Lime-Cilantro Chicken Tacos

I absolutely LOVE the crock pot. It is a working woman's best friend (besides her loving husband of course :). But this dish is unlike any other crock pot meal; if you just ate these tacos, you would never believe me that it was done in a crock pot! Usually the crock pot yields a yummy warming stew or a moist roast, but these taste just like Mexican street tacos. Who'd of thunk it!

We love getting tacos in Mexico from the sketchy little carts on the side of the road. Just make sure you choose the ones that have the most people hovering around 'em. Lots of people means GOOD FOOD... and it also means that if it's everyone else's favorite, they haven't gotten sick there so you probably won't either :) But still- take a peek and make sure their food looks safe, their cart looks (at least somewhat) clean, and that no one is sticking fingers in the toppings or double dipping into salsa or anything. 

ANYWAY, these crock pot 'street tacos' taste JUST like the ones we get in Mexico or from our hole in the wall Taco Tuesday joints around here.  'Street taco' refers to the way your taco is dressed up- which typically means your meat is stuffed into a warmed corn tortilla with ONLY Cilantro y Cebolla ("Cilantro and Onions"). I added a few extra topping options to our taco night, but you can pick and choose what you like to personalize your own 'Taco Tuesday' party :)

Ingredients (makes about 18 little corn tacos):

• 4 Chicken Breasts (about 2 lbs)
• 1 generous cup of Salsa
• 1 cup roughly chopped Cilantro
• 1 minced Jalapeno
• 2 Limes (or more if you like)
• 1 Tablespoon minced Garlic
• 1 Tablespoon Mexican Seasoning Blend or Taco Seasoning or your own mix of Chili Powder, Paprika, Cumin, etc.
• plus extra Chili Powder for seasoning the chicken breast
• about 18 little taco-sized Corn Tortillas
• Toppings!

In a bowl, mix together the salsa, cilantro, jalapeno, garlic, mexican seasoning blend, and the juice of ONE lime:

Spray your crock pot with a nonstick spray and place your chicken inside. Sprinkle chicken with chili powder, flip and cover other side as well:

Top chicken breasts with your cilantro/lime/salsa mixture:

Cook on low for 6 hours (if it goes much longer you might need to add a little more liquid later- either a little bit of chicken broth, or a little extra salsa, or even just a little plain water)

After it has slow cooked all day, it will just FALL APART at the touch of your utensil:

Break up your all your chicken and mix together with all the sauce & flavors in the pot until your left with a big pot of beautiful and tasty pulled chicken. Now squeeze the juice of the second lime into your chicken and stir in until all the chicken is well coated.

Prepare your taco toppings. I have chopped cilantro, diced white onion, lime wedges, diced avocado, shredded cheese, and a smorgasborg of salsas and hot sauces:

Warm your corn tortillas, about 6 at a time, by wrapping them in a damp paper towel and warming in the microwave for about 30 seconds:

True street taco style is simply with 'cilantro y cebolla' (cilantro and onion):

I started with a street taco base, and added hot sauce and avocado to mine: 

Here, Peter is reminding you to not forget to squeeze some fresh lime juice into each taco... to die for! 

 ...aaaaand, Pete added some hot sauce and avocado to his too :)

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

This is a quick and easy version of chicken enchiladas that packs a lot of flavor punch. I've seen recipes for 'creamy chicken enchiladas' that use either cream cheese or sour cream in the filling. To lower the calories and fat, I used nonfat plain greek yogurt instead of the other creamy ingredients that are higher in calories and fat. You still get all the cool, creamy refreshing flavor of the sour cream, but without the calories and fat. 
The nonfat, plain greek yogurt is one item that seems to always be on my grocery list nowadays. It substitutes SO WELL in place of sour cream in any recipe... it's unreal.

This recipe was a weeknight inspiration when I got home late from work and needed to whip up a quick dinner... before heading out again to see our new baby nephew that had just been born! Usually when these rushed evenings happen, I get a flood of 'oh crud' feelings and my adrenaline pumps, but some of my most creative and successful recipes come from those moments on the fly. On this particular night, I opened the fridge and saw a big bundle of cilantro. "That's it" I thought, "I'm going to use that cilantro and I'm going to use the greek yogurt to make quick, creamy, healthy mexican enchiladas". The rest of the ingredients I needed to make the enchiladas are just staples that I almost always have on hand (so you likely will too). It was a no brainer; boil the chicken. assemble enchiladas. bake. done. out the door. We even got to pack some up and take it to the hospital to share with the new parents!

