Creamy Chicken Tacos

I’m a day late for Taco Tuesday!  Tonight was taco night in my house.  Years ago when I was in culinary school I made chicken tacos that were so delicious my Mom still talks about them.  I had made them for my whole family and made them several times.  Problem is I never wrote down the recipe.  I have a habit of doing that.  I’ve since learned my lesson and try and jot down the ingredients.   So, tonight I made chicken tacos and it was just like ones I made all those years ago.  They came out A…MAZING!  Completely delicious!!

This recipe is super simple and can be made in less than 30 minutes.  Check out the recipe!

Creamy Chicken Tacos

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken breasts, diced
1 large red pepper, diced
1 jalapeño, diced (seeds removed)
1 bunch cilantro, stems removed, chopped (reserve 4 T for topping)
1 lime, juiced
1 taco seasoning packet
1/2 T garlic powder
1/2 T onion powder
2 t chili powder
3 T olive oil
1 t salt
1 t pepper
1/3 cup sour cream
8-10 taco tortillas

Toppings:
4T chopped cilantro
6-8 oz queso fresco, crumbled
1 small onion, thinly sliced

Directions: Place chicken in a medium bowl.  Add in seasoning, spices, cilantro, 2 T olive oil and half the lime juice. Mix well.  Cover and let marinade at least 1 hour.

Once ready to cook, heat a medium size saute pan on high heat.  Add in 1 T of olive oil and then the red pepper and jalapeño and cook till tender.  Add in the chicken and cook 10-12 minutes on high heat mixing often.  Add in the juice from other half of the lime and mix well.  Once chicken is almost fully cooked, add in sour cream and stir to fully coated.  Let cook 2-3 more minutes.

Heat tortillas 40-45 seconds in the microwave.  To assemble the tacos, add 2-3 spoonfuls of the chicken mixture to tortillas, top with red onion, crumbled queso fresco and sprinkle with remaining cilantro.  Serve and enjoy!

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Spicy Chicken Enchiladas

As most people know it is Taco Tuesday, however for me it’s Enchilada Tuesday.  I’m going to share with you a simple enchilada recipe.  I am a huge fan of enchiladas.  I like making them because they are rather easy and don’t take too long to prepare, are perfect for a crowd and they are great left over.

There are so many different ways to prepare enchiladas.  I am sure mine are far from authentic but I enjoy it.  This is a spicy chicken enchilada.  They are very easy to make and can be tweaked to however you like them.  You can make these ahead of time and refrigerate until you are ready to bake them.  I wouldn’t make more than 2 days early.

Spicy Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded (I used rotisserie Chicken)
4 cups shredded cheese (I used a Taco Blend)
¾ cup sour cream
1 medium onion, diced
3 T or more (Hot sauce) (Use whatever you have on hand)
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
1 t chili powder
1 t cayenne pepper
1 large can red enchilada sauce
8-10 Fajita size flour tortillas

Optional Toppings:
Sour Cream
Cilantro
Onion

Directions:  Preheat oven to 375°.  In a large bowl mix together chicken, 2 cups of cheese, sour cream, hot sauce and spices and onion.

In an oven safe baking dish cover the bottom of the pan lightly with enchilada sauce.  Add some sauce to a large plate.  To assemble, dip tortilla in the sauce on both sides.  Add in 2 heaping spoonfuls of the chicken mixture evenly to middle of tortilla.  Roll up and place seam side down into baking dish.  Continue with remaining tortillas.

Once all completed, pour remaining enchilada sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle the left over cheese over the top.  Bake in the oven covered with foil 35-45 minutes.  Remove foil and cook another 5-7 minutes.  I like to have the enchiladas crisp up slightly around the edges.  Let set a few minutes prior to cutting.  Top with sour cream or additional toppings.

If you are going to make ahead of time and bake when it’s time for dinner you will need to add some extra time for baking.  Maybe 15-20 minutes extra since they will be cold when baking.

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White Chicken Chili

The weather has turned colder the last few weeks and I’m loving it.  I love the fall weather.  This is a perfect time of year for chili.  I’m not a huge fan of chili.  I just never liked all the beans and it never really appealed to me.  Several years back my sister in law made chili and I actually really enjoyed it.  She used smaller beans and since then I’ve only used those beans.

