Barbie Goes Mexican

Mexican was slowly introduced into my cooking repertoire by Mike, Christina's boyfriend. It started with Chili, which was something I rarely ate and never cooked before. But the more we enjoyed the chili, the more inventive I became with the use of Mexican spices and it has started to drift into other recipes.  Here are a few I am writing here to remember, and hope you enjoy.

Emily's Chili

When we were at a women's retreat at Tuscarora Retreat Center, the chef shared this recipe from his daughter. I have modified it slightly and like to add meat to it. Every ones loves it.
Chop and saute in olive oil:
1 large onion
1 red and 1 green pepper
2-3 cloves of garlic

Once the veggies are soft, add and stir:

1 Tablespoon Chili power
1 Teaspoon cumin
1 Teaspoon paprika
1 Tablespoon hot sauce

Add:

1 can of small white beans, drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans of Fire Roasted diced tomatoes with liquid
1 can of water
1 can of corn, drained 

Stir and cook for 30 minutes.

You can also add 1 pound cooked chop beef or turkey before adding the beans. 

Serve with chips and sour cream.

Crock Pot Pepper Chicken

Chop and saute in olive oil:

1 large onion
1 red and 1 green pepper
2-3 cloves of garlic

Rinse and place in crock pot 6-8 chicken thighs and/or legs. Sprinkle chicken with:
Salt and pepper
Cumin
Paprika
hot sauce

Pour onion and pepper mix on top. Cover and cook 8 hours on LOW setting.

Mexican-spiced Chicken Breasts

Chop and saute in olive oil in a large deep pan until soft, adding garlic at the end:
1 large onion
1 red and 1 green pepper
2-3 cloves of garlic

Slice 4-6 chicken breasts into small pieces. Add to pan and cook, stirring often.

Sprinkle with:

salt and pepper
Cumin
Paprika
Hot sauce
about 1/4 cup of water

Cover and cook on low stirring often until the chicken is cooked through and fork tender.

Spicy Chicken Legs
Recipe from Mike, perfectly spicy and delicious! They grill this chicken, but I don't grill so I used his seasoning mix and baked the chicken instead. Juicy and just as good.

Lay out chicken legs and/or thighs in baking pan in one layer. Sprinkle each leg with: 

• hot sauce 
• garlic powder 
• black pepper
• Goya Sazon seasoning
• Goya Adobo seasoning

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour.

Remove from oven and pour drippings into a measuring cup and pour over chicken.

Put back in oven for an additional hour or until browned, removing once more to baste with drippings. 


Chicken and Peas
In a large deep frying pan, add olive oil to coat the bottom. Place 10-14 chicken legs in one layer in the pan. Season legs with:

• Goya Sazon seasoning - 2 packets
• Goya Adobo seasoning 
• garlic powder
• black pepper

Cook 10-15 minutes, then turn. Season other side of the chicken with Adobo and garlic powder. Cook on the second side 10-15 minutes. 

Meanwhile, peel and slice 3-4 carrots and 2 onions. After the chicken is browned on both sides, add the onion and carrots and cover. Cook and stir another 15 minutes until onions are tender and translucent. 

Add 2 cans of peas, drained. Cook and stir another 20 minutes until carrots are tender and chicken is cooked through. Serve with buttered noodles.