.
    5. On a serving dish lay out desired amount of lettuce leaves or taco shells, depending on what you are using.
    6. In a small bowl, mix together spicy sauce and place on the serving dish.
    7. Assemble: Place fish pieces into each taco shell followed by the tropical salsa. Top with shredded cabbage, a drizzle of spicy sauce. Serve warm with lime wedges.

    Recipe Notes

    • I serve mine with tortilla chips and a bowl with extra tropical salsa!
    • Updated March, 2017
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    There may be affiliate links in this post! By clicking on them, or purchasing recommended items I may receive a small compensation, at no cost to you! However, I only recommend products I absolutely love and use in my own home! Thank you for supporting Lexi's Clean Kitchen when you shop! See my privacy policy for more information about this, the information we save, and more!
    05.14.19

    15-Minute Chicken Tacos

    Posted on by Lexi , Views: 12570

    Want to make the best chicken tacos ever? This easy 15-Minute Chicken Tacos recipe is your answer for a busy weeknight meal that the entire family will love. Using our tried and true taco seasoning blend, these taco chicken meat is so flavorful with minimal effort involved. Serve it with all your favorite taco toppings and call it dinner!

    Pan full of meat for chicken tacosEasy Chicken Taco Recipe

    This is one of those recipes where it’s kind of a recipe, but also kind of bordering on so easy it’s barely a recipe. These 15-minute chicken tacos have been on the dinner rotation for a while because they are quick, delicious and with minimal clean up. Serve it up with all of your favorite taco fixin’s and dinner is ready. This recipe uses this new taco seasoning blend, which you’ll be glad to have on hand when you make this chicken taco recipe again next week (and the week after).

    bowl of meat for chicken taco recipe

    Here’s what you need for these chicken tacos

    • Boneless skinless chicken thighs
    • Homemade taco seasoning blend
    • Lime
    • Oil of choice, for cooking

    What goes well with chicken tacos?

    • The EASIEST Slaw (a must with these)
    • Tortillas (we love the Cassava Flour Siete Foods Grain-Free Tortillas)
    • Tomato
    • Cheese
    • Guacamole

    Cooked chicken in skillet for homemade chicken tacos

    If you like this taco recipe, check out these others:


    Easiest Taco Chicken Ever

    Print shopping list
    Prep Time 00:05 Cook Time 00:10 Total Time 00:15 Serves 4

    Ingredients

    • 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed
    • 3 tablespoons taco seasoning blend
    • 1 tablespoon lime juice, (about 1/2 lime)
    • 1 tablespoon avocado oil

    Directions

    1. Pat chicken dry to remove excess moisture and place into a bowl.
    2. Add 2-3 tablespoons of taco seasoning. If you are all about the flavor, add 3 tablespoons. If you have some picky kids (or adults), use 2 tablespoons.
    3. Add lime juice and mix well until chicken is coated.
    4. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Once hot, add chicken in one layer. Cook for about 10 minutes, flipping halfway through, until chicken is cooked through at 165ºF.
    5. Once done, remove and chop chicken as desired and place back into the skillet to coat with the spices.
    6. Serve immediately with your favorite taco toppings, or in a taco style salad.

    Recipe Notes

    1. Want to grill these? Go for it, this recipe is perfect for it!
    2. Substitute any other high heat cooking oil for the avocado oil.
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    There may be affiliate links in this post! By clicking on them, or purchasing recommended items I may receive a small compensation, at no cost to you! However, I only recommend products I absolutely love and use in my own home! Thank you for supporting Lexi's Clean Kitchen when you shop! See my privacy policy for more information about this, the information we save, and more!

    01.06.19

    Pork Carnitas (Instant Pot and Slow Cooker)

    Posted on by Lexi's Clean Kitchen , Views: 35433

    This Pork Carnitas recipe, made either in the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker, is an easy and flavorful dinner or meal prep for a healthy start to the New Year. It’s Whole30, Paleo and Keto friendly and pairs with so many different sides (including this Healthy Cole Slaw recipe) that makes it a no-brainer to put on your cooking list now.

