Chicken [Corn & Black Bean] Tacos - Crock Pot!

It's deep into the heat of summer around here so the last thing I want to do is heat up the oven and, in turn, heat up the house! Thank goodness for the crock pot! This crock pot recipe is very similar to a stove top chicken/corn/black bean taco I make but, unlike the stove top version, you just throw the frozen chicken into the crock pot! You don't have to plan ahead enough to have the chicken thawed so you can dice up the raw meat - straight from the freezer to the crock! (Of course, if you have thawed chicken this will work perfectly, too!) Love it.

You need:

Chicken breasts, frozen corn, canned black beans & salsa.
(Plus whatever fixings you need to turn this filling into a taco! Tortillas, cheese, lettuce, sour cream, etc - whatever you like!)

Start out by rinsing your beans - get all the thick, black can juices off of them & shake off the excess water.

Then just throw it all into the crock pot together, put on the lid, set it to low & walk away for about 8 hours. (If you choose to use frozen breasts I'd come in after a couple of hours & just make sure the breasts are separating as they thaw!)

You can just pull it out & serve the whole breast as a main dish, if you'd like, or attack it with your tongs right there in the crock & mash it around to shred it into taco filling. After you shred it I'd put the lid back on & let it go another 30-60 minutes just to distribute the yumminess all throughout the meat.

That's it! Now turn the darn thing into a taco!

(Yes, we truly are that lame - all we added was cheese!!)

Happy eating!

Chicken [Corn & Black Bean] Tacos - Crock Pot:

3 chicken breasts
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 1/2 cup salsa
1 can black beans, rinsed

Combine everything in the crock pot & set on low for about 8 hours. Shred meat in the crock with tongs. Allow to heat for another 30 minutes.

Serve as tacos with your favorite fixings.

Chicken Ranch Tacos

I'm just gonna dive right in & say that I loved these tacos! When I made them I was thinking they'd be ~good enough~. And then I ate them... Yum! I was only planning on eating one but I dished up 2 of them for the sake of the photo - and I ate them both! These will be making a return visit soon! And a bonus? They're super easy.

You'll need:


Cooked chicken, taco seasoning (chicken or beef work), ranch dressing, taco shells & your taco fixings. We're pretty basic here - only lettuce & cheese.

Throw your cooked chicken in a pan over med-high heat. Let it get just a little heat on it then sprinkle it with the taco seasoning. Use what you have, this would be great with chicken or beef taco seasoning. Don't add any water!! Just leave it in there dry. Give it a stir to get everything all coated in the spices.


Let that go for maybe 5-7 minutes, get it all heated through. Then add the Ranch dressing.


Stir it around & warm it through again.

Aaaaaaaand you're DONE!

Look how yummy it looks!


Now turn it into a taco! Meat on the bottom, then I do the cheese next. I like putting it against the warm meat because it helps it melt. I don't love raw (?) cheese but I do like it melted! Above the cheese give it some lettuce and then add some more Ranch! Don't forget the Ranch! I tossed a little more cheese on top so the picture would be pretty!! LOL

By the way - take the couple of extra minutes to warm your taco shells - totally worth it!



These were served up with strawberries & the ever so Mexican steamed peas! LOL Whatever - the kids gobbled it up!

ENJOY!

Chicken Ranch Tacos:

3 cups cooked chicken, cut up
1 pkt. taco seasoning (chicken or beef)
1/2 cup Ranch dressing
------------------
taco shells
lettuce
cheese
Ranch dressing
tomatoes
etc...

Heat a skillet over med-high heat. Add chicken & warm it for a few minutes. Sprinkle on the dry taco seasoning. Do not add any water! Heat for 5-7 minuted until all heated through & powder is stuck to the chicken.

Add Ranch dressing, heat an additional 2-3 minutes to warm through.

Serve in taco shells with all the fixings you love - plus an extra squirt of Ranch!

It's Fiesta Time! Cindo de mayo meal ideas.

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Do you have any special plans for dinner tonight? We'll be dining fiesta style with some of our favorites! Carne asada street tacos, sweet corn tomalito, rice, chips & salsa - plus a few surprises from our friends. In case you're still on the hunt for some menu items for this evening I thought I'd gather up everything I had filed under Mexican here on my blog. Some of it is more/less authentic than the rest but I promise it's all delicious!

It's not a party without the salsa!



How about tomalito!? It's super yummy - sweet & fluffy!


Good Mexican rice is always a perfect side.


