Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

This is a dish I keep seeing floating around on facebook and Pinterest, but the picture I always saw, didn't match the recipe provided. So, I did some looking on my own, found a few good recipes and adapted this one. I really liked how it turned out. Super easy and pretty healthy...if you didn't pile it high on a mound of spanish rice like I did, or top it with cheese and sour cream like I did either...
ok, so maybe not very healthy. Whatever, I never said this was a "healthy" food blog anyway!

What you'll need:
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (I made three cause it's just me, Cory, and the girls, which turns out this was too spicy for them anyway so next time I'll make just 2)
1 jar of your favorite chunky salsa (I used a medium heat and it was perfect)
1.5 cup frozen corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
taco seasoning
salt & pepper
olive oil

toppings-
shredded cheddar
fresh cilantro
sour cream

In a skillet, heat a little oil. Salt and pepper your chicken. Sprinkle some taco seasoning on the chicken too. Brown the chicken in the pan. Turn off heat and set aside.

In your slow cooker, combine the salsa, corn, and beans..

Top with chicken. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours.

I made some spanish rice to go with this, but it would be great shredded up and made into burritos too. Enjoy!

Pork Steak Tacos with Avocado Tomatillo Salsa

I watched Rick Bayless make something like these on PBS a few Saturdays ago. I tweeked the recipe a little to my liking and they came out perfect. The pork is marinated in spicy chipotle sauce and then grilled alongside the pineapple slices. I served them with just a few toppings- avocado salsa, red onion, and queso fresca. The grilled pork and pineapple went so well together!
I had to go to 2 different grocery stores for the pork steaks. FYI- Albertsons doesn't carry them, not my Albertsons anyway. I found them at Smith's though. I love Smith's meat selections! They always have what I'm looking for.
Also, you may have to search hi and low for the Achiote paste. Another thing I could never find at my local grocery stores. I got it at this little Mexican Market in Downtown Henderson.

For the Avocado Tomatillo salsa, you'll need:

4 medium tomatillos, husked and rinsed
1/2 cup cilantro
1 jalapeno, stemmed and roughly chopped
2 ripe avocados, pitted and scooped from the skin
1 small white onion, roughly chopped
1/2 cup water
salt
 In a food processor, or blender, combine the tomatillos, cilantro, jalapeno, onion, and water. Puree. Add the avocados and pulse just until incorporated. Season with salt.
Chill in the fridge.

For the Pork Steaks you'll need:

A package of Achiote paste, 3.5 oz.
3 canned chipotle chilies, in adobo sauce, with about 4 tbsp. of the sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup water
1.5 pds pork shoulder steaks
1 red inion, sliced into long thin pieces
1/4 of a pineapple, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
queso fresca (Mexican crumbling cheese)
corn tortillas


In a blender or food processor, combine the paste, the chipotle peppers, the adobo sauce, the oil, and the water. Puree. Pour over meat and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
Once you're ready to grill, start with the pineapple. Oil the slices and grill them just for about a minute on each side. Keep warm.
Now grill up the meat. They will only take about a minute or two per side.
Once the meat is done, chop it up and serve it on warm corn tortillas along with a slice or two of the pineapple. Top with the Avocado Tomatillo salsa, red onion, and some queso fresca.

Enjoy!!

 

Hollywood Tacos with Chorizo Fried Rice

 

Do you ever watch the Food Network and just have to have what you see on the screen!? I do, just about every other day. I saw these on Eat Street. They're called Hollywood Tacos. I obviously didn't make them "exactly" how I saw them, because they don't give you full blown recipes, but I took the idea and ran with it. This was my very first time, ever, using curry. I loved it though.
Here's how you make them:
Cut up some boneless skinless chicken thighs, sautee them with curry powder and coconut milk. Serve the chicken in corn tortillas and top them with cabbage, cilantro, and sour cream. Add some Sriracha sauce for a little heat. Dig in!
I made some chorizo fried rice to go with the tacos. Keep in mind, I was feeding 8 people, so you may want to halve everything I did.
For the Chorizo fried rice, which was to die for, you want cooked white rice (day old rice works best). I cooked 4 cups of rice in my cooker, resulting in about 8 cups once done. First, cook up some chorizo ( I used 1 tube of chorizo) in a big skillet, pork or beef, you pick. Once the chorizo is cooked through, add the rice to the skillet, fold in with the chorizo. Add about half of a drained can of pineapple tidbits. You be the judge on how much pineapple you want in your rice. The chorizo makes this a spicy side, but the pineapple compliments it so well. I didn't measure anything out for this meal, I was just winging everything. Those make for the best dinners though.

 

Restaurant Chips & Salsa

I'm not a fan of jarred salsa's from the grocery store. I am a fan of the good stuff, the salsa they serve at Mexican restaurants. This is a Pioneer Woman recipe, and she really nailed it! We've been eating it for days now and I'm already thinking of making another batch, it's so good!

What you need for homemade chips:

corn tortillas, you get 6 chips out of each, so you figure out how many you want to fry up

corn oil

For the salsa:

1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice
2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)
1/4 cup Chopped Onion
1 clove Garlic, Minced
1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin
1/4 teaspoon Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/2 cup Cilantro (more To Taste!)
1/2 whole Lime, the juice

This makes a ton! Use either a 12 cup food processor, or make in batches.

Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you'd like.
Refridgerate salsa for an hour before serving.

When you're ready to serve the salsa, heat corn oil in a skillet. You want about 3/4 inches of oil in the pan. Heat oil to 350. Cut your corn tortillas (like cutting a pizza) into 6 pieces. Fry the chips, in batches, for just about a min.

Toss them on a plate covered with a paper towel to soak up some of the oil. Salt while hot. Serve with salsa.
Enjoy!

Beef Fajita Nachos

It's almost Football season! Go Broncos!!! I am so flippin' excited for this season. #1, Peyton Manning. #2, for Father's Day, I got my hubby the NFL Sunday Ticket with Direct t.v. this year, so we will be able to watch every single Bronco game on t.v. Hallelujah!
Anyway...back to these nachos! They are the perfect game-time dish. I saw them over on Pioneer Woman's blog and had to make them. They're not your boring old nacho, they're kicked up with an awesome marinated steak. Top them with your favorite salsa, guacamole, or sour cream (or if you're a heffer like me, all 3).

For the Steak, you need:

1 whole Flank steak
1/3 cup olive oil
2 whole limes, juiced
4 whole canned chipotle peppers, with a little sauce
4 cloves garlic, peeled
A handful of cilantro

For the Nachos:
1 large white onion, sliced into strips
1 red bell pepper, cored and sliced into strips
1 green bell pepper, cored and sliced into strips
olive oil, for frying
Tortilla Chips
2 cups shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar, but you can use pepper jack, colby, etc.)
Guacamole
Salsa
Sour Cream

Your steak needs to marinate for a good 24 hours. Combine the olive oil, lime juice, chipotle peppers, garlic, and cilantro in a blender.

Blend everything together and pour into a resealable plastic bag. Add the steak and refridgerate over night.

When you're ready to make your nachos, heat your grill outside, or a stove-top grill pan. Also preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grill your steak at a high temp for about 4 min on each side. Remove from heat and set aside for 5 min. Slice steak into strips.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil to a high heat. Add the onion and peppers and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Put a layer of tortilla chips onto a big cookie sheet, then top with half of the cheese. Put them in the oven for 3 minutes, just long enough to melt the cheese.

 Add the sliced steak...

Add the peppers and onion...

And add the rest of the cheese. Return to oven just for a minute or two.

Top with sour cream, salsa, and guacamole. Enjoy!

Cory's Chicken & Chorizo Enchiladas, with Beer Can Chicken

Cory made these two ways; the first with Shrimp and Chorizo, and then he tried them Chicken and Chorizo. Both are awesome, so try it either way.

To use shrimp instead of chicken, you want 1 1/2 pounds raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, chopped into bite size pieces.

Makes 12 enchiladas

What you need:

Cheese Sauce:

½ cup sweet red pepper, chopped

½ cup onion, minced
½ cup green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup butter
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whipping cream
1 ½ cups Monterey Jack cheese or Pepper Jack cheese
½ cup sour cream

Chicken and Chorizo Mixture:
1 small tube of pork Chorizo
2 tbsp butter
4 cups shredded chicken
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cups ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
12 (9 in.) flour tortillas

For the Chicken, we did a beer can chicken in the oven. Cory has always wanted to do one, so we figured this was a good time to try one! We would have used the grill outside, but it was super windy out. The oven worked just as well though and the chicken came out great, really moist and juicy.

you need:
1 (4-pound) whole chicken

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

3 tablespoons of your favorite dry spice rub (we used Weber's Chicken Rub)

1 can beer (we used Coors)

yeah that's right, we drink Coors from a glass, cause we're classy like that.

Remove all the giblets from the chicken. Rinse off and pat dry.

Rub the veg. oil all over the bird, and then season the bird with the salt, pepper, and dry rub. Set aside.

Open your can of beer and take a few swigs :) You just want to use about half to 3/4 can of beer for the bird. Place your bird over the can, using the legs to make like a ripod with the can. 

Now you can either grill your bird, over a med-high heat for about 1.5 hours, or put him in a dutch oven or roasting pan and set in the oven. Roast at 400 degrees for about 1.5 hours. You're looking for in internal temp of 180 degrees. When it's done, let him sit for 10 min before shredding.

Prepare the chorizo. Sautee over med-high heat for 5-7 min. Remove from pan and place on a plate with a paper towel, to soak up some of the grease. Set aside for now.

Ok, so to start our cheese sauce...

Saute red pepper, onion and green pepper in 1/4 cup butter until crisp-tender. Add oregano, salt, garlic powder, pepper, cayenne pepper, and flour; blend well and cook, stirring constantly for about a minute.

Whisk in the cream and continue cooking for 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add 1 1/2 cups cheese; stir until melted. Add sour cream, stir to blend. Set aside.

In another skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Saute chicken and 1/2 cup onion for 2-3 min. Add chopped tomatoes and 1/2 of the cheese sauce.

Fold in the chorizo..

Butter up a 9x13 baking dish..

Have some more beer..

Spoon 1/3 cup chicken and chorizo mixture into each tortilla.

Sprinkle a bit of cheese on top of chicken mixture. Roll the enchiladas up tightly.

Arrange seam side down in a 9X13-inch glass baking dish. Spoon remaining cheese sauce over tortillas and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Enjoy!