Grilled Mexican Citrus Chicken and Taos Tumble Salad

I am a huge fan of marinade recipes - they're fast, they're easy and they're delicious. I can throw everything together in the morning and forget about it until dinnertime rolls around. I'm pretty sure I found this recipe in one of those little magazines you can find by the checkout, although I can't remember which one exactly.

I love grilling - not that I'm a master at the BBQ, I just love cooking outside. Maybe it's because it brings back all those memories of childhood summers, although it may be due to the fact that it doesn't heat up my kitchen; I can't decide. This recipe takes a little more time to put together than most of my marinades, but believe me, it's well worth it.

Ingredients: (for the chicken)

1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped onion
4 tsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
8 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Directions:

In a large shallow dish or gallon Ziploc bag, mix first 8 ingredients, then add chicken; turn to coat. Refrigerate, turning chicken occasionally, at least 3 hours but no longer than 24 hours.


Taos Tumble Salad

This salad is super fast to put together while the chicken is grilling - you'll love it!

Ingredients:

2/3 cup Caesar salad dressing
1 tsp ground cumin
I head of romaine lettuce
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups coarsely broken lime-flavored tortilla chips


Directions:

In a small bowl, mix dressing and cumin. In a large bowl, toss remaining ingredients with dressing mixture. Sprinkle with additional cheese and chips if desired. Serve immediately.


*The picture above doesn't show the tomatoes in the salad because my hubby doesn't like them. Crazy, I know! I think he's missing out, but I add tomatoes to mine separately and then it's not an issue. Unless I'm serving this salad to several people, I only add the dressing to our portions of salad. That way I can save any leftover dressing and lettuce for the next day's leftovers ;)

Microwave Popcorn

I saw this on a friend's blog a couple of years ago and had to try it right away. Who knew it was so easy (and cheap) to make your own microwave popcorn?

Here's what you'll need:

a lunch size paper bag
1/4 cup of popcorn kernels
a pat of butter or margarine

Dump the kernels and butter into the bag (I probably only use a Tbsp of butter) and then fold down the top of the bag twice.

Cook in the microwave for 2 minutes - you might need to adjust the time depending on your microwave.  Once I hear the popcorn slowing down, I turn off the microwave, but leave the popcorn in.  Usually it's hot enough that a few more kernels will pop :)

Now you can season your popcorn and enjoy!  Sometimes we use the butter spray and other times we use butter seasoning - it all depends on your preference.  My grocery store carries a white cheddar seasoning that I'm dying to try!

Chicken Corn Chili

Mmmm...this is so yummy! In fact, it's on my menu for this weekend. Can't wait!

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 jar salsa– we love Sam’s Choice Black Bean and White Corn
2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp chili powder

Salt and pepper to taste

1 can Mexican-style corn

1 can pinto beans

Directions:

Place chicken and salsa in the crock pot the night before you want to eat this chili. In the morning, season the chicken and salsa mixture with garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 2-3 hours before you want to eat, shred the chicken with two forks then place back in the slow cooker. Add the corn and pinto beans, continue cooking. Simmer until ready to serve. We like it with sour cream and shredded cheese on top and we eat it with tortilla chips. You can add all kinds of toppings to this – be creative. It’s fantastic anytime of the year!

Cilantro-Lime Rice

This recipe is the perfect side dish for Sweet Pork, or any Mexican themed meal. I don't have a picture, but one of these days I'll remember to take one and add it to this post :)

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked rice

1 tsp. butter or margarine

2 cloves garlic, minced

zest from 1 lime

1 (15 oz) can chicken broth

water - add to chicken broth to make 2 cups

2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

2 tsp. granulated sugar

3 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

Directions

In a saucepan, combine rice, butter, garlic, lime zest, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and 15-20 minutes until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and, using a fork, fluff rice until cilantro is mixed in.

Sweet Pork

Something I really miss about Utah is take out from Costa Vida. Their Sweet Pork is to die for! I'll take it any way I can get it - nachos, tacos, burritos, quesadillas, it doesn't matter. They're all good! I once tried the Sweet Pork recipe with Coke and brown sugar, but I have to be honest - it wasn't good at all. Then, I found this recipe in my Mom's ward cookbook. Soooo yummy! I'm not claiming it's the same as Costa Vida, but it'll do. My favorite is to make nachos with it. I crave it - a lot. So I have to restrain myself from making it too often, because otherwise I'd pack on the pounds faster than you can say, "I love Sweet Pork!"

