Jalapeño-Lime Chicken

HOWDY folks!

I’m back with another simple recipe I found in an My H-E-B Texas Life flier at the local grocery store.  (It’s also available online - click here to find the original recipe.)  It sounded wonderful, so I tried it soon after I came across it.

It’s truly super easy!!!  The first time I made it, I just dumped everything into a gallon-sized zipper bag and stuck it in the fridge on a Sunday night.  When I got home from work on Monday, I just dumped it all into a pan and popped it into the oven while I changed clothes, etc.  It was ready in no time!

It’s very versatile too…I sliced the cooked chicken breasts (although they would also shred very easily) and made soft tacos the first night, adding a little diced tomato and avocado along with a bit of Mexican crumbling cheese.

The next day, I had a yummy salad with the leftovers.  I just added the chicken (along with some of the cooked onions & jalapeños) to some lettuce & grape tomatoes from my garden, along with black beans, diced avocado, seedless cucumber & shredded carrots...oh so good!

The next time I made it was on a busy weekend.  Again, I dumped the zipper bag full of stuff into the fridge one night, and then poured it all into the slow cooker the next morning.  It simmered all day while we stayed busy with multiple projects.  By the time evening came around, we were exhausted, and ready for something to eat.  All we had to do was lift the lid on the slow cooker and eat!

I think it would also be good served over rice.  Just use your imagination.  The possibilities are endless!

Jalapeño Lime Chicken

Ingredients:

2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper

8 cloves garlic, chopped (the original recipe calls for 4 cloves, but I’m a garlic fiend…feel free to use as much or as little as you like)

4 jalapeños, halved & seeds removed

2 limes, zested & juiced

1 sweet red onion, quartered (you can use regular red onions if you can’t find the sweet ones)

1 can (14 oz.) low-sodium chicken broth 

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a gallon-sized zip-top bag or a large bowl.  (If using the bowl, be sure to cover it with a lid or plastic wrap.)  Marinate over-night (or for at least 6 hours) in the refrigerator.

Oven Version:

Preheat the oven to 450°F.  Place chicken in a lightly greased 9x13 inch pan and top with marinade.  Bake for 35 minutes or until juices run clear when poked with a fork.

Slow-Cooker Version:

Place chicken in a lightly greased slow-cooker, and top with marinade.  Cook on high setting for 6 to 8 hours (until chicken is cooked through & juices run clear when pulled apart with a fork).

I hope you’ll try this one.  It’s really good and easy.  I’ve even made the slow-cooker version for guests…so easy to pull together after a busy day of sight-seeing!  I received rave reviews from all!

HEB has lots of great (and healthy) recipes available on their website, so take a minute to check it out.  Just promise you’ll let me know if you find anything interesting that I haven’t come across yet!

Blessings,

--Faithy

Winter Favorites #2: Faithy’s Chili Pollo Blanco

As promised, here’s another one of my winter favorites.  Not only is it yummy, it’s super easy and pretty healthy too.  Sorry I don’t have a picture for ya…I’ll try to add one eventually.  Meanwhile, please give this a try, I know it’ll become one of your favorites too!

Faithy’s Chili Pollo Blanco

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

2 Tbsp. flour

1 lb. diced chicken breast (fat removed)

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. ground comino (a/k/a cumin)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

2 cans white beans (any kind), rinsed and drained

1 cup chopped onion (1 small onion)

1 small can diced green chilies

4 cloves minced garlic (I'm a garlic fan, so I generally use a bit more)

Combine all ingredients in slow-cooker.  Cook on high setting for 1 hour.  Decrease to low setting and cook for an additional 4 hours.

ENJOY!!

I think I may make this tomorrow…mmmmmmmm…

Blessings,

--Faithy

Fast-to-Fix Pasta Dinner

Hi all…just popping in to share another recipe.  This one is something my hubby & I made up out of things we had on hand years ago.  We’ve enjoyed it many times since (although the recipe varies a bit, depending on what’s in the fridge).  The amounts YOU use will depend on your personal taste, and how many people you’re cooking for.  Just experiment with it to come up with your own favorite version! 

And…let me know if you come up with something really good!

Ingredients:

Red, yellow & orange bell peppers - chopped & divided

    (Neither of us really like green bell peppers, but we love all the others.  You can pick your own favorite here.  We just use whatever we have - usually a mix of all three.  NOTE:  I always buy these when they’re on sale, then quarter & seed them - you can even go ahead and chop them if you like.  Then I put them in a sealed freezer bag in my freezer until I’m ready to use them.  They freeze beautifully!  It makes it really simple and easy to pull them out and use them on short notice later, and you don’t have to worry about them going bad before you can use them.)

