Tag: chicken

Tequila Lime Chicken

I’m always looking for new ways to make chicken, so when I saw this recipe in the Pioneer Woman’s new cookbook, I knew I just had to try it out!  As with most of my recipes, I made enough just for my husband and me, so if you are making this for more than 2 people, you’ll want to adjust the quantities.

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 3 limes
  • 5 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 jalapeño, sliced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
  • 5 tbsp olive oil
  • 3/4 cup tequila
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

This marinade quantity can be used for up to 6 chicken breasts.  Since I only had two, I poured what I needed and saved the rest for next time.

Start by slicing your limes in half.  Squeeze the juice of all the limes into a food processor or blender.

Add the peeled garlic.

Slice your jalepeño, with the seeds and membranes intact,

and add it to the blender.

Next add cilantro and olive oil.  I forgot to take a picture of the cilantro.  Oops!

Now it’s time for the tequila!!!!!  It’s amazing how much flavor this adds.

Blend until thoroughly pureed.

Add chicken to a Ziploc bag and pour the marinade over it.  Seal and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

When your chicken is done marinating, grill over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes on each side.  I’m a big fan of only flipping your meat once, so make sure you cook it long enough on the first side before you flip it.

Look at those beautiful grill marks!  And you can still see some of the green marinade in the cracks!

Once your chicken is done cooking, remove it from the grill and let it rest for a few minutes before slicing it into strips.

Serve along side some Mexican rice (recipe to follow), refried beans, and some warmed flour tortillas.  I added some freshly grated cheddar cheese on the side as well.  You could also include some pico de gallo, guacamole, and sour cream.  Hope you enjoy!!

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Chicken Parmesan

I’m always trying to think of new ways to incorporate chicken into our dinners.  This obviously isn’t a new recipe, but I hadn’t made it in several months (Steve is not the biggest Italian food fan like I am).  I originally found this recipe on the Food Network Website as one of Emeril’s delicious dishes.  It’s my favorite Chicken Parmesan recipe so far because of the melty cheese and the fact that you finish cooking the chicken in the oven, so it has a wonderful crispy outside, but is totally moist and juicy on the inside.

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 egg
  • 2 Tbsp milk
  • spaghetti or linguini pasta (you can determine the amount you want)
  • shredded or sliced mozzarella cheese
  • about 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for sprinkling on top at the end
  • your favorite marinara sauce
  • extra virgin olive oil

Preheat your oven to 400° and position the rack to the middle position.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil for your pasta.

Trim excess fat off of chicken.  If you like your chicken a little thinner, you can either butterfly the breasts or pound them out a little flatter.  If you do, just make sure you adjust your cooking time since a thinner chicken breast will cook faster.

Here’s the seasoning I used first on the chicken breasts.  I got it at Sam’s Club, and I think you can find it at any major grocery store.  It’s just a mixture of several different spices.  You can also make the seasoning yourself — just Google Emeril’s Original Essence recipe and you should be able to find it pretty easily.

Lightly sprinkle Emeril’s seasoning on both sides of the chicken breasts.

Prepare your assembly line starting with the flour.

Add the egg and milk to a bowl and whisk together.

Your final step in the chicken coating assembly line will be the bread crumbs.

You can certainly just use bread crumbs, but I like adding some grated Parmesan cheese to mine.  I use about equal parts bread crumbs and cheese.

Mix the cheese and bread crumbs together so that it’s all evenly distributed.

Take your seasoned chicken breasts and coat both sides with flour.

Then dunk the flour covered chicken into the egg and milk mixture.

Then finally, thoroughly coat the chicken in the bread crumb and cheese mixture.  Try to make sure not to leave any wet spots.

Heat some extra virgin olive oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat and add the chicken breasts.

Cook about 4 minutes on the first side, then turn and cook 1 – 2 minutes on the other side.  If you butterflied or pounded out your chicken breasts so they would be thinner, you may want to only cook them for about two minutes on the first side and about one minute on the second side.  I let mine get a little dark, so you want them to be a little more golden and not so dark brown, but that’s what happens when you try to cook, clean, and take pictures at the same time.  Time can get away from you!

