Taco Chicken

1 lb. chicken breasts or thighs
A couple of juicy limes
A splash of red wine vinegar
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or coarsely chopped
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Juice the limes and combine with a couple splashes of red wine vinegar. Add garlic. Pour over chicken. This will not completely cover the chicken; just turn it occasionally as needed. Marinate for at least 4 hours, no longer than 8.

Heat an outdoor grill (you can also use a grill pan inside. Or your broiler in your oven.) Combine salt, chili powder, cumin, and black pepper in a small bowl. Remove chicken from marinade and rub the spices all over the chicken.

Grill about 7 minutes per side.

Remove from heat and allow to stand a few minutes so it doesn't lose its juiciness. You can either eat the chicken as it is, maybe with Mexican rice and beans, or use slice it up and use it as you would taco meat.


(From ourbestbites.com)

Potato and Bacon Breakfast Casserole

4 c. Southern/country-style hash browns (cubes), completely thawed (if they’re not thawed, they won’t cook correctly)...I used fresh potatoes, cubed and cooked in microwave until mostly softened
1 12-oz. package bacon
1 1/2 c. pepper jack cheese (I used all cheddar because that's what I had!)
1 1/2 c. cheddar cheese
1 bunch green onions, chopped
3 eggs
1 c. milk*
about 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
about 10 turns freshly ground black pepper


Begin cooking bacon.  While the bacon is cooking, place the potatoes in a 9×13″ baking dish. Mix the cheeses together and sprinkle it over the potatoes. When the bacon is done cooking, drain it on a paper towel and reserve 2 tablespoons of the drippings. Cook the onions in the drippings for 2-3 minutes or until they’re tender and fragrant. Spread the onions over the cheese mixture and then sprinkle everything with the crumbled bacon.  Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper and, whisking constantly, pour the egg mixture evenly over the potato mixture.  Cover and refrigerate overnight or for 7-8 hours.  When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350.  Bake, uncovered, for 40-45 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly but not brown. Allow to stand for 15 minutes before cutting. Serve with fresh fruit.

(From ourbestbites.com)

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

SALAD:

4 c. chopped Romaine Lettuce

2 c. chopped grilled chicken

1 c. cherry or grape tomatoes, washed

1/3 c. vertically-sliced red onions

1 avocado, cubed

1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 8 3/4 oz. can corn, rinsed and drained Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

DRESSING:

1/3 c. chopped fresh cilantro
2/3 c. light sour cream
1 1/2 + tsp. adobo sauce from canned chipotle chilies
1 tsp. chili powder
4 tsp. fresh lime juice
¼ tsp. salt

OPTIONAL:Tortilla Strips


Make sure all salad ingredients that need to be washed or rinsed have been. Combine lettuce, chicken, beans, corn, onion, and tomatoes in a large bowl and gently mix with your hands. Set aside.

Mix dressing ingredients. Start with 1 1/2 tsp. of adobo sauce and then go from there, probably 1/4-1/2 tsp. at a time. Set dressing aside.

When you're ready to serve, add avocado, tortilla strips, and dressing. Gently combine with your hands and serve.

*We just used whatever veggies we had on hand so ours ended up without avocado (a sin, I know), but we added cucumbers, carrots, etc. and it was super yummy.

(From ourbestbites.com)

Spicey Honey Chicken

8 boneless skinless chicken thighs, about 2lbs (yes, we used chicken breasts)
2 t vegetable oil

Rub:

2 t granulated garlic
2 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t coriander
1 t kosher salt
1 t cumin
1/2 t chipotle chili powder

Glaze:
1/2 C Honey
1T Cider Vinegar

Combine the rub spices in bowl and mix well.

Use kitchen shears (or a pair of clean scissors) to trim off any excess fat from the chicken pieces. Pat dry. Drizzle oil over chicken and rub in with your hands to lightly coat all the pieces. Then toss chicken with the spice rub to coat all sides well. Use your hands and get in there! Grill chicken for 3-5 minutes on each side, until cooked through.

While chicken is cooking, warm honey in the microwave so it’s not so thick. Add the vinegar and combine well.  Reserve 2T honey glaze for later. Take the rest and brush on chicken (both sides) in the final moments of grilling.  I’m gonna warn you that this can make a hot mess, literally. It’s sugar, and it’s gonna drip. After taking chicken off the grill, then drizzle with remaining glaze.

(From ourbestbites.com)

Fresh Spinach and Tarragon Salad

1 bunch spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
5 slices bacon, cooked until brown and crumbled
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. white sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried tarragon
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Combine spinach, egg and bacon in bowl.  Whisk together oil, vinegar, sugar, salt, tarragon and pepper to make dressing.  Pour enough dressing over salad to coat.  Toss and serve immediately.

(From allrecipes.com)

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice (I used lemon juice)
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic, or garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro (I used a ton more because I LOVE cilantro)
2 T sliced green onions (we skimped here because we didn't have any)
2 C shredded cooked chicken (I used home canned chicken)
1 C grated pepperjack cheese (we used regular 'ol cheddar)

small corn tortillas (we used flour)
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.  Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa,  lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.  You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.  Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.  Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.  Then roll it up as tight as you can.  Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

(From ourbestbites.com)

These are DIVINE!

Fudgy Brownies

8 oz.-pure cocoa
1 cup-butter or margarine
5-eggs
3 cups-sugar, Succanat (or equivialent), or honey.
2-1/2 cups of your favorite nuts, pecans, walnuts, cashews, etc...(we just put pecans in our frosting kind of like a Texas sheet cake)
1-1/2 cups freshly ground soft white wheat (we used regular 'ol white flour)
1 Tbsp-pure vanilla extract
1 tsp-salt
(for a 'cakier' textured brownie, add 1/2 tsp each of baking soda and baking powder)

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 square pan.  Melt cocoa and butter together in a saucepan over low heat. Set aside.  In your mixer, beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla on high speed for 10 minutes. Add cocoa mixture, flour and salt until just mixed. Stir in nuts by hand.  Pour the mix into the baking pan and bake at 375 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. DO NOT OVER BAKE! Allow to cool. You can frost them, but it is not necessary.  *This brownie comes out of the oven looking really cake-like and light brown, but it becomes less fluffy and darker as it cools.  We used the chocolate pan frosting recipe from the darn good chocolate cake on top of the brownies and it was divine.


(from breadbeckers.mywowbb.com)