Mexican Chicken and Beans

You had me at "mexican" =) Quick, easy, and yummy!

Ingredients:
1 lb organic chicken thighs or breasts, diced
2 cups organic corn
1 cup organic black beans
1 ts oil for cooking
1 TB cumin
1 ts chili powder
1 ts garlic salt
1/2 cup water

Optional:
Tortillas (fajita or burrito)
Sliced jalapeno
Organic sour cream
Salsa

Cook diced chicken over medium in a skillet with the oil. When fully cooked, add the beans, corn, water and seasonings. Cook about 10 minutes until sauce thickens and flavors are mingled. Serve with or with a tortilla if you wish and top with sliced jalapenos, salsa, and a dollop of sour cream!

Chicken Fajitas (Works great for beef too!)

This recipe works for a pound of meat. Easily multiplies for more meat. Make with my tortillas! Mmmm, Mexican food!

Ingredients:
1 lb organic chicken (or organic beef may be used)
1 cup shredded organic cheddar cheese
4 whole wheat tortillas
1 organic red pepper, sliced
2 organic onions, sliced
1 cup organic beans, pinto or black
Organic sour cream, salsa, and hot sauce if desired

Marinade:
Juice of one lemon
1/2 cup water
2 TB olive oil
2 ts braggs liquid aminos or organic soy sauce
3 cloves of organic garlic, shopped
1 ts salt
1/2 ts ground pepper
1/2 ts cayenne pepper

Slice chicken in strips and soak in marinade for at least an hour, up to overnight, in the refrigerator.

Cook chicken in a pan with red pepper and onions until chicken is cooked through.

Wrap in a tortilla with beans, cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, and salsa. Enjoy!

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

Let me start this by saying this didn't end up being kid friendly. Well, "my" kid friendly (it's not like it was spicy or anything). None of them liked it. BUT hubby and I LOVED it. We got seconds. To be fair, my oldest who generally loves everything I make, hates cheddar and sour cream. Yes you heard that right. I would think he was switched at birth if I hadn't had a homebirth =) I think part of the problem was when they asked "What's for dinner?" and I answered "Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas" all they heard was "Bla bla bla Enchiladas". So they were expecting my regular enchiladas which is their absolute favorite. You can get that recipe here. So anyway, back to these really yummy enchiladas that WE liked...I don't know what's wrong with those kids.
This fills two baking dishes
Ingredients:
1 lb organic chicken
1 cup organic chicken broth
2 cups cream of mushroom soup (I used this because I make my own, but you could use cream of chicken if you are buying it in a can)
16 oz organic sour cream
6 oz Trader Joes Salsa Autentica (don't have a TJ's? You need a thin not chunky salsa)
1 organic onion chopped
1 can green chilies
2 lb block of cheddar cheese, shredded
16 wheat tortillas

Boil chicken (you can bake but it's easier to shred if it's been boiled). After it's cool, shred it. In a big bowl, mix together broth, soup, sour cream, salsa, onion, and chilies. Set aside two cups. Add to the mixture (not the 2 cups) 2 cups of cheese and the chicken.

Lay out a tortilla and spoon mixture down the middle.

Roll up tortilla and place seam side down in a baking dish.

Pour reserved sauce over the enchiladas. Cover (I cover mine with an upside down baking dish because I don't use foil in cooking) and cook at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Sprinkle remaining cheese over them and cook for two more minutes for the cheese to melt. Serve with some rice and maybe my Mexican corn salad.

Awesome Rosemary Chicken

I love rosemary! I guess it's a little over the top to have rosemary roasted potatoes with this dish, but it was SOOO good! We love both so why not eat them together? ;) Though this would pair nicely with some creamy mashed potatoes, garlic roasted veggies, a salad...you can't go wrong with this chicken! This is adapted from a recipe at www.mommybistro.com

Ingredients:

2 lbs organic chicken, thighs and drumsticks

1/2 cup evoo

Handful of fresh rosemary (removed from stem)

1 1/2 ts sea salt

1 ts ground pepper

4 garlic cloves, chopped

Place chicken in a baking dish. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix everything up really well with your hands (I know, Eww, I hate touching chicken, but sometimes it must be done!). Spread the pieces out evenly. Bake at 400 degrees for an hour and 15 minutes (Yes, really that long. It seems like a long time but don't worry, it will come out GREAT!!!) Mouthwatering yumminess!!! (Can you believe my spell check says "yumminess" isn't a word??? Weird.)  Enjoy!

