Tequila Lime Chicken

I've already told you about the great Cinco de Mayo party I attended this past weekend.   I made some Salsa, and some Tequila Lime Chicken, and also a couple of cakes.  Birthday cakes, but they aren't really worth writing about.

I had googled recipes for Tequila Lime Chicken and found so many variations, but they had some basics in common.  Lime juice, Tequila and Chicken.  The variations were on the spices used.   So, I took a little of this, a little of that, and put it all together and came up with my version.   And the next time I make it, I will tweak it a little more.   I found it rather bland to be honest, but the potential was there for a great dish.

Recipe:

2 large chicken breasts, cut in half to make cutlets.  You can also use the thighs to make this, it would be awesome with dark meat.    
4-6 oz. Good Tequila, I used my Hornito's Reposada cause I had it and I like it.

2 limes, about 1/2 cup of juice.   I had some frozen lime juice in the freezer from the limes a friend gifted me last fall.   Remember them, I called them industrial strength limes.   They were so flavorful.

2 minced jalapenos (I used some from my freezer, can't stress this enough, if you find some good ones on sale, go ahead and seed them and put them in the freezer, I'm always using them for something)

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (  or use Chipotle Pepper)
3 teaspoons Cumin  (More Cumin next time, it adds such a nice smoky richness)
3 teaspoons Chile Powder
2 tablespoons Olive Oil

Mix all the ingredients together and then pour over the chicken breast cutlets.   I like putting them in a plastic bag in the fridge, that way I can turn them over from time to time, making sure they get evenly coated with the marinade.
Marinade for several hours or overnight.  

I cooked these on my George Foreman Grill, but if you want to grill them instead, that would be great as well.  The slight amount of oil in the marinade helps to keep the chicken breasts moist and keeps them from sticking to the grill as well.

Ready to serve.  Notice how there are little bits of Jalapeno and Cilantro sticking to the chicken?  Believe me when I say it added a lot to the flavour of the chicken.      Oh yeah, and you may have noticed the absence of salt, well, I use salt rarely when cooking, but you can sure add some to the chicken before grilling it.

The next time I make these, I think I'll have some nice soft flour tortilla's on hand, maybe a little cheese and some Pico de Gallo, I think that would knock this out of the park.  Gee, it must be time for baseball again.  I'm starting to think about things like home runs, running the bases, and maybe it's time to make my Grand Slam cookies again.  But that's a recipe for another day.

Quick and Easy Salsa

I know I'm coming a little late to the party, it was Cinco de Mayo this  past Sunday. Yikes where did the time go?  

 I  want to share this  recipe for salsa.   This is so darn easy, quick and can be made from the pantry, well mostly from the pantry.  Just need fresh green onions, cilantro and lime juice, but the rest is from the pantry,really, it is.
I love these Jalepeno's en Escabeche.   I eat the carrots first though, even if they burn my tongue a little.  I always have a can of them in the cupboard or in the fridge or, well, I have them handy.

Take one or two cans of whole tomatoes,  either cut them up or better yet, squish the tomatoes a little to break them up, place in bowl, and set aside. (if you squish the tomatoes to break them up, make sure your hands are clean first).     Open a large can of green chiles, the 7 oz. can works great, then add a few pickled jalapeno slices, minced, (or even a small can of jalapeno's),  depending on the heat level you want.    Finally add a bunch of green onions, chopped.  Stir together and add about a teaspoon of salt.  I know, I never tell you to add salt, but for this, you need it.   Although you could start with a half teaspoon and work your way up.    Taste it first and see what you think.   Add the juice of a fresh squeezed lime and some chopped Cilantro.  About a 1/4- 1/2 cup.      Place the salsa in a bowl, and put in the fridge for about an hour or so.   Serve with some fresh tortilla chips and a nice cold beer or a margarita.  Oh and if there are leftovers, be aware it can become very spicy.  But it's all good.  

I actually made this for a Cinco de Mayo Party that friends threw and I have to say that even with the amount of great food available, most of the salsa got eaten.  But I had a little bit left and I dumped spooned some of it onto a nicely fried egg and it was so good. 

