Mexican Cocolate Chicken Tacos

I know this sounds strange but in Mexico they have a sauce called mole that has chocolate in it so that's what gave me the courage to try this recipe. I'm glad I did because it has now become one of our regular meals. The original recipe serves the green sauce over the chicken and leaves it at that but we have found that we love this combination served up in a 6 inch taco. It's good either way. Give it a try!

2 Tbsp cooking oil
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp lime juice
2 tsp chili powder ( I don't really like spice so I use less then this)
2 tsp cocoa powder
2 tsp cinnamon

4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts

6 Tbsp melted butter
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp chopped green onion
2 Tbsp lime juice
2 tsp finely chopped semi-sweet chocolate
2 tsp finely chopped jalapeno pepper (optional)
* I half this sauce and make one batch with the jalapeno for my husband and the other half without for me

6 inch corn or flour tortillas

Combine first 6 ingredients in small bowl.

Brush both sides of chicken with mixture. Cook chicken on grill until fully cooked (about 10 min on each side). Continue basting with sauce while cooking.

Combine remaining 6 ingredients in small bowl.

Slice chicken, place in tortilla and spoon cilantro sauce on top.

Chicken Taquitos

My new thing has been making home made taquitos. I double this recipe and make tons of extra that I put in the freezer on a baking sheet for a few hours to form and then in a freezer safe container to store. They make a great quick lunch or dinner, just bake them for an extra 5-10 min. We eat them with the same green salsa that it calls for in the recipe and they are delicious!

1/3 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup green salsa
1 Tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp chopped green onions
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (I use a rotisserie chicken from Costco)
1 cup shredded cheese (I use the Mexican blend shredded cheese again from Costco)
3/4 cup frozen corn
6-inch  corn or flour tortillas (both are good. You'll need about 12-16. Get them as fresh as possible so they don't crack when you roll them)
cooking spray
salt
  

Heat oven to 425 and spray cooking sheet with non stick spray.

Soften cream cheese slightly in microwave (20-30sec) in large microwave safe bowl. Add green salsa, lime juice, and spices. Stir to combine and then add cilantro, onions, chicken, cheese and corn.

Heat 2-3 tortillas at a time slightly in damp paper towel in microwave 20-30 sec.

Place 2-3 Tbsp of chicken mixture on lower third of each tortilla and roll it up.

Place seem side down on baking sheet. Spray tops of taquito with cooking spray and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Bake 15-20 min or until crisp and golden brown. Serve with sour cream, guacamole or salsa.

Chicken Cheese Burger

These burgers are one of our favorites! The secret is in the sauce. It may seem a little strange but don't be shy. Be liberal with the secret sauce and you will see what makes these burgers really special.

8 bacon slices
4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt
pepper

1/4 cup Apricot jam
3 tbsp Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
4 Kaiser or Hamburger buns
1 cup spinach
4 slices Swiss cheese

Cook bacon in a large frying pan to desired crispness. Remove from pan and set aside.Reserve half the bacon drippings for cooking chicken in.

Place chicken between 2 sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap. Pound each chicken breast with meat mallet to about 1/2 inch (12mm) thickness. Season each side with salt and pepper.

Cook chicken in the same large pan that bacon was prepared in. Cook 8 to 10 minutes until no longer pink.

While chicken is cooking combine jam and mayo in a small bowl (I always double this sauce). Set aside.

Put 1 slice of cheese on chicken breast. Reduce heat to low and cover for 2 to 3 minutes until cheese is melted. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Place sliced buns, inside down, in same pan. Allow the remaining juices to soak into the bread and lightly toast in pan.

Remove bun form pan and spread jam/mayo mixture on both halves. Arrange spinach leaves on bottom half. Place chicken breast on top of spinach. Top with 2 bacon slices. Cover with top halves of rolls.

Make it a Meal: I serve these burger either with some quick chips and salsa or some oven sweet potato fries.

Sweet Potato Chicken Salad

This past week we have had some lighter meals since my husband is very nervous for his law school finals coming up. This salad is great on a spring day and could probably feed 4. We ended up throwing out quite a bit since salad does not make good left overs. It is served with the chicken, asparagus and sweet potatoes still warm. Not a lot of recipes get made more then once in our home and this one I have now made twice so it must deserve a spot on this web site. I would probably give it 4 STARS, my husband is too busy to rate so he will just have to go with it :)

1 lb Sweet potato or yam
Sprinkle of Salt and Pepper
2 tbsp Olive or cooking oil
1 lb Boneless, skinless, chicken breast
1 lb Fresh asparagus
4 cups Fresh spinach leaves

Dressing
1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
4 tbsp Olive or cooking oil
2 tbsp Red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp Dried basil

3 Tbsp Pine nuts (optional, I just used them because I had them)

Preheat oven to 475F. Peal sweet potato and cut into 1/2 inch squares. Toss with 1 tbsp of olive oil and spread evenly on baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for about 20 min, flipping once, until sweet potato is tender and golden.

