Chicken Tequila Burgers

When I saw this recipe on Pink Parsley I knew my husband and I had to try it out – and I will tell you know this is one delicious and healthy burger! Oh, and remember my first recipe post that said I would teach you at a later date how to make your own ground chicken? Well, the time has come! I promise you this will be one burger you find very easy to make and mighty tasty!

Chicken Tequila Burgers

adapted from Pink Parsley

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed, roughly chopped
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup parsley (or cilantro)
Juice of 1 lime
1 ½ ounces tequila
Dash of soy sauce
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
½ cup panko bread crumbs
½ teaspoon honey

Burger buns, brushed with oil and put on the grill for light marks
Sautéed peppers and onions (I buy frozen and just heat through to save time and money)

Instructions for cooking:

Process the garlic, parsley, and jalapeno in the food processor until finely chopped.

Cut the chicken breasts into chunks, and add to the food processor. Add the lime juice, tequila, soy sauce, honey, panko, salt, and pepper. Pulse until the chicken is uniformly ground and all the ingredients are well mixed. (Making your own ground chicken for this recipe saves you a ton of calories and fat. If you buy your own ground chicken at the store most likely the meat has extra stuff such as skin to add flavor to the meat but what you don’t realize is the additives also add fat and calories that boneless skinless chicken breasts don’t have.)

Form into 4 patties.Prepare grill, and grill 5-7 minutes per side, or until burgers are cooked through. Serve on toasted hamburger buns and topped with peppers and onions.

My husband added sliced white American cheese to the other burgers – they were good but next time I’d like to try sliced pepper jack cheese to add a little kick to the burgers. I also recommend serving this delicious burger with a margarita – it’s the perfect pairing!

Enjoy!

Deviled Eggs

Growing up in the south Deviled Eggs were always on the table. They are basically a staple in any meal in the south. My Grandmother made some of the best deviled eggs. I hope I make her proud as I try to make the same eggs.

I made these for mother's day at my in-law's house and I will tell you not a single one was left. They were enjoyed by all!

Deviled Eggs can be made lots of different ways. This isn't going to be so much a recipe as a guide on how to make your perfect deviled eggs.

Deviled Eggs

Ingredients

8 eggs
Mayonnaise
Sweet gherkin pickle juice
Salt and pepper
Paprika

Instructions for cooking:

Add your eggs to a pot and cover with just enough water to cover the eggs. Let the pot come to a slow boil and lower heat slightly. Cook eggs for 12 minutes. Remove from heat, drain off water and add cold water to the pot to stop the cooking process.

Once the eggs are cool enough to handle peel off outer shell – careful not to damage the egg. (I cook 8 eggs because one we need a taste test and two I usually end up with a egg that just isn’t pretty enough to serve.) Once all of your eggs are peeled cut the eggs in half gently and remove yolks and place in a bowl.

This is where you will need to gage your other ingredients. Add mayonnaise, salt and pepper to taste and a couple or few teaspoons of the pickle juice. I like a nice and smooth consistency so I stir and mash with a fork for a good 10 minutes. I highly recommend taste testing throughout this process to make sure each ingredient compliments each other.

Once you’ve reached the point where you are happy with your mixture add it by teaspoonfuls back into the egg white. Once all are filled put into the refrigerator until ready to serve and sprinkle with paprika.

If you like a chunky yolk mixture you can also chop up some gherkin pickles or any type of pickle and add to the yolk mixture.

Enjoy!

Ranch Broccoli Slaw

This is a great side dish for any cook-out!

Ranch Broccoli Slaw

Ingredients

(2) 12 oz bags Broccoli Slaw (or Rainbow slaw)
4 slices of bacon, crisped and broke into small pieces
½ cup finely shredded mild cheddar cheese
½ cup toasted sliced almonds (slivered will also do)
1 ½ cups ranch dressing

Instructions for cooking:

In a bowl mix together the broccoli slaw, shredded cheese, most of the toasted almonds (but reserve some for topping the slaw) and ranch dressing. Sit in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours – remember the longer it sits in the refrigerator the better it is going to get. When ready to serve top slaw with the bacon pieces and the rest of the almonds. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Fiesta Rice

Fiesta Rice

Adapted from Vintage Victuals

Ingredients:

2 cups white rice, cooked

1 cup fresh or canned mexicorn (I used canned since this is what I had on hand)

1/8 teaspoon cumin

1/8 teaspoon corriander1 tablespoon enchilada sauce (left over from the Chicken Enchilada recipe - you can use canned)

