Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

I am well aware that I haven't posted in FOR-EV-ERRRR. But, oh well.  I don't write this blog to gather a massive following, or to get a book deal.  I post this blog for me.  For fun.  To keep track o what I do and what I like.  Not that there is anything wrong with feeling compelled to continuously write the blog in order to get a book deal.  In fact, I think cooks across America are now benefiting from Smitten Kitchen's dedication to blogging and her new amazing cookbook! Yay!

Anywho, new recipe, why not.  This one is great, easy, and freezes well, so we can have it for lunches when I don't have time to actually pack other lunches.  And did I mention it was easy?  Check this out:

Ingredients:

5 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts

1 (10 oz) can enchilada sauce (the red kind)

1 package taco seasoning

about 40 tortillas

Cheddar cheese- optional

A few dashes hot sauce- optional

Combine enchilada sauce, taco seasoning, and hot sauce if using.  Place in crock pot.  Add chicken.  I know, it doesn't look like enough liquid, but it's fine.

Cook on high 4-6 hours or low 6-8 hours.  Now it looks too liquidy, but trust me, it's fine. Shred chicken and mix around in the sauce.

Divide chicken between tortillas, add cheese if using. Roll up tortillas and either eat now, or wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for quick meals later.  Just take out of the plastic wrap and microwave on a paper towel for a few minutes.  If you are eating it fresh, you can add other toppings like lettuce and tomatoes, but I would not put those in the ones for the freezer.

Told you it was easy!

Seven Layer Chicken Taco Salad

A while ago I picked up a used copy of Mexican Light Cooking, but had not yet had a chance to break it open until last night. Last night I made the book's Seven Layer Chicken Taco Salad. I think I used more chicken than recommended, but even still it was probably close to 400 calories (the recipe as published is 332 calories).

Flavor and texture wise, it was very good. Not the best ever, but still very good. Next time I will likely do even more lettuce and tomato and less beans. Oh, and more avocado if I feel like more delicious guac flavor :)

Seven-Layer Chicken Taco Salad
6 servings

• 1lb skinless boneless chicken breasts
• 2 cups fat free reduced sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
• (I added 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, divided)
• salt and pepper
• 3 cups (I'd use more) shredded lettuce
• 1 lb tomatoes, diced
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 large avocado, diced
• 1 cup finely diced onion (preferably red onion)
• 1 cup shredded reduced fat Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
• 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• (I added some lime juice)
  

1. Trim visible fat from the chicken, place in medium sauce pan, add chicken broth and enough water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to simmer over medium high heat, reduce heat to medium low and cook until chicken is cooked/white throughout, about 15 minutes. Let chicken remain in the liquid until it is cool enough to handle, about 20 minutes.
2. Remove the chicken and shred it (I cubed some because it was easier). Reserve 1/3 cup of the broth. In small bowl, combine shredded chicken with parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1 tablespoon cilantro.
3. In a wide (preferably clear) bowl, layer lettuce, tomatoes, black beans, chicken, avocado, onion, and cheese.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together vingar, olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt,1/4 teaspoon pepper, reserved 1/3 cup chicken broth, remaining cilantro and a dash of lime juice. Drizzle dressing over salad and serve.
   

Roasted Asparagus

As I have previously mentioned, the boy does not like veggies. Broccoli: yes. Green beans: maybe. Anything else green (or purple, or orange...): no. So when I told him we were having asparagus tonight, he made a face, joked about the smell it would cause, and got out of the kitchen.

When dinner was served I asked what he thought. The response? "It's edible."

I'll take it!!

I thought the flavor was great. The roasting in olive oil, salt and pepper plus topping with lemon zest and parsley is great. My one issue is that I don't think the pine nuts really added much. The boy disagreed and said he liked them, so I will leave it up to you whether to use them or not, but I think for me it won't be worth the cost in the future for so little value added.

Roasted Asparagus-adapted from Food Network Magazine
serves 4

• 1lb asparagus
• 1/2 TBSP olive oil
• salt and fresh ground pepper
• 2 TBSP pine nuts (optional)
• 2 TBSP chapped fresh parsley
• zest of 1/2 lemon

1. Preheat oven to 450. Trim asparagus. Toss with oil, salt and pepper on baking sheet. Roast until just starting to brown, 10 minutes.
2. Mix pine nuts (if using), parsley, lemon zest and salt and pepper. Sprinkle over asparagus.

Pho

The boy and I have been focusing on eating healthy recently. Somewhere between our dietetic Ray's Hell Burger and my butter and sugar filled banana bread, this ACTUALLY healthy pho was thrown in. With around 400 calories and 4 types of veggies, this pho would make your mother proud.

