Chicken Burritos with Mojo Sauce

So who doesn't just love a good burrito? I know we do. I'll tell you ahead of time that this is one of those '6 pots on the go' kind of meals but in the end, oh dears yo, serious goodness. And this recipe doesn't make no little, neatly packed burritos - oh no, they was one of those child's arm sized burritos. Yum! Mojo sauce is a tangy mix of cilantro and citrus. It's delicious. Now, I know that the recipe recommends making the beans from scratch, but I just tossed a can into a pot and fried them up with the garlic as recommended - just as bueno! Bon appetit!

Ingredients
Mojo Sauce:
4 garlic cloves
2 serrano chilies, seeds removed
1 large handful fresh cilantro leaves
Juice 2 limes
Juice 1 orange
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

The rest:
8 large flour tortillas
1 (3 to 4 pound) whole roasted chicken, shredded
Yellow Rice, recipe follows
Spicy Black Beans, recipe follows
2 avocados chopped
1 cup grated queso blanco or Monterey jack cheese
Sour cream, for garnish
Cilantro leaves, for garnish
Lime wedges, for garnish

Spicy Black Beans:
2 cups (about 1 pound) dried black beans, picked over and rinsed
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Quick soak the beans: Put beans in a pot and cover with water by 2 inches. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let soak for 1 hour. Drain the beans.

In the same pot, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, jalapeno pepper, garlic, and bay leaf and cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the beans and cover with water by about 1 inch. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the beans are tender. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Taste the beans and season them with salt and pepper.

Yellow Rice:
2 cups long-grain rice
4 cups water
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 bay leaf
Put all the ingredients into a heavy bottomed pot, stir well, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook over low heat until the rice has absorbed the water, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Discard the garlic and bay leaf, fluff with a fork, and serve.


Directions
Make the Mojo Sauce: Put the garlic, chilies, cilantro, lime juice, orange juice, and olive oil into a blender and process until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

To make the burritos: Warm the tortillas for 30 seconds in a dry skillet or on the grill until pliable. Place some chicken down the center of a tortilla and top with rice and beans, avocado, grated cheese, and Mojo Sauce. Roll up the burrito and serve topped with a generous drizzle of sour cream; garnish with cilantro leaves and a squeeze of lime juice.

Recipe & photo cred to the Food Network

Tomato & Goat Cheese Salad

With the thermometer about to hit 32 (humidex 46!!!) this week, I was keen to find some no-cook, no-heat recipes. This turned out to be a nice, fresh,  kinda different little salad that was easy to put together. Believe it or not, Martha actually suggests cutting your goat cheese with a piece of dental floss - I decided that it was probably better that I simply didn't go down that road.  Bon appetit!

Ingredients: cherry tomatoes, cilantro, red/green onion, fresh goat cheese.

Chicken Taquitos with Salsa Verdé

So it seems that I`m in the mood lately for recreating my favourite appetizers from my favourite Ottawa restaurants. This one is a spin-off from Poncho Villa`s flautas (or the equally deep fried version slowly rolling away at your local 7-11 ... depending on who you ask ...).  In searching for `taquito` recipes, I also discovered that "Taquito" was also the name of a Star War's character (thank you Wookiepedia): Taquito (pronounced /ʈaqɪʈo/) a male Rodian pilot who lived during the last years of the Galactic Republic on the Outer Rimplanet Iego. Apparently Taquito died trying to breacbck through the laser grid system left by the Separatists.  Poor Taquito.

All that aside, the mexican appetizer version of these little guys are uber yummy. Kids would adore them, I'm certain of that. To deep fry the taquitos at home (not having a deep-fryer of course), we heated oil in a soup pot to the point that it was shimmering. We made sure to have enough oil to just cover the taquitos. I should note too that we had a lot of fun making up the salsa verdé too. The salsa lasted for a few days and was the perfect accompaniment to tortilla chips. Olé y buen appetito!