3/4 cup shredded monterey jack cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions for cooking:

Combine the rice, the mexicorn, cumin, corriander, enchilada sauce and heat through on low heat. Right before serving add and the shredded cheese, tossing lightly with a fork. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Om nom Chicken Enchiladas!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

In honor of Cinco de Mayo I bring you some of the best chicken enchiladas I’ve ever had! If you know my husband and me personally you know how much we LOVE Mexican food!! So with this holiday I took full-advantage of this enchilada recipe I’ve been holding onto for a couple of months now. And ya’ll, these enchiladas really do taste authentic. The home-made sauce is so simple you won’t believe it. I do have to say this is a time-consuming dish so I wouldn’t decide to make this dish at the last moment. I recommend making these with the fiesta rice recipe that is to follow.

My resident taste tester said he'd keep me around a little while longer if I continue to cook like this. I dare you to NOT make these tonight!!

Chicken Enchiladas
Adapted from Annie’s Eats

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped fine

2 teaspoon vegetable oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons mexican chili powder (or you can use plain chili powder – this will cut down on the heat level)

2 teaspoons cumin

1 ½ tablespoon sugar

1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce

1 cup water

1 tomato, seeded and chopped

Salt (and pepper if not using mexican chili powder)

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese, divided

1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese, divided

½ cup minced fresh parsley (or cilantro)

12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas

Cooking spray

Instructions for cooking:

Add oil to large saucepan and heat to medium. Add the onion and jalapeno to the heated oil. Cook, stirring often, until the onions and peppers are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin and sugar, and cook just until fragrant, less than 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce, water, and chopped tomato. Bring the sauce to a simmer, lower the heat and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Nestle the chicken into the sauce. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the chicken is completely cooked through to 160 degrees, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside to cool.

Strain the sauce through a large mesh strainer into a medium bowl, pressing down on the onions and tomatoes to extract as much liquid as possible. Transfer the reserved solids to a large bowl and set aside. Season the sauce with additional salt (and pepper if you aren’t using mexican chili powder) to taste.

Shred the chicken into bite size pieces and add to the bowl with the onion mixture. Add in ¼ cup of the enchilada sauce, ½ cup of each of the shredded cheeses, and the parsley. Stir to combine.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Oil a 13 x 9″ baking dish with cooking spray. Stack the tortillas on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave for 40-60 seconds, until warm and pliable. Spoon 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of a tortilla. Roll up the tortilla around the filling tightly, and place in the prepared baking dish, seam-side down. Repeat with the remaining filling and tortillas.

Lightly spray the tops of the enchiladas with cooking spray. Place in the oven, uncovered, for 7 minutes (with mine I didn't feel like this was long enough so I'll add more spray and brown for 10 minutes) or until the tortillas start to brown slightly. (This is a big step...make sure they are browned so that they hold up to the suace.)

Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Remove the enchiladas from the oven and pour the sauce (reserving 1 tablespoon of the sauce for the fiesta rice!) over the top. Sprinkle with the remaining shredded cheese. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove the foil and bake for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is browned. Remove from the oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Stay tuned for Fiesta rice!!

Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

I will warn you – these cookies did come from a diet cookbook. And yes, it calls for margarine and not butter. But honestly, you can’t tell they weren’t made with butter! I love the mini chocolate chips as you get many bites of chocolate throughout the cookie. Whipping the eggs until they are like meringue makes them thick and chewy and just oh so yummy! Try these – you won’t be sorry!!

Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies
From the 400 Calorie Fix

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
¼ cup soft margarine (trans-free but not reduced fat)
1 egg white
¾ cup sugar
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup mini chocolate chips
¼ cup chopped pecans

Instructions for cooking:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 2 large baking sheets with cooking spray.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Separate the egg and set aside the egg white. Mix together the margarine and egg yolk in a small bowl.

Whip the egg whites (one from the egg you separated and one by itself) in a medium bowl until foamy. Slowly add the sugar while continuing to whip. The egg whites should thicken and appear meringue-like. Slowly add the corn syrup and continue to whip until the egg whites form soft peaks. Gently fold in the egg yolk mixture.

Add the vanilla extract to the egg mixture. Fold into the flour mixture until well blended. Fold in the chocolate chips and pecans.

Drop the batter by rounded teaspoonfuls into the baking sheet, leaving about 1” between cookies. Bake for about 12 to 14 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned. Cool for 5 minutes. Remove to a rack and cool completely. Store in an airtight container – if they last that long. :)

Enjoy!