Honey Garlic Chicken Tacos

Monica gave me this easy taco recipe and my family loved it so much that I have made it about 4 times in the last month!  And every time, I have to ask Monica for the recipe again because I can't find it on my phone.  So, I thought I better post this quick, so that I can find it next week when I want to make it again.

Honey Garlic Chicken Tacos
adapted from: Monica

4 Tbsp. honey

3 Tbsp. taco seasoning

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. oil

1/2 tsp. salt

1 lb. chicken, cut into 1 inch pieces

corn tortillas

chopped cabbage

sour cream

lime juice

chopped cilantro

In a large bowl, mix the honey, taco seasoning, garlic, oil and salt.  Toss in the chicken and coat it with the seasoning.  In a frying pan, over medium heat, cook the chicken until it is no longer pink in the center.  (Another way I have done this is to pour the mixture over some pre-cooked, shredded chicken and stir it well, then I just heated that up in a small frying pan).  In a small bowl, combine sour cream, lime juice and chopped cilantro (I just did this to taste-no recipe, although I do have a recipe for this on the blog under Cilantro Lime Crema) to make a cilantro lime crema.  Heat up the tortillas.  Layer the sour cream mixture, chicken and chopped cabbage on each taco.  Serve and enjoy!  

Chili Lime Taquitos

I found this recipe on my friend, Michele's, food blog the other day.  I gave it a try, and my family loved it!  In fact, we made it again a few days later because they liked it so much.  And it is so quick and easy if you prepare the chicken in advance, shred it and freeze it in one cup amounts, like I did.  Doing it that way, it probably only took 5-10 minutes to prepare.  Love an easy meal!

Chili Lime Taquitos
by: sweetluvininthekitchen.blogspot.com

2 c. cooked, shredded chicken
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 1/2 Tbsp. lime juice (or the juice of one lime)
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
1 c. shredded monterey jack cheese
6-8 tortillas

In a skillet, stir together the shredded chicken, chili powder and lime juice.  Add the cilantro and cheese and stir it all together.  Remove it from the heat, and put 3-4 tablespoons of the mixture on one end of a tortilla.  Roll it tightly, starting from that end, and then place it seam side down on a baking sheet.  Repeat with all of the tortillas and chicken mixture.  Leave a little space between each taquito on the baking sheet, so that they will cook all around.  Using a pastry brush, lightly brush a little oil over the top and sides of each taquito.  Bake at 425 degrees, for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Serve with sour cream, salsa and guacamole.

Fish Tacos with Lime Cilantro Crema

Ahh, fish tacos.  This is a new food choice for me, and I really love them!  I have made this recipe a couple of times, and both times I was so happy with how they turned out.  The fish is delicious, but the lime crema adds so much to them!  The only thing I wish I had been able to add was some cabbage to the taco.  We didn't have any, so lettuce had to do.  

Fish Tacos
adapted from: Cooking Light

1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
2 tilapia fillets

Lime Cilantro Crema
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
3 Tbsp. mayonnaise
3 Tbsp. sour cream
1 tsp. grated lime rind
1 1/2 tsp. lime juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. minced garlic

In a small dish, combine the cumin, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, salt and garlic powder.  Sprinkle the spices evenly over both sides of the fish.  Bake the fish at 425 degrees for 9 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily.  I think that the second time I made this, I actually fried the fish in a small amount of oil on the stove.  I say, try it either way!  While the fish is cooking, combine all the ingredients for the crema in a small bowl.  Chill it in the fridge until you are ready for it.  When the fish is cooked, break it into small pieces and then serve it on a soft taco shell (we used corn tortillas) with the lime cilantro crema and cabbage.

Homemade Freezer Salsa

This year, my tomatoes went absolutely crazy in my garden.  We are not huge tomato eaters, so in order to use them up, I made freezer salsa.  The rest I just washed, dried and froze them by 10's (or so) in a freezer bag.  Then, when I want fresh salsa in the middle of January, I will take them out, toss them into a pot of boiling water, remove them and take the skins off, and I'll be ready to start a batch of freezer salsa!  At least I hope that is what I will do, I've never tried it until this year, but my neighbor assures me that it works.

Freezer Salsa

by: Carolyn

10-12 tomatoes

2 small peppers (I used some from my garden, and I don't know what variety I planted.  But they are small, light green, and not very hot.  Does that help?)