While sweet potatoes are baking, cut chicken into 3/4 inch pieces and asparagus into 1 inch pieces. Heat remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. Add chicken and cook for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until starting to brown. Add asparagus. Cook for about another 5 minutes until asparagus in tender and chicken is no longer pink inside. You may need to cover the frying pan and allow the mixture to steam for a few minutes depending on how crispy you like your asparagus.

Dressing: Combine all 4 ingredients into a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake well. If you do not have a jar, just mix well in a small bowl.

Put spinach into a large salad bowl. Add chicken mixture and sweet potatoes. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss. Sprinkle with pine nuts and serve.

MAKE IT A MEAL: I served this salad with warm focaccia bread which we dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. This is our favorite way to eat bread with our meals. If you are a simple roll with butter type of family, that would be good with this meal too.

Double Chicken Corn Chowder with a Kick and Baking Powder Biscuits

Due to the lazy kick off of my website the plan tonight is to post two recipes to make up for it. There is nothing better then corn chowder on a rainy Oregon day. I do have my classic corn chowder recipe that I always make (yes, I will post that one some day as well) but this week we tried something new that rivaled my classic. This corn chowder got 4 STARS from us. The kick comes from the Old Bay Seasoning which you can adjust depending on how much spice you like. If you don't have, or can't find, Old Bay Seasoning I'm sure you can use any seasoning salt to taste with an added bit of paprika.


6 slices bacon
1 large onion, chopped
2 large unpeeled red potatoes
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken - I usually boil a chicken breast or two and shred, you can also use a rotisserie chicken from the store
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
2 cans cream style corn
2/3 cup milk
3 tbsp flour
1-3 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning


Cook the bacon in a large frying pan or in a Dutch oven over medium heat until crispy. Put the bacon on a paper towel (but not too close to the burner you will be cooking with or you will have a similar experience as me and end up beating out flames with your spoon).
Leave the bacon drippings in the pan and add the chopped onion. Cook until softened. Cut potatoes into 1/4 inch cubes and add to onions. Mix together flour and Old Bay Seasoning. Sprinkle over potatoes and onions and cook, stirring constantly until the spices are fragrant (about 2 minutes). Add chicken broth, raise heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Lower to medium heat, cover and cook until potatoes begin to soften and the mixture thickens slightly (about 7 minutes).
Stir in chicken, corn and milk. Return to a low boil, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Turn the heat low and simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are tender and the chowder has a thick, creamy consistency (about 15 minutes). Ladle into soup bowls and crumple a generous serving of bacon over each serving.


Corn chowder is not corn chowder without baking powder biscuits...

2 cups flour
1 tbsp sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup milk

Heat over to 450 F.
Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender, fork, or two criss-crossing knives, until mixture looks like fine bread crumbs. Stir in milk.
Drop dough by spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm and with butter.

Sundried Tomoato Chicken Rolls

My husband called these chicken rolls "better then chicken cordon blue", which means they must be good. It's true, I did splurge on sun-dried tomatoes this week but it was so worth it. These were so easy to make that it was even worth waiting the 40 minutes of baking time, which for us is quite a long time when we both come home hungry from school and work. It was a perfect size for two of us and will be easy to double or triple depending on the size of your family. We gave this meal 4 STARS.

2 Boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup Sun-dried tomatoes in oil (patted dry)
3 tbsp Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp Olive oil
1/4 tsp Rosemary
1/4 tsp Salt
Sprinkle of Pepper
4 Bacon slices

Butterfly chicken breast by cutting horizontally lengthwise almost, but not quit, to the other side. This is done most easily if you are using frozen chicken breasts and you cut them when they are still a little frozen but can also be done using fresh chicken breasts. Open flat. Butterflied chicken breast should be approximately 1/4 inch or 5 mm in thickness. If you have one of those thick pieces of chicken place between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound with mallet or rolling pin to desired thickness.

Combine next 6 ingredients in a small bowl. Spread mixture evenly on cut side of flattened chicken breast, Roll up tightly starting from the long edge. Tie with string (or in my case dental floss). Place on baking sheet or in a baking dish (Note: Use somethign with a lip because the juices leaked off my baking stone and sure made a mess of my oven).

Lay bacon slices lengthwise over chicken roll. Bake in 350 F (175 C) oven for about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and cover with tinfoil. Let stand 10 minutes. Discard string. Serve and enjoy!

MAKE IT A MEAL: I served these chicken rolls with a sweet potato with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon and broccoli which I drizzeled with olive oil and salt and baked in the oven with the chicken for 20 minutes. If you are not a sweet potato fan you could also just make baked potatoes in the oven at the same time.