Cinco de Mayo Wrap-up

I hope everyone enjoyed their Cinco de Mayo yesterday.   I know I did.  A friend hosted a Cinco de Mayo party and a bunch of us went and everyone had a good time.   

And a funny thing happened.  I'd made some Tequila Lime Chicken, and had brought my trusty George Foreman grill with me so I could cook the chicken on the spot.  And had my camera out to take pictures so I could share the end result here, and when people saw the camera, they knew I was going to be taking pictures of all of the food.  So I did.  And I know I missed a couple of dishes, but, hey, I was there to PARTY!!  just kidding.   At any rate, here's an overview of most of the food we enjoyed yesterday.     (and I will share the Tequila Lime Chicken recipe here later on this week)

Honestly, there are so many fantastic cooks here, it's a wonder we don't all weigh thousands of pounds apiece.

 Cheese Log

 Above some scrumptious pork for tacos, and hiding in the crock pots, (my bad, should have lifted up the lids and taken pics), Posole and some Mexican Mac and Cheese.   And both were really good.

 On the table starting with the Peanuts and moving clockwise.
Chips and Cheese dips, Wisconsin Pepper Jack. Tequila Chicken, No bakes cookies, Mexican Caviar, chips, a big ol' pitcher of Sangria, blue corn chips, hummus dip,  and hiding under cover, a squash casserole.

 My Tequila Chicken, hummus, Pepper Jack Cheese and a yummy spread.

 Above here, Veggies, always a good addition, and to the left a little more of a close up of the foods.

Above is the Squash Casserole, and to the left here, some Cuban Sandwiches.   They disappeared rapidly.   So good, (note to self, pick up some Cuban bread the next time you go to the big city, so totally worth it for making Cubano's)

   Mexican Rice.

 Above, another yummy rice dish, and to the left here, my quickie Salsa (I will be sharing the how-to's on that later on this week) No Bakes, Mexican Caviar, Strawberries and Grapes, and Cheese Dip.







And I forgot to take a picture of the cakes I made cause we had a few people who were celebrating birthdays as well.  OK, so I didn't 'forget' to take a picture of the cakes, I'm not much of a cake decorator so they were just some frosted Chocolate Cakes, but they did disappear.  Thank heavens people didn't let my lack of decorating skill stop them from eating the cakes.

And there you have it, our post Cinco de Mayo wrap up.     I'll be sharing the recipes for the Tequila Lime Chicken and the Salsa later on this week.  

Chile Relleno's stuffed with Cheese

You ever go to a restaurant and order one particular dish because you can never replicate it at home? I used to do that with Chile Relleno's.

  I would always order them when we ate out because I loved the Chile and the oozing melty cheese and the pillow of batter that surrounded the Chile and cheese in a sublime symphony of flavors. Sometimes they were hot, sometimes just nice and mild.   For years I tried replicating the batter, and failed.   I'd ask for the recipe or the how to's when we visited different restaurants.   But it was never right.  Then a friend told me the secret, and I've been making them this way ever since.  The enchilada sauce is almost an afterthought, but not quite. You still need a good quality enchilada sauce though. If you have a favorite brand, by all means use that or your own home made sauce. I like Hatch's Enchilada Sauce. But Rosarita Enchilada Sauce works great as well.    

Start with some fresh Anaheim Chile's. 

Roast them over some open flame or under the broiler in your oven, til the skin turns black and blisters. 

(I have a gas stove so I just put them on the burner and turn them til they're blistered and ready to go.) 

Then take them off and place them in a plastic bag, and close it and let them rest. 

You can cover them with a towel at this point. The peppers will continue to cook a little and by placing them in the bag, it will help to peel off the blackened skin. At this point, you can freeze the chiles to use at a later date. Just place them in a single layer on a pan, and freeze, and put them in a ziploc bag for later use. When they're frozen you can take them out one by one and use as needed. I use frozen chile's for a lot of different recipes. Take the blackened skin off by either rubbing it off with a paper towel or if frozen, just rinse them off and then remove the skin.

(If you can't find fresh peppers, try looking for some whole canned chiles, and use those. They'll make good Relleno's as well.) 

***Hint  At this point, you can freeze the blackened Chiles in a single layer and then take them out when you want to make Chile Relleno's again.   I always do extra's if I can get decent looking Anaheim Chiles.  

