Corn Relish/Pico

Got this recipe from a friend in our Sunday school class.... I cannot take credit for its awesomeness.  But this is great as a pico to go on tacos/fajitas/taco salad OR just as a dip with tortilla chips.  I could eat the entire bowl myself!

can white shoe peg corn (drained and rinsed)
can black beans (drained and rinsed)
can petite diced tomatoes (drained and rinsed)
can of rotel (with juice)
half a red onion, diced
bunch of green onion, diced
6 tbsp of fresh squeezed lime juice
6 tbsp of veg. oil
salt, pepper and cumin to your liking
 This is all dumped into a bowl and tossed together.
bunch of cilantro, I chop and toss this in right before I serve

Super easy recipe to tweek... add more or less of something to your liking.  :)

Sweet & Sour Chicken and Fried Rice

Just made this for supper tonight and it was SO GOOD. Took a while, but it was worth it. I got the recipe from pinterest, which took me to someone's blog. So there are even a couple of pictures, too. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to reproduce those, but I'll post the link below to give the original author/photographer credit. I've tried to make fried rice before, but it was never as good as when I tried this recipe.

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

The chicken coating:

3-4 boneless chicken breasts

salt + pepper

1 cup cornstarch

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup canola oil

The sweet and sour sauce:

3/4 cup sugar

4 tbs ketchup

1/2 cup vinegar

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tsp garlic salt

       Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees. Rinse your chicken breasts in water and then cut into cubes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dip chicken into the cornstarch to coat then dip into the eggs.  Heat your 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet and cook your chicken until browned but not cooked through. Place the chicken in a 9x13 greased baking dish. Mix all of your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk and then pour evenly over the chicken. Bake for one hour and during the baking process you will need to turn the chicken every 15 minutes.  

                                 Below is the greatness you will get when it's all cooked:

Fried Rice                                                                                             

3 cups cooked white rice (day old or leftover rice works best!)

3 tbs sesame oil

1 cup frozen peas and carrots (thawed) I didn't have this, so I used fresh carrots and it was great

1 small onion, chopped

2 tsp minced garlic

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/4 cup soy sauce

      On medium high heat, heat the oil in a large skillet or wok.  Add the peas/carrots mix, onion and garlic. Stir fry until tender. Lower the heat to medium low and push the mixture off to one side, then pour your eggs on the other side of skillet and stir fry until scrambled. Now add the rice and soy sauce and blend all together well. Stir fry until thoroughly heated!  

     

SO good!

Here is the link to the blog where I got it. 

http://life-as-a-lofthouse.blogspot.com/2010/09/baked-sweet-and-sour-chicken-with-fried.html

Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos

Found this on Pinterest and we loved it. You can serve it in tacos, or with rice and beans in a bowl.

Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos

cooking spray for sauteeing

2-3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in bite sized pieces

salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 cup cilantro lime pesto (recipe follows)

flour or corn tortillas

preferred taco garnishes (salsa, sour cream, cheese, etc)

Season chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder. In a skillet sprayed with cooking spray, saute chicken over medium high heat and cooked through. Toss cooked, seasoned chicken with the pesto. Fill tortillas with chicken and top with preferred garnishes.

Cilantro Lime Pesto

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves (do not include stems)

2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons sliced, toasted almonds

3 tablespoons chopped, fresh garlic

1 1/2 teaspoon lime juice

1/2 cup shredded asiago (Parmesan or Romano can be substituted too)

1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup chicken broth

Using a blender, mix together the cilantro, olive oil, almonds, garlic, lime juice, asiago, salt and chicken broth on low speed for 2 minutes.