cilantro lime rice

Sometimes my husband gets on a kick and wants to make something. When he does he never thinks about what sides to have its all about the main course. On this particular day he decided to make shrimp tacos. I didn't want to run to the store for anything so I decided to make rice. Plain white rice wasn't going to cut it this time, so when I seen this recipe I was excited. Not only was it good alone. It was great on the shrimp tacos too.



1 tablespoon canola oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large onion, chopped

2 cups long-grain rice

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3 to 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Juice of 3 limes and zest of 2 limes (hold back juice of 1 lime for garnish)

Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish


Directions

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and add the rice and salt. Cook over a low heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly to make sure the rice doesn't burn. Add 2 cups of the broth and the juice and zest of 2 limes and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until the rice is done. Add more liquid as needed. The rice shouldn't be sticky.


Just before serving, stir through the juice of 1 lime and lots of chopped cilantro.

One Pan Chicken Burrito

http://www.number-2-pencil.com/

I hear a lot of people complain that they hate cooking. I think there are a few reasons for that. 1) they don't know what to cook 2) They try to make hard meals when life is busy and rushed. Don't take me wrong I make hard meals but I make them on the days that I have plenty of time to make them.

I have a crazy busy life ... with 4 kids all active in something or another. So I am always looking for shortcuts just like everyone else. One of the best things I ever learned was that I could take frozen chicken and put it in the crock pot with a little chicken broth and let it cook for about 4 hours and then come home to cooked chicken. I then take the chicken and cut it up or shred it and can make so many things in a short time. I know I have talked about it before but that's what I did with this one so had to remind you.



1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced into bite sized pieces
3 tablespoon of olive oil
1/4 cup of diced yellow onion
1 cup of uncooked extra-long grain rice
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 15oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of chili powder
1 teaspoon of cumin
2 1/2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups of colby jack, monterey jack or cheddar cheese
kosher salt and pepper
freshly diced tomatoes
diced green onions
sour cream
guacamole

Sauté onions in 2 tablespoon of olive oil until they start to soften.
Season diced chicken with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.
Add chicken to pan and cook over medium high heat until chicken has started to brown.
Move chicken to one side of pan, in the other side of the pan add an additional tablespoon of olive oil and sauté uncooked rice for about 2 minutes or just until some grains start to turn golden brown.
Stir in black beans, canned tomatoes, chicken broth, garlic powder, chili powder and cumin.
Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce heat to low.
Cook about 20 minutes or until rice is tender.
Season with additional salt and pepper as needed.
Sprinkle with cheese, recover and let set for 2-3 off heat to melt cheese.
Garnish with fresh tomatoes, green onions, sour cream and guacamole

Beef Chimis

Taste of Home

Ground beef is one of my go to meats when I forget to pull anything out for dinner. You know the fall back meals like spaghetti, shephards pie, tacos etc. Well sometimes you get burnt out on that stuff and need something different in this case a little spice :) My family really liked this dinner and so my SUPER MOM status was saved!!!!! I did change it up though, I rolled them up and then put them in a pan and sprayed them with pam and then cooked them at 350 for about 30 minutes then turned them and did the same thing on the other side. Your filling is already cooked so you pretty much just cook it until its at desired crispness. But you can cook them either way and they are super yummy!!





1 pound ground beef
1 can (16 ounces) refried beans
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
3 cans (8 ounces each) Tomato Sauce, divided
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
12 flour tortillas (10 inches), warmed
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
1 can (4 ounces) chopped jalapeno peppers
Oil for deep-fat frying
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

Directions
In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the beans, onion, 1/2 cup tomato sauce, chili powder, garlic and cumin.
Spoon about 1/3 cup of beef mixture off-center on each tortilla. Fold edge nearest filling up and over to cover. Fold in both sides and roll up. Fasten with toothpicks. In a large saucepan, combine the chilies, peppers and remaining tomato sauce; heat through.
In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat 1 in. of oil to 375°. Fry the chimichangas for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve with sauce. Yield: 1 dozen

Smothered Burritos

Singforyoursupperblog.com

Adults and kids alike will love this! The sauce as simple as it is gives your normal burrito. Any leftovers are good for taco salad and I freeze the other half of the tomato soup to use for next time because after all there will be a next time.

1 pound ground beef
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (4.5 ounce) can diced green chiles
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
half a (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
burrito-sized flour tortillas, warmed
shredded cheddar cheese

Garnishes:
shredded lettuce
chopped tomatoes
shredded cheddar cheese
chopped green onions
sliced black olives
cilantro
avocado

Brown ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat and drain. Stir in chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Stir in the green chiles and turn off heat; keep warm. Warm the refried beans in a small skillet over low heat.

In a saucepan, combine the tomato soup and enchilada sauce. Mix well, and cook over medium heat until heated through.

Place a warmed tortilla on a plate and spread some of the refried beans into the center; sprinkle with cheese, then spoon some of the ground beef mixture onto the center. Tuck in the ends of the tortilla and carefully fold into a burrito. Spoon some of the enchilada sauce over the burrito and top with additional cheese and garnishes. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Serves 4-6

SwEeT CaRoLiNE

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas (pheMOMenon)

I think this is a little sweet HOWEVER my hubby that doesn't like sweet meat LOVED this!!! He said it was probably one of the best enchiladas he has tried! Now I want you to remember the honey is going to take away from some of the spice of the chili powder.  I also had company over when I made this and they loved it!!!  Thanks Jacki & Lori for sharing this with me!!!

•1/3 cup honey
•1/4 cup lime juice (about 2 large limes)
•2 teaspoons to 1 Tablespoon chili powder
•2 large cloves of garlic, finely minced or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
•1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large breasts), cooked and shredded
•12 corn tortillas
•2 cups of Mexican cheese blend, shredded (1 small bag usually is 2 cups)
•1 14-oz can of green enchilada sauce (mild or medium, to your taste)
•1/2 to 3/4 cup of heavy cream
•nonstick cooking spray
•1 Tablespoon of chopped cilantro, to garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the cooked and shredded chicken in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. In a small bowl, place the honey, lime juice, chili powder and minced garlic or garlic powder. Whisk together thoroughly to combine. Pour this mixture over the chicken and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to marinate while you prepare the tortillas, 30 minutes or up to 1 hour, in the refrigerator.


Heat a large griddle till a drop of water skitters across (about 350 degrees F). Spray the surface with non-stick cooking spray or a oil it with a little bit of canola oil in between each round of tortillas. Heat tortillas about 20 seconds on each side till warm and flexible and some golden brown spots have appeared. Remove the tortillas from the griddle and keep them between a couple of paper towels until ready to use.


Spray the sides and bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish lightly with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl combine the enchilada sauce and the heavy cream. Spread about 1/2 cup of the mixture in the bottom of the oiled baking dish.
Add a large spoonful (about 2 tablespoons) of the chicken mixture to the center of each tortilla in a line. Cover the chicken with a large tablespoon (or big pinch) of cheese, then roll the tortilla up from one side to make a rolled enchilada - it will be more of an over lap on the seam side that rolled tightly. Place the enchilada seam side down in the baking dish starting at one end with the long edge parallel to the longest side of the pan so that you end up with two columns of six enchiladas each.

Repeat with the remaining chicken, cheese and tortillas. You will use about 1 1/2 cups of the cheese for the filling and set the remainder aside for topping the enchiladas in the pan. Add the remaining marinade mixture to the enchilada sauce and cream mixture, if desired. Pour this mixture over the top of all the enchiladas. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.


Bake the enchiladas for 30 to 35 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly and starting to brown on top. Serve with sour cream, black beans, and rice or a green salad for a great meal.


Serves about 4