Oh, and it's filling and yummy too!

Pho- adapted from Self

Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 6 oz rice noodles
• 1 1/2 cups snow peas, ends trimmed
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 2 cups bean sprouts
  
• Chinese 5 spice powder to taste (~3/4 teaspoon)
• 6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4-inch strips
• 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into thin strips
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (~2 limes)
• 1/2 cup chopped scallions
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 4 sprigs basil
• 1 lime, cut into 4 wedges

PREPARATION

1. Boil noodles in salted water for 3 minutes. Place snowpeas and carrots in a colander; drain noodles over them; rinse; divide among 4 bowls. Top with bean sprouts.
   
2. Bring broth to boil with Chinese 5 spice powder. Reduce heat to medium; add chicken; simmer 5 minutes. Add bell pepper and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls; top with remaining ingredients.

   

Summer Vegetable Pasta

Nothing screams summer like an abundance of zucchini, squash and basil. Put them to good use in this quick and easy pasta dish.

2 Tips for this recipe:
1. SEASON IT- this one needs salt and pepper. Do NOT skimp on the seasonings. Also, use real basil in this one, not those tubes of the chopped stuff. That works for some recipes, but not this one.
2. I make leftovers to bring to lunch. If you do so as well, do not reheat this dish. Eat it chilled and do not microwave. It ruins the consistency/texture.

Summer Vegetable Pasta

• 1 pound corkscrew pasta, such as rotini
• 1/6 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs
• 2 zucchini, thinly sliced in 1/2 moons
• 1 yellow squash, thinly sliced in 1/2 moons
  
• 4 ears corn, kernels scraped off
• 6 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil

Directions:

1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water and the pot.

2. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add half of the garlic and cook until golden, about 30 seconds. Stir in the breadcrumbs and remove from the heat.

3. In the reserved pasta pot, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the remaining garlic and cook until golden, about 30 seconds; add the zucchini and squash and cook, turning occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the corn, cooked pasta and as much of the reserved cup pasta cooking water as you like (I usually use about 1/2 cup). Add 1 cup cheese and toss; season with salt and pepper.

4. Stir the remaining cheese and the basil into the breadcrumb mixture and sprinkle on top of the pasta.

Beans and Pasta

I have meant to post this recipe for ages. I have made it...I don't even know how many times! It's really tasty, easy and filling, as well as pretty healthy. Nowadays the Boy and I are trying to reduce our meat intake, so this bean filled, vegetarian dish is perfect.

2 cups Bowtie pasta

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 medium carrots, diced

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp basil

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp oregano

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (19 oz) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 (19 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Parmesan cheese to serve

Directions

1. Cook until tender but firm. Drain.

2. Heat oil over medium heat in a large deep skillet.

3. Add carrots, onion and garlic to skillet. Cook until tender.

4. Add spices and tomatoes to skillet. Bring to a boil.

5. Add beans to skillet.

6. Add cooked pasta to skillet. Simmer gently for 2 minutes. Serve in soup bowls. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Swiss Apple Grilled Cheeses

As I previously mentioned, I hosted a friend's birthday a while back and made various snacks, including these Swiss Apple Grilled Cheese triangles. My friend said it tasted like her favorite fondue (swiss with apples, who would have thought?!) Basically, very good.

I have made these like regular grilled cheese in a pan (with olive oil instead of butter) and in a panini press without any oil, and I think I liked the panini press better, but you can certainly make them as you would make a regular grilled cheese.

Grilled Apple Swiss Cheese

Ingredients
2 slices whole wheat bread
1/4 Granny Smith apple - cored and sliced
1/3 cup shredded Swiss cheese

Directions
Preheat the panini press to medium heat. Place 1 slice of bread onto the press, and arrange the apple slices evenly over the top. Sprinkle the Swiss cheese over the apple, then top with the remaining slice of bread. Cook until the bread is golden brown and the cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Cut into diagonal qurters for finger food.

Pizza Dip

A few weeks ago I hosted a friend's surprise birthday party. Now I am studying for finals. Guess which was more fun? TOTALLY finals, right?

While, sadly, the fun awesome time of the party is past, I would like to share what I made. I made the Italian grilled cheeses, swiss apple grilled cheeses, pigs in a blanket (ALWAYS disappears!! I made 150% of what I thought we'd need and there was still not a single one left), bean dip, chocolate chip cookies, the black forest cake and this pizza dip.

Hot Pizza Dip

Ingredients

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
  
• 1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups pizza sauce
• 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
  
• 2 ounces sliced pepperoni, cut into 1/4s

Directions

1. A day or 2 before you want to serve, do steps 1-3. Do step 4 right before serving. Spread pepperoni on a few layers of paper towels on a microwave safe plate. Cover with another paper towel and microwave 30 sec-1min to get the grease out. Pat dry and let cool.
   
