Last weekend we moved.

There is a slow and heavy chaos that comes with moving. A tired sort of chaos. The kind of chaos where your arms and your back start to ache so you just shove boxes labeled “Gina’s Shoes” into the guest bathroom next to the shower. Your box labeled “Super Important Office Stuff” is buried somewhere in a sea of boxes in the garage, most likely under my childhood doll furniture. I still can’t find my favorite bra. It’s getting weird. We’ll figure it out later. The kitchen is unpacked. The living room seems livable. We’re moving through the moving process. Let’s just not talk about the office. Or the bedroom. Or the guest room.

Let’s just not talk. Let’s eat. That sounds best.

Since Cinco de Mayo is coming up, I decided we were going to christen our new kitchen with TACOS. But, not just any old taco. I wanted to make Hawaiian-style tacos. I wanted my new house to smell like my grandmother’s kitchen.

So, with that, I threw some chicken thighs into a slow cooker with some Hawaiian sea salt and some liquid smoke. This is going to make Kalua Chicken. Remember when we made Kalua Pork a while back? It’s the same concept, just with a different protein. Also, the chicken thighs are going to cook up a bit faster than an entire pig butt. But, if some Kalua Pork made it’s way into this taco, it would be equally amazing. Your taco. Your choice.

The salsa is a memory. All of those summer days my husband and I spent at the park when we lived in Los Angeles. Sweating. Picnicking. Getting weird tan lines. Buying those peeled mangoes on a stick doused with chili and lime from the vendors that made their way around the park. To me, those are the flavors of summer. Oh, and they go really well with the salty, island taste of the Kalua Chicken. Whip up some fresh guacamole or grab some from the store. I’m not too picky. Shove it all into a corn tortilla. CHOMP. If you’re looking for a more Paleo-friendly version, just omit the corn tortillas and replace them with fresh butter lettuce leaves. You could even put it all over a bed of greens (I did that with the leftovers for breakfast–NO regrets).

These really blew my mind. I’m not going to lie… we’re making them AGAIN tonight. Pair them with these Watermelon Margaritas or this spicy Jalepeno and Grapefruit Margarita and you’ve got a complete Cinco de Mayo meal.  I hope you like this Hawaiian and Mexican mash-up just as much as I do.

Okay… time to go start the slow cooker and get back to digging ourselves out of our moving-box palace! Cheers, friends! xox

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