Chicken Soft Tacos

These Chicken Soft Tacos are another entry to the annals of "My Crock Pot Once Again Saved My Life". "Overly dramatic?" you say? Perhaps I overly dramatize a titch, but I can't stress enough how much I love my crock pot. I love being able to put dinner in it in the morning, and have dinner ready and the kitchen entirely cleaned up in the evening. This recipe is easy even for a crock pot and tasty enough to serve to company. Enjoy!

Chicken Soft Tacos by Joie de vivre
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 1/4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with chilies
1 package taco seasoning mix

Directions:

1. Mix the diced tomatoes with the taco seasoning mix inside the insert of a 4 qt. crock pot.
2. Lay the chicken breasts on top of tomato mixture and stir to cover chicken with the sauce.
3. Cover the crock pot and cook on LOW for 8 hours.
4. Shred the chicken breasts with two forks and mix with the sauce.
5. Serve on tortillas with guacamole, sour cream, tomatoes and shredded cheddar cheese.

Camping Food Continued-Roasted Chicken

Our last camping trip of the season found me using my brand new "baby" 10 inch Dutch oven 4 out of six nights!

Dutch-oven Roasted Chicken Legs with Spinach Fettucini and Sauteed Zucchini

Why is it everything tastes better when eaten outdoors? This meal or chicken legs roasted in the Dutch oven, with sides of spinach fettucini and sauteed zucchini was extremely simple, yet felt very decadent while camping. Our Costco has begun selling packs of chicken legs packaged in sealed bags of 5 chicken legs each. These little packs were extremely easy to pack in the cooler. The fettucini was a quick cooking kind which took only three minutes once the water started boiling. The zucchini was also easy. I pre-sliced it at home, packaged it in a ziplock baggie and packed it in the cooler.

Once I was ready to cook, I pre-heated my Dutch oven, melted some butter in it and added the chicken legs along with a generous sprinkling of a new seasoning blend I recently bought at a Tastefully simple party. I kept my Dutch oven around 350 degrees by placing about 7-8 coals underneath and 10-12 coals on the lid and left it alone, aside from turning it every once in awhile to ensure even heat, for about 50 minutes. While you're waiting for your chicken to cook, make your side dishes, start a campfire, and enjoy a glass of wine in the great outdoors!

Raw, seasoned chicken just added to the Dutch oven

Chicken cooking in the oven (yes, it is just sitting on the ground!)

A Culinary Trip to Ethiopia Continued

For the past few weeks, Chef E from Cook Appeal and I have been traveling virtually through the cuisine of Ethiopia. I was so honored this week to play host to a real Ethiopian at my Friday feast! My neighbors adopted a little girl from Ethiopia about a year ago. Here she is sitting at my kitchen table enjoying....macaroni and cheese. Don't you just love her pudgy, pudgy hands? I tore off some injera for her and she looked at it like it was not edible. I thought it was quite cute that while her parents and my husband and I feasted on dishes from Ethiopia, she was happily munching on the mac and cheese I made for all the kiddos.

For our culinary tour this week, I decided on making Doro We't, a spicy chicken and egg dish, as well as Ye'atakilt Alich'a, which is a vegetable stew.  Also, as a bonus, my little friend's father prepared Yemisir Alich'a which is mild lentil sauce served with pita chips or injera.

The Doro We't.  You can just see how spicy and rich the sauce is.

Doro We't by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

6 lbs. chicken parts

3 sticks unsalted butter

3 lbs. red onions, chopped

2 tsp. garlic powder

4 heaping Tbls. berbere (recipe here)

9 oz. tomato paste

3 c. chicken stock

10 hard boiled eggs, peeled and slightly scored

1 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

1.  In a large Dutch oven on the stovetop, melt the butter.  Add the onions to the melted butter and saute over medium heat until translucent, about 5-10 minutes.  

2.  Meanwhile, remove the skin from the chicken parts and score the meat slightly to allow the sauce to penetrate once they are added to the pot.

3.  To the onions, add the garlic powder, berbere, tomato paste and the black pepper.  Add the chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil.  Add the chicken pieces to the sauce one piece at a time, stirring between each addition to make sure that each piece of chicken is covered in sauce.

