Jamaica me CRAZY Jerk Chicken with Cilantro Lime Rice!

With this gorgeous weather we've been having, as well as everyone else being on Spring Break, I found myself in the mood for a Caribbean meal! If you can't take a vacation, at least eat like you're on one! And thats what we did tonight! I found this jerk chicken recipe on Crepes of Wrath. The rice was fantastic. It thickened up almost to the consistency of a risotto which was just divine. Plus, the little dash of sugar makes this rice absolutely divine. Don't miss out on this meal!

Jerk Chicken:

*This list looks lengthy, but you most likely have ALL of these spices on hand and don't even realize it!*

About 1 pound of chicken (I used thinly sliced cutlets to cook faster)

3 T EVOO

Juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup Orange Juice

2 T low sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup + 2 T white wine vinegar (or rice wine)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 heaping tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 heaping tsp ground cinnamon

3 tsp dried thyme

3/4 tsp ground sage

1 clove of garlic, minced

3 tsp allspice

3/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 small white or yellow onion, minced

1 habenero chile pepper, minced (These are in the produce section near jalepenos!)

Here's how easy this really is:

1. Combine all spices in a medium sized bowl. Add liquid ingredients and mix together.

2. Add in the onions and habenero to the bowl and stir again. You don't need the next picture, but I was very proud of my mincing, so you must see it! Also, if you can find a habenero chile pepper that is red, go for that! I could only find green!

Reserve 1/4 cup of the marinade to brush over chicken as it cooks.

3. Pound chicken thin, making each piece and even thickness to keep cooking time consistent.

4.Put chicken in a large ziplock bag and pour all but the 1/4 cup of marinade over it. Let it marinate at least 3 hours, or overnight. (I did 3 hours, and it was just fine!)

5. Heat your grill to medium-high. I had to use an indoor grill. You could use your broiler in your oven as well. If using a grill, cook about 3 minutes per side over direct heat, and then 5 minutes on indirect heat or until cooked through.

6. Brush chicken with marinade as it cooks.

*Optional: Don't discard remaining marinade and place in a small skillet. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat and simmer until chicken is ready. Spoon over the chicken for additional jerk flavor!*

Cilantro Rice:

1 cup brown rice (or any kind you prefer)

1 cup water

1- 15 oz can chicken broth

1 tsp lime juice + 1 T lime juice, divided

1 tsp EVOO

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tsp sugar

3 T cilantro, chopped

All you do is combine rice, water, chicken broth, 1 tsp lime juice, Olive Oil, and garlic. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and cook about 40-45 minutes (white rice wouldn't take as long).

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together sugar, remaining tablespoon of lime juice, and cilantro. Once rice finishes cooking, stir mixture into rice as you fluff it.

Serve it up!

Enjoy! This is such a tasty dinner. I also made a little side salad and chopped some of the leftover cilantro right into the salad (props to my friend Amy for the suggestion!)

Orzo Stuffed Bell Peppers ... A NEWLYWED ALL TIME FAVORITE!

Eating Well nailed it on this recipe! Wow was it ever good! I mean, I could have JUST eaten the orzo filling, but the peppers were great too. And the best part .... MICROWAVE AND STOVE TOP. Skip the oven with this recipe. Oh, you don't want to breeze past this one. Its meatless- but you won't miss the meat! I PROMISE!

Ingredients:

4 bell peppers of your choice (Red was cheapest- so we had red!)

1/2 cup whole wheat orzo 

15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 T Olive Oil

1 medium onion, chopped

6 oz baby spinach roughly chopped

1 t dried oregano

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese, divided

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not oil packed), chopped

1 T Sherry Vinegar or red-wine vinegar

1/4 tsp salt

So the first thing you want to do is slice your peppers in half LENGTHWISE straight through the stem. De-seed the peppers and remove white membrane. You can leave the stem attached for easy pick up, or remove it (I removed them). Place them face down in a baking dish and fill with 1/2 inch of water. Put in the MICROWAVE for about 9 minutes or until softened. (You are basically steaming them.) 