Chicken enchiladas in a white sauce - probably the least authentic on the list but always a delicious meal!


Or maybe you prefer beef enchiladas? These are pretty spot on if you want the real thing!


Or maybe this salsa verde pork!? It's delicious in a burrito!


Whatever you end up eating tonight I hope it's delicious & that you are lucky enough to share it with friends.

Sweet Corn Tomalito

Tom-a-WHAT!!?? Tomalito. It's a sweet corn bread pudding type thing. Have you ever been to dinner at Chevy's Fresh Mex? Chances are your meal came with a little yellow scoop of corn *stuff* on the edge of your plate. THAT, my dear, is tomalito! And it's awesome. And it's quite easy to recreate at home. Wanna try!!??

This is what you'll need:

Corn (either a drained can or thawed from the freezer), corn meal, corn flour (masa harina), margarine, milk, sugar, salt, baking powder & water.

First up - you're gonna mix your softened margarine, corn flour & sugar in an 8x8 dish.


Once that looks like a fluffy paste set it aside. Now grab a blender & mix 1 cup of the corn, the water & the corn meal. Don't worry about getting this totally smooth - just blend it together until it's all mixed in.


Pour this into your 8x8 pan with the sugar/flour paste & mix it up.


Once it's blended together add in the rest of the stuff - the other cup of corn, the milk, baking powder & salt.


Here it is all mixed up & ready to cook. Eww. I know - looks pretty gross, doesn't it!!?


From here, I think the traditional way to cook it would be to tightly cover it in plastic wrap & set it on top of a boiling pot of water to steam it ... for FIFTY minutes. Do you have an hour to worry about a side dish!!? Not usually.

Pop it into the microwave on defrost/30% power for about 7 minutes. Then, without opening the microwave, give it another 4 minutes on full power. Hello!!?? 11 minutes instead of 50!? Yes, please & thank you!

When it's done there will still be a wet spot in the middle - but if it's bigger than about a silver dollar give it another minute on full power.


Fluff it with a fork.


Scoop it up & enjoy! It's sweet & light & SO wonderful! This is just about the best thing you can do with a can of corn!

Sweet Corn Tomalito:

5 TBsp margarine, softened
1/4 cup masa harina (corn flour)
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 cups whole kernal corn
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp milk

In an 8x8 pan combine softened margarine, corn flour & sugar. Set aside.

In a blender mix 1 cup of corn, cornmeal & water until combined - but it doesn't need to be smooth. Add this to the sugar/flour mixture and stir well. Add all remaining ingredients (don't forget the remaining cup of corn!) and give another good stir.

Microwave at 30% power (defrost) for 7 minutes. go another 4-5 minutes at full power. When it's done a wet spot no larger than a silver dollar will be in the middle.

Stir/fluff with a fork & serve!

Mexican Rice

I grew up in the California Bay Area where there was no racial majority at my high school. It was such a culturally diverse place to grow up and I LOVED it. Not only did I have access to a great mix of friends, but I had access to their authentic, wonderful food! There were little hole-in-the-wall restaurants and mom & pop shops tucked into nearly every single shopping center. And it was wonderful! The Chinese food was one of my favorites, but miles above it were the Mexican cafes! And my all-time favorite is a good carne asada burrito - grilled beef, whole pinto beans, a little rice & lots of salsa. Ahhhh..... I digress. The Mexican food/culture is one of the biggest things I miss about home! I learned to cook a few things, though - so when I'm really craving it I can whip up some authenticity here at home. This is the rice we had with our carne asada street tacos the other night. Good stuff!

You'll need:


Instant white rice, olive oil, onion, garlic, chicken broth & salsa - I always use Pace Picante Medium.

Start out by mincing your garlic (or using the jarred stuff as I sometimes do) and dicing up about 1/4 of the onion (you'll only need 2 tablespoons). Put the oil in a skillet over medium heat & get it hot. Add the onion & garlic; saute about 5 minutes. Just get some color on it but watch closely - the garlic will sneak up & burn on ya!


Add the rice - just straight outta the box. Don't cook it or anything - just toss the dry rice in the pan. Give it a few stirs & brown it up a smidge. Maybe 5 more minutes.


After that add in your salsa & chicken broth.


Cover the pan & reduce the heat. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring once or twice as it cooks.


Serve it up!!
(I totally forgot to take a freshly plated picture - sorry, you get my plate after I'd eaten most of my dinner!! LOL I had to add some new rice so I could get this pic for you!!)

