Cinco de Mayo Fiesta: Chicken Soft Tacos & Chile Cheese Rice

I made this for lunch today and it was SO delicious.

Chicken Soft Tacos

1 3/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast

2 tablespoons Williams-Sonoma Argentine Rub or fajita seasoning or a mixture of smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper and oregano

1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Fajita-size flour tortillas, warmed

Cacique Crema Mexicana, creme fraiche or thinned sour cream

Shredded Monterey Jack or Colby Jack

In a 3 1/2 quart slow cooker, place the chicken breast in a single layer.  Rub both sides with Argentine Rub.  Pour the can of tomatoes over the chicken.  Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 1/2-4 hours or until tender.  Shred with two forks.  Add cilantro.  Reduce the heat to LOW and cook for one more hour.

Spoon the chicken into the warmed tortillas and top with crema and cheese.  Sliced radishes and iceberg lettuce would also be wonderful additions.  

Marcela Valladolid's Chile Cheese Rice

Marcela is one of my favorite hosts on Food Network.  This rice dish of hers is fantastic!  Long-grain rice is cooked with onions, garlic and sweet corn and then tossed with roasted poblanos.  The mixture is then topped with crema and Monterey Jack and broiled until golden.  It's a little labor intensive but SO worth it!!!  It's creamy, cheesy, smoky, sweet, spicy and comforting.

I follow her recipe almost exactly.  I use broth instead of water to cook the rice and I add a little cumin, onion powder and garlic powder as well.

Also, I wear disposable gloves when I handle chiles.  I once managed to find a fiery poblano and chopped it up, sans gloves.  My fingers burned for days!  Lesson learned--the hard way.

Slow-Cooker Chicken=2 Great Meals

Slow cookers have been around forever for a reason:  You can buy inexpensive ingredients, throw them into the cooker, turn the dial and come home to a savory meal.

What's more, the leftovers are so deeply flavored and versatile.

My most recent slow cooker experiment:  Spain-Meets-Italy Chicken.  The chicken is seasoned with smoked paprika, coriander, oregano and chili flakes, seared in olive oil with onions and wine and slowly simmered in garlic-basil broth and sun-dried tomatoes.  Delicious.


2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 broiler/fryer chicken, cut up, skin removed
2 tablespoons Williams-Sonoma Potlatch Seasoning
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
3 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 cup dry white wine or Beringer White Zinfandel (to add a little sweetness)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 1/2 cups chicken broth or stock
1/2 cup slivered sun-dried tomatoes (packed in olive oil)

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Season the chicken with Potlatch Seasoning on all sides, rubbing it in well.  Add it to the skillet and brown it well.  Using tongs, remove the chicken from the skillet and add it to the slow cooker.

Add the onion to the drippings, reducing the heat if necessary, and cook until the onions are golden.  Add the garlic.  Cook for 1 minute.  Deglaze the pan with the wine.  Season with salt, pepper and basil.  Stir in the broth.  Pour over the chicken.  Scatter the tomatoes over the top.  Cover with the lid and cook the chicken on High for 4-5 hours or on Low for 8 hours.

Excellent accompaniment:  Marcela Valladolid's Foolproof Mexican Rice.  Marcela used frozen peas as a final flourish to her rice.  I used frozen corn instead.  Also, her recipe calls for a medium-grain rice.  My store didn't have it, so I substituted regular long-grain rice.  It worked just fine.

Next day's delight:  Chicken Tortilla Soup.

The leftover chicken and Mexican rice form the base of one amazing (and easy!) soup.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 large garlic clove, peeled and minced
Kosher salt, to taste
2 cups cubed leftover Spain-Meets-Italy Chicken (and any remaining onions and tomatoes from the pot)
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 can (14.5 oz.) Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, undrained. (Canned tomatoes with green chiles may be substituted.  Add oregano and cumin to taste.)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups leftover Foolproof Mexican rice
1 quart chicken stock or broth (Stock is better!)
1 cup water
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb Seasoning
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
1/4 cup minced cilantro
1 can (15.5 oz.) Goya Cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
Sour cream, cilantro, tortilla chips and shredded cheese, for garnish

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium high heat.  Add onions and bell pepper.  Cook for five minutes.  Add the salt and garlic.  Cook for 2 minutes longer.  Stir in the chicken, corn and tomatoes.  Heat through.  Deglaze with the wine.  Add the rice, stock, water, seasoning, herbs and beans.  Bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Garnish and serve.  Thick, hearty and flavorful!

Rice: Savory and Sweet

I.love.rice.

A buttery pile under a puddle of gravy?  Sign me up.  In a pudding?  You betcha.  The intensely nutty aroma of a perfectly steamed basmati with spicy Indian food?  Heavenly.

How about mixed with cheese and bacon, formed into patties and FRIED.  Oh, yeah.

These are Rachael Ray's fab Cheesy Rice Fritters as mentioned in the previous post.  I made two changes, though.   She called for shredded mozzarella cheese; I used a four-cheese Italian cheese blend to bump up the flavor.  She also called for frying said patties in bacon drippings.  I will try that eventually.  I used olive oil here--a little more heart-friendly, especially since these accompanied the rich beef entree.

The ingredients and equipment (parchment-lined baking sheet, hot skillet) must be assembled before preparing the recipe.  Use a light breadcrumb coating on the patties.  If you really pack on the crumbs, they will just fall off into the oil and burn.   I'm happy to report that they reheat beautifully (midnight snack, wink, wink) and they freeze well.

Rice should be stored in a tightly-capped glass jar or plastic container.  Only wooden utensils should touch cooked rice.  The grains are delicate and easily smashed.  I love my Mario Batali risotto spoon.  I love it even more because Kitchen and Company had it on clearance for $5!

Rice is nice when it's sweet, of course.  My very favorite rice pudding is found at the Norway pavilion at EPCOT (Disney World in Orlando, FL).  For almost twenty years now, it's the first thing I seek out when I get there.

It's made with arborio rice as well.  The dense quality of the rice is lightened with freshly whipped cream, just enough sugar and topped with a tangy sauce made with strawberry preserves and fresh lemon juice.  The rice pudding is served well-chilled in wine glasses and topped with a thick layer of the sauce.  At home, I usually lack the patience for this.  I just scoop it into a bowl and drizzle on the sauce.

Click here for the recipe:  Rice Cream with Strawberry Sauce.  A pinch of nutmeg is delicious in this recipe.