Sweet onion - chopped & divided

    (We like 1015’s, but again just use whatever YOU like)

Garlic - chopped & divided

    (We’re both garlic fiends so we can use a whole head of garlic just for the 2 of us, but you may not want quite that much.  Just be sure you have enough to cook with the chicken, and with the vegetables.  Also, I always use fresh garlic, but feel free to use chopped garlic in a jar if that’s what you have or prefer.)

Diced chicken breast

    (When we’re just cooking for the 2 of us, one large chicken breast is plenty.  I usually keep a diced one in the freezer ready to go for such occasions.)

Diced zucchini

    (When our garden is producing, I often use a combination of yellow squash, white squash & zucchini - any or all work fine.  If you like another vegetable better than squash, throw that in, I’m sure it will be great. I’ve tried fresh asparagus and green beans - separately of course -  a few times, and both are delish!)

Diced tomatoes

    (I generally use my home-canned diced tomatoes, as long as I have some, but you can use store-bought whole or diced tomatoes as well.  If tomatoes are in season, I often use fresh ones.  If you want a completely different flavor you can even use sundried tomatoes that have been rehydrated and chopped - if you do that, be sure to reserve the broth you rehydrated them in to help loosen up the dish right before serving. It’s got loads of flavor!  When I use those, I usually add a few chopped Kalamata olives with them.)

Fresh herbs

    (I love to add fresh basil and oregano from my herb garden when it’s in season.  You can use any type of herb mixture you like - dill can be good if you don’t use too much, and I’ve even used mint.  If you don’t have fresh herbs on hand, dried ones work fine.  Just add them earlier in the cooking process - with the canned tomatoes.  Fresh ones will need to be added at the end to keep their color and flavor.)

Chopped green onions or chives

Regular olive oil

Extra Virgin olive oil

Salt & pepper, to taste

Your favorite pasta

    (We like to use miniature whole grain penne or linguini, but any kind of pasta will do!  Be sure to reserve the cooking water after you’ve drained the pasta.)

Okay, now that all the slicing & dicing is done…it’s time to get cooking.

If you want things to come together about the same time, be sure to start your pasta water before anything else.  Getting it to boil is probably the most time-consuming part of the entire process.

Next, you’ll want to pre-cook your chicken.  Pour a little regular olive oil (not too much, just a Tablespoon or two - depending on how much chicken you’re cooking) into a hot pan, then add a little of your chopped peppers and sweet onion.  Reduce heat and cook until it starts to sweat.  Add a little of your chopped garlic and cook until everything is softened well.  (At this stage you only need a little of the peppers, onions & garlic - you’ll use more later.)

Add the diced chicken and cook until it is lightly browned and any juices run clear.  Remove cooked chicken from the pan and set aside.  DO NOT CLEAN OR RINSE YOUR PAN…you’ll want to keep all the flavors in it!  J

By now your water should be hot so you can start your pasta cooking.  (For some great pasta cooking tips, check out this link.)

Return your pan to the heat, and add a little extra virgin olive oil this time (it has more flavor than the other - but will burn more quickly, so keep an eye on it!).  Add the rest of your peppers and sweet onion.  Once again, bring it to a sweat over medium heat and add the remainder of your garlic.  Cook for about a minute and add your chopped zucchini (or whatever veggies you decided on).

Cook until veggies start to soften (but don’t overcook them - mushy vegetables are NOT our friends!), stirring often to keep everything from sticking.  (If you need to loosen things up, you can deglaze your pan, as you go, with a little of your pasta - or sun-dried tomato - water.)

Once veggies are almost done, add your tomatoes and mix well.  While they’re cooking for a minute or two, you should have time to drain your pasta.

Next, stir in your reserved chicken, fresh herbs and green onions/chives.  (If you’re using fresh tomatoes, just add them at the same time as the herbs.  You don’t really want fresh herbs or tomatoes to cook, you’re basically just warming them up.)

Now stir in your hot pasta and serve!  (Again, if you need to loosen things up a little, just add a bit of pasta water - or sun-dried tomato broth - and deglaze before serving.)

For a special touch, sprinkle with a little shredded parmesan cheese (or crumbled feta if you’re using the sun-dried tomatoes & Kalamata olives).

Mmmmm…quick & easy, fresh and delicious! 

NOTE:  It’s really good with a fresh loaf of hot crusty bread on the side.  J

If you try it, please let me know what you think!  I’ll be waiting for your reviews...

Blessings,

--Faithy