I wish I had a better picture for you, but this picture is from the first time I made the recipe and when I came up with the idea to make nachos I realized that I couldn't just put a plate in the toaster oven - it would have exploded. Not that I know from personal experience...

So, I rifled through the cupboards and found this leftover tin from Christmas. It was used for making a Rice Krispie gingerbread house and it was just what I needed :) I threw in some tortilla chips, black beans, cilantro lime rice, sweet pork then topped it off with an an insane amount of cheese. And I enjoyed every bite!

Ingredients

1 pork tenderloin (I think I generally use a 2 lb tenderloin)

1 packet taco seasoning

1 can green enchilada sauce

1 can red enchilada sauce

2 c. brown sugar

2 cloves garlic

4 limes

Directions

Place pork in the crock pot (I always use a liner - it keeps clean-up to a minimum and I swear my meals cook better). Microwave limes for 10 seconds, cut into wedges, and squeeze on top of meat. Sprinkle with taco seasoning. Cook on high for 3 hours.

Crush garlic cloves and spread on meat. Pour in both cans of enchilada sauce and sprinkle in brown sugar. Cook on high an additional 4 hours or until meat starts to fall apart.

Remove meat and shred on a cutting board using two forks. Place shredded meat back in the crock pot and simmer 15 minutes, or until ready to serve.

Chicken Packets

This is a fabulous recipe for Summer - or even Spring, when you're hoping for Summer to come :) It's super simple and smells great while it's cooking. Plus - it's healthy!

You can use any combination of vegetables that you like. Chris and I like different things, so we each make a packet for ourselves and we throw enough in there so that we'll have leftovers for the next day!

Here is a list of the veggies that Chris puts in his:

Red Potatoes
Baby Carrots
Broccoli
Mushrooms
Green Pepper
Onion

Here's what I use:

Red Potatoes
Baby Carrots
Broccoli
Yellow Squash
Zucchini
Cherry or Grape tomatoes
Mushrooms
and sometimes pineapple chunks

I steam the potatoes, carrots, broccoli, squash and zucchini beforehand and then assemble the packets. I usually put the potatoes and carrots in first, followed by the broccoli and squash. After I've added my veggies I add a bit of salt and pepper. Use a good long piece of tinfoil so that you can pack it full of veggies and still close it :)


Here's what it looks like once you've layered all the veggies on the foil:

Next, you're ready to add the chicken. This time I used Chicken Tenders, but Chicken Breasts work great too. Salt and pepper the chicken as well.

Next I add Worchestershire sauce and then drizzle honey over the top. I haven't measured; I just keep adding until I think it's enough.

To roll the foil, I've found it's easiest to bring the two long ends together, roll those down and then roll up the short sides. I place mine on a cookie sheet to keep any juices from spilling into the oven.

After that you're ready to place it under the broiler. If you'd rather not heat up the house, you can also throw it on the grill. Either way works well. I place my rack just under the broiler and set it on high. Cook it on high for 30 minutes. Do you like the toys in the background? This is how I cook - crazy kids!

Generally, I clean up my dishes as I go along - it's a little trick my mom taught me. That way you aren't left with a messy kitchen after dinner ;) If I do have dishes left, I clean those up and then sit back to relax until dinner's ready!

And...Voila! Here are your finished Chicken Packets. I made mine with extra this time and it was enough to feed me and my two little boys, plus leftovers. Enjoy!

Salisbury Steak

I'm a sucker for comfort food - most especially meat and potatoes! I throw some vegetables on the side to ease the guilt and then sit back and enjoy my piece of heaven on earth. Mmmmm....

Ingredients

2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

1/2 t. minced garlic

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1 lb lean ground beef

1-2 cans Campbell's Mushroom gravy or 1 packet McCormick Mushroom gravy mix

Fresh sliced Mushrooms (optional)

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt and pepper. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 4 patties. In a non-stick skillet brown patties on each side, then drain the grease. Add the gravy and mushrooms to the patties, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until mushrooms are done.

4 servings

*If I'm feeling especially guilty about the yumminess I'm about to consume, I transfer the patties to a clean pan before adding the gravy. It cuts out at little more of the grease right?

*If you're using the powdered gravy, mix it with the water before adding it to the pan. Surprisingly, we prefer the canned gravy, but it just depends on what I have on hand and what was on sale at the time :) If I want extra gravy for the potatoes then I use two cans.

I'm sure that a true Salisbury Steak actually uses brown gravy instead of mushroom gravy, but the truth is, Chris and I are die hard fans of mushrooms. I add them to everything - hence the change from the original recipe!