Mexican Rice:

2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cup minute rice
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup salsa (Pace Picante, medium is my recommendation)

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion & garlic; saute about 5 minutes.

Mix in rice & stir occasionally. Once it begins to brown add broth & salsa.

Reduce heat, cover & simmer for 20 minutes, stirring once or twice.

Beef Enchiladas

My chicken/white sauce enchiladas are admittedly unauthentic. These, however, are pretty spot on if you want *real* Mexican food. I found them thanks to Leigh Anne over at Your Homebased Mom, but the recipe originated from Ree at The Pioneer Woman. They are a little bit of work but it's worth it! They are great enchiladas & a wonderful addition to your list of things to do with ground beef.

Here's the line up:


Ground beef, white onion, red enchilada sauce, chicken broth, cilantro, corn tortillas, shredded cheese, green onions, sliced olives, diced green chilies, salt & pepper.

First thing you're gonna do is doctor up your sauce a little bit. Start out with a tablespoon of canola oil & a table spoon on flour in a pan over medium heat. Whisk them together in the pan for about a minute then add the red enchilada sauce, chicken broth, some cilantro, salt & pepper into the pan. Bring it to a boil then reduce the heat & let it simmering together for 30-45 minutes.


After that' s had a chance to simmer for a while you'll want to get your meat going. Dice up an onion & then toss it into a pan with your beef. Brown the meat, drain off the fat & then dump in your 2 small cans of diced green chilies & season salt.


So now your meat & sauce should be done & ready to go - but your tortillas are not! So heat up some oil in a skillet over medium heat & drop in each tortilla, one at a time. We're not frying them - we're just softening them, so only about 10 seconds per side.


OK - Finally!!! Everything is all set for assembly! Whew! You can finally preheat your oven now - to 350.

First take about 1/2 cup of the red sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 dish - it's there to serve as the 'greasing' for our dish. Next, take a tortilla, dip it into the red sauce then set it on your work surface - which, for me, was a paper Halloween plate! LOL


Put in a scoop of the meat, shredded cheese, some diced green onion & sliced olives.


Now carefully, and with a full disclosure that your hands will get messy, roll it up & place it seam side down the prepped 9x13 dish. Keep going until your whole pan if full. Then pour the rest of the red sauce down over the enchiladas.


Top with the rest of the cheese.


Stick the whole pan into a 350 oven for 20 minutes.


When they're fresh out of the oven like this top with some chopped cilantro & serve it up!!


Yum! Seriously. YUM!!

Beef Enchiladas:

---Ingredients---

Sauce:
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp flour
1 28-oz can red enchilada sauce
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro

Meat:
1 pound ground beef
1 medium sized onion, finely diced
2 4-oz cans diced green chilies
1/2 tsp seasoned salt

Tortillas:
10 corn tortillas
1/2 cup canola oil

For assembly:
3 cups grated cheddar cheese (I used cheddar/jack)
1 4-oz can sliced black olives
1 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

---Preparation---

Sauce:
In a large saucepan over medium heat, add oil and flour and whisk together to make a paste, cooking for one minute. Pour in the red sauce, chicken broth, cilantro, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30-45 minutes.

Meat:
Brown the meat with onions in a skillet. Drain off fat. Stir in 2 cans diced green chilies and seasoned salt. Set aside.

Tortillas:
Heat canola oil in a small skillet over medium heat. One by one, using tongs, fry tortillas in oil until soft, not crisp – about 10 seconds per side. Remove to a paper—towel lined plate. Repeat until all tortillas have been softened.

Assembly:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour 1/2 cup red sauce in bottom of 9x13 pan. Spread to even out. Dip each tortilla into red sauce, then remove to work surface. Spoon meat, a little grated cheese, a little black olives, and green onions in the center of tortilla. Roll up and place, seam down, in baking pan. Repeat until pan is filled. Pour extra red sauce over enchiladas. Top with remaining cheddar cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle cilantro over enchiladas before serving.

My Favorite Salsa

Salsa is the new ketchup. It makes everything wonderful & extra tasty - from a dinner that needs a little bite to just a plain old tortilla chip. I'm not much of a chunky salsa lover, though - to me it needs to be a nice mostly-pureed blend that marries all the flavors together without leaving you a big hunk of onion to chomp down on & overpower the entire bite. So here you go... MY favorite salsa!

