Picante Chicken

This is a great recipe that my mom made a lot when I was younger. A few years ago I tried to make it myself using a new type of salsa that was on sale. Big Mistake. If you make this recipe, only use a salsa that you trust. Because the salsa gives it most of its flavor, using a new type of salsa will give it a flavor that you don't recognize and maybe don't even like. Having learned that lesson, I recently made this recipe again and, thank goodness, it tasted just as good as when my mom used to make it for me.

2-3 lb chicken, left whole or cut into pieces depending on preference

1 cup white rice 

2 tsp oil

1 cup salsa (I use medium Picante brand)

3/4 cup coarsely chopped onion

2 cups chicken broth

1 medium tomato, coarsely chopped

shredded cheddar cheese

sliced ripe olives

Preheat skillet with oil over medium-high heat. Cook onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes. Add broth and salsa and bring to a boil. Stir in rice. Arrange chicken over rice and cover tightly. Simmer 20 minutes, then remove from the heat. Leave cover in place and let stand until all of the liquid is absorbed - about 5 minutes. Garnish with tomato, cheese, and olives.

Salsa Chicken

Right now I am taking an evening class so I am already gone by the time my husband gets home from work. I want to make sure that there is still good food for him to eat for dinner so I have been doing a lot more experimenting with Crock Pot cooking. That way I can eat before I leave, but it won't burn so that he can have a hot dinner whenever he is ready. I really enjoyed this dinner. I got the recipe from the Year of Slow Cooking blog that I follow. Because I decided to add a can of Cream of Mushroom soup it tasted a lot like Chicken Tortilla Soup, another dish that I make sometimes, but I have had something similar to this without the "Cream of..." soup and it was delicious. I think I'll make it without the soup next time. And maybe I'll add some green peppers too.

1-2 lb chicken
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup salsa

I cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, but this recipe would also be good with chicken breasts or thighs. Basically all I did was put everything in the Crock Pot and leave it on low for about 6 hours.

Chicken Taquitos

I have never made taquitos before, but I really wanted to make something Mexican for dinner a few days ago. My husband was late coming home from work so I decided to do this all by myself (which is actually pretty rare - we do a lot of the cooking together). I started by cooking the chicken and got it all seasoned and browned. It tasted great. When I went to get out the tortillas, I realized that I needed corn tortillas - not the flour tortillas that we had in the fridge - so I had to take a break and go to the store. I also considered making the tortillas myself because we did that all the time in Honduras, but to no avail. I think I threw away our corn flour when we moved here. But still, these tasted awesome. They were fun to eat and even more exciting knowing that I made them myself.

1 lb chicken, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup green bell pepper

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

3/4 cup white onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbsp lime juice

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp chili powder

salt and pepper to taste

sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
corn tortillas
canola oil

Preheat a medium sized frying pan on medium-high heat with about a tablespoon of canola oil. Add garlic and let it cook for 20-30 seconds, then add onion and peppers. Cook until the peppers are soft and the onion is somewhat translucent, 3-4 minutes, then add the chicken pieces and lime juice. Season with cumin, oregano, chili powder, salt, and pepper while it is cooking. Cook chicken until the edges begin to get golden brown and a little crispy.

Preheat the oven to 425° and wrap 10-15 tortillas in a damp paper towel. microwave them for about a minute to soften them. Prepare a baking sheet by brushing canola oil onto it (cooking spray works too). Place a line of cheese and then a bit of the chicken on top of each tortilla. Roll and place them on the baking sheet with the seam side down. Brush more canola oil over each tortilla. Bake for 6-7 minutes; turn them over and bake for another 5-6 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown. Serve with salsa,  guacamole, or any other preferred topping or sauce.

Fiesta Pork

This is kind of a variation of a recipe that I made a couple of months ago that was called Salsa Chicken. The biggest difference was that I made it over the stove and that it has a few different ingredients. I really liked it a lot. I think it would also be great with chicken. It took a very short time to make and tasted great.

4-6 boneless pork chops

1 tsp minced garlic

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 can corn, drained

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 cups salsa

1/2 bell pepper, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

Preheat a large skillet on medium high heat with the olive oil. Add minced garlic and pork chops; cook until pork chops are brown. Then add onion and bell pepper. Cook for another 2-4 minutes before adding the remaining ingredients. Simmer on medium low heat for 15-20 minutes to help flavors combine and to ensure that all ingredients are cooked thoroughly. Serve over rice.

Chicken Burritos

Ever since driving by a Chipotle on a recent visit to Colorado, I have been craving a good burrito. Unfortunately the closest Chipotle to me is about an hour drive away, so a few days ago my husband and I decided to try making them at home. We didn't use any sort of recipe and admittedly, the burritos didn't end up tasting much like Chipotle, but they were still good and worthy of filing away for future reference.

Chicken:
1 lb. chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
1-2 Tbsp canned chipotle in adobo (we chopped up the chile and used a little sauce)
Ground black pepper to taste
Garlic powder
Cumin
 1/2 cup onion, chopped

Begin by sauteing onion over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes. Then add chicken, chipotle chile (warning: very spicy), and spices. Cook until chicken is no longer pink inside.

Black Beans:
1 can of black beans
1-2 tsp garlic powder
Salt to taste

I usually rinse canned beans with water before using them in cooking. This reduces unnecessary sodium and gets rid of that clear slimy stuff that they are preserved with. Heat in microwave or in a small saucepan, mixing in garlic powder and salt.

These burritos had regular white rice, cooked with a little oregano, salt, and fresh cilantro for flavor. I used store-bought "fresh" salsa, homemade guacamole, and a little bit of freshly squeezed lime, then wrapped the burrito as best I could.

Chicken Fajitas

It had been a while since we made fajitas so here they are; I generally don't use a recipe to make them but I found a great mix of spices in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook so I used that to flavor them (and had to add a little extra salt).

1 red or white onion, sliced
1 red or green pepper (or both) chopped
1/2 lb mushrooms
1 lb chicken, cut into small strips
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
cooking oil
fajita seasoning
uncooked tortillas

Fajita seasoning:
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp onion powder

Pre-heat cooking oil in a large skillet (1-2 Tbsp) and add onions, peppers, and mushrooms. Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften. Add chicken to skillet along with fajita seasoning mix and cook until there is no pink left in the chicken. Add salt to taste (I added about 1 tsp more). Fry tortillas in a separate pan with a little bit of cooking oil. These fajitas are great served with guacamole, sour cream, salsa, and shredded cheese.