Chicken Pozole - It's What's for Dinner

     It's been a minute or maybe a year since I've posted anything. I believe my last post was a year ago when my mom passed away. It's been a tough year, lots of changes have taken place and I should have been blogging about them, but the year has been a blur. I miss my mom so much but life has to go on, bills have to get paid and foods needs to be prepared and eaten!

    Last weekend I had lunch at The Old River Grill, and I ordered their soup and half sandwich. I had the tuna sandwich and their soup was Chicken Pozole and I had never had that. I'm so glad I did! Not because it was fabulous, it was an okay cup of soup, but I'd never heard of Chicken Pozole and I knew I could do better than theirs...and tonight I did!

    I did some research online to see what all goes in to Chicken Pozole and I found a recipe from allrecipes.com which I'll link HERE. I also watched a video from Chef John that I had posted several years ago on my blog and you can watch that video HERE. 

    So I merged the two and came up with this big ol' bowl of deliciousness! Chicken Pozole topped with angel hair coleslaw mix, raw onion and diced jalapeno. So I'm going to share the recipe only because I like having all my recipes in a central location so that someday when I'm not here anymore my kids will have access to my recipes.

Easy Chicken Pozole

Ingredients:

4 Tbl vegetable oil

2 to 3 cups cooked & shredded boneless, skinless chicken breast. (My perfected method of baking chicken breasts is seasoning them on both sides with Lawrys Garlic Salt, Onion Powder and Pepper, sometimes some smoked paprika, tent them in foil and bake at 350 degrees for exactly 1 hour...perfection!)

1 medium onion chopped

3 cloves garlic (I used my garlic press to mince/smash it)

2 32-ounce boxes of low sodium chicken broth (I like Swansons, but generic is fine)

4 cups of water

3 tablespoons of chili powder

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano (I put it in the palm of my hand and rub both hands together smashing it into a powder)

3 15.5 ounce cans of Bush's White Hominy - drained and rinsed (you can use any kind of Hominy but I am a fan of Bush's)

So I did it different from the allrecipes recipe because I baked my chicken early in the day, then shredded it and put all the drippings in the foil tent into the chicken and put it in the fridge so I didn't do Step one of their recipe, I started with Step 2, but changed that also.

    I put the oil in my soup pot and added the chopped/diced onion and sprinkled a little salt on it and sautéed it until it was translucent, then added my garlic, the chili powder, salt and oregano and bloomed it by sautéing it, then added the broth, the water and the chicken and brought it to a boil. I then added the hominy and cooked it about 15 minutes more and that was it, easy peasy!

    I served it into a bowl, added the angel hair coleslaw mix, raw onions, diced jalapeños and a sprinkling of dried cilantro since I didn't have fresh, I forgot to add a squirt of lemon, but you can add that it. It's soooooooo good. Perfect for a cold night at the end of a long day at work.

    And that's it, I hope to post more from now on, but can't make any promises. Let me know if you try the recipe!

Chicken Fajitas - Englishman Style!

I don't know why, but lately I've been on a cooking kick. Not a good time for a cooking kick since today and yesterday were our first full days of over 100 degree weather!

It's 102 outside right now! And I'm in here slaving over a hot stove...with an ice cold bottle of Michelob Ultra of course,! Hey, I don't have to suffer that much!

Yesterday I made some chicken and had three big breasts left over! Mom had gone shopping and found bell peppers on sale so she bought me 6! 3 Red and 3 Yellow ones and they were ripe! What to do with them, what to do?

I decided that I would make some Chicken Fajitas. You would think being that I am Mexican that it would be no problem, but I had never made Chicken Fajitas...so I went to YouTube and found a video by an Englishman by the name of Warren Nash.

Seriously! An Englishman from Nottingham, England who posted a video on how to make Mexican Chicken Fajitas with Mexican Mariachi music playing in the background! I fell in love with this guys accent and the way he said Oregano! So I followed his recipe. An Englishman taught this Mexican to make Fajitas!

First I prepped all my food. Chicken breast cut into strips, hence the name fajitas as fajitas is Spanish for strips. Then cut up onion the way Warren did it, then bell pepper.

While I was cutting up my veggies I marinated the chicken in a bowl with some Olive Oil, the juice of one lemon (I had no lime, sorry Warren), Cumin, Oregano, Salt and Pepper. I changed 2 things from Warrens recipe, I added no sugar since that adds carbs and I added the diced garlic in so that it would marinate with the meat.

Then it was time to get cooking! First I added Olive Oil to my favorite pan and added the onions. I stirred these lovelies for about 10 minutes. Oh the aroma!!!!