4.  Pre-heat the oven to 275 degrees.

5.  Cover the Dutch oven and place it in the oven for 4 hours.

6.  Thirty minutes before serving, add the hard boiled eggs to the sauce to warm.

7.  Serve Doro We't with injera (recipe here) and eat it with your hands.

Ye'atakilt Alich'a (Vegetable Stew)

Ye'atakilt Alich'a (Vegetable Stew) adapted from Exotic Ethiopian Cooking by D.J. Mesfin

Ingredients:

3 sticks butter

1 1/2 c. red onions, chopped

6 medium potatoes, scrubbed and chopped into large bite sized pieces

5 large carrots, peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces

6 oz. tomato paste

1 small green cabbage, cored and chopped into large chunks

6 medium Anaheim chilies, seeded and sliced into long, skinny strips

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1 c. chicken stock

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

1.  In a large Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium high heat.  Add the chopped onions and saute until translucent 5-10 minutes. 

2.  Add all of the remaining ingredients and stir.  

3.  Cover the Dutch oven and place in a 275 degree oven for 3-4 hours until all of the vegetables are tender and are browning.

4.  Stir the Ye'atakilt Alich'a to combine and serve with injera.

Our special treat, Yemisir Alich'a (Mild Split Lentil Sauce)

Yemisir Alich'a (Mild Split Lentil Sauce) adapted from Exotic Ethiopian Cooking by D.J. Mesfin

Ingredients:

2 c. lentils

6 c. water

2 c. chopped onions

2 c. butter

1 Tbls. ginger

1 tsp. chopped garlic

1/3 c. berere

Directions:

1.  Bring water to boil in a large stockpot.

2.  Pick through the lentils and remove any rocks.  Boil the lentils in the water for 5 minutes.

3.  In another pot, melt the butter and add the onions.  Cook until the onions are translucent but not browning, 5-10 minutes.  Add the lentils and the water to the onions.  Add the spices.  Simmer for 20 minutes until the mixture is thick and the lentils are soft.  Serve with injera.

I've so enjoyed this culinary tour of Ethiopia.  The dishes are rustic and although they are not quick and easy to make, they are SO WORTH IT!  Thank you Chef E for suggesting we do this!  Don't forget to check out the amazing Ethiopian dishes at Cook Appeal.  Chef E used to work at an Ethiopian restaurant and goes all out for her meals.

Chicken Enchiladas with African Spices

After Sunday's culinary trip to Ethiopia, I have been mesmerized by the flavors and also devising ways to use up some of the berbere I created for the dishes.  I'll need to make more berbere (recipe here) for this Sunday's trip to Ethiopia after this dish, but it was so worth it!  This dish was also inspired by my recent trip to Santa Fe and the desire to recreate some of the delicious dishes I had while I was there.  My friend Cindy shared her mother's recipe for New Mexican Enchilada Sauce and I adapted it to fit in some African flavors.  This wasn't a quick dish, but very few things worth having are quick, right?

Chicken Enchiladas with African Spices by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

5 chicken legs

About 8 small corn tortillas (I made mine for better and fresher flavor)

1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

For Enchilada sauce:

3 Tbls. unsalted butter

2 Tbls. all purpose flour

1/3 c. berbere (recipe here)

2 c. water

1 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. cumin

Directions:

1.  Begin by making the enchilada sauce.  Melt the butter in a large bottomed skillet over medium heat.  Add the flour and whisk well.  Cook the flour in the butter for about 1 minute whisking continuously.  Add the water extremely slowly, whisking continuously to avoid lumps.  Add the berbere, oregano, and cumin and cook the sauce over low heat for about 10 minutes.

2.  Add the chicken legs to a 4-5 quart crock pot insert.  Pour the enchilada sauce over the chicken legs.  Cover and set the crock pot to LOW.  Cook the chicken legs on LOW for about 4 hours, stirring once after about 2 hours.

3.  Once the chicken is cooked, remove the meat from the bones and place it in a medium sized bowl.  Shred the meat with two forks.

4.  Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

5.  Into an 8 x 8 inch Pyrex baking dish, spoon about 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce from the crock pot.  Cover this with a layer of about 4 tortillas (enough to cover the bottom of the dish.  Spoon about 1/4 cup more enchilada sauce over the top of the tortillas.  Over this, layer 1/2 of the chicken.  Put 1/2 of the cheese over the chicken and spoon another 1/4 c. sauce over the cheese.  Repeat the layers.  Tortillas, sauce, remaining chicken, remaining cheese, and the remaining sauce.