When they come out, drain the water out and flip them over.

Meanwhile, toast up your orzo in a medium sauce pan for about 1 minute. Add 1 cup of boiling water (or really hot water). Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 8 minutes. Drain and rinse in cool water.

Mash chickpeas into a thick paste (leaving some whole) and set aside. 

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion and cook 4 minutes until soft. Add oregano and spinach and cook 1-2 minutes until spinach is wilted

Add sun-dried tomatoes, chick peas, orzo, vinegar, and salt. Cook until heated through.

This in and of itself could be a meal or side dish. SO good! Add 1/2 cup of your feta cheese and cook 1 minute more and remove from heat.

Stuff your peppers! Sprinkle remaining feta cheese over top each pepper.

Cover pan with foil until ready to serve. They will stay pretty warm for awhile! We, of course, served ours alongside the TJ's green beans, but chose any veggie you like!

We WILL be having the leftovers tonight. These were phenomenal!

Enjoy :) It'll be a favorite!

Pocket Change: Budget Chicken Fajitas with Black Bean and Rice Pilaf!

Here's a recipe thats easy on the wallet and easy on the taste buds. Wow. That was cheesy. I don't care enough to delete that sentence and start over though! Last night I made these minimal ingredient "Fajitas." For those of you die hard Tex Mex or Mexican fans, these are not the sizzling plate they bring out that lights up the whole restaurant with good smells. Its a cheap way to have a healthy, affordable, and easy Mexican INSPIRED dish. I don't have a grill, or I'd have grilled up the chicken the way you're supposed to! So here it is- Nick loved them. He had 3!

Budget Chicken Fajitas

Less than 1 lb of chicken, cut into strips (I used chicken tenders and sliced them in half)

1/4 cup water

1/8 cup lemon juice (about half of a large lemon)

1 yellow onion, quartered, and the sliced (like fajita onions)

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

Salt and Pepper to taste (about 1/4 t salt, 1/2 t black pepper)

1/8 tsp red chile flakes

14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes (get fire roasted if you can find them), drained

For serving: Whole Wheat Tortillas, Salsa, and Cheddar Cheese

All you do is place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add lemon and water, bring to a simmer, then add chicken and onions to the pan.

Cook until chicken is mostly cooked through, then add tomatoes and remaining ingredients.

Once chicken is completely cooked, and the juice has thickened up enough, you are ready to serve them. This is an extremely fast dish! We topped our tortillas with the chicken, then some cheddar cheese (skim of course!) and then a little salsa) Pretty tasty!

Black Bean and Rice Pilaf

1 cup brown rice, uncooked

2-1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I ended up using more like 3 cups by the end of the cooking time)

1 T Olive Oil

1 small onion, diced FINELY

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp dried oregano

1 stalk of celery, diced FINELY

1 large carrot, peeled and diced FINELY

1 t ground cumin

1/2 t dried chili flakes

15.5. oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed

2 t fresh chopped parsley (optional)

Combine chicken broth and rice in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat, cover, and simmer 35 minutes, adding broth as needed.

This starts pretty similar to a soup stock, just minus the broth! Heat your oil in a skillet and add onions, celery, and carrot. Cook until soft (about 7-10 minutes). Add garlic, oregano, cumin and chili flakes.

Now, toss in your black beans and heat about 2 minutes

Once rice is done, remove from heat and fluff with a fork, then add in your bean mixture and serve.

Yum :) Enjoy! 

Under the Sea: Blackened Tilapia over Jerk Rice with Lemony-Dill Green Beans!

Can you say that whole Title without taking a breath? I should have consolidated, but oh well! This weekend at Kroger, they were having a huge sale on Tilapia. We got 2 filets for only like $3.50. DO YOU BELIEVE THAT? Nick requested that I blacken the filets. I have never blackened fresh fish. Thats one of those things I order off of a menu and never consider making myself. In an effort to please my new husband, I took the challenge!