Over the years I’ve grown to really enjoy it and I’ve started to change up the recipe and just try different flavors.  That’s where this Chicken Chili came from.  I love chicken and I really enjoy this chili.

This is perfect for a lazy Sunday of football or relaxing.  Give it a try!

White Chicken Chili

Ingridents:
4 T butter
3 T flour
1 T oil
4 cups chicken broth, no salt
2 15.5 oz cans white beans, drained and rinsed (any kind)
4 ½ cups cooked chicken, chopped (rotisserie or any kind, I used boneless skinless chicken thighs)
1 cup frozen white corn
1 cup half and half
1 cup shredded cheese (I used Colby Jack)
2 jalapeños, seeds removed and diced
1 large onion, diced
1 T garlic powder
1 T onion powder
2 t paprika
2 t chili powder
2 t salt
2 t pepper

Directions:  Heat a medium pot on high heat. Add in olive oil.  Add in the jalapeños and onion and let cook down, about 3-4 minutes stirring occasionally.  Add in butter and flour and mix to create a roux.  Let cook 4 minutes.  Add in chicken broth and mix well.  Cook another 2-3 minutes.  Add in frozen corn, white beans and chicken and mix well.  Season with the spices.  Let simmer on medium low heat 20 minutes stirring once.  Once the time is up, slowly mix in shredded cheese and half and half.  Let simmer on low another 10 minutes, stirring once.  Seasoning with the salt and pepper to taste and serve.  Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cheese. Enjoy!

Notes:  This is a very quick chili.  You can use any chicken you’d like.  I simply made chicken thighs in the crockpot and then added to the chili.  Feel free to change up the vegetables inside. Add some other bell peppers or even some celery.  This freezes well.  You can freeze with the cream and cheese in the chili or you can remove some of the chili to freeze prior to adding the cheese and cream.  Would even be good with a splash of hot sauce. I just needed it to not be spicy.

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Mediterranean Chicken Bowl Meal Prep

Meal prepping although may be tedious can really make your life easier.  It will keep you focused and makes life so much easier.  Take a few hours this weekend to make some amazing dishes to have throughout the week.  The key to making meal prep successful is making sure you do what you know.

You don’t need to make a chicken dish with 72 ingredients that takes hours to prepare.  Just so something simple.  Marinade chicken and toss on the grill or in the crock-pot.  I am the first person to say I don’t like basic meals.  However, when it comes to meal prepping basic is really the best way to be. It will be much quicker for you if you just do simple recipes.  This recipe has chicken with Mediterranean flavors topped with a tomato salad and served with  couscous

Mediterranean Chicken Bowls

Ingredients:
6 chicken thighs or breasts, boneless and skinless
3 T Greek yogurt
1 T Olive Oil
1 lemon, juiced
2 t red wine vinegar
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 T oregano
1/2 T garlic powder
1/2 T onion powder
Sprinkle: Salt and Pepper

Directions: In a bowl mix all above ingredients together minus the chicken.  Once well mixed add in the chicken and refrigerator for 1 hour.  Once ready to cook you can either cook it in a saute pan or on the grill. Either way will work fine.  Make sure regardless you let the marinade drip off before putting on the grill or in the pan.  Cook until done.  Set aside.

Salad:

Ingredients:
4 campari or roma tomatoes, chopped
5 mini cucumbers, cut into half moons (you can use regular cucumbers as well)
1 small red onion, chopped
1 1/2 T Olive Oil
2 t oregano, dried
Sprinkle: Salt and Pepper
3 T Feta (optional)

Directions: Add all above ingredients minus the feta to a bowl and mix well. (The feta will be added once you are ready to eat.) Refrigerate.

Extras:
Prepared Couscous
Tzatziki sauce (homemade or store bought)

When I make this meal I use a 2 opening container. I chop the chicken up and add that to the container and then on the other side I add in the couscous.  You can decide the amounts you choose to have. I usually add about 4-5 oz of the chicken and only about 1/2 cup of the couscous.  I add the salad to a separate container.  Once ready to eat, I heat container with the chicken and then I top the chicken with the salad and 1/2 T or so of crumbled feta.  If you want to add the tzatziki sauce to the top it off you can also do that.  Just makes for a nice finish but definitely isn’t needed.  This meal is very filling and has lots of protein and vegetables.  And you’ll feel satisfied after eating it. Who doesn’t like a light healthy lunch that’s ready to go?

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