Chicken Tacos

I saw these Chicken Tacos on The Urban Homemaker and knew I had to try them! I wasn't disappointed one bit. This is a good way to stretch a little bit of meat. We actually got two meals out of this... not bad for my hungry family of 5 =-)

I was a bit concerned about putting the pepper jack cheese in them, since my littlest does NOT like spicy hot food... but I did not detect any heat from it at all.

I had some chicken in my freezer left over from when we stewed some of our hens. I just nuked it enough to be able to separate the pieces out, but they were by no means defrosted all the way. I used corn and rice straight from my freezer as well. One of these days I will put my baked rice recipe on here. It is the best way I have found to cook brown rice! I make a bunch at a time, so I freeze leftovers in 2 cup increments in ziploc freezer bags. Everything was cooked through in the time given.

Chicken Tacos

3-4 C cooked, shredded chicken

2 C cooked brown rice

1 C frozen sweet corn

1/2 tsp salt

1 C (4 oz) shredded Pepper Jack Cheese

1 can diced Fire Roasted Tomatoes

2 (10 oz) cans Green Enchilada Sauce

Crisp taco shells

Garnish:

Cilantro

Sour Cream

Fresh squeezed lime juice

Lightly grease a 13 X 9 baking dish. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl, spread into the baking dish. Bake at 450 degrees or 25-30 min, or until bubbling. Let stand 5 minutes and serve!

Brown Rice and Black Beans

I LOVE Cooks Illustrated magazines. They really put a lot of time and research into their recipes to get them right. Sometimes the recipes they come up with have too many steps to make the recipe feasible for everyday dishes, but this method of cooking brown rice made me a believer in brown rice. I have wanted to incorporate more brown rice in my diet for the health benefits over white rice, but have never been happy with the end results. It seems like I never got it cooked enough. It always had too much bite in it. Kind of takes away from the pleasure of eating rice! This recipe starts on the stove and finishes in the oven. So make sure you start it in an ovenproof pan. My stainless steel cook set has no rubber or plastic handles on it, so I cooked it in my stockpot. I must say, I wish I had doubled this recipe. There was enough for my family of 5 to get stuffed off of it, but I want leftovers! I'm already envisioning homemade wheat tortillas filled with this.... hmmmm might have to make a batch of it again in the morning! When I told hubby I was making beans and rice for dinner, he was a tad disappointed. He is NOT a great fan of rice. He wanted to know what the meat was going to be. (Doesn't matter to him that a combination of beans and rice make a complete protein!) I cooked up some mozzarella chicken sausages and he (and the littles) had that sliced over their portions. Hubby was picturing in his head rice you would get at a Mexican restaurant (you know the instant rice with a hint of tomato flavor.... blah!... but that is one of his favorite parts of eating at Mexican restaurants), so he might have been a touch unsatisfied with this dinner (although it didn't stop him from having two heaping portions) Me... I can see this becoming a regular meal for us... doubled of course ;-) This is my slightly tweaked version from Cooks Illustrated. I stirred in the still frozen corn with the beans and it turned out fine! Don't pass up on the lime wedges.... mmmm fresh lime!

Brown Rice and Black Beans

1 T olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 (14 oz) can chicken broth

1 3/4 C water

1 1/2 c long grain brown rice

1 tsp salt

2 (15.5 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 1/2 C frozen corn

1/2 C cilantro leaves

1/4 tsp black pepper

lime wedges and avocado to garnish

Saute onion and pepper in olive oil in an ovenproof pot until tender and onion is translucent. Add garlic and cook stirring for about 30 seconds. Pour in water and broth and bring to a boil. Stir in salt and rice and cover with a tight fitting lid and place in a 375* oven. Bake for 65 minutes or until rice is tender. Remove from oven and stir in black beans and corn. Place lid back on pot and let sit on counter for 5 minutes. Stir in cilantro and pepper. Serve with lime wedges and avocado.

Easy Skillet Chili

This dish is super easy and only requires one pot. When I cook rice, I like to do it in my rice cooker. I always make extra (it freezes well). I never have luck cooking rice in casseroles. Inevitably, the rice is underdone and everything else is turning to mush. Nathan loves porcupine meatballs, and the rice was NEVER done in the time it was supposed to be. That dish is what has converted me to using cooked rice in any recipe that calls for the rice to cook with the dish. Nathan isn't a big rice eater, so this dish adds some rice in our diet without being so pronounced. I used half ground deer in this recipe and you could not detect it at all. Another recipe to use to hide gamey flavors from the littles! It may not look like much, but it is hearty, satisfying and there are NO complaints from anyone when eating this. BTW... if you wanted to keep it a tad on the healthier side, you could omit the cheese, or just sprinkle a bit on the top. It will still taste yummy!

Easy Skillet Chili

2lb ground beef
1 large bell pepper
1 med onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 T Chili powder
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp salt
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, undrained
1 (15 oz) can black beans, undrained
2 (15 oz) cans corn, drained
1 (6 oz) can olives, sliced
2 C cooked rice
2 C V8 juice
2 C grated cheddar cheese

Brown hamburger with onion, bell pepper and garlic. Drain any grease and return back to pot and add remaining ingredients. Warm through and serve!