Monday, July 29, 2013

Tequila Lime Chicken & Mexican Rice

I just don't understand why Q and I love Mexican food so much - it's a mystery! We had Mexican night here and it was really fun to make and tasty in our mouths. The rice was a bit challenging and almost threw a major wrench in the meal because it wasn't done in the amount of time the recipe indicated (or even close for that matter). But we just covered the chicken with foil on a plate so it would stay warm until the rice decided to soften and cook correctly, almost an hour later!

Anyway, we really enjoyed dinner and I would love to make it again. I marinated the chicken overnight so it had tons of flavor. Instead of using regular black beans I wanted to try the refried canned beans and I doctored them up with some chicken stock, cumin and cayenne - so delicious! I think I like those better than refried pinto beans actually.




Tequila Lime Chicken
2 servings

ingredients
• 1 lime
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 jalapeno, sliced
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/8 cup chopped cilantro
• 1.5 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup tequila
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• refried black beans (1 can warmed through in saucepan with a bit of chicken stock, cumin & cayenne)
• Warmed flour tortillas
• Pico de gallo, avocado slices, Greek yogurt, pepper jack cheese

directions
1. Add the juice of the lime, garlic cloves, jalapeno, salt, cilantro, olive oil & tequila in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the sauce to a plastic storage bag and the chicken and let marinate overnight.

2. Remove the chicken from the bag and grill over medium high heat. Rotate 45ยบ on both sides to create criss cross grill marks, cooking 4-5 minutes per side.

3. Slice the chicken and squeeze some lime juice all over each breast. Serve with some black beans, pico, avocado, Greek yogurt, jalapeno, cheese & tortillas

Mexican Rice
6 servings

ingredients
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1 large white onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups long grain brown rice
• 10 oz Hot Rotel
• 14.5 oz whole tomatoes
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2-3 cups chicken broth
• chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 jalapeno, halved

directions
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 4 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add the rice. Cook over low heat for 3 minutes stirring constantly to make sure the rice won't burn. Add rotel, tomatoes and spices and cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Add 2 cups of the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes until rice is done. Add more liquid if necessary, the rice should not be sticky. Top with cilantro for each individual serving.

The original recipe indicated the rice would be done in 10-15 minutes, umm I don't think so. After 15 minutes hardly any of the liquid had been absorbed yet. So I had to cook mine for a much longer time.. not sure if I did something wrong or if brown rice takes an extremely longer time to cook than white? Oh well, it was good after cooking for almost an hour. Since I used hot rotel, it had quite a bite to it and was fantastic in flavor.

Pico de Gallo
approximately 1 cup

ingredients
• 1/2 large red onion, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 roma tomatoes, minced
• 6 cherry tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 jalapeno, minced
• 1/2 lime, zested and juiced

• kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• chopped fresh cilantro, to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl and let rest at room temperature until ready to serve. Store leftovers in a airtight container in fridge.

Q also found a new wheat beer for us to try last week so we had them with this meal - they are hoppy but have a smooth sweet edge to them. I thought I'd share so here you go...


Enjoy!

This recipe was adapted by Pioneer Woman.

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