My poor mom came by to look in the pan and I told her, wouldn't you love to just put a spoonful of these in a torilla and just eat it? She HATES, DETESTS, DESPISES Onion! She looked at me like I was nuts and said "I wouldn't touch those things even with that wooden spoon!" I guess I don't have to share with her then, do I?

While they were caramelizing I decided to do something different from Warren, just cause I was feeling the Mexican blood boiling in my veins from the scent of the onions and I tossed in some chopped Jalapeno. Next time I'm leaving the seeds in!

I will tell you that at this point Warren adds the chicken. But maybe his chickens are not as juicy in Nottingham, England because I know now that at this point I would take the onions and jalapenos out of the pan and just saute the chicken alone in the drippings as it let out quite a bit of juice so the onions got more boiled than caramelized!

You can see that the onions are almost translucent in the photo above, I wanted them caramelized. But live and learn right? So I added the peppers and stirred and stirred, doesn't take long, maybe 10 to fifteen minutes since the chicken is sliced thinly into "fajtas"!

Voila! Chicken Fajitas as taught to me by Warren Nash, a Nottingham Englishman! Not bad for an Englishman and a Mexican right?

But no one had to teach me how to eat these babies! Just heated myself up a low-carb tortillas, added fajitas and guacamole...oh yeah, wait! I made guacamole. Just a simple one. Normally I add Jalapeno and Diced tomato but I wanted the Fajitas to be front and center.

Voila! Let's try this again, the finished product. Muy delicioso, Old Chap!

Chicken Soup Made Easy - with Beans even!

So I've mentioned a million times in previous posts that I am not a natural born cook like my sister. My sister can open up her pantry and her fridge and see that she has six ingredients in there and she can whip up a meal just using those things!

I can be in the middle of a whole grocery store with tons of ingredients and I couldn't figure out how to boil water without a recipe in writing!

Luckily there are people, like my sister, that are great at being creative with food, and they actually have the good sense to write it down, with pictures and step by step photos! Not that my sister doesn't have sense, she just doesn't have time to write everything down!

So I've been hunting down soup recipes! I know that we're not in the middle of a freeze here in sunny California, but it does get cold people. At least cold for a transplanted Arizonian!

I found a great recipe and a great Chef. And you know why this Chef is so great? Because not only does he create these recipes and write them down, but darned if he doesn't do a video too!

Chef John is an online teaching Chef on the award winning food blog Food Wishes. I love this blog! He has so many recipes and tips and ideas and you know what else? He is damned entertaining. Such a creative, droll, sarcastic sense of humor! Just love him!

The recipe that I tried and loved is Chef John's White Bean and Chicken Breast Chili. This is a photo of his version. Doesn't that look great? Plus I really love the white bowl, that bowl just screams "Soup's on!"

Photo Credit - Food Wishes

This soup called for quite a few ingredients I didn't have on hand, so I had to stop by the store. Is it just me or do you have the experience that you can stop by the grocery store to pick up a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread and you end up at the register with a full shopping cart of $200 in groceries? Every single time!

Here's my version. I made it a bit more soupy as I wanted a soup, not a chili. Verdict? Loved it! So rich and spicy.

Some of the ingredients that Chef John had me get were things I had never tried before, but then again I had never tried making a soup before either. I had to get powdered Ancho Chili and powdered Chipotle Powder and Corn Meal. I had also always wanted to try Cannellini Beans so as long as his recipe called for white beans I bought them, they were good, very meaty.

My peeps are not very fond of onions, but I decided it was time they grew up and ate like real adults and not like five year old kids that can't abide onions, so I did just like Chef John instructs in his video and started out by caramelizing the onions. My peeps loved it! You can taste the onion with all the other ingredients but the onion is almost invisible, just a translucent little gem in there, like you can see in the picture above.

Here's Chef John's video, watch it if you have a chance he's so funny!

***Chef John's Ingredients, watch his video above for instructions***

Ingredients for 4 portions:

2 tsp vegetable oil

2 or 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 1 1/4 lbs

salt and pepper to taste

1 large onion

4 cloves garlic

1 tbsp ancho chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp flour

about 3 cups chicken broth or stock, divided

1 tsp fine cornmeal
2 cans (15oz) white beans

cayenne to taste

1/4 tsp sugar or to taste

1/3 cup chopped green onions

sour cream and cilantro to garnish

I used the toppings he recommended, cilantro, sour cream, chopped green onions and I added chopped jalapenos. I am loving making soup! More soups to come!