Here's what you need:


A large can of whole, peeled tomatoes, 2 cans of Rotel - 1 Original & 1 Mild, an onion, a bunch of cilantro, garlic, lime & a jalapeno. Not pictured: salt, sugar & cumin.

Start out by dicing up the onion, mincing the garlic, and the quarter & slice the jalapeno. The heat of the jalapeno comes from it's seeds & ribs, so depending on your preference, you can cut some of that out, leave it all in or go for something in between. I went half way - I have commitment issues. I couldn't decide which side to lean toward today so I sat happily in the middle! Be SO careful when you cut your jalapeno, please! I put a sandwich baggie on my hand when I cut them because the oils stay on your fingers - even after you wash your hands. And if you rub your eye or, even worse, your kid's eye... WOWZA! You will be in pain.


Now open up your cans & throw all the tomato into the cup of a blender. Add in your diced produce, salt, sugar & cumin. Then throw in the leaves of a bunch of your cilantro. Again - this is where your preferences come into play. Cilantro seems to be one of those love-it-or-hate-it herbs so go with what you feel comfortable with. If I had to guess I'd say I put in a solid cup (at least) of loosely packed leaves. If you're a minimalist go less - I just wouldn't go less than 1/2 cup.

Pop your lime into the microwave for 15 seconds to get the juices flowing. Then roll it on the counter to get things a little looser. Cut it in half & squeeze one half of the lime's juice it into the blender with everything else.


Your blender should be full to the top by now! Add on the lid & pulse it about 15-20 quick pulses & call her done! Maybe give the sides a scrape after about 10 just to get all the cilantro down.

Here she is!


Now pour it all into a tupperware with a lid & stick it in the fridge for at least an hour before you eat it. Overnight is even better!


HELLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Gorgeous!

Michelle's Salsa:

1 large can of whole, peeled tomatoes (28 oz)
2 cans of Rotel - 1 Original, 1 Mild
1/4 cup of diced onion
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, quartered & sliced
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 - 1 cup cilantro
1/2 a lime, juiced

Prep everything as directed in the ingredients list, add it onto the blender & give 15-20 pulses to blend. Refrigerate for at least an hour - overnight is best!

(Got this recipe from The Pioneer Woman!)

Chicken Enchiladas - the white girl way!

I'm not sure if there is anything even remotely authentic about these. But I can assure you - they are fantastic! Not your typical red sauce enchiladas - these are sauced up with a creamy sour cream/cream of chicken mixture. Oh - and lots of cheese!

Here's what we're using for this one:

Large tortillas, shredded cheddar/jack, diced green chilies, sour cream, cream of chicken & cooked, diced chicken.

First thing? Mix everything together, but reserve about 1/2 the can of soup & 1/2 a cup of cheese.


Then stir, stir, stir it all together. But don't let anybody stand behind you while you stir - they'll stare at your butt & tease you about it swaying side to side while you mix it all up!

Drop a blop of it onto a tortilla. I don't really know what a blop is - but it measures about 1/8 of the amount that is sitting in your bowl. How do you like that math!?


Spray a 9x13 pan with PAM Then roll the tortilla up & set it seam side down. Roll all 8 up & get them all lined up in your pan.

Then spread the rest of the soup over the top & sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.


Now throw it all in the oven - at 350 degrees - for about 25-30 minutes. You're melting the cheese & blending all the flavors together inside the tortillas.

Now go pull them out & dig in! Actually - you should let them sit for about 10 minutes before you dig in or you'll hurt yourself. And I would hate to feel responsible for that. Muy caliente! (I think that's the most authentic Mexican thing on this whole post!! LOL)


MMmm...... DO YOU SMELL THAT!!?? Good stuff.

Ready for the most YELLOW dinner you have ever seen? Like when your preschooler comes home & says it's yellow day at school you should do this dinner in celebration. Ready? ..... READY!??? It's almost comical how monochromatic this all is. So unpleasing to the eye... but delicious so I'm comfortable with it!

Chicken Enchiladas:

3 Chicken breasts, cooked & shredded or diced
8oz Sour cream
3 Tbsp diced green chili (from a can)
1 can Cream of chicken soup
2 1/2 cup Cheddar Jack cheese, shredded
8 large flour tortillas

Mix everything except about 1/2 the can of soup & 1/2 cup of the cheese. Spoon the mixture into tortillas, roll & lay seam-side down in a greased 9x13 dish. Spread extra soup over the top of enchiladas & sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.