Want a restaurant-quality dinner but hate spending hours in the kitchen? We’re here to taco-bout a fast, satisfying meal you can make in less than half an hour. 

Mississippi-born chef Nick Wallace is known for his appearances on Food Network, has been voted Best Chef in Jackson for the past four years, and was named the 2020 Best Chef in Mississippi. While you might think Chef Wallace’s skills are a tad outside your cooking comfort zone, he led us through a taco tutorial that even a beginner in the kitchen can master. Follow along using the recipe below — and if you’re not a fan of chicken, these terrific tacos are just as tasty with shrimp.

Garlic Parmesan Chicken or Shrimp Tacos with Salsa Rice and Pickled Cabbage

Salsa Rice 

• Prep Time: 3 minutes 
• Cook Time: 3 minutes
• Total Time: 6 minutes
• Servings: 10 

 Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 2 cups Ben’s Original Ready Rice Spanish Style
• 1 cup reduced sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup fresh cooked corn or frozen corn

Ben’s Original Ready Rice is a real time- and work-saver because it’s fully cooked and seasoned. That means this recipe practically makes itself — all you need to add to the rice are a few extra ingredients, or you can serve as-is right out of the pack.

Directions:

1. Add Ben’s Original Spanish Style Ready Rice, black beans, and corn to a skillet, massaging the rice pouch to loosen the grains before adding. Add chopped tomatoes. Stir to combine. 
2. Cook and stir for about 3 minutes and serve.

Garlic Parmesan Chicken or Shrimp

Prep Time: 4 minutes 
Cook Time: 13 minutes 
Total Time: 17 minutes 
Servings: 4 

 Ingredients:

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1 whole egg
• 1/3 cup milk 
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 pound chicken thighs, boneless and skinless, cut into bite-sized pieces or large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 8 corn tortillas

Directions:  

1. Preheat the oven to 380F. Spray a 9×13-inch glass casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Add chicken/shrimp to a resealable plastic bag with egg and milk and shake well until fully coated. 
3. Then combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, and garlic powder in a large resealable plastic bag. Seal and shake to mix ingredients together. Add chicken/shrimp and shake to coat.
4. Lay chicken/shrimp flat in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with any breadcrumb mixture remaining in the bag. Drizzle melted butter over the top.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until starting to crisp, about 10 minutes. Switch to broil setting until topping is light brown, 2 to 3 minutes, or until cooked through.

Quick Pickled Cabbage 

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time:  3 minutes 
Total Time: 8 minutes 
Servings: 1 jar

Ingredients:

• ½ head red cabbage or a bag of pre-shredded cabbage
• ½ cup apple cider vinegar 
• ½ liter water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 head garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. coarse black pepper

Directions:

1. Remove the core from the cabbage, then shred with a knife (if starting with a head).
2. Add vinegar, water, sugar, garlic, salt, and pepper to a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat.  
3. Add shredded cabbage to a mixing bowl and pour hot vinegar mixture over it. Stir well to coat cabbage and set aside to cool. 

If you have the time to make this ahead, you can skip the heating step for the vinegar mixture and just mix everything up in a large glass jar, shake well, and let it sit on the counter to soak for about 2 hours, shaking/stirring occasionally. Store tightly sealed in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks. 

Once you’ve finished all three of these steps, scoop everything onto your favorite soft or hard taco shell and enjoy. And remember, tacos aren’t just for Tuesday: Since they’re so easy to make, this delicious dinner is an ideal option for any night of the week.