Showing posts with label cilantro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cilantro. Show all posts

Friday, August 23, 2013

Grilled Garlic Cilantro Pork Chops

You are probably thinking the exact same thing that I thought as I was preparing this...."Cilantro...On pork chops?"  Yep!  I bought cilantro earlier this week for a different recipe and I hate to see things go to waste (I have tried growing cilantro twice with no success, if you have any tips please share!) so that is why this marinade was concocted.  My family is very critical when it comes to trying new recipes, so I didn't even want to tell them that I put cilantro in the marinade.  

Ingredients:
  • 4-6 Pork Chops (I used 6 boneless thin cut)
  • Cilantro
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 1 teaspoon Minced Garlic
  • 2 1/2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
  • Sea Salt
  • Pepper
Serves 4-6

Combine all ingredients except pork chops in small food processor and process until well combined.  
 Next I used the new meat tenderizer that I got from Pampered Chef.  It is double sided.  One side is flat for pounding out/flattening meat and the other side is spikey. I used the spikey side and lightly tenderized the pork chops.  Then I Salt and Peppered both sides of pork chops.  
 Pour over pork chops, flip to make sure all sides are coated, and marinate for 30-60 minutes.
 Heat Grill and cook pork chops until desired temperature flipping throughout.
I served with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans
Check out these other favorite recipes

Grilled Bourbon Pork Medallions

Creamy Garlic Ranch Pork Chops





Friday, April 12, 2013

Henderson Hummus {Updated Version}


Here's another great version of Henderson Hummus. I love hummus so I enjoy experimenting and trying with different ingredients. This one just subs sundries tomatoes for the cucumbers and adds pine nuts. 
  • 1 can garbanzo beans
  • 1/4 cup tahini sauce
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/4 cup good olive oil (I like to use some that my mother-in-law bought for me in Italy)
  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
  • 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (I bought one with pine nuts in it, but you can just add a handful of them)
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • dashes of salt and pepper
  • 1/2 tsp. pickle juice
Put all ingredients in food processor and mix until well blended. Serve with pita chips or tortilla chips. Tonight we're serving alongside our Athenian Chicken.

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Creamy Corny Rice

This is a creamy rice dish that has just enough spice!  My family likes to scoop it up with tortilla chips, put in on their tacos or burritos, or just eat it with a fork!  

Ingredients:
  • 1 Cup uncooked Long Grain Rice
  • 14 ounces of Chicken Broth
  • 1 1/2 Cups Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese (divided)
  • 3/4 Cup Sour Cream
  • 1 Cup Corn (frozen or canned)
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 1- 4 ounce can of diced green chili peppers
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro (if you look closely at the picture my cilantro is in the shape of an ice cube.  I took advice from a friend and froze some left over herbs)


First combine rice and chicken broth is pot.  Bring to a rolling boil and then let it sit.  Be sure to let it sit for 20 minutes to absorb all of the liquid.  Next preheat the oven to 350.  Combine all ingredients in 1.5 quart baking then add in rice and top with remaining pepper jack cheese.  Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.  I have found that the baking time is less when I use can corn instead of frozen corn.  This is a great side dish to serve with any Mexican inspired dish.  I served mine with the Crispy Crunchy Oven Baked Tacos.  

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness.  Check out the entire menu and try out some of our other YUMMY recipes!

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Green (Cilantro Lime) Chicken Burritos

I know, I know who wants to eat GREEN chicken.  Doesn't everyone want to go green?  When you look at the picture you are going to be even less likely to want to eat it.  I am actually tempted to not post any of the pictures that I took.  They are DEFINITELY GREEN!  I will be serving this on St. Patrick's Day for sure!
Ingredients:
  • 3 chicken breasts cut into strips
  • Burrito size Tortillas
Marinade
  • 1 cup fresh Cilantro (stems removed)
  • about 15 Almonds
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 2 tablespoons Minced Garlic
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Lime Juice
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
  • 1/4 cup of Chicken Broth
  • 1  teaspoon salt
Burritos stuffers:
  • lettuce
  • sour cream
  • diced tomatoes
  • cheese
  • salsa
  • rice

First I placed the almonds into the food processor to finely chop them.  I used the Nutribullet.  Then I added in the rest of the marinade ingredients and blended until a nice bright green cilantro pesto was formed.

I then combined the chicken with the marinade and let it sit in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.  Then I sprayed my skillet with non-stick cooking spray and cooked the chicken thoroughly.  Once the chicken was done I stuffed a burrito for each person with their favorite stuffers.  I like mine with lettuce, cheese, sour cream, and salsa.
As I dumped it into the pan, I thought to myself there is no way my family was going to eat this.  Well I was wrong, the taste was so good they quickly got over the fact that they were eating green chicken!

