Honey Lime Chicken

I am a bad blogger today since this post will not contain a picture of my own, but trust me, I was too busy gobbling these recipes down to think of taking a picture!
Monday night, I had a whole pack of chicken breasts in my fridge that were nearing expiration. I decided to throw them all in the crockpot on low with a much of mexican spices (cumin, chili powder, garlic, onion powder, cilantro, oregano, etc.) until I could decide what to do with the chicken. Then, I found this yummy recipe on the Sister's Cafe site for Honey Lime enchiladas. We made it for dinner following the recipe posted and they were delicious! The best part was that I had a lot of leftover chicken that I had already put honey and lime juice in. So, a few days later, they became Honey Lime Shredded Chicken Tacos. Yum! So, whatever your family craves, give this tasty shredded chicken a try in your favorite Mexican recipe.

Honey Lime Chicken

You can follow the direction from the Sister's Cafe if you are a measuring type of cook, but I rarely measure, so I just adjusted the amounts of the following ingredients:

Honey
Lime Juice
Garlic Powder
Chili Powder
salt and pepper

Mix in with your hot shredded chicken straight from the crockpot. Adjust the amounts to your personal tastes (we used more lime and less honey). Yum!

Black Bean Salsa

1 can black beans, rinsed
3-4 chopped Roma tomatoes
1/2 can corn, drained
1/2 yellow onion minced
1/2 a bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 TBS minced garlic

Toss to combine. Add a few sprinkles of salt, a few squirts of lime juice, and a teaspoon of both chili powder and cumin to the mix. Let it chill until ready to use.

Then, take a nice crispy corn tortilla, add the salsa with the chicken, garnish with cilantro, cheese, and sour cream, and enjoy!

Jumbalaya

This is a tried and true favorite at our household. A real New Orleans style jumbalaya would have all kinds of nasty ingredients, many of which would make me sick to think of eating, so maybe I should call this modified jumbalaya. In any case, it is good and my husband wants to eat it several times a month. And he gets mad if I eat the leftovers before he can get to them. Try it for yourself!

Jumbalaya

serves 4-6

1 can chicken broth
1 cup rice
1 TBS chopped garlic
1 can diced tomatoes (I like to use the diced tomatoes with green chiles variety for a good spicy flavor)
1 yellow onion chopped
1 green/yellow bell pepper diced in large pieces
1 smoked rope sausage (like the one pictured below) cut into slices and then in half (so you have lots of half moon shaped pieces)
And season with this:

Directions:
In a large skillet, saute onions, and garlic in a little butter or olive oil. When onions are softening, add in peppers and sausage. Add in dry rice and stir until rice begins to turn golden. Add in the broth and tomatoes, cover with a tight lid, and reduce heat to low. Let simmer covered until rice is cooked (around 30-40 minutes). Taste and add more Tony's seasoning if needed. Yum!

Cafe Rio anyone??

(note: some pictures and recipes are my own; others came from favfamilyrecipes.com and 365daysofcrockpot.blogspot.com)

OK, I'll admit it. If an AA group for Cafe Rio lovers existed, I'd be a member. I just can't get enough of it. Thus began my search for the perfect Cafe Rio "copycat" menu items. Some of the following recipes come pretty dang close, while others are a little different but still taste great. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Cafe Rio Pork

3-5 pound pork roast (or boneless ribs)
18 ounces Coke (not diet)
1 cup brown sugar
1 (7 oz.) can chipotle chilies in Adobo sauce (discard chilies, only use sauce)
1 heaping tsp. ground mustard
1 tsp. minced garlic

Place pork roast in bottom of crock pot. Mix all other ingredients together and pour over the roast. Cook on LOW for 7-9 hours, or until it shreds easily. Shred the pork meat 1 hour before the total cook time is up so it can cook in the sauce for the remaining time. Make sense?