1 serrano pepper, sliced, with the seeds removed (you can leave the seeds if you want more heat in your salsa--we're a mild family, around here)

handful of cilantro

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 Tbsp. dried, chopped onion, rehydrated (actually, just slightly less)

1 1/2 tsp. sugar

juice of 1 lime

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. fresh ground pepper

Blanch your tomatoes by putting them in boiling water for 30-60 seconds, then taking them out and putting them right into a bowl of freezing cold water.  Then the skins should slide right off.  Remove the stems, cut them in half from the top and then squeeze out the seeds.  Toss them in a blender and blend them up until they are the consistency that you like.  In a food processor, finely chop your peppers (whatever kind those were...), serrano pepper, and cilantro.  In a large pot, stir together the tomatoes, pepper mixture, garlic, onion, sugar, lime juice, salt and pepper.  Bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer it for 10-15 minutes.  Feel free to pull out your tortilla chips and start tasting it now.  I added things and got it to the flavor I wanted, while I was cooking it.  Pour it into your jars, or containers and freeze it until you are ready for it.  

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

This is a great version of taco soup.  I found it on allrecipes.com and switched it up a bit, based on some of the comments I read, and personal preference.  The original recipe called for lemon, but I switched it to lime because I love the flavor that lime adds to Mexican food.  I also turned it into a slow cooker recipe, because for some reason, even if it still takes a lot of preparation, if I prepare it at 10 AM instead of 5 PM, I feel so good about my dinner!  This turned out to be a really delicious soup.  I even got a thumbs up from Jen, who has her own great taco soup recipe.  Not bad!


Slow Cooker Taco Soup
adapted from: allrecipes.com


2 chicken breasts
1/2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
2 (14.5) cans chicken broth
1 c. chopped onion
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. lime juice (or a little more if you love lime, like I do. I juiced one whole lime)
1 c. chunky salsa
1 can black beans
1 c. frozen corn kernels
corn tortilla chips
shredded cheddar cheese 
sour cream


In your slow cooker, combine the olive oil, garlic, cumin, chicken broth, onion, chili powder, lime juice, salsa and beans and stir it well.  Add the chicken breasts and cook it on low for 6-8 hours.  When the chicken is cooked through, remove it from the slow cooker, shred it, and add it back to the soup.  Add the frozen corn and let it cook for about 7 minutes before serving.  Serve it with corn tortilla chips (I used Frito chips), sour cream and cheese.  Enjoy!

Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

These are easy.  These are so easy that I made a new label: ridiculously easy.  Because they are done in the slow cooker, they aren't fast, so don't confuse the two.  You do need a good 4-6 hours to cook these, but the prep time is only as long as it takes you to defrost some chicken.  Unless you start your chicken frozen in the crock pot.  Do any of you do that?  Would I die from salmonella if I did that?  Because I'm not going to lie to you, I'm pretty darn lazy and if I didn't have to defrost my chicken first, these would be labeled "hysterically, ridiculously easy".  So throw some chicken, broth and taco seasoning in your crockpot, cook it, shred it, serve it with your favorite taco fixins' and feel so happy that you made a meal that was so ridiculously easy!


Shredded Chicken Tacos
from: BFF Jacque


1 c. chicken broth
1 pound chicken breasts
1 package taco seasoning


Pour the chicken broth into your slow cooker.  Dissolve the taco seasoning in the broth.  Put the chicken in and cook it on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.  After it has cooked, shred the chicken with a fork.  Serve it however you like your tacos!

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

This is my go-to dish when I need something easy and delicious!  I love these enchiladas, my husband loves them, and usually anyone that tries them wants the recipe.  As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t love to make the same thing all the time, but this dish is one exception.  These are a regular at our house!

The Sisters’ Café is one of my favorite blogs to get awesome recipes (like the Brie en Croute!!).  When I make these, I like to add black beans inside the enchiladas.  This adds a nice texture and flavor, but it also helps the chicken go a lot further!

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Adapted from The Sisters’ Cafe

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs pork or chicken, cooked and shredded

Sauce:

1/3 c honey

1/4 c lime juice

1 Tb chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 (10 oz) cans green enchilada sauce

1-2 cans black beans

Equal parts mixed together of:

mozzarella cheese, shredded

cheddar cheese, shredded

flour tortillas

sour cream & salsa

Directions:

Mix together sauce ingredients then add to shredded pork or chicken. Let the sauce soak into the meat for about 30 minutes.

