McDowell Mountain Adventures

We went for a little family hike this morning and I thought i’d share some photos of the Sonoran Desert.

Green Chile Chicken Tacos, Refried Beans & Spanish Rice

These were a freezer meal. A freakin’ excellent freezer meal. I cooked the rice, thawed the portion of beans overnight, refried them and the chicken was ready in less than 10 minutes. 30 minute meal. You like that, don’t you? lol

So, let’s get do it, shall we?

INGREDIENTS:
2 lb Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (Again, frozen is fine.)
3/4 Tbsp cumin, red pepper flakes, granulated garlic, chili powder
1/2 Tsp salt, black pepper, thyme
1 Small can of roasted, diced green chiles
1 Small green bell pepper, diced
1/2 Small white onion, diced
Corn tortillas
Colby jack cheese, shredded

Spanish rice recipe can be found here and refried bean recipe can be found here.

DIRECTIONS:
In a large pot, cook the chicken with enough water to keep it covered, on medium high, covered, until it’s cooked through. Set aside in a bowl, to cool, before you shred it. In a large skillet, with a little butter, olive oil, or bacon grease (whatever pan lube you prefer, A-ha-ha, I’m funny….) start cooking the onion and bell peppers, adding the drained chiles, just before the chicken. Add the shredded chicken, a little water, and the seasonings. Mix well, cover and let simmer on medium for about 5 minutes, uncover and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed/evaporated.
While the chicken is finishing, use another skillet, over medium heat, to heat your tortillas. We always do soft tacos, I don’t like paying out the back end for pre-made, hard taco shells with who knows what in them, and
I’m not about to fry any tortilla in this house, in oil. So, soft tacos, it is! lol

That’s it, friends! At this point, you can freeze the chicken, in a large bag. It freezes, thaws and reheats, fantastically!

Enjoy!

Ground Turkey Tacos, Spanish Rice & Refried Beans

This is another recipe I’ve been sitting on FOREVER.

I got a new phone and when I take pictures of my food, it’s a pain in the ass to get them onto my computer, so posting takes longer than before.

BUT, my phone takes badass pictures and I’m absolutely in love with things like Instagram. I’m going to start doing a regular post with my favorite shots from the week because the weather is getting beautiful, this town is beautiful, we get out OFTEN and I take a ton of pictures!

Anyway, back to the tacos!

This is another great freezer meal. The meat thaws and reheats well and the rice can be cooked ahead of time and frozen as well. Just make sure to shake it up periodically as it’s freezing so the liquid freezes somewhat evenly. Otherwise you’ll end up with chunky, soggy rice. No bueno.

 

TACO MEAT:

INGREDIENTS:
1lb Ground turkey meat (No need to defrost)
1tbsp Ground cumin, chili powder
1tsp Garlic powder, thyme, red pepper flakes, celery salt
1 Diced red bell pepper
1 Small sliced white onion
4 Roma tomatoes diced
Bacon grease

DIRECTIONS:
     In a large Dutch oven pot, combine frozen turkey and about 3/4 cup of water. Bring to boil, covered and simmer, breaking into pieces until evenly cooked. Uncover, add the seasonings and continue cooking until all the liquid is evaporated and meat begins to brown well. Add the bacon grease, making sure to mix to distribute evenly. Once it’s melted, add the onions and bell peppers. Cook until they start to become soft and the onions become translucent. Add the tomatoes, cover and cook on medium-low for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, seasoning to taste.

SPANISH RICE:

INGREDIENTS:
1c White rice
2tbsp Unsalted butter
1tbsp Knorr tomato bouillon
1c Water
1c Herdez red salsa

DIRECTIONS:
      In a large skillet, melt butter over medium high heat and add rice. Simmer over medium heat until golden brown. Add water, salsa and seasoning, and return to a boil, cover and cook until liquid is absorbed.

I’ve posted how to make my refried beans before, you can find the recipe here.

I make soft tacos, so I just cook the corn tortillas on a hot comal in stacks of two flipping to heat evenly and store in a tortilla warmer until it’s time to eat

.

That’s all! The only unhealthy part is the bacon grease, which you can easily omit without substitution. The rice can be cooked in EVOO as well to cut calories.

Enjoy!