Blackened Tilapia

2 tilapia filets

1/2 lemon, juiced

1 T Olive Oil

1.5 T smoked paprika (I used regular)

1/2 t salt

1/2 T onion powder

1/2 t ground black pepper

1/2 t cayenne pepper (red pepper)

1/2 t dried ground thyme

1/2 t dried oregano

1/4 t garlic powder

Get your fish out. I layed mine on ceran wrap, but if you aren't a germ freak, just lay them on the countertop. Mix all SPICES together. SPICES ONLY!

Rub spice mixture into both sides of fish so that they are coated. You should see NO WHITE! Allow them to sit out 15 minutes before cooking. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT STEP! DON'T SKIP IT!

Heat oil over medium-high heat until oil is almost smoking out of the pan. Place the fish in the pan and cook 2 -3 minutes, flip them, and continue to cook 2-3 minutes, or until cooked to 135 degrees by a meat thermometer. Remove immediately and juice the lemon over them.

Is your mouth watering yet? Serve over Jerk-Rice

Jerk Rice (Made up by ME)

1 cup brown rice

3 cups water

1 tsp chicken bouillon (or just use 1 cup chicken stock and less water)

1 tsp jerk seasoning

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp oregano

1 t oil

Cook rice in oil along with thyme, oregano, and jerk seasoning. After toasting about 5 minutes, add water (Or chicken broth), and chicken bouillon cubes. Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce heat, and simmer about 40 minutes. Monitor water, you may need to add water if the rice absorbs all the liquid too quickly.

And now for the beans!

Lemony-Dill Green Beans:

1 bag (24 oz) Frozen Green Beans (or the equivalent of fresh)

1/2 cup dry roasted and slivered almonds

1/2 lemon, juiced (the half remaining from the fish dish)

3 sprigs of fresh dill, chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

First, cook your beans. I cover my skillet and heat the frozen ones 7-10 minutes. Remove them from the heat, and set aside

Add oil to the skillet. Cook toasted almonds, garlic, and dill. (You may need to toast yours BEFORE this step if you buy them plain which I DO!)

Add beans back into the skillet, pour lemon juice in, and mix well. They are ready to serve!

Enjoy all of these recipes together, or completely separate! We had no leftovers, as usual!

Slow Cooked Chicken Tacos and the ULTIMATE Spanish Rice

So- i am tempting you by showing you the end result before we start! Here was the spread of the tacos. Now lets start from the beginning!

So, first you need to slow cook your chicken. (Either allow 6-7 hours for low, or 3-4 for high)

Here's all you need to start it up:

1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts OR THIGHS! (I used breasts because they are healthier!)

1 packet of taco seasoning

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles

THATS IT! Place your chicken on the bottom of your slow cooker.

In a separate bowl, mix together taco seasoning, diced tomatoes, tomatoes and green chiles, PLUS 1/2 cup of water. Mix well, then pour over your chicken. Slow cook for 7 hours on low, or about 3 hours on high.

Once its done, allow it to cool enough to either pull it apart with your fingers, or 2 forks. Here's what you'll get!

Keep warm while you prepare the toppings (and ultimate rice if you plan on making it!)

For toppings, GET WHAT YOU LIKE! Here's what I did

1 small can sliced black olives

Leftover mexican cheese we had

Salsa we had in the refrigerator

Diced onions (leftover from the ultimate rice recipe)

A couple of fresh tomatoes diced up

Shredded lettuce

*Don't forget to get tacos*

(You could get taco sauce, sour cream, anything you like!)

Here were our toppings:

Okay! Just heat up some taco shells. I used whole wheat soft shells, but if you like hard tacos, go for those! Its whatever you like here!

Now, GET STARTED ON THE ULTIMATE SPANISH RICE.

Yep! This is all you need! It all fits in a skillet!

2 T EVOO

1/2 chopped onion

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 cups brown rice

1 t cumin

1 t salt

15 oz can whole tomatoes

10 oz can Rotel

2 cups chicken broth

First, heat your oil over medium heat and cook your onions and garlic about 2-3 minutes.

Then, add in the cumin and rice. Stir constantly for 3 minutes so rice doesn't burn! (I reduced heat here just to be safe!)

