Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowls, by Cheryl

This may be my new favorite go to weeknight meal! My friend Joy made this meal for us about a week after Madeleine was born and it was delicious. After she gave me the recipe I realized that it was super easy to make as well and I typically have all of the ingredients on hand. I just made this for the first time last week and I was not disappointed. You can eat them in a bowl as is with different toppings, or you can put them in a tortilla and have yourself a nice little burrito! Yum!

Ingredients (serves 6-8) from here:

1-1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 cup brown rice
1 can black beans
1 can corn
Optional toppings: sour cream, shredded cheese, diced avocado, chopped cilantro, shredded lettuce, salsa, hot sauce, diced green onions

Directions:

1) Combine the chicken breasts, diced tomatoes, 1/2 cup chicken stock, chili powder, salt, and cumin in a slow cooker. Make sure the chicken is covered - add more stock if not. Cook for 3-4 hours on low.

2) Remove the lid and add the rice, beans, corn, and remaining chicken broth. Cook for another 3-4 hours on low. Check the rice periodically the last hour and stir once or twice to make sure the rice cooks evenly. Add more stock if it looks dry. If there's still liquid left and the rice is done then cook on high with the lid off until the liquid evaporates. Total cooking time should be 6-8 hours.

3) Using two forks, shred the chicken (either in the slow cooker or on a separate plate). Mix all together. Add salt to taste.

4) Place in bowls with toppings or in tortillas.

Cilantro Lime Chicken Salad, by Diane

I had lunch at Nordstrom's Cafe the other day, and the salad I ordered was fantastic. It was a southwestern type of salad with a cilantro lime vinaigrette. What I loved most about it was the details of the ingredients- the corn was grilled, the red peppers were roasted, and they added freshly toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds). I decided to recreate it at home for an easy lunch/dinner, and when I looked up a recipe online for the dressing I found the salad itself had quite a following! I actually found the original Nordstrom recipe, so this is what I used.

The dressing in the Cafe was pale with lots of cilantro in it, but the recipe online called for chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I was skeptical because I knew that would make the dressing spicy and red, and sure enough I was right. I made a second batch of dressing without the peppers it was spot on to what I had in the restaurant. This vinaigrette is so easy, stores well, and really could pair well with chicken, fish, and other seafood for grilling, tacos, or even a ceviche type dish! Overall, I'll be making this salad and the vinaigrette a lot more without the chipotle peppers (although it did add a lot of smoky heat which was kind of nice!).

The table- everyone was in a frenzy building their salads!
This is a shot of mine, premixed, with the chipotle version of the dressing!

Ingredients (serves 4):

Salad:
5 thin grilled chicken breasts, sliced
2 red peppers
2 ears yellow corn
2 avocados, chopped
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
2 sprigs green onion, sliced
Raw pepitas
Shredded monterey jack cheese
Mixed greens

Dressing:
2 chipotle peppers in adobo
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp honey
3/4 cup canola oil (I only used about 1/3 cup, and that was plenty)
1 cup cilantro


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 500 and place the red peppers whole onto a baking sheet. Bake for 30-40 minutes, turning twice. Remove from oven and immediately cover with aluminum foil for 30 minutes. Remove foil and slice peppers, discarding stems ribs and seeds.

2. Grill corn on a outdoor/indoor grill or grill pan, turning occasionally until all sides are slightly charred. Cut kernels and set aside to cool.

3. To make the dressing, add ingredients through honey into a food processors and blend until honey is combined. Slowly add in oil while blending. Finally, add in cilantro and process until blended well.

Pork and Tomatillo Stew, by Diane

 

This is another recipe from the book Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl. I have never used tomatillos before, and was curious to try them. I thought they would be spicy like a mild pepper, but as it turns out they are tart and a bit sour (the grocery store sign described them as having a sour apple taste). This taste was really unexpected, and I wasn't the biggest fan of the overall outcome because of it. But the rest of the ingredients mixed together really well, and with sour cream some of the tartness vanished. I did not add the lime juice to the sour cream because I thought it was tart enough.


Also- a note on peeling the tomatillos and tomatoes. The tomatillos have a leaf like outer skin that does not always easily come off. I found that if you peeled what you could off, the rest washed off easily with cold water. The tomatoes peeled easily once I dropped them into boiling water for one minute.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. canola oil
8 large garlic cloves, peeled
2 lbs. lean pork, cut into cubes
1 bottle dark beer (I used Guinness)
14 oz. orange juice
1 lb. tomatillos, quartered
1 lb. Roma tomatoes, peeled and cut in half
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
2 jalapenos, diced into small bits (remove the ribs and seeds unless you want some heat!)
1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper

Topping
1 cup sour cream
juice of one lime

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, add the beer, orange juice, tomatoes and tomatillos. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat, simmering for 20 minutes. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, heat the canola oil in a large pot. Add the garlic cloves and stir to coat with the oil.

3. Sprinkle the pork with salt and pepper and then add it to the oil, in batches, to brown on all sides. Remove from thepot.

4. Add the onion and jalapeno into and saute until tender, 5 or 6 minutes.

5. Add the tomatillo mixture to the pot, scraping the bottom of the pot to be sure you are getting all the browned bits. Add the pork, cilantro, cumin, salt and pepper to taste. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to low.

6. Cook, partially covered, for about 2 hours.

7. Taste for seasoning. Add the black beans and cook an additional ten minutes, uncovered.

8. For the topping, stir the lime juice into the sour cream.

Sausage, Pepper, and Cornbread Upsidedown Skillet, by Diane

This recipe is another Diane creation. It was really simple to make, came together pretty quickly, and was really good. I used turkey sausage and low fat cheese to make it healthier, but regular sausage could be substituted or even hot sausage to make it spicy. The recipe for the cornbread came from the back of the package of cornmeal and was also simple to whip together. Finally- I used a camera!!! The pictures look a lot better than normal, and I think for once my creation looks as appealing as it tastes! :)

Ingredients:

Cornbread batter (mix together according to back of package of cornmeal)
1 1/2 tbsp. oil
Turkey sausage, 2 long links, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 of each green, yellow, orange, and red peppers, cut into thin strips
2 medium onions, cut into thin strips
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup each shredded white cheddar and monterey jack cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450, and heat large cast iron skillet on medium high.

2. Add oil into hot skillet, then add peppers and onions. Stir frequently (there will be a lot in the skillet) as to evenly cook veggies. Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper in and stir.

3. While the veggies are cooking, mix cornbread batter and set aside. You can shred the cheese now too if you are using blocks instead of pre-packaged cheese.

4. When veggies start to brown slightly, remove and set in a bowl. Add the sausage to the skillet and brown, then add back in veggies and mix. Remove from heat.

5. Sprinkle cheese evenly over ingredients in the skillet, then pour cornbread batter over top and spread to cover evenly. This should reach nearly the top of the skillet.

6. Place the skillet into the oven and cook for approximately 20 minutes or until cornbread is golden brown. (If the batter is spilling over the sides, place the skillet onto a baking sheet before putting into the oven).

7. Remove from oven, place a large circular platter (about 2 inches larger in diameter than the skillet) over top of skillet and flip. Remove skillet and voila!