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness.  Check out the entire menu and try out some of our other YUMMY recipes!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Cha Cha Chicken with Mango Tango Salsa-Nacho Average Chicken Taco! (And gluten free)



This is one of my favorite twists on taco night at our house. It's so full of flavor and super easy to make.

Chicken Ingredients:
1-2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts
1-2 cans Mexican diced or stewed tomatoes
1 can favorite beans (I used pinto this time but use black a lot of the time as well)
1 packet taco seasonings
Corn tortillas ( you can use flour tortillas but then it's not gluten free)
Your favorite toppings- sour cream, cheese, lettuce, avocados

This is pretty simple, you just put it all in crockpot and cook on low 5-6 hours until chicken is easily shred able with fork. The sauce will be pretty runny so I usually take the lid of and turn to warm and let it sit for 15 minutes to let the sauce thicken up. This chicken really has the best flavor!

Salsa Ingredients:
1/2 cup diced mango (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup diced pineapple (fresh or frozen , I bet you could even use canned as long as it didn't have added sugar and you rinsed and drained very well)
1/4 cup diced red onions
2 jalapeƱos, seeded and diced (leave in some seeds if you want it spicier)
About a handful of chopped cilantro
Squeeze of lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and chill for at least 30 minutes to let flavors combine. You can add many ingredients to this salsa such as chili peppers, oranges, etc but this was just what I had on hand. If you've never had mango salsa on tacos, this might sound a bit odd, but I promise you these flavors are so incredible together! My husband was so skeptical at first ("I do not want fruit on my tacos!") but this is now his favorite way to eat tacos. Think of how good kettle corn popcorn or salted caramel is... The sweet and salty go so well together. It gives boring old tacos the twist it needs (especially if you eat them often like we do).

I hope you'll take my word and try this wonderful recipe out. Enjoy!

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness, Appetizing April Menu and our 30 Days of Dinners June Menu.  Make sure to check out all of the other great recipes on the menus!

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Chipotle Barbacoa Bowls with Cilantro Brown Rice and Corn Salsa (Gluten-Free)


Who doesn't love Chipotle, right? Even my picky kids can find something to eat at Chipotle. But most of the meat is a little on the spicy side for them, and feeding a family of 5 there isn't what I'd call cheap. So we're having our own homemade chipotle night at home, and the best part is the leftovers that we can eat for days. Yum!

The first thing I do is get the beef ready in the crockpot, but I'll post that later once it's all done and I have pics. Next I make the salsa so it has time to sit in the fridge and blend all the flavors together. Here is the corn salsa recipe...
Ingredients:
  • -1 can corn or about 14-15 oz. of frozen/cut off the cob corn
  • -1 diced tomato
  • -1/2 diced red onion
  • -1 or 2 jalapeƱos (depending on your spice preference)
  • -2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
  • -juice of 1.5 limes
  • -salt and pepper to taste
Now this is very easy- you just chop it all up and combine in a medium size bowl.

Now onto the rice. I prefer to use brown rice but you can also use white or basmati. I prefer the stiffer consistency of the brown, and of course it's better for you.

Ingredients:
  • - 1 cup brown rice
  • -3 tbsp. butter or oil
  • - 2 cups water
  • - juice of 1/2 lime
  • -1 tsp. salt
  • -3 tbsp. chopped cilantro

Directions:
1. Cook rice in water and butter until tender and fluffy. Remove from heat.
2. Add lime juice, salt and cilantro and stir.

So easy!

All that's left is the barbacoa beef. I make this in the slow cooker but you could also make in pressure cooker I guess. It has to cook until the beef is easily shredded with a fork, about 7-8 hours. It calls for 2-3 chipotle peppers in adobe sauce, but you have to buy a whole can, so my tip is to put the rest in a small freezer bag and freeze until you need them again. They're not something I cook with often so they go bad if I keep in the refrigerator.

Ingredients:
  • -2-3 lbs. beef round or bottom roast
  • -5 cloves garlic
  • - medium chopped onion
  • - juice of 1/2 lime
  • -2-3 chipotle peppers in adobe sauce
  • -1 tbsp. cumin
  • -1 tbsp. oregano
  • -3 bay leaves
  • -1 cup water
  • -salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Place all ingredients except bay leaves and roast in food processor until pureed.
2. Place Roast in slow cooker and pour mixture on top.  Add bay leaves and cook on low 7-8 hours until beef is shred able with fork.
3. Remove bay leaves and shred beef on a plate then return to sauce in slow cooker and cook and additional hour or so.
4. Serve with rice and beans or on tacos.

My kids prefer tacos to bowls so I always heat up some corn tortillas for them to eat. I also but the queso or Mexican shredded cheese versus cheddar to really get that Chipotle feel. I serve with the all natural sour cream and On the Border tortilla chips, or I fry my own with the corn tortillas.

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness.  Check out the entire menu and try out some of our other YUMMY recipes!