Then, add in your Rotel and whole tomatoes. Cook about 3-4 minutes (increase your heat again at this point.)

Then, add in your chicken broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat, COVER, and simmer for 40 minutes until broth is mostly absorbed and rice is soft! Serve..... YUM!

Nick called this one of his favorites. THATS HUGE. That means it ranks up there with Mexican Lasagna, Pesto Roll, and Porcupine Meatballs!

We both loved it, LOTS AND LOTS OF LEFTOVERS!

Enjoy :)

Lime Pepper Chicken and Whole Wheat Couscous!

Lime Pepper Chicken and Whole Wheat Couscous

Our first real dinner, alone, at our apartment, since the honeymoon!!! This dinner was pretty good if I do say so myself! Nick seemed to enjoy it, but I still think its too early on for him to actually express any dislike of what I cook! Anyways, this was an easy marinade which only calls for 30 minutes in the fridge, but i gave it a good 10 hours since I had the time to plan ahead and do so! I just put some salsa in some condiment cups as a little dipping sauce (could be heated, but we ate it cold), and then I served some whole wheat couscous plain on the side!

The chicken was delicious! The marinade is the juice of one lime, a tablespoon of olive oil, a teaspoon of dried thyme, salt, pepper, and 1 large clove of minced garlic. Really easy, but really good! I baked it in the oven at 375 for about an hour, but I think it was done a little sooner! I need to purchase a meat thermometer with some of the gift cards we have to get better cooking times going, but it wasn't dried out at all! We loved it!

A pretty square meal indeed, here is a rough version of the recipe I used:

Lemon Pepper Chicken with Couscous

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 lime, zested and then juiced

1 large clove of garlic, minced or crushed

1 T Olive Oil

1 tsp dried thyme or basil

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp salt

Any kind of salsa you prefer

1 cup whole wheat couscous

Put chicken in a tupperware. Mix all other ingredients together with a whisk and then pour over chicken. Keep in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, but the longer the better! When ready, preheat oven to 375, and bake 45 minutes to an hour in a shallow baking dish.

Wait until the chicken is about 10 minutes from being done and cook couscous according to box directions! Ouila! Easy, delicious, and cheap! Enjoy!

Mexican Turkey and Rice Skillet Dinner!

Today Nick and I cooked and ate dinner together for the first time at the new apartment! I settled on making a Mexican Turkey and Rice Skillet Dinner. I realize this isn't the MOST appetizing picture, but all i had on me was my iphone and so I had to take some low quality footage! The meal was good, healthy, cheap... and will go into my "keeper recipe" memory.

Here was our shopping list, prices included. The first list was our startup cost... however, since we were stocking up on some items, I provided a second budget for the future shopping list and price tag of this dinner! And finally, at the bottom, the recipe and instructions!

Our Bill at Kroger today:

1 yellow onion: $0.92

2 lb Uncle Ben brown rice (NOT INSTANT!): $2.99

1 lb lean ground Perdue turkey: $4.19

2 lb sugar: $1.69

14.5 oz can cut green beans: $0.99

14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes: $0.53

Hot Sauce: $0.89

Total Spending for the first time apartment buyers: $12.14 (Not even too bad!)

BUT NOW THAT WE HAVE SOME BASIC INGREDIENTS, CHECK OUT THE FUTURE SPENDINGS:

14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes: $0.53

14.5 oz can cut green beans: $0.99

1 lb lean ground Perdue turkey: $4.19

1 yellow onion: $0.92

Total spending when repeating this recipe: $6.63

Might I add that this recipe serves 4! We had leftovers!!

Mexican Turkey and Rice Skillet Dinner Recipe:

1 lb lean ground turkey

1.5 cups cooked brown rice

14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes

14.5 oz can cut green beans, drained

1 T sugar

1 t Worcestire Sauce

1/2 t ground mustard

1/2 t garlic powder

1/4 t salt

1/8 t fresh ground black pepper

1/8 t hot sauce

Brown the turkey in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain, and then add remaining ingredients to pan. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat. Simmer 10-12 minutes.