5.  Place this dish into the pre-heated oven for about 20-30 minutes until the cheese is melted through and bubbly.  Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Baked Chicken and Potato Salad

Potato Salad adapted from Kids' Fun and Healthy Cookbook

For those of you who follow me on Twitter, last week you may have received a very cryptic tweet from me saying "About to make dinner with my 3 year old, pray for me!"  In order to get my three year old to eat food I prepare without complaining, I tried buying a picture cookbook for him last week and let him pick out a dinner to help me make.  He was so excited to help, had been wound up throughout the day, and was very excited when I told him that it was almost time to cook, I just had to clean up the kitchen first.  He settled into the couch to play a game while he waited for me to clean up the lunch dishes.  Within two minutes, I look over at his very still body, he had fallen asleep!  Ah well, so much for good intentions.  We're going to try again tonight, but here is the recipe he picked out.  I really liked the potato salad, it tasted reminiscent of summer with the mint leaves in there, and the chicken legs were just downright good value at about $0.50 a piece.  

Potato Salad adapted from Kids' Fun and Healthy Cookbook

Ingredients:

14 oz. small white skinned potatoes, scrubbed

2 green onions, finely chopped

8 cherry tomatoes, halved

3 Tbls. chopped fresh mint

2 Tbls. extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbls. lemon juice

Directions:

1.  I have a potato setting on my microwave, so after pricking the potatoes all over with a fork, I put the potatoes into a small pyrex dish, and set the microwave button.  If yours does not have this setting, find some way to cook the potatoes, boil, broil, microwave, whatever.

2.  Let the potatoes cool and cut them into quarters.  Place the quartered potatoes into a bowl and add the chopped green onion, the chopped mint, and the halved tomatoes.

3.  Mix the extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice together with a fork, drizzle mixture over the potato mixture and stir to coat everything.  Set aside until the chicken is done so that the flavors meld a little.  The leftovers were fabulous the next day after a night in the refrigerator.

Baked Chicken Legs

Ingredients:

5 chicken legs

2 scant Tbls. Ethiopian berbere spice mix (or use something milder like paprika if desired)

3 Tbls. olive oil

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  Place the chicken legs, spices, and the olive oil into a gallon sized ziplock bag.  Remove as much of the air as possible, seal the bag, mix the legs around so that they are fully surrounded by oil/spice mix, and leave on the counter for 30 minutes or in the refrigerator for up to overnight.

3.  Place the chicken legs in a small Pyrex baking dish.  Pour the oil/spice mixture over the legs.

4.  Place the chicken legs into the oven and bake for 40 minutes flipping them over halfway through.

Baked Chicken Legs with Berbere Spice

Trip and Food photos from Santa Fe, NM

First of all, I want to give a big thank you to all of you for reading my blog!  I was able to post every day in February and your lovely comments kept me motivated!  I had so much fun doing it, I plan to post every day in March as well.  It wasn't easy towards the end as I was actually in Santa Fe, New Mexico for a few days last week.  Thanks to the feature on Blogger that allows you to post things in the future, I was able to meet my goal.  I'm feeling a little rusty as I type this.  It's been a few days (for me) since I've posted, but I thought you'd enjoy some pictures of Santa Fe.  It was so good for me to get away.  My hubby had a work conference so I was able to spend some quality girl time with myself (the kids were at grandma's) walking around the Plaza in Santa Fe and getting a massage and facial at the spa at our hotel.  Jealous?  I haven't even gotten to the food part yet!

My first morning in Santa Fe, I wandered.  I happened across the state capitol building.  It isn't much to look at from the outside, but I took a little tour and it is quite large inside.  They were having "Las Vegas, New Mexico" days in the lobby, so the place was just jammed pack with police, firefighters, school principals, etc. all from Las Vegas, New Mexico.  In addition to that, they were having some tribute to soldiers from the Vietnam War, so retired veterans were all around as well as members of the Lyons Club.  After my little tour, my tour guide was preparing to show 120 elementary school kids around.  I would not want to trade jobs with her!

San Miguel Church, just off of the Plaza, is the oldest church in the U.S.A.  There is evidence in the foundation of it being built on an Indian temple site from the 1300's.

The outside of San Miguel Church

The inside of San Miguel Church

I cannot remember the name of this church right now (San Lorenzo?).  It's claim to fame is this "miraculous" staircase.  It's miraculous because it defies the laws of physics by making two complete revolutions without any external supports.  I thought it was miraculous that they actually got $3.00 from me to come see the darn staircase!

Okay, enough of the travel shots.  I know what you're really interested in seeing...the FOOD!