2. In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, oregano, parsley, garlic and basil.
3. Spread mixture in the bottom of an 8x8 microwave-safe dish. Sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese on top of the cream cheese mixture. Spread the pizza sauce over all. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, then top with bell pepper and pepperoni. Cover and refrigerate for a day or 2 until ready to serve (the flavors mesh well during this time).
   
4. Cover, and microwave for 6 minutes. Serve hot with crackers (bread may also be good).

Cashew Chicken

Normally I take forever to post something, but I JUST finished eating this and had to post. 2 reasons: 1. it was absolutely delicious and 2. I had to make a number of changes to the recipe, so I wanted to get it down while I remember. But mostly #1, bucause it really was good.

Because of the number of changes I made, I won't even go through it here. Just trust me on the changes. Also note: most of my recipes make 4 servings, this makes 2. Keep that in mind.

Cashew Chicken (adapted from Williams-Sonoma: The Weeknight Cook)
Serves TWO (2)

Ingredients
3TBSP soy sauce
1 1/2 TBSP white wine
1 tsp ginger
2 chicken cutlets cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
3/4 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp cornstarch
1/2 head of broccoli cut into small florets
1 TBSP canola oil
2 green onions, chopped
3/4 cup salted cashews
steamed rice, to serve

Method
1. Marinate Chicken: in bowl, combine 2 TBSP soy sauce, 1 TBSP wine, and ginger. Stir in chicken and allow to marinate for 15-30 min.
2. Make the sauce: in a small bowl, combine 1TBSP water, remaining 1TBSP soy sauce, remaining 1/2 TBSP wine, Worcestershire sauce, sesame oil, sugar and cornstarch and stir to dissolve sugar and cornstarch,
3. Stir Fry the chicken. Steam the broccoli very briefly (about a minute) in the microwave so that it is not undercooked at the end. Heat oil in frying pan over medium high heat. Remove chicken from marinade and drain well, discarding marinade. Add chicken to pan and stirfry until slightly brown. Add cashews and stirfry another 30 seconds or so. Using a slotted spoon, move the chicken and nuts BUT NOT THE OIL to a bowl. Heat pan to medium high and stirfry green onions about 30 seconds until fragrant, add chicken and nuts and broccoli. Stir the sauce and add to pan. Stir until sauce thickens slightly (this happened very fast for me). Serve over the rice.

Quick Black Forest Cake

I appologize for the photos. I brought this cake to school and it was devoured, so the only pics I got were from a friend's IPhone. Trust me, it was good, and looked a lot better than these pictures show. It was a friend's birthday, but I had about 100 pages of reading for the night, so this quick, easy and delicious cake did not dispoint on any front. Also, it was the best cake batter I have ever tasted. I likely could have eaten the whol cake's worth of cake batter...not that I thought about that or anything...

Quick Black Forest Cake
1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate cake mix
3 eggs
scant 1/2 cup water
scant 1/2 cup oil
1 tablespoon almond extract
1 (21 ounce) can cherry pie filling
1 cup chocolate chips (I used Hershey's Special Dark chips to make it even more chocolatey)
chocolate frosting (I used a storebought one, but homemade is always better if you have time)
marachino cherries
almond extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Mix together: cake mix, beaten eggs, oil, water, almond extract, cherry pie filling and chocolate chips. Stir until just combined. Pour batter into a greased 9x13 inch pan.
Bake in a 350 degree F (175 degree C) oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cake from oven and let cool. While cooling, you can drizzle some of the marachino cherry juice over the cake to soak in.
Combine frosting, about a teaspoon of the cherry juice and about 1/2 teaspoon of the almond extract to taste, being careful not to make the frosting watery. Frost the fully cooled cake. Drain the cherries and decorate the top of the cake with them. Eat within a day as the marachino cherries start to release their juice after a while.

Baked Crab Rangoons

Happy Valentine's day to all. Or in my case, a Happy "Girls Night In" Day. The boy will be back in a bit, but for tonight I was without him, so I used the opportunity to make a thank you dinner for one of my single gal pals. Did I just say "gal pals"? Forgive me, must be the strawberry margaritas speaking.
Anyway, I made a 3 course thank you dinner. It started with these baked crab rangoons. Followed by a Chinese chicken salad with a home made sesame soy dressing and ending with a brookie (brownie cookie, aka cookie in a brownie). While all parts were good, I think the crab rangoons were best. I made 13 rangoons and the 2 of us ate every last one.
These guys are SO easy too. Mix, place in won tons in muffin cups, bake. Done.