    Pork carnitas recipe

    Pork Carnitas (Instant Pot and Slow Cooker)

    This recipe is a favorite at our Food Editor Kelli’s home. It’s on rotation at least twice a month and served for both dinner and then for lunch a few days of the week. It’s so easy to put together in either the slow cooker or the Instant Pot and with minimal ingredients. It’s also versatile in how you serve it: you can put it in tortillas as a kid-friendly dinner, serve it with cauli-rice if you’re doing the low-carb thing, or as Kelli’s favorite over a simple slaw for a quick meal that can be eaten for lunch over a few days.

    Pork carnitas instant pot

    We love the simplicity in the flavors here: the pork isn’t inundated with too many spices but really relying on the basics: an onion, a teaspoon of chili powder and a pinch of garlic and cinnamon. Wondering about the cinnamon? There is no sugar in this recipe, but the cinnamon gives it the most subtle hint of warmness that you couldn’t detect what it is, but would surely be missing out if it wasn’t included. Trust us on this one.

    We’ve included recipes for both the long method in the slow cooker, or the faster version in the Instant Pot. For the Instant Pot version there isn’t any liquid included in the ingredients. The onion and the pork will release so much liquid that it isn’t needed and will safely come up to pressure.

    Pork carnitas slow cooker

    After the pork is fork-tender you can do the optional step of broiling the carnitas until they’re nice and crispy. Garnish with a bit of lime and a splash of the cooking liquid and this meal is simplicity at it’s finest. Check out the Healthy Cole Slaw recipe to pair it with!

    Watch the video:

    Shredded pork carnitas

    Tools to make this  Pork Carnitas recipe:

    If you like this easy meal prep recipe, check out these others:

    Pork Carnitas (Instant Pot and Slow Cooker)

    Print shopping list
    Prep Time 00:10 Cook Time 00:60 Inactive Time 00:30 Total Time 01:40 Serves 6-8

    Ingredients

    For Carnitas

    To serve

    Directions

    For Carnitas (Instant Pot)

    1. Place all of ingredients in a 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot, close the lid and set the vent to sealing.
    2. Cook on Manual High Pressure for 60 minutes, and let it natural release for at least 10 minutes (but you can let it fully naturally release if desired).
    3. Pre-heat broiler to 500ºF. 
    4. Shred the pork and using a slotted spoon place carnitas on a rimmed sheet pan and place under the broiler until nice and crispy, about 5 minutes. Spoon some of the cooking liquid and the juice of 1/2 a lime over the carnitas.
    5. Serve with cole slaw, tortillas or with caulirice.

    For Carnitas (Slow Cooker):

    1. Place all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours until the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender.
    2. Pre-heat broiler to 500ºF. 
    3. Shred the pork and using a slotted spoon place carnitas on a rimmed sheet pan and place under the broiler until nice and crispy, about 5 minutes. Spoon some of the cooking liquid and the juice of 1/2 a lime over the carnitas.
    4. Serve with cole slaw, tortillas or with caulirice.

    Recipe Notes

    1. Don't throw away the liquid remaining in the bottom of the Instant Pot / Slow Cooker, it's super flavorful and should be spooned over the crispy carnitas! There is some fat in there, so you can store it separate so you can scoop it off when it's cold, but we didn't feel this was necessary we just stored and leftovers all together.
    2. Not it isn't a mistake the no added liquid is included in these instructions! For both the Instant Pot version and Slow cooker there isn't any liquid included in the ingredients. The pork releases so much liquid that it is not needed. We are aware the it states the Instant Pot needs 1/2 cup of liquid at least to work, so we initially tested it with 1/2 cup of liquid but it resulted in an extreme amount of liquid at the end because the pork and onions releases so much that going forward we did not use any added liquid in the beginning and ours cooked up beautifully during testing, with no error in our IP. We tested it in two different Instant Pot's (a 6 qt. and an 8 qt.) with no error. If your Instant Pot has an error message, as we've gotten one comment with that, go ahead and put in 1/2 cup liquid, either water or broth. You may need to reduce the liquid after the cooking time. You are looking for a resulting flavorful broth!
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    There may be affiliate links in this post! By clicking on them, or purchasing recommended items I may receive a small compensation, at no cost to you! However, I only recommend products I absolutely love and use in my own home! Thank you for supporting Lexi's Clean Kitchen when you shop! See my privacy policy for more information about this, the information we save, and more!

