One of my favorite meals to make on weekdays is fresh salsa and sheet pan tacos. I call it a chop, toss, roast, and eat meal. All I do is chop up some protein and vegetables, toss them in a sheet pan with some spices, and pop the sheet pan into the oven to roast away. While the taco ingredients are roasting away, I get started on preparing a fresh salsa using some fresh ingredients I have on hand. I usually like to make a simple fresh salsa using tomatoes, red onion, jalapeño, cilantro, salt, and pepper. This time around, I put a spin on my usual fresh salsa by adding a ripe peach into the mix. In less than 45 minutes, the salsa is done, and the beep from the oven lets me know the sheet pan tacos are also done. The only step left is to assemble and devour the tacos. I love how quick and easy this meal is to put together from start to finish. Quick and easy meals have been such a time saver during my end of summer semester dash. I spent the earlier part of 2019 taking baking classes and working towards completing my leadership certificate program. I did have a break during the summer, so I enrolled in two photography classes to help me improve upon my photography skills. Flash forward to end of July and I realized my two photography classes will be ending in just two weeks. Thus, I’ve been trying to work ahead of schedule to complete projects and study the review sheets for the final exams. My summer days have consisted mostly of going to work from early morning to late afternoon, squeezing in a quick dinner, and then working on projects and studying the class material. During these days, the quicker I can get dinner to the table, the better. Fresh peach salsa and sheet pan tacos make for the perfect summer dinner because of how versatile and easy the meal is to prepare. You can use up pretty much any summer fruit you have around to liven up your standard fresh salsa. The taco filling can be a combination of any vegetables you have on hand. I had some pork chops, portabella mushrooms, peppers, and onions, so I chopped up these ingredients, and tossed them onto a sheet pan with some spices. From start to finish, it seems as if my meal was ready in minutes. With another meal down and Wednesday over, I’m excited to finish out the rest of the week, so I can relax a bit over the weekend. I’m thinking of squeezing in a day at the pool as a way to release stress, relax, and recuperate. Once August rolls around, my leadership certificate program picks up again. In late October, my baking classes begin again. For now, I’ll just keep enjoying summer and the remainder of my photography classes. Stay tuned for more updates and even yummier food.
For the sheet pan tacos:
· 4 pork chops, thinly sliced
· ½ red onion, thinly sliced into half-moon shapes
· 1 red pepper, seeds and stem removed and cut into strips
· 1 orange pepper, seeds and stem removed and cut into strips
10-12 portabella mushrooms, thinly sliced
· 1 teaspoon kosher salt
· ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
· 1 teaspoon garlic powder
· 1 teaspoon paprika
· 1 teaspoon chili powder
· 1 teaspoon cumin
· 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
For the peach salsa:
· ½ red onion, finely diced
· 10-12 cherry tomatoes, quartered
· 1 jalapeño, seeds removed and finely diced
· 10-12 sprigs fresh cilantro, finely chopped
· 1 ripe peach, finely diced
· ½ teaspoon kosher salt
· ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350°F.
2) On a large baking sheet, toss together the sliced pork chops, sliced onion, strips of peppers, sliced mushrooms, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, chili powder, and cumin. Add the vegetable oil and toss the ingredients again. Once the oven reaches 350°F, place the sheet pan into the oven for 30 minutes.
3) Prepare the fresh peach salsa by combining the diced onion, quartered cherry tomatoes, diced jalapeño, chopped cilantro, diced peach, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Stir to combine all of the ingredients. Transfer the salsa to a serving bowl.
4) When the sheet pan tacos are done, remove the sheet pan from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Serve the sheet pan taco filling with corn tortilla and fresh peach salsa.
Takeaways: Sheet pan tacos are very versatile. You can swap in your favorite protein (such as chicken, beef, or tofu) and vegetables (carrots, potatoes, zucchini) to make your own personalized tacos. The fresh salsa is also very versatile. You can swap in strawberries, apples, pineapple, or watermelon to put a new twist on the standard fresh salsa.