Ingredients:
For the chicken taquitos:
2 large chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
1/2 tablespoon cumin
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded
4-6 white corn tortillas
Oil for frying

For the salsa verdé:
1 1/2 cups yellow tomatoes
1/4 a small purple onion
a big bunch of cilantro
3 tablespoons vinegar
salt to taste

Directions:
For the taquitos:
Mix the chicken with the cumin, chili powder, onion powder, salt, and cheese until well mixed. Press 3-4 tablespoons of the chicken mixture together to form a "snake" that is then rolled tightly into a corn tortilla. To get really great taquitos, I placing the corn tortillas one at a time in very hot water for 3-5 seconds, then removing them quicky, rolling them around your chicken mixture, and allowing them to air dry for a few minutes before placing in a saucepan filled with an inch or so of oil heated to medium heat for frying. Fry the taquitos 2-3 at a time on all sides just until golden. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. Serve with salsa.

For the salsa verdé:
In a blender, puree all ingredients together. Serve with warm, fresh taquitos. Enjoy.

- Recipe cred Cheeky Kitchen

Mixed Tomato Salsa

There's nothing better than making your own salsa. It's a perfect way to use up all of those huge, left-over, gnarly looking tomatoes that litter your garden at the end of summer. Our little Giles` garden was  positively overflowing with these guys so it was into the salsa pot with them. You can mix this recipe up by adding fresh mango or a big handful of black beans. Store-bought just doesn't compare when you've made your own! YUM. Bon appétit!


Ingredients
1 plum or regular tomato, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
12 yellow cherry tomatoes, cut into sixths
1 very small sweet onion, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 large jalapeno pepper, seeds and ribs removed, minced
1 serrano chile or 1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeds and ribs removed, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

Directions
1. In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, serrano, cilantro, lime juice; season with salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour to allow the flavors to blend.

Chicken Puxa Vida

This dish is definitely a Giles' dish (hola' to all of the Giles' out there... you've got to try this one!). It is freakin' delicious. It was a lot of fun to make and is really different from standard everyday dinner fare. It could easily be done with tilapia as well (I have seen lots of recipes for this and, in fact, this recipe started out as a tilapia puxa vida recipe from Brooke from Cheeky Kitchen, I love her blog and look forward to every new post.) The sauce is a slightly sweet tomato sauce with coconut milk, lime, and cilantro. It is rich and flavourful and light at the same time. By the way, "Puxa Vida" means WOW in Portuguese, and you'll likely find that this recipe makes you feel wowalicious all over. Mmmmm. Bon appétit!

Ingredients:
1 red pepper
1/2 onion
1 jalapeno seeded
5 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk
2 (15 ounce) cans roasted tomatoes

2 Tablespoons honey
juice of one lime
2 pounds chicken (or possibly tilapia?)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
rice for serving
black beans

Directions:
1. Pulse together the red pepper, onion, jalapeno, and garlic until finely chopped.

2. Add the onion mixture to a saute pan coated with olive oil. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the coconut milk, tomatoes, and honey to the pan.

4. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Add the lime juice and check for seasonings. You might need to add a little more honey or lime juice.

5. Add the chicken to the pan and cover with the sauce.

6. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes. To know that it is cooked through, it will be opaque.

7. Garnish with chopped cilantro and additional lime wedges. These are great served with baked rice and favorite black beans.

- recipe cred to Cheekykitchen.com

Pasta Salad with Feta & Snow Peas

We had a whole bunch of Gilesies up this weekend so decided to serve up this pasta salad for lunch. It was a hit! It made a 2nd appearance at our picnic on the Ottawa River the next night. If you're going to be making this dish the night before, just be sure to add your scallions and cilantro just before serving. We added a bunch more vinegar because that's just the way we roll ... bon appétit!

Ingredients
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pound fusilli, or other short pasta
4 ounces snow peas, strings removed, sliced diagonally into 1/2-inch-wide strips
1 yellow bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Directions
1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook fusilli until al dente, according to package instructions; add snow peas during last minute of cooking. Drain pasta and peas in a colander; rinse under cold water.

2. In a large bowl, combine pasta and peas, bell pepper, scallions, cilantro, feta, oil, vinegars, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; toss to combine. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

- recipe and photo cred to Martha