Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

1/3 c. honey

1/4 c. lime juice

1 T. chili powder

1/2 t. garlic powder

1 lb. chicken, cooked and shredded

8-10 flour tortillas

1 lb. Monterrey jack cheese, shredded

2 c. green enchilada sauce *

1/2 c. heavy cream **

* I didn't have green enchilada sauce, so I used green salsa.

** Didn't have any heavy cream on hand, so I combined milk and melted butter

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix the honey, lime juice, chili powder and garlic powder together and toss with the shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour.

3. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Pour enough enchilada sauce on the bottom of pan to create a thing layer on the bottom.

4. Fill flour tortillas with chicken and a generous amount of shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas.

5. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the heavy cream and leftover marinade. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and top with reserved cheese.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top. 

Rating: 4 of 5

These were pretty good. LaDon said they were the best enchiladas he's had to date....of course, that could be because he has a love affair with cheese and there is a LOT of cheese in this dish. I thought the taste was different, but good. The honey and lime weren't super strong, but there were there and made a nice combination with the chili powder. I'd make them again.

Source: The Girl Who Ate Everything, Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chile Sauce

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped fine

2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped fine

1 t. canola oil

3 medium cloves garlic, minced

3 T. chili powder

2 t. ground cumin

3 t. sugar

1 15-oz can tomato sauce

1 c. water

1 large beefsteak tomato, seeded and chopped

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 large breasts)

2 c. shredded cheese

1/2 c. minced fresh cilantro

12 6-inch soft corn tortillas

cooking spray

salt and ground black pepper

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 425.

2. Combine the onion, jalapeno, 1/2 t. salt, and oil in a large saucepan. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the onions and peppers have softened, 8-10 minutes.

3. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin and sugar, and cook until fragrant, less than 30 seconds.

4. Stir in the tomato sauce, water, and chopped tomato. Bring to a simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, 5 minutes.

5. Nestle the chicken into the sauce. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until chicken is cooked through, about 12-20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate, and set aside to cool.

6. Strain the sauce through a strainer into a medium bowl, pressing the onion mixture to extract as much liquid as possible. Transfer the onions to a large bowl and set aside. Season sauce with additional salt and pepper to taste.

7. Shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add to the onion mixture, and add 1/4 c. of the enchilada sauce, 1 c. cheese, and the cilantro. Toss to combine.

8. Stack the tortillas on a plate and cove with plastic wrap; microwave on high until warm and pliable, 40-60 seconds. Spread the tortillas on a clean work surface, and spoon 1/3 c. of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of each. Tightly roll each tortilla and lay seam-side down in a greased 9x13 inch baking dish.

10. Lightly spray the tops of the enchiladas with cooking spray. Place in the oven, uncovered, for about 7 minutes, or until the tortillas start to brown slightly.

11. Reduce heat to 400 degrees F. Remove enchiladas and pour sauce evenly on top. Top with the remaining cheese. Cover dish with foil, and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until heated through.

12. Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes, until cheese browns. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

13. Serve with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, additional cilantro, etc.

Rating: 3.5 of 5

These enchiladas were good, but they weren't out of this world, or even on par with restaurant enchiladas at all. But, then again, I have pretty high standards for enchiladas. Have you been to Mama Chu's in Provo (their chimichangas are to.die.for. delicious)? I liked the browning process of the tortillas at the very beginning to give it the crunch factor. I thought the spicy factor for this dish was just right. I was expecting it to be a little bit more kick-y with 2 jalapenos AND 3 T. of chili powder. But, it was fine. At this point, I'm not sure if I would make these again. Not because they weren't good, but just because I think there is a better enchiladas recipe out there.

Source: Pink Parsley, Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chile Sauce

Pico de Gallo

Ingredients:

about 3 Roma tomatoes

1 smallish jalapeno pepper *

1/2 small onion

Measurements for remaining ingredients are approximate:

1/2 lime juiced (for more flavor juice the whole thing)

1/4 c. chopped cilantro

Kosher salt to taste, optional

*our local produce store was out! So, we decided to experiment with pepper tastes and went for an Anaheim pepper.

