Burrito Bowls

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced into bite sized pieces
• 3 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1/4 cup of diced yellow onion
• 1 cup of uncooked extra-long grain rice
• 1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 15oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder
• 1 teaspoon of cumin
• 2 1/2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups of colby jack, monterey jack or cheddar cheese
• kosher salt and pepper
• freshly diced tomatoes
• diced green onions
• sour cream
• guacamole 

1. Start by sautéing onions in 2 tablespoon of olive oil until they start to soften.
2. Season diced chicken with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.
3. Add chicken to pan and cook over medium high heat until chicken has started to brown.
4. Move chicken to one side of pan, in the other side of the pan add an additional tablespoon of olive oil and sauté uncooked rice for about 2 minutes or just until some grains start to turn golden brown.
5. Stir in black beans, canned tomatoes, chicken broth, garlic powder, chili powder and cumin.
6. Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce heat to low.
7. Cook about 20 minutes or until rice is tender.
8. Season with additional salt and pepper as needed.
9. Sprinkle with cheese, recover and let set for 2-3 off heat to melt cheese.
10. Garnish with fresh tomatoes, green onions, sour cream and guacamole.

Chicken Ranch Enchiladas

Ingredients

• 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 package chicken taco seasoning
• 1 package ranch dry salad dressing
• 1 cup bottled ranch
• 1 cup salsa
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 can chicken broth
• 1 package white flour tortillas

Instructions

1. Cook and shred the chicken. I cooked mine in the slow cooker with the ranch packet and taco seasoning packages in the chicken broth. I cooked it on low for about 3-4 hours.
2. Mix the ranch and salsa in a bowl. Spread a very thin layer of the mixture on the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish.
3. Start assembling the enchiladas by putting 2 Tbs of the ranch and salsa mixture on the bottom of tortilla. Then put the shredded chicken on top of that. Sprinkle with cheese and roll it up.
4. Line up the enchiladas in the 9 x 13 pan and spread the remaining ranch/salsa mixture on top of the tortillas before sprinkling heavily with cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and enchiladas are heated through.
5. Drizzle the top with ranch. 

Chicken Taco Soup

1 liter (4 cups) chicken stock
1 packet taco seasoning
1 packet ranch seasoning
rotisserie chicken, shredded
can of corn, drained
can of black or pinto beans, rinsed and drained
can of chick peas, rinsed and drained
can of diced tomatoes, undrained
cumin, to taste
chili powder, to taste
garlic salt or powder, to taste
cilantro, to taste
1/8 cup lime juice
tortilla chips
cheddar
sour cream
avocado slices

In a large saucepan bring the chicken stock to a boil.  Add taco and ranch seasonings and stir until dissolved.  Add the chicken, corn, beans, chick peas and tomatoes, reduce heat and simmer.  Add the spices and cilantro.  Stir in lime juice just before serving.  To serve, top with any or all of the following:  broken tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream and avocado slices.

Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:
5 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup light sour cream
10 oz. can of enchilada sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese, divided
2 cups cooked shredded chicken
1 cup corn kernels
4 oz. can diced green chiles
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
salt and pepper
4 scallions, thinly sliced
8 (8-inch) whole wheat tortillas

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9×13 dish with cooking spray.
2. In the bowl of your mixer cream together the cream cheese, sour cream, and 1/2 of the enchilada sauce. Stir in 1/2 cup of each type of cheese.
3. In a second bowl toss together the chicken, corn, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper, green chiles, and half of the scallions. Add the chicken mixture to the cheese mixture and combine well.
4. Spoon the filling into each tortilla, roll the tortilla up, and place in the baking dish with the seam side down. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the filled tortillas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with the remaining scallions and serve.

Crock Pot Refried Beans

Ingredients:
1 onion, peeled and halved
3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed
1 - 2 fresh jalapeno peppers, sliced lengthwise and seeded
2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 teaspoons salt
1 3/4 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin 
5 cups water
4 cups chicken broth

Directions: 
-Place the onion, rinsed beans, jalapeno, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin into a slow cooker.
-Pour in the water and chicken broth and stir to combine. Cook on high for 8 hours, adding more water as needed. Note: if more than 1 cup of water has evaporated during cooking, then the temperature is too high.
-Once the beans have cooked, strain them, and reserve the liquid, throwing out the onion chunks and the remains of the jalapenos, unless you want to mash them up with the beans. Mash the beans with a hand mixer or potato masher, adding the reserved liquid as needed to attain desired consistency.

Salsa

Ingredients:

2 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes

jalapenos, to taste
1 yellow onion, quartered
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons lime juice
cilantro, to taste

Directions:
Place all of the ingredients together into a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Serve with tortilla chips.

Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad

Salad:
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken taco meat
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can sweet yellow corn (or 1 cup frozen corn, thawed)
2 roma tomatoes, diced
4 green onions, sliced
1 head ice berg lettuce, washed and chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 ripe avocados, diced
1 cup crushed tortilla chips

Dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup Greek yogurt
1 tbsp ranch seasoning
1 tbsp taco seasoning

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine all salad ingredients together, excluding the tortilla chips.  

In a small bowl stir all dressing ingredients together.  Pour dressing over salad, starting with about half of the dressing.   Toss to combine, then gradually add more dressing until it is dressed to your liking.  Top with tortilla chips.

Cheesy Enchilada Casserole

• 1 pound lean ground beef 

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 2 1/2 cups salsa

• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans or red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

• 1/4 cup reduced-fat Italian salad dressing

• 1 envelope taco seasoning

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1 small can of drained corn

• 3/4 cup sour cream

• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

• 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese

• 6 flour or corn tortillas    

 

Directions

• In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
• Stir in the salsa, beans, corn, dressing, sour cream, taco seasoning, cumin and cilantro.
• Spoon a generous layer of meat mixture on bottom of 2 quart baking dish then sprinkle with grated cheese.
• Place flour or corn tortillas on top of meat mixture. Layer with the meat mixture and cheese. Repeat as many layers as you like.
• The last and final layer should be a healthy dose of grated cheese.
• Cover with foil that has been sprayed with Pam or other cooking spray and bake at 400° for 25 minutes, or until hot & bubbly.
•  Let stand for 5 minutes before topping with lettuce, tomato and cilantro. 
•  Yield: 8 servings.  

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese

1/4 C green salsa

1T fresh lime juice

1/2 t cumin

1 t chili powder

1/2 t onion powder

1/4 t granulated garlic, or garlic powder

3 T chopped cilantro

2 T sliced green onions

2 C shredded cooked chicken taco meat

1 C grated pepperjack cheese

small corn tortillas

kosher salt

cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.  Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge. 

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels, usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing. Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top. Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Makes 12-16

Freezer Instructions: Prepare the taquitos through rolling them out and placing them on the baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the freezer and freeze until solid, then transfer to a large freezer bag. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 425 and place the taquitos on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.