My first breakfast in Santa Fe.  This was a little shop right off of the Plaza that I happened to wander into.  They made all of their pastries and breads on site.  I steered clear of the pastries in favor of their crepes though.  I actually went back there with my hubby our last morning in town as well!

The animal breads...aren't they cute?!  I wouldn't want to eat them for fear of ruining them!

More animal breads

My first breakfast in Santa Fe, a mushroom, chicken, and spinach crepe.  Less than half was plenty and the waitress was very good at refilling my coffee.

My last breakfast in Santa Fe at the same creperie.  A chorizo, egg, and cheese crepe.  Again, less than half was plenty.

This is me and hubby standing outside of Bert's La Taqueria on one of his lunch breaks from the conference.  We stumbled across this restaurant on the backside of a church a few blocks from our hotel and it ended up being my favorite restaurant of the trip.  We sat next to a pair of fellow foodies (unfortunately the only other people in the restaurant) who took our picture.

I'm not even sure what this is!  I ordered some local specialty off of the menu that they were almost out of.  They had a little bit left which they shared with us.  There were beans and green peppers in it, stewed a long time, and it had a wonderful smokey flavor.

Hubby and I shared so this is a combination of the fish, beef and pork tortillas.  My mouth is watering just remembering this dish!

Friday night dinner was at a restaurant called the Pink Adobe.  Very cute atmosphere.  We sat in this little room next to a fireplace where the waitress would put another log on the fire every time she passed.

We shared the crab enchilada.  Yes, this is the portion that has already been halved!

The Pink Adobe is famous for its apple pie.  We had to taste it.  The rum sauce it is floating in was fabulous.

Saturday morning we again stumbled across this restaurant, Tia Sophias, off of the Plaza.  There was a little bit of a wait so I casually started chatting with someone waiting next to me.  "Have you been here before?" I ask.  "Oh yes," was the reply, "I come here every week.  In fact, I've been here twice this week!"  How can you go wrong with an endorsement like that!  We got there at a good time as this place soon became packed with locals.  We were seated relatively quickly, oh it was so good.

My breakfast, the huevos rancheros with rice and beans.  The beans were a PERFECT accompaniment to the eggs.  The green chili sauce was spicy and delicious.

Lunch was just okay at someplace called The Burrito Bar (?).  Actually if we had been in town here we would have considered it exceptional, but in comparison to all of the excellent restaurants we ate at, it was my least favorite.  A chicken and avocado burrito with green chili on top.

Our final dinner in Santa Fe was at a place called The Bull Pen off of the Plaza.  Hubby and I split again (yes, this is the half portion that has already been split!) a steak with sauteed mushroom, crispy onions, and green chili floating in a pool of sizzling butter.  We split a loaded baked potato and a side of au gratin spinach (which was more like a little bit of spinach floating in a pool of melted, gooey cheddar cheese)

Santa Fe was beyond fun for me to go to.  Reliving the trip through food, I already feel myself going back to "vacation mode" and relaxing.  I would totally recommend going if you are able. Now I need to get out my Rick Bayless cookbook and start trying to recreate some of these dishes!  

Sunday dinner with the folks

Sunday is the busiest day of the week for me.  I wake earlier than any other day to set up my classroom for Sunday school before choir practice starts at 8am.  It's these days (oh, who am I kidding, it's everyday!) that I relish using my crock pot to get dinner prepared and not have to think about it.  This past Sunday, we had my in-laws and my husband's uncle over for dinner so having the ability to make a lot of food in the morning, without having to check on it all day was a plus as I scurried around making the house presentable.  I happened upon this recipe in the Fix in and Forget it Big Cookbook, as I do periodically in order to try fresh ideas, I randomly opened to a page in the book and made what was on that page.  I opened to Reuben Chicken Casserole and it was a winner.  Leftovers were equally delicious last night.  

In a second crock pot I made something called Just Peachy, from the same cookbook, which was an easy cobbler type recipe.  I had my mother-in-law bring vanilla ice cream to top this with and we stored it outside during dinner since I was running out of freezer space and it was colder outside than it was in my freezer!  Both recipes follow.  Enjoy!