Spoon marinara sauce over chicken breasts.

Then add a generous helping of mozzarella.  You can add a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese too if you want.

Place entire skillet into the oven for about 4 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and chicken is cooked through.  Switch the oven to broil for about 1 – 2 minutes to start to brown the cheese.

While your chicken is cooking, add the pasta to the boiling water.  Spaghetti doesn’t take very long to cook and you want it to be al dente, or still have a little bite to it.

When you take the chicken out of the oven, the cheese should be nice and melted.

Drain your pasta, and add it back to the hot pot along with some olive oil to keep it from sticking.  Then add marinara sauce and stir to coat completely.

Add pasta and chicken to your plate and enjoy the crispy outside of the chicken breading combined with the juicy inside.  Just perfect!!

 

Chicken & Black Bean Taquitos

Steve and I are part of a Couples’ Bible Study with several of our friends, and we’re studying the book His Needs, Her Needs by Willard F. Harley, Jr.  In the first couple chapters of the book it talks about making deposits and withdrawals in each other’s “Love Bank.”  While the group was discussing some of the chapter, I leaned over to Steve and quietly asked what I could do to make a deposit in his Love Bank.  He immediately answered, “Make dinner.”

I’m ashamed to say that lately I have been very lacking in the dinner making department.  I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been tired because of the pregnancy, or maybe I just got used to not making dinner when I was super nauseous for several weeks and I could only eat a very select variety of foods.  Either way, we have eaten out or ordered in more than I care to say in the past few months, and my husband has felt neglected because of it (even if he won’t come right out and say it).

So when he told me that making dinner would add to his Love Bank, I decided then and there that I would try make dinner every night, unless unforeseen circumstances or plans prevent me from doing so.

I’ve been looking up and trying out new recipes that I’ve never made before, and I thought I might as well share them with you along the way!  This recipe for chicken & black bean taquitos is adapted from a recipe I found on foodgawker.com, and it’s actually pretty healthy!

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (each breast can make 2-3 taquitos, so plan accordingly)
  • 1 Tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • salt and pepper
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock (or broth)
  • 1/3 cup black beans, drained
  • 1/4 cup roasted red peppers, sliced or diced
  • flour tortillas
  • cheddar cheese (freshly grated tastes the best)
  • cilantro

Start by adding cooked and shredded chicken to a medium skillet over medium high heat (drizzle some olive oil on the pan before adding chicken).

 

Add cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper to the chicken.

 

Give it a good stir so that the spices coat each piece of chicken.

 

Pour chicken stock into the pan.

 

Bring to a boil and let simmer until all the liquid has evaporated (about 5 minutes).

 

While chicken stock is simmering, add black beans to the skillet and give it a stir.

 

Once all the liquid has evaporated add roasted red peppers to the chicken and beans and stir to combine.

 

Heat tortillas in the microwave fore about 30 seconds to soften them.  Place a tortilla on a cookie sheet (I put foil down over the cookie sheet for easy cleanup).  Then add some freshly grated cheese down the middle of the tortilla.

 

Add some of the chicken and black bean mixture to the tortilla.  Remember that you’re going to be rolling these, so don’t over fill it.

 

Next add some chopped cilantro.  You can omit this step if you’re not a cilantro fan.  I, for one, am a HUGE cilantro fan, so of course I added it.

 

Roll the tortilla and set it on the cookie sheet seam side down.  You don’t want the tortilla to unroll on you!

 

Once you have all your taquitos rolled, place in a 425° oven for about 15 minutes, or until tortillas are golden brown and crispy.  Turn taquitos over after 10 minutes to let the other side brown up.

 

Serve taquitos with freshly made salsa or guacamole.  They’re delicious, and the crispy tortilla adds great texture!  Hope you like them as much as we did!