Chicken and Chile wrap

The peppers in this add a zing to the standard chicken wrap. Super yummy! My hubby is very excited EVERY time I make these. I skip the peppers for the kids.

Makes about 5 wraps 

(I make big ones for me and hubby and small ones for the kids. This should make 5 big ones. Another option for a great appetizer - use small tortillas and when done cut them in half and you have mini wrap appetizers!)

Ingredients:

1 lb organic chicken, cooked, diced

5 whole wheat tortillas 

3 poblano peppers

1 bunch green onions

Homemade mayonnaise, to taste. Here's the recipe

1 cup shredded organic cheddar cheese

Coat peppers in olive oil and put under broiler on high for a few minutes. Flip them over and put back under broiler for a few minutes. If you would like to remove the skin, place the peppers in a bowl and cover for about ten minutes. This will steam the pepper and allow you to peal off the skim more easily. I used to do this but now I don't bother unless I burn the skin under the broiler. Slice the peppers.

Wet tortillas and place in a toaster oven for about 2 minutes. This is optional  but allows for easier wrapping. Lay out tortillas and spread mayonnaise down the middle. Layer on the chicken, peppers, cheese, green onions. Wrap up like a burrito and enjoy!

Thai Curry Chicken

This recipe isn't completely from scratch since the curry sauce is actually from a can. You could by all means make your own curry paste. If you do, please feel free to comment and share your recipe! I've just  never done it...I will someday...but I have four kids....sometimes someday is very far off =) I use the brand Maesri, Red Curry Paste. I've tried others and the thought of them makes me want to gag, ha, I really really like this one. I didn't even LIKE curry until I tried this one. It has all natural ingredients and spices...but it's not organic =( This recipe can be made the day ahead for an even bigger explosion of flavor.

Thai Curry Chicken

1 large onion, diced small
1 red bell pepper, diced small
2 lbs organic chicken, diced into one inch cubes
2 tbs oil (I use coconut oil)
1 can red curry paste
1 can organic coconut milk
Sea salt to taste
1-2 cups rice, brown

If making this the day you plan to eat it, cook rice. Heat oil in a pan. Add chicken and cook for about 5 minutes. Add peppers and onions. Cook until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Add the can of curry paste, stir it all up. Add the can of coconut milk and mix up well. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes, atleast. At this point you can put it in the fridge and save it for tomorrow. When tomorrow comes, throw it in the crockpot a few hours on high, or 4-6 hours on low. The flavors will have melded nicely and you will drool over the aroma until dinner =) If desired, add another can of coconut milk for a very sweet/savory dish. Plan accordingly and start the rice at the appropriate time. Serve the chicken and sauce over the rice. Pair with a nice salad or veggie rolls. Enjoy. You're welcome =)

Chicken noodle soup

Tis the season for Chicken Noodle Soup! And there's nothing better than making it with organic ingredients!

Chicken Noodle Soup

4 quarts chicken broth (I used Pacific's organic free range chicken broth)
1 lb of chicken (I used thighs)
5 carrots peeled and sliced
5 stalks celery, chopped (reserve leaves)
2 onions, diced
1/2 ts ground pepper (more or less to taste)
1/2 ts salt (more or less to taste)
pinch of thyme
1 ts lemongrass paste
3 bay leaves
1/2 ts garlic powder
1 pkg of organic egg noodles

Boil chicken in chicken broth until cooked through. I boiled them for an hour because I walked away and went and did something else. It by all means doesn't need that long, but it was pretty tender. Pull out the chicken and shred or dice, and throw back in the pot. Add the rest of the ingredients except the pasta and celery leaves. Simmer for an hour, or low boil for 30 minutes until carrots are tender. Meanwhile cook pasta in another pot, drain, and set aside. Once the carrots are tender, throw in the celery leaves and cook for a few minutes. Fish out the bay leaves. Dish out the pasta into the bowls and pour soup on top. For an added kick, sprinkle in some cayenne for a sinus clearing! This made approximately 6 big bowls. It could easily be doubled, tripled, or halved as needed. This is a very forgiving recipe! Enjoy!

This by all means could be made in the crock pot too. Boil the chicken first or use precooked left over chicken. Cook on low for 8 hours.