Reuben Chicken Casserole adapted from Fix it and Forget it Big Cookbook

Makes 8 servings

Prep time:  20 minutes

Cooking time:  4-6 hours on LOW

Ingredients:

2- 15 oz. cans sauerkraut, rinsed, drained and slightly squeezed to remove excess moisture, divided

1 cup Russian salad dressing, divided

8 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, divided

3 Tbls. dijon mustard, divided

1.  Spray slow cooker insert with non-stick cooking spray.

2.  Place half the sauerkraut in the slow cooker.  Drizzle with 1/3 cup Russian dressing.

3.  Top with 4 chicken breast halves.  Spread half the mustard on top of the chicken.

4.  Top in order with remaining sauerkraut, another 1/3 Russian dressing, the remaining chicken and the remaining mustard.  (save the remaining dressing for serving)

5.  Cover and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours.

6.  To serve, place a breast half on each plate.  Divide the sauerkraut over the chicken.  Top each with a drizzle of the remaining dressing.

Just Peachy adapted from Fix it and Forget it Big Cookbook

Makes 8 servings

Prep time:  2-3 minutes

Cook time:  4-6 hours on LOW

Ingredients:

4 cups sliced canned peaches, drained, reserve juice

2/3 cup rolled dry oats

1/3 cup all-purpose baking mix

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup reserved peach juice

1.  Spray inside of slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.

2.  Place drained peaches in slow cooker.

3.  In a separate bowl, mix together all dry ingredients.  When blended, stir in 1/2 cup reserved peach juice until well mixed.

4.  Pour batter into slow cooker and stir into peaches.

5.  Cover and cook on LOW 4-6 hours.

6.  Serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream.

Hearts, Gizzards and All Hallows Eve

Fillet of fenny snake,

In the caldron boil and bake;

Eye of newt, and toe of frog,

Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,

Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,

Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing, --

For a charm of powerful trouble,

Like a hell-broth boil and bubble

Double, Double, toil and trouble;

Fire burn, and caldron bubble

Part of three witches speech from Macbeth

While making last night's dinner, I felt a little like these three witches.  Eye of newt?  Check.  Wool of bat?  Check.  Owlet's wing?  Check.  None of these really went into my pot, but what did go into my pot was chicken hearts and gizzards.  I found a recipe last week in Tom Valenti's Soups, Stews and One-Pot meals and knew I had to try it.  I had actually touched a chicken heart before when I pulled the innards out of chicken before cooking it.  I would usually throw it in a pot with the backbone to make a quick stock.  But the gizzards were a totally new and somewhat creepy thing to me.  "What is a gizzard?" you may ask?  A gizzard is part of the digestive system of birds.  It is used to grind up food and pass it back into the bird's true stomach (at least that is how I understand it)  They are a fairly thick and strong muscle which benefit from a long cooking time.
 Surprisingly, chicken hearts and gizzards were sold together in a 1 1/2 lb. package right next to the chicken breasts and legs at the supermarket.  Plus, they were cheap.  The whole package cost $1.50.  I had to buy two packages for this meal but the whole huge pot of sauce plus all of the other dinner fixings made enough to serve four adults and two children for at least three meals and probably cost about $10.

"Okay, so they are cheap, and apparently edible, but how do they taste?" I can hear you asking.  The sauce in this dish was phenomenal and if you are used to hearts and gizzards, you are going to love it.  If you are not used to them, as I was not, the chewiness may take you a bit to get past, but they are very rich and satisfying if you don't mind the chew.   Try something new and maybe a little creepy, you'll be pleasantly surprised.  Happy Halloween everyone.

Chicken Hearts and Gizzards in Italian-Style Tomato Sauce adapted from Tom Valenti's Soups, Stews, and One-Pot Meals

Serves at least 8

1/3 cup olive oil

3 lbs. chicken hearts and gizzards

Coarse salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice

1 large onion, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice

6-8 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

1/4 cup tomato paste

1/2 cup dry white wine

3- 15oz. cans of chopped tomatoes with their juices

1 cup water

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 bay leaves

1 Tbls. dried basil

1 1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

Instructions:

1.  Heat 1/3 cup olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat.  Add the hearts and gizzards, season with salt and pepper, and brown on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes.  Transfer the hearts and gizzards to a plate and set aside.

2.  Add the carrots, onion and garlic to the pot and cook, stirring, until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes.  Add the tomato paste, stir to coat the other ingredients, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the white wine, bring to a boil and let reduce for 2 minutes.

3.  Add the tomatoes, water, extra-virgin olive oil, bay leaves, basil, thyme and crushed red pepper.  Stir, return the hearts and gizzards to the pot, raise the heat and bring to a boil.  Season with salt and pepper, lower the heat and simmer gently for 90 minutes until nicely thickened and richly flavored.  Remove the bay leaves.

4.  Serve over toasted bread, pasta, or polenta.