I was really afraid that these would be really gross once I opened the can of crab meat. I have never used canned crabmeat before, so I was shocked to open it and find that it smelled a little like canned tuna. Not what you want in your crab rangoon. After I drained it and mixed it with the other ingredients though, it tasted nothing like that smell, and was really good. Just make sure to drain it.

Also, I think this is a great base recipe for a crab dip. Add old bay, maybe replace the green onion with regular onion, add some cheese and bake in a casserole dish and it should be great. Just a thought from a girl who loves crab dip a little too much (what can I say, I am always a Marylander at heart).Baked Crab Rangoons

Ingredients

• 1 (170 gram) can crabmeat- drained well
  
• 125 grams (a little more than 1/2 package) Brick of Cream Cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 1/4 cup Mayo (I used the olive oil based mayo as it is all I buy nowadays)
  
• 12 wonton wrappers
• Optional: Sesame seeds and/or green onions for garnish
  

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix crabmeat, cream cheese, onions and mayo.
2. Spray 12 muffin cups with cooking spray (not too heavily). Gently place 1 won ton wrapper in each cup, allowing edges of wrappers to extend above sides of cups. (I realized it is best not to try to bend the middle parts onto themselves to make it flat, let the insides be bumpy, it firms up better) Fill evenly with crabmeat mixture.
3. Bake 18 to 20 min. or until edges are golden brown and filling is heated through. (I then placed them on paper towels for a few minutes to absorb the extra oil and firm up) Serve warm. Garnish with chopped green onions and sesame seeds, if desired.

We'll call them Franken-Muffins

I found this GREAT post a while ago on tastespotting. It was a basic muffin formula that you adapt for whatever type of muffin you wanted to make, and it gave some suggestions for combinations. But really, give me time to peruse the grocery store and I can come up with my own combination rather easily. And that's just what I did. Introducing, the delicious and rather healthy Franken-muffin. OK, so the name may not work, but my combination of ingredients did!

Here is MY Version:
Dry ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp spice cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Wet ingredients
1 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
scant 1 cup white sugar
1 egg, beaten
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cups grated zucchini
3/4 cups grated apple

PROCEDURE
Preheat oven to 375˚F.
Grease a muffin tin (12 count- I needed about 14 muffin cups if they had all been full size, or 12 regular muffins and 12 minis) with grease spray or butter.
Get two big bowls. In the first bowl combine the dry ingredients except the dry muffinhancers.
In the other bowl combine yogurt, sugar, salt, melted butter, egg and extract. Mix it all up until it’s good and smooth. Now mix in both the wet and dry Muffinhancers and stir to distribute.
Make sure your oven is set and the muffin tin is greased up before you combine the wet and dry. It’ll need to happen pretty quickly.
Pour the dry mix into the wet bowl and fold gently with a spatula while you count slowly to 15-20. The result should be a very lumpy batter, with frequent dry floury spots. It’s better if it’s not a smooth batter.
Now use an ice-cream scoop or just a big spoon to fill the muffin tray evenly. Fill it up almost to the top of the tray. Bake for 20-25 minutes (about 13 minutes for the minis). When they are done, turn it over onto a clean tea towel to let them cool.

And here is the basic formula:
Dry ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp spice (cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ground ginger, ground coriander, etc)
1 cup of dry Muffinhancers (can be chopped nuts, dried fruits, toasted coconut, chocolate chips, etc)

Wet ingredients
1 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup melted butter (or vegetable oil)
1 cup white sugar
1 egg, beaten
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cups of wet Muffinhancers (can inc: mashed banana, grated zucchini, grated carrots, grated apple, frozen berries, mango puree, chopped up orange, etc)

PROCEDURE
Preheat oven to 375˚F.
Grease a muffin tin (12 count- I needed about 14 muffin cups if they had all been full size, or 12 regular muffins and 12 minis) with grease spray or butter.
Get two big bowls. In the first bowl combine the dry ingredients except the dry muffinhancers.
In the other bowl combine yogurt, sugar, salt, melted butter, egg and extract. Mix it all up until it’s good and smooth. Now mix in both the wet and dry Muffinhancers and stir to distribute.
Make sure your oven is set and the muffin tin is greased up before you combine the wet and dry. It’ll need to happen pretty quickly.
Pour the dry mix into the wet bowl and fold gently with a spatula while you count slowly to 15-20. The result should be a very lumpy batter, with frequent dry floury spots. It’s better if it’s not a smooth batter.
Now use an ice-cream scoop or just a big spoon to fill the muffin tray evenly. Fill it up almost to the top of the tray.
Bake for 20-25 minutes (about 13 minutes for the minis).
When they are done, turn it over onto a clean tea towel to let them cool.