Recipe:

1. Cut ends off tomatoes and then slice in half lengthwise. Under running water, gently run your finger under the membrane that contains the seed. It's okay if some seeds get in there, but if you have all of them, it's going to get a little sloppy. Cut into small chunks

2. Finely dice the onion. Toss with the tomato.

3. Finely chop the jalapeno, removing the seeds if desired. Toss with the tomatoes and onions.

4. Add the fresh-squeezed juice of 1/2 of the lime. Taste. If you want more lime flavor, add a little more.

5. Add your giant pinch of cilantro. Combine well. Add a generous sprinkling of Kosher salt, taste, and add more if desired.

6. This is best if it stands for a few hours before you serve it, but the juices will run and gather in the bottom of the bowl.

Rating: 3.5 of 5

We like this recipe. The Anaheim pepper was really hot, but I think the jalapeno would decrease some of the fire. I rarely use raw onion in anything (always a dried chopped onion kinda girl) so the onion was a little surprising and strong for my taste. Love the lime and cilantro. In fact, I doubled the called for cilantro and used the whole lime instead of half. Next time I think I will cut the amount of onion in half and definitely try to find a jalapeno pepper!

Source: OurBestBites.com, Pico de Gallo

Beef Chimichangas

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 t. taco seasoning mix, or more to taste *

1 t. dried oregano

1/4 c. sour cream

1 4-oz can chopped green chilies

2 T. distilled white vinegar

1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

1/4 c. margarine

6 7-in corn tortillas

* I didn't have any taco seasoning on hand, so I just substituted it with ground cumin and a little ground red pepper

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Brown the ground beef, onion, garlic, taco seasoning, and oregano in a skillet over medium heat, breaking the meat up into crumbles as it cooks, about 8 minutes.

3. Drain off excess fat. Stir in sour cream, chilies, and vinegar until well mixed. Remove from heat, and mix in the cheese.

4. Melt margarine in a small skillet over low heat. When melted, dip each tortilla into the margarine for about 30 seconds, or until soft. Place the softened tortilla onto a baking sheet, and fill with about 1/3 c. of the meat mixture.

5. Fold the right and left sides of the tortillas over the filling, then the top and bottom, making an envelope that completely encloses the filling. Flip the tortilla seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.*

6. Bake in the preheated oven until the tortilla is crisp, about 15 minutes.

* I think the next time I make these I will either get bigger corn tortillas, or not fill them as full, or just use large flour tortillas. The 7-inch ones are so small that I could hardly wrap around the prescribed 1/3 c. filling. Also, rather than dipping it in butter next time, I think I will just spray the chimichangas with cooking spray before they go in the oven.

Rating: 3.5 of 5

I thought the taste was "authentic" enough. We didn't do any garnishing like tomatoes or guacamole, but we will next time. I didn't really think to get any toppings when I went shopping. Daniel loved the chimi which is great since all the beef cooking I do is to raise his iron levels. Dipping the tortillas in the butter did make them turn out nice and crispy, which is why I love chimichangas in the first place. I love that I was able to get the crispy aspect without having to fry anything.

Source: AllRecipes, Dinner Spinner iPhone app

Pork Barbacoa Quesadillas

Ingredients:

Tortillas

cheddar cheese, shredded

Pork Barbacoa ~ Cafe Rio Style

Recipe:

1. If you're using Costco's uncooked tortillas, then cook them first.

2. Between 2 tortillas, sprinkle cheese and pork.

3. Cook in a pan on medium heat until cheese is melted.

Rating: 4.5 of 5

Seriously, best quesadillas behind Eduardo's steak quesadilla. The sweet juices from the pork are perfect with the cheese. Pretty good with sour cream, but even better with Cafe Rio's house dressing. The only problem with this recipe is that I have to wait until the next time I make the pork :(