Cafe Rio Chicken
5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 oz. Zesty Italian dressing
1 tblsp. chili powder
1 tblsp. cumin
3 tsp. minced garlic

Place chicken in the bottom of a greased crock pot. Mix all other ingredients together and pour of chicken. (If you like lots of sauce you can double the recipe so it covers the chicken). Cook on LOW for 3-5 hours then shred with a fork. Again, shred the meat before the total cooking time is up so it can cook longer in the sauce!


Use the pork or chicken to make tacos, burritos, salads, tostadas, etc....be sure to use the tortillas you can cook in a pan for just a few minutes, NOT pre-cooked ones)

Also serve with the following recipes:

Cafe Rio Lime Rice
2 tblsp. butter
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
4 tsp. minced garlic
6 2/3 cup water
7 chicken bullion cubes
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 tsp. cumin
1 tblsp. lime juice
1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups long grain rice

Saute butter, onion, and garlic then set aside. Bring all other ingredients, except rice, to a boil in a large pot. Add onion and garlic, then add rice. Cover and simmer until rice is tender.


Cafe Rio Tomatillo Ranch Dressing
1 package Hidden Valley buttermilk ranch dressing
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups mayo
2 tomatillos, remove outer husk
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/3 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp. lime juice (or more!)
1 small jalapeno, seeds removed (keep seeds if you like things spicy)

Mix all ingredients in a blender. If you want the dressing thicker, add a bit more mayo. Refrigerate a few hours before serving.

Cafe Rio Pico de Gallo
4 tomatoes, chopped
1 white onion, chopped
1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp. lime juice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

Mix all the above ingredients and ENJOY!

Chicken Tortilla Soup (easy and kid friendly)

Now, Im no photographer like our talented Lisa, but it wouldn't be a food blog without a picture, right? At least this gives you an idea of what it looks like!


I hesitated to even post this recipe because it is SO simple. But if you are like me, quick and easy, yet tasty meals are just what you need! So here goes:

Chicken Tortilla Soup
2 cans chicken broth
1 cup water
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can red enchilada sauce (I use mild, but if you like spicy use medium or hot)
2 large chicken breasts boiled and shredded
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 limes, freshly squeezed

Combine everything except chicken and lime juice in a crockpot. Cook on low for 3 1/2 hours then add chicken and lime juice and cook for another 30 minutes. Serve with your favorite toppings.

Toppings
shredded cheese
sour cream
avacado
cilantro
Frito corn chips (you can make your own tortilla strips for a more authentic taste; just cut up corn tortillas into thin strips and deep fry them; let dry on paper towel to soak up extra oil)

I usually add a side of cornbread. Hope you enjoy it's yummy simplicity!

Creamy Chicken Enchilada's

It was moderately difficult to get a good picture of these tasty enchilada's. I tried to take one out and have it nicely displayed on the plate, but in my carefulness I somehow ended it up flipping it upside down and it exploded on impact. But it tasted just as great at the others. This recipe can be customized to all different palate's, I am not one to have meat be the bulk of things and I don't like too much spice, so the recipe I give you will be the one I use, and you can change it accordingly. There are no mistakes with this one.

Creamy Chicken Enchilada's

2-3 boneless breasts of chicken

1 can of cream of chicken

1 1/2 cups of sour cream

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp onion powder

salt and white pepper to taste

1 small can of chopped olives

1 small can of green chili's (I only use half)

1 1/2-2 cups of grated monterey jack cheese

4-5 tortillas (I used spinach in my attempt to "be healthier")

Boil chicken till just barely cooked through. Mix in a large bowl cream of chicken, sour cream and all seasonings till creamed together. Set one cup of this concoction aside. Preheat oven to 350.

With the remaining bulk of the cream sauce, add olives, chili's and all but 1/2 cup of the cheese. Mix evenly.

Shred the cooked chicken and stir into the mix. Using the plain sauce that was set aside, coat the bottom and sides of a square 8x8 dish with half, and leave the rest to spread on top. Fill the tortillas with the filling and place in the dish. Spread remaining sauce on top, and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.

Cook for 20-25 min.