Lightly spray 2 pans with non-stick baking spray.  (I usually fill a 9x13 and a 9x9. It may vary depending on how much chicken you put in each one.) Pour green enchilada sauce into pans to coat the entire bottom. Fill tortillas with shredded meat, black beans, and desired amount of cheese. Roll and place in dish.

Pour remainder of sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle a generous amount of cheese on the top! Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Then turn on broiler and place enchiladas nearer the top of oven. Let it broil until cheese is slightly brown and crispy.

To serve, top with sour cream and salsa.  Delicious!

Cheater Enchiladas

Isn't it kind of fun to cheat when you know you don't have to feel guilty? Some of you may know that spaghetti is keeping my children alive. They may eat a few other things, but if it weren't for this, they would all starve. We eat spaghetti about once a week (plus leftovers). Dustin requests it nearly as much as the children. I, on the other hand, have started to dread the stuff. I'm SO sick of spaghetti. But wait. Isn't the title of this post "Cheater Enchiladas"? Let's get on with it then! In order to not want to vomit every time someone says they want spaghetti for dinner (every day), I have started buying and making different brands and kinds of sauces, in the hopes that it will make this meal a little more exciting for my poor, worn out, pasta taste buds. I bought this the other day:


And when I opened it up and smelled it, all I could think of was a happy little waiter in Mexico, wearing a very large sombrero. I couldn't even imagine drenching my noodles in it. So, I saved it and instead, used it as the secret (and main) ingredient in my next batch of enchiladas. And because of it, these were the easiest enchiladas I have ever made! And they tasted great! And now you can all be cheaters (guilt free), too!

Cheater Enchiladas
by: Carolyn

3/4-1 c. milk
1/2 c. sour cream
1 jar of Classico Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo sauce
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
2 c. chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
8-10 tortillas
1/3 c. shredded cheddar cheese

In a large bowl, stir together the milk, sour cream and Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo sauce. Take out 1 1/4 c. of this mixture, put it in a little bowl and set it aside for later. To the rest of the sauce (in your big bowl) add your cheese and shredded chicken and stir it well. In the bottom of a 9X13 pan, spread 2 spoonfuls of the sauce that you withheld (in your little bowl). Is this getting confusing? Hopefully not. Heat your tortillas in the microwave for 1 minute so that they don't stick together (is this because I buy cheap tortillas that this happens?). Now take the big bowl of sauce/chicken/cheese and fill your tortillas with this sauce, roll them up and place them close together in the pan. Repeat this until all the tortillas are filled and your pan is full. Pour the little bowl of sauce (that you kept out) over the top of the tortillas and then sprinkle it all with the 1/3 c. cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Serve with sour cream, spanish rice and a sombrero.

Black Bean Tostadas

Recently James decided he was a sugar addict. He came to this conclusion one day after he had 3 bowls of Butterfinger ice cream, 2 crispy cream donuts (the Chocolate Iced Cream Filled ones) and 3/4 of a package of chocolate covered wafers. Not only did this combination of foods not bother his stomach at all, but he had to work hard to keep himself from eating a third donut. Clearly this was a problem.

So, he went on a diet. A very serious diet. So serious in fact that I forced him to quit because

a) it was ridiculously expensive and

b) it took way too much time to think about/prepare/eat the food.

I couldn't handle it.

But, because of his failed effort (and because we watched Food Inc.-which I don't recommend unless you can sell one of your kidneys in order to feed your family organic foods and not crappy beef (pun intended)), we have been trying to eat more healthy and less meat. It's not very easy.

But I am trying, and this is one recipe I have to show for it.

Here we go...

Black Bean Tostadas

(adapted from Eat Better America)

3	8 inch flour tortillas
4	teaspoons olive oil
3	green onions, chopped
1	can black beans, rinsed and drained
1	cup chopped seeded tomato
1	cup shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack, cheddar, or mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)
2	tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1	clove garlic, minced
1	T green chilis

1.	Preheat oven to 425°F. Place tortillas on an ungreased baking sheet. Lightly brush tortillas on both sides with 1 teaspoon of the oil. Bake about 3 minutes; turn. Bake about 3 minutes more until lightly browned and crisp.
2.	Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining 3 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, green chilis, and garlic; cook until onion is tender. Stir in black beans and tomato; heat through.
3.	Sprinkle tortillas with half of the cheese. Spoon the bean mixture over the cheese. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining cheese. Bake about 4 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with cilantro.

We ate these with sour cream and salsa and the were wonderful. I was very pleased with the result. And we were vegetarians for one whole meal. I'm pretty proud.