Tacos, tacos, tacos, tacos. I think as many times as you can say ‘taco’ in a minute you can think of different ways to make tacos. Chicken, beef, mushroom, veggie, hard shell, soft shell, you name it; it probably works for a taco. Many years age, while living in northern Italy, we made friends with a couple from the states. Their parents and families were all from Mexico. Does the phrase small world come to mind? Our new friends loved northern Italian food, but they really loved traditional Mexican food of every type. Dora, yes her name really was Dora, shared some home dishes with me. She taught me the authentic method of making tortillas. We made tostadas with pickled pigs feet shipped from home that were mouth-watering amazing. We made enchiladas like I still cannot duplicate. But most of all we made tacos. Dora and I would laugh and call them Impossible Tacos because no matter how many we made it seemed to be impossible to 
make enough to have leftovers. We always ate every single one. We would take these delicate flour tortillas we pounded out (never rolled) and fill with a mix of cooked beef, chilies, onions, and spices. These would be fried in oil in a thick, cast iron pan she had brought in her suitcase. She treated that pan as though it were her most valuable possession. The filled tacos fried until just the right second so we could take them out. The shells would be crispy but still separate nicely to fill. One second less and you had soggy shells; one second too long and the shells would snap in half when you tried to fill them. It was an art. I developed that art while in Italy. Such good food memories.
As much as I loved those tacos I just could not continue to eat them or serve them to my family. The fatty beef (of course we thought fat = flavor), the deep frying, the bacon fat in the dough, the sharp cheddar cheese, the full fat sour cream was a time bomb for our health. Over the years I tried valiant substitutions that sometimes I 
convinced myself were almost the same. None held up. Now I am happy to serve chicken tacos that have a crispy, fat-free shell without frying. The filling is lean and flavorful. Avocado cream provides as silky base for the fillings. Dora would probably not think my chicken tacos at all authentic, but she would give them a taste test and hopefully give me her ‘thumbs up’ as she always did when her mouth was too full of good food to say ‘delicious’!
Shells
6, 6-inch fat free, flour tortillas
Mister bottle with olive oil
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Warm tortillas in microwave to help fold without splitting. Mist one side of tortilla with olive oil and fold in half. Be sure shell is not flat, but rounded at the bottom. You can place rolled foil in each shell to keep shape.
Bake in oven about 8 minutes. Watch so shells do not get too brown. Turn and bake a few minutes more to brown reverse side. Remove to rack to cool.
Filling
2 large skinless chicken breasts baked and shredded.
1 small can chopped green chilies
¼ cup chopped green onion
½ cup diced tomatoes
½ teaspoon cumin
S & P to taste
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes. Adjust according to what heat you like in your tacos.
½ teaspoon baking cocoa.
Mix all ingredients in pan and heat until warm through. Remove from heat.
Avocado Cream
Scoop out one large avocado. Add ½ teaspoon black pepper, 2 teaspoons lime juice, and 2 tablespoons fat-free sour cream. Mix to blend.
It is best to have cream and filling ready before you finish baking the shells.
Place avocado cream in base of each shell. Add filling. Return to 250-degree oven, covered with foil, and bake 10 minutes.
Serve with cheese, lettuce, or whatever you like., or my recipe for Pickled Onions. We often enjoy them best just as they are, right out of the oven.
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