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

1 c. onion, chopped

1 t. garlic, minced

3 c. chicken broth

1 14.5-oz can Mexican diced tomatoes*

1/2 t. chili powder

1/4 t. ground cumin

**1 can of corn, drained**

1 1/2 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast, cubed

2 T. cornstarch (don't have cornstarch on hand? Not a problem! Just use flour and double the amount!)

1/4 c. water

1/4 c. Mexican cheese blend, shredded

1 T. fresh cilantro, minced

Tortilla chips

* I couldn't find Mexican diced tomatoes, so I just bought "diced tomatoes with green chilies"

** I added the can of corn to the recipe. I love corn and thought it would make a nice addition....and it did!

Recipe:

1. In a large saucepan, combine the first six ingredients; bring to a boil. Add chicken.

2. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 4-6 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Combine cornstarch and water and stir until smooth.

3. Stir cornstarch/water mixture into soup. Let soup simmer for 15 additional minutes.

4. Serve soup topped with cheese, cilantro and with tortilla chips.

Rating: 4.5 of 5

For soup, we thought this was great. Neither of us are huge soup lovers. But, this recipe is quick and easy. The cilantro makes all the difference though! That being said, we do LOVE cilantro. We wanted to have a dollop of sour cream with it as garnishing, but Ally would have eaten nothing else. We will definitely be having this recipe again.

Source: Food on the Table

Pork Barbacoa ~ Cafe Rio Style

Ingredients:

4-5 lb. pork roast

21 oz. Dr. Pepper or Coke, do NOT use diet soda

1 c. brown sugar

3/4 c. white sugar

1 clove garlic, minced

7 oz. can chipotle chilies in adobo sauce (only use sauce unless wanted desire spice and blend 2-3 of the chilies)

6+ oz. salsa

1 t. dry mustard

1 t. cumin

1/4 t. cayenne pepper

Recipe:

1. Place roast in crock pot, cover halfway with water and cook on low for 12 hours.

2. After 12 hours, drain water from pork.

3. Mix remaining ingredients together in a separate bowl. Do so until sugar dissolves.

4. Add mixture to the roast and cook on low an additional 4 hours.

5. Take out roast and shred. Add back to sauce and cook for 2 more hours.

Rating: 4.5 of 5

I thought this tasted like the real deal. Definitely having more of this in the future.

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing ~ Cafe Rio Style: Take 2

A few months back we tried to make Cafe Rio's famous "house" dressing. It was pretty good, but not quite there. So, here is a different recipe attempting to catch the same flavor as Rio's. Also, this version is was less labor intensive....not that there is that much to do when making a dressing, though.

Ingredients:

1 pkg. dry Ranch Dressing

3 T. salsa verde

1/8 t. Tabasco

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 c. mayonnaise

3/4 c. sour cream

1/2 grated lime peel and juice, to taste

Recipe:

1. Blend above ingredients in blender. Thin with milk if needed.

Rating: 4.75 of 5

I actually think this comes pretty darn close. I think it probably would have been spot on if I hadn't added as much lime juice as I did. I haven't had it on the salad yet, so it might taste more like it when all is added together. Either way, it's good. This one looks more like Rio's than the other recipe.

Source: Our ward's RS. I don't know where they got it from though.

Chicken Corn Quesadillas

Now that I am back in town, I decided to get creative and have an experiment night tonight.

Ingredients:

1 can corn, drained

1 cooked chicken breast, shredded

1 shake of coriander seed

a small handful of dried chopped onion

a small drizzle of olive oil

shredded chedder and mozzerella cheese

tortillas

Recipe:

1. Combine corn, chicken, coriander, onion, and olive oil in a saucepan and sautee. Some pieces of the corn should be browned, but not too much.

2. Thrown the corn-chicken mix and cheese between two tortillas in a pan. Cook until cheese is melted to make a quesadilla.