Ingredients (makes one 9x13 casserole dish):

• 3 cups cooked Chicken, shredded or cubed
• 12 oz. plain, nonfat Greek Yogurt 
• 1/2 cup chopped Cilantro
• One 4-oz. can of diced Ortega Chiles, drained
• 2 cups shredded Cheese, divided (I used a 4 cheese mexican blend, but you can use mozzarella, pepperjack, anything you like)
• 1/2 cup diced Tomato, (or 1/4 cup Salsa)
• 8 medium sized Flour Tortillas, OR 10 small Corn Tortillas
• One 28-oz. can of Green Enchilada Sauce

Mix your 3 cups chicken, 12 oz. yogurt, 1/2 cup cilantro, ortega chiles, 1 cup cheese, and 1/2 cup tomatoes all together in a bowl.

In the bottom of your 9x13 baking dish, spread 1 large spoonful of the green sauce. This will keep the tortillas from baking onto to the dish.


Warm tortillas by wrapping them in a damp paper towel and steaming them in the microwave for a few minutes. This will make them pliable, so that they won't crack when you try to roll them up.


Stuff the warmed tortillas with as much of the creamy chicken filling mix as you can inside each tortilla. 

Roll them up and place seam side down in your sauced baking dish.

Once all your tortillas are rolled and nestled into the baking dish, pour the remainder of the green sauce over your little enchilada rolls.


Top with the other cup of shredded cheese (or more if you like) and bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is golden brown and bubbly on top. 

You can add or omit any ingredients you please. You really can't mess these up. It can even be as simple as just a little cheese and the chicken inside the tortillas and it will still be delicious and filling! Cover anything with sauce and cheese and you can't go wrong :)

Lime-Cilantro Vinaigrette

I know it's the middle of January, but we just had a few rogue, hot 'summer' days, so for dinner I made a fresh healthy salad to battle the heat. However, this recipe can also be appropriate for January because it follows the new year mindset of being 'healthy, wealthy, and wise'... I will show you how inexpensive, nutritious, and delicious this SUPER EASY lime-cilantro vinaigrette is over a simple southwestern salad.


Dressing Ingredients:
1 cup of packed fresh cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice (I used 3 whole, hand squeezed limes)
1/4 cup orange juice (I used 1/2 large, hand squeezed orange)
1 clove of minced garlic (again, I used my handy dandy garlic 'zoom' toy -seen in previous post)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Simply pack all the ingredients at once into your food processor (or blender)...

...Let it spin for about 10 seconds or so...

...and you have a beautifully colorful, DELICIOUS, and flavorful vinaigrette made from fresh ingredients:

Now pour it over your salad of choice. I think this dressing goes great over a fresh southwestern salad.

 Of course, you can add or subtract any ingredients to your liking, but this is how I like to create my southwestern salad (I like to add lots of color; Typically, more color means more nutrients): 

Colorful Nutritious Salad:

-2 heads iceberg lettuce, chopped (I've tried it with Romaine lettuce before, but I found that the Romaine didn't quite compliment the tex-mex flavors in this salad)

-1 large tomato, diced (good source of Vitamins A & C, and Lycopene -a cancer fighting antioxidant)

-1 avocado, peeled and diced (high in GOOD monounsturated fats)

-1 red bell pepper, diced (high in Vitamin C)

-1 can black beans, drained (high in Protein and Fiber)

-1 can corn, drained (Whole Grain, and a good source of Fiber and Protein)

-1 handful of cilantro, chopped (helps remove trace heavy metals, and fights infections)

Salads are so easy to tailor to your own preferences. For example, I usually like to add either grilled chicken or ground turkey with taco seasonings to this salad, but if you are a vegetarian this can be a great vegetarian-friendly dish without the meat because it is already full of protein from the black beans and corn- and if you wish to add more protein you can even add in some kidney beans, or some cheese too!

And it's a money-saving meal too:

Salad:

2 heads Iceberg Lettuce	$1.98
1 large Tomato	$0.50
1 Avocado	$0.88
1 Red Bell Pepper	$1.00
1 can Black Beans	$0.59
1 can Corn	$0.44
handful Cilantro (1/2 bundle)	$0.50

Dressing:

Cilantro (1/2 bundle)	$0.50
¼ cup Lime Juice (3 limes)	$0.99
¼ cup OJ (1/2 Orange from Grandma Joanie’s yard)	$0.00
½ tsp Salt	$0.01
½ tsp Pepper	$0.01
1 clove Garlic	$0.05
½ cup EVOO	$0.71

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Grand Total

$8.16

or 6 very generous servings of salad with dressing, which weigh in at  just $1.36 per serving