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    Instant Pot or Slow Cooker Carnitas

    10.19.15

    Breakfast Tacos: ATX Inspired

    Posted on by Lexi , Views: 38653

    You may remember that last year we headed down to Austin, Texas for a long weekend with friends filled with… mostly FOOD! Only kidding, but we did eat our way through. Would you expect anything less? We fell in love with that city that weekend are are super excited to head back in 2016. It was just so wonderful. Friendly, fun, easy to navigate and all that jazz. Now while we were there we ate some fancier meals, some BBQ, some desserts, some Thai, some American, a little bit of everything. But there were a few spots, and one in particiular, that really stood out to us!

    Breakfast Tacos

    When planning a trip I always head over to Trip Advisor for restaurant reviews and suggestions.  When they reached out to create a recipe inspired by a dish I loved while traveling, I was instantly excited. I mean, I actually use their website when traveling, so it was a no brainer! They have tons of awesome resources that we love to use before heading on a trip, and aside from reader and friend recommendations, they are just an awesome resource to finding the best foodie spots. I love how other researchers like you and I share pictures of their meals, too! Since I’m a visual person, it makes it all the more easier for me.

    Now we dined at some fancier spots with some delicious food for sure. Ones that are up there with or on the Trip Advisor’s Travelers’ Choice List and all that fun stuff. Today though, I’m sharing with you a recreation of one thing we ate in Austin (thanks to Trip Advisor) that we literally recreate on a montlthy basis.

    BREAKFAST. TACOS.

    Yep, I constantly wonder why they aren’t everywhere here in Boston. We went multiple times to this little food truck called Veracruz All Natural and had the most insane breakfast tacos. I recommend it all the time when I tell people about Austin, and it’s a hit time after time.

    Breakfast Tacos

     

    BREAKFASTTACOS

     

    Breakfast Tacos
    Serves 2
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    Homemade Tortillas
    1. 1/2 cup tapioca flour
    2. 2 tbsp coconut flour
    3. 1/2 tsp baking soda
    4. Dash Himalayan sea salt
    5. 2 organic eggs
    6. 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
    7. 1 tbsp palm shortening or butter
    8. Grass-fed butter or oil of choice for cooking
    Everything else
    1. Butter or oil, for cooking
    2. 4 eggs, scrambled
    3. 2 chorizo sausages, finely chopped
    4. 2 cups spinach
    5. 1 large onion, sliced
    6. Optional: 1 cup refried beans
    Serve with
    1. Avocado slices
    2. your favorite hot sauces
    Instructions
    1. In a bowl mix together dry ingredients
    2. Add in wet and mix well
    3. In a skillet heat oil or butter over medium heat
    4. Pour batter slowly into the middle**
    5. Let cook for 3 minutes or so and flip
    6. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until tortillas are fully cooked
    7. Continue with remaining batter and set aside
    Make your caramelized onions
    1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in skillet
    2. Add in sliced onions
    3. Cook over low/medium heat, stirring often, until onions are brown (but not burnt)
    4. In the same skillet add spinach and sauté until wilted, set aside
    5. In a skillet heat 1/2 tablespoon butter or oil
    6. Finely chop or grind chorizo and add to the skillet
    7. Add in mixed eggs and scramble together for 4-5 minutes until cooked
    8. Set aside
    9. Assemble tacos by spreading optional refried beans, then layering eggs, spinach, and onions
    10. Top with your favorite hot sauces and serve
    Adapted from Inspired by: Veracruz All Natural
    Adapted from Inspired by: Veracruz All Natural
    Lexi's Clean Kitchen https://lexiscleankitchen.com/

    Breakfast Tacos

    Breakfast Tacos

    I can’t wait to head back to Veracruz in May, and sort through Trip Advisor to find new restaurants and read reviews so we dine at all the best foodie spots! I love recreating dishes from travel spots we’ve been to. Most weeks after a vacation that’s what we’re eating!

    Have you been anywhere that had dishes that you just HAD to recreate?! Post your travel meals and join TripAdvisor on October 28 at 2pm ET for a twitter chat using #TravelToTaste so all can see!

    Breakfast Tacos

    This post is sponsored by Trip Advisor. All opinions are 100% always my own.

    Have you been somewhere that’s inspired you to recreate a dish from your travels? I want to hear!