Rating: 4 of 5

I was loving this tonight. It's got good flavor, thanks to the onion, and is just sweet enough, thanks to the olive oil. I felt so, so, so stuffed after eating a whole one of these. I'll have to see how LaDon likes it when he's around. Ally liked the corn and chicken mixture so that is always a plus!! I'm thinkin' next time I'll make some kind of green chili sauce or some kind of tomatillo sauce to dip in or serve over it.....that could be good.

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing ~ Cafe Rio Style

(This picture is not of the completed dressing. I forgot to take one, so imagine little pieces of cilantro and jalapeno blended in there and you got it.)

Ingredients:

2 c. prepared Ranch dressing (can use buttermilk ranch recipe) *

1 small bunch cilantro, large stems removed (about 1/2 c. chopped cilantro)

2 large or 4 small tomatillos

1/2 t. minced garlic

2 T. fresh lime juice

1 diced jalapeno pepper

* I made according to the directions on the package, but instead of mayo I used sour cream

Recipe:

Prepare Ranch dressing according to directions on the package or recipe you're following and set aside.
Remove large cilantro stems, then wash leaves and spin dry or dry with paper towels. Add cilantro to food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse until finely chopped. (If you don't have a food processor, I'd chop all ingredients well by hand and then blend dressing in a blender.) * Add tomatillos, garlic, lime juice, and Green Tabasco or chopped jalapeno to the food processor and pulse until ingredients are finely pureed. Add the 2 cups of prepared dressing and pulse just a few times, until ingredients are well combined. Chill dressing for an hour or two and serve.

* I don't have a food processor and just used my blender. I thought it did a fine job of getting everything all blended.

Rating: 4 of 5
If you are looking for a spot-on Cafe Rio dressing recipe, then this is not it. But it is pretty darn close. I think the problem with my batch of dressing is that I put in a larger jalapeno and not one of the smaller ones. I have never cooked with tomatillos or jalapenos so I'm not familiar with the strength of the taste. Next time I will just use a smaller jalapeno. All in all, we liked it. LaDon kept saying, "This is so good," so I think it's a keeper and repeat. Also, it makes a pretty big batch!

Source: http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/07/recipe-favorites-cafe-rio-style-creamy.html

Creamy Enchiladas Verde

Ingredients:

1 can (10.5 oz.) Campbell's Condensed Creamy Chicken Verde Soup *

1/2 t. garlic powder **

1 1/2 c. chopped cooked chicken ***

2/3 c. shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese ****

8 corn tortillas (6-inch), warmed *****

1/4 c. milk

* I couldn't find this soup at the store, so I just used a can of Cream of Chicken soup and added a few spoonfuls of salsa. Wasn't green, but it worked.

** The only garlic powder I had was garlic powder with parsley.

*** I, of course, shredded it because that's my favorite way to eat chicken.

**** We never measure out the cheese. I put it on until it looks like it would satisfy.

***** I used flour(LaDon doesn't like corn), only 4 of them, and the big ones.

Oh and we garnished it with sour cream and tomatoes.

Recipe:

1. Stir 1/2 can of the soup, garlic powder, chicken, and 1/3 c. of the cheese in a medium bowl.

2. Spoon about 1/3 c. of the chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up the tortillas and place them seam-side down in a 12x8x2-inch shallow baking dish.

3. Stir the remaining soup and milk in a small bowl. Pour the soup mixture over the filled tortillas. Top with the remaining cheese.

4. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until the enchiladas are hot and bubbly.

Rating: 3.75 of 5

We liked this recipe even though in all honesty.....what I made wasn't the recipe at all. I should probably change the name to something like Creamy Chicken Salsa Enchiladas. It turned out well, we felt full, it was flavorful enough for us and went great with chocolate milk! I'll make this again, and possibly with the actually ingredients it calls for!

Source: Campbell's Cooking Companion, pg. 105