After removing the blackened skin, 

cut around the stem end of the chile and remove the stem and the seeds, as much as you can pull out easily. You should have a nice pocket to place the cheese inside. 

Place the chile's aside and prepare the batter. Use about 1 egg for each two or three chiles. Separate the eggs, yolks in one bowl, and egg whites in another. 

Start by beating egg whites together until soft peaks form. Add one heaping tablespoon flour for each egg white and fold together. Fold in the reserved egg yolks. Set aside.

Cut some Monterey Jack cheese into strips, 

stuffing the chiles with the cheese. I sprinkle some flour on a plate, then place the stuffed chiles on there and sift some flour on top of them.

Heat some oil in one pan and enchilada sauce in another pan. Shake off the excess flour and dip the stuffed chile in the batter

and then place it in the oil you have heating in the pan. 

Fry it on one side until golden, flip it over and finish cooking. These really don't take very long to cook. Remove from pan and keep warm, while the remainder finish cooking. Serve with the hot enchilada sauce. 

Ready to eat.  

Chile Relleno Recipe  Serves 2-3

6 Anaheim Chiles, 

3 eggs, separated, egg whites beaten to soft peaks

3 heaping tablespoons flour + more for dredging

6 oz. Monterey Jack Cheese. 

Oil for frying

Hatch's Enchilada Sauce

Prepare the chiles according to above instructions.   Stuff the chiles with the cheese, dredge in flour, dip in batter and fry.     Serve with enchilada sauce.


And just wanted to pop this in here, for some other great recipes from other bloggers, check out this link Carole's Chatter  She's got a bunch of bloggers who've posted links to their Mexican Recipes.  I've been having fun looking at them at any rate.

Huevos Rancheros

Picture this, a lovely egg, over easy snuggled into some Ranchero sauce and served under a sprinkle of cheese and sauce on top of a flour tortilla.   You cut into the egg, and the yolk does something magical with the sauce and cheese, and makes your mouth happy as you taste it.

Well, it makes my mouth SING!!!!, of course that's usually cause I'm made the sauce to my taste and it is GOOD!   This has gotta be my absolute favourite breakfast/brunch/dinner ever.     And yes if serving as a brunch you can serve it with a drink.   I like Bloody Maria's with this, but serve whatever you like.   Coffee or tea work well with this too. 

I'm a big believer in multipurpose meals.   Or 2 fer's if you like.     And when I can make something that can be served more than one way, I do it.   Like my Chile Verde.   We love it, and it always seems there's just a little left over after a meal (I plan it that way, but don't tell anyone), and since we're fans of Mexican food, it just makes sense to me to use that little bit of leftover Verde to make Huevos Rancheros.    Translated, it means Ranchers Eggs.    A typical large mid morning meal on a rural Mexican farm.  

This is not your typical one, but then again, I've had so many different variations that I don't think there is a standard way of making this.   You make it to your taste.  Period.  Although the traditional way is to serve this on a crisply fried corn tortilla with a tomato-chili sauce on top.   But the first time ever I had this dish, it was on a flour tortilla and served with an additional tortilla for 'sopping' up the sauce.  So, that's the way I make it.

Start with a cup or so of Chile Verde, add a matching amount of your favourite Salsa, heat together til hot, set aside for a couple of minutes while you prepare the egg and tortilla(s).

Make your egg however you like, fried, poached or scrambled, this is all about you, and how you like your egg.   Warm a flour tortilla up, then place a spoonful of your newly made sauce on top, spread it out just a little.   Place your egg(s) on top and spoon some more sauce on top of that. 

I like mine topped with a sprinkle of cheese and some finely diced onions.

   Serve with a couple of warmed and buttered tortillas and enjoy.

This is a great brunch meal, can be served to many guests, so long as the eggs are cooked to order or just served scrambled.   I once made this for a breakfast and served over 20 people, cooking their eggs to order as they stood in line.  Many came up to me later on and wanted the recipe for the sauce.   This was pre-blog days, so I had to hurry up and write it all down.   And then make copies and hand them out.


As I said before this is a great quickie meal, and tasty, very tasty.