Lime Chicken Soft Tacos

This recipe is a fun deviation from your traditional tacos. The tortillas pictured are the uncooked flour tortiallas they sell at Costco. You heat them in a dry frying pan for about 30 seconds on each side. They taste so good and fresh!


Lime Chicken Soft Tacos

1 1/2 lbs. chicken breast meat cubed or shredded

1/8 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 lime juiced (If you have one of the baby limes I would use the whole thing.)

1 tsp. white sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground pepper

2 green onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. dried oregano

10 flour tortillas

tomatoe, diced

lettuce, shredded

Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

sour cream

salsa

*Could also add avacado (I did) or guacamole.


Saute chicken in a medium saucepan over medium heat for about 20 minutes. Add vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, green onion, garlic and oregano. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Serve lime chicken mixture in warm tortillas topped with tomatoe, lettuce, cheese, sour cream and salsa.

Bread Sticks

So normally these look a lot nicer and more uniform but it just wasn't happening tonight. They were still delicious though. I got this recipe from my mom who I believe got it from one of her best friends, Denise. The best thing about these bread sticks is that they hardly take any time at all! You can be making dinner at 5pm and decide you want bread to go with it - no problem. These take from 30-45 minutes from start to finish.

Bread Sticks

1 Tbsp yeast disolved in 1 1/2 cups warm water. Add 3 Tbsp sugar. Let set for a few minutes. Add 1/2 tsp salt and 3 cups flour.

Mix and knead for 3 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes. Melt cube of butter (I use about 3/4 cube) on jelly roll pan in oven. Roll dough out on floured surface into a rectangle. Cut into strips using a pizza cutter. (I cut dough in half width wise and then cut long strips length wise.) Dab both sides of strips in butter as you lay strips on the pan. Sprinkle with garlic salt, parsley flakes, seasoned salt, parmesan cheese - one or all of them. Let raise on pan for 10-20 minutes. Bake at 375 for approximately 15 minutes.

Grilled Lemon Chicken Skewers

This recipe comes from the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. I was introduced to Ina Garten for the first time earlier this year while watching the food network with my mom. This recipe is super easy and flavorful. The lemon gives the marinade quite a kick. This makes quite a bit of marinade and next time I will likely halve the recipe or double the amount of chicken I use.

Grilled Lemon Chicken Skewers

3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4 lemons)
3/4 cup good olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, halved and skin removed (I used tenders.)

Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme. Pour over the chicken breasts in a nonreactive bowl. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight.
Heat a charcoal grill. Grill the chicken breasts for 10 minutes on each side, until just cooked through.

Aunt Katie's Oatmeal Pancakes

I love breakfast foods but most mornings it is cold cereal or oatmeal for us. The other morning, however, I decided to get fancy and made these oatmeal pancakes for the boys. They loved them and I loved that they loved them! I served them with Nauvoo syrup - yum! (See recipe for Nauvoo syrup posted with recipe for Oven French Toast Sticks.) This pancake recipe comes from http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com.

Aunt Katie's Oatmeal Pancakes

2 cups quick oats (I used regular old fashioned oats and ground them up a bit in my blender.)
1/2 cup flour
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs (slightly beaten)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
cinnamon (optional)

Combine dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and let sit for 20-30 minutes, covered. Cook slowly on a griddle at 325 degrees or lower. Spray griddle before each batch.

Abuela's Homemade Macaroni & Cheese

Every time we went to visit my Abuela growing up, she'd have a fresh batch of her famous macaroni and cheese waiting for us in the oven. I got this recipe from her when I was in college but she had a hard time putting it down on paper - she never measured anything! I've played around with this recipe several times and substituted other cheeses for the cheddar or added meats to it. I also don't bake mine but it seems like my Abuela always did....or maybe she was just keeping it warm in the oven?? Anyway, this is so much better than boxed mac & cheese!

Abuela's Homemade Macaroni & Cheese

16 oz. elbow marcaroni - cooked according to package directions

1/2 cup butter (I usually use less.)

6 Tbsp flour (approximate)

2 cups milk

1/4 cup more milk

8 oz. grated cheddar cheese (I always use at least two heaping cups full - and I've tried colby jack and sharp cheddar - both good!)

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Parmesan cheese

Make white sauce by melting butter in small saucepan over low heat. When melted, add flour. When begins to bubble, add 2 cups milk. Stir on stove top until it has thickened. Remove from heat and add cheese. Stir until melted. Add the extra 1/4 cup milk.

Salt, pepper and garlic salt the cooked macaroni. Pour cheese sauce on top of it.

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Chicken Caesar Wraps

My friend Molly brought these to a picnic one time and I had one of those, "Why haven't I ever thought of that??" moments. I have made them several times since.

Chicken Caesar Wraps

Flour tortillas

4-6 chicken breast tenders - fried in olive oil and seasoned (I use McCormick's Montreal Chicken Seasoning.)

Romaine lettuce - cut up (I added some spinach tonight too.)

Shredded parmesan cheese

Croutons

Caesar salad dressing - your favorite brand/recipe

Toss salad with cheese, croutons and dressing. Cut chicken into strips. Fill tortilla with lettuce mixture and chicken strips. Enjoy!

Crock Pot Lasagna

I forgot to take a picture when I made this the other night. I got this recipe from my old neighbor Lesa and I have made it several times. It is perfect for those nights when you want an easy meal like lasagna but you won't be home to throw it in the oven and wait while it cooks. Lesa adds several vegetables to hers like zucchini, squash, carrots, olives and mushrooms but I haven't ever tried that...my husband and kids probably wouldn't eat it if I did. :)

Crock Pot Lasagna

lasagna noodles (I use the oven-ready ones.)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
cottage cheese (I use two 16 oz. containers but you could use one of the larger size containers.)
1/2 lb hamburger
1/2 an onion
mozarella cheese (I use quite a bit because I love cheese!)

Brown the meat and onion, add other veggies (if desired). In a lightly greased slow cooker put a small amount of sauce on the bottom and then layer as follows: noodles, meat mixture, cottage cheese, sauce, mozarella cheese.

Make the layers as thick as you like. (I usually do three layers.)

Cook on low for 4-5 hours. It may be quite saucy the first day so you can eat it out of a bowl if desired. The next day it will be thicker.