 

Creamy Chopped Cauliflower Salad and Spicy Cajun Chicken Drumsticks - Another Low Carb Dish

Yesterday I made a yummy Faux Potato Soup trying to duplicate my dad's famous Caldo de Papa. I did it by using Cauliflower instead of super carby potatoes. I thought it came out pretty good. I shared a bowl with my low-carb co-worker and she thought it was pretty good too so I definitely will be making it again and you should too! Trust me, you'll love it!

Because I wasn't sure if I was going to like it I only used half of the head of cauliflower and tonight I used the other half to make a Creamy Chopped Cauliflower Salad. I based it on the recipe from the website Eating Well. You can follow THIS LINK to find their recipe.

I kept to the recipe but made a few changes to try to lower the carbs, which aren't that high to begin with, so if you want to stick to the recipe it wouldn't hurt anything if you follow a low carb lifestyle.

I used:

• 5 Tablespoons regular Mayonnaise, not the reduced fat
• 2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar, I didn't have the regular kind
• 3 small shoots of green onion, about 3 tablespoons, finely chopped, again...no shallots
• 1/4 teaspoon ground Cumin, I've never had Caraway seeds and they were $6 for a small container so I looked online to find a something similar to Caraway in taste. My choices were Anise, Dill and Cumin, Cumin was all I had.
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 cups cauliflower florets, about 1/2 a head
• 2 cups chopped hearts of Romaine
• 1 teaspoon Granulated Splenda
• 1  1/2 cups of Jicama chopped into small cubes

It was very good. I love crunchy salads and the cauliflower and jicama both gave it lots of crunch. In the picture on the Eating Well site the red apple added a lot of color. I think next time I might add a tomato for color, plus I love tomato!

To make this you:

• Whisk together in a large bowl the Mayonnaise, Cider Vinegar, Black Pepper, Cumin (or Caraway if you use them), the green onion and Splenda. 
• Add the Chopped Cauliflower, Jicama and Romaine Lettuce
• Toss and Serve
• Makes about 6 servings

I served this as a side dish for one of my old standbys that I've made a million times, Spicy Cajun Chicken Drumsticks. A perfect side dish as the coolness of the salad helps with the spiciness of the chicken.

This was very good and something different from the normal coleslaw I usually eat with the chicken. Oh and by the way the Jicama was very good, not quite as sweet as an apple, but the same texture and crunch.

The Chicken is super easy to make, recipe HERE.



 

I'll never eat canned green beans again and The Kiss of Death!

Do you eat canned green beans?

I have to admit that I've eaten canned green beans my whole life.

I didn't know any better.

I remember once going to Panda Express and having an order of their Chicken Green Beans and the green beans were what caught my fancy. They were so good and crispy.

Recently my co-worker has at times brought some green beans she makes to work and I've loved them. Today I finally had to ask her how she makes them and she was very gracious and told me exactly how.

So I made them and they were divine! As God is my witness I will never eat canned green beans again!

It's so amazingly easy that I just don't understand why I've never just cooked my own green beans before! Just buy fresh green beans, trim the ends and wash them off well. Then take about two tablespoons of bacon grease and warm it up in the pan, add the green beans, a bit of salt and pepper (next time I'm going to add fresh grated garlic). Saute them in the pan for 3 to 4 minutes over medium heat, then cover them and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, then turn off the heat and let them sit covered in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes.

That's it!

Here's what you end up with. Don't you love the color?

Made for a delicious low-carb dinner when I set them right next to some rotisserie chicken. Yum!

So I am trying...trying so hard to stick to a low-carb WOE (way of eating). And really it's very simple and easy and I'm never hungry...but then my mom brings home the KISS OF DEATH!

Fudge Marshmallow Cookies!!! My absolute favorite kind of cookie ever! I didn't even know they still made these! I can remember eating these as a kid and I loved the marshmallowy center and the crisp cookie underneath all wrapped with chocolate! But I will not succomb...be gone ye evil cookie! (Made mom take them to her room!)

What's your favorite way of cooking green beans? Now that I'm hooked on them I'd like to see what ya'll are doing with them!


 

Finger in the Dike and a Yummy Meal

Today is going to be a little bit random because sometimes that's just how my mind works! 

 Also my mind is pretty tired because today was the first day of a full week back to work in 2014, and I went into it with some trepidation. I tried to be positive about it and even posted on Facebook first thing in the morning something to motivate me and others.

Happy Monday everyone! Back at work for the first full week of 2014!
I'll be ready for it...just as soon as I finish my first cup of coffee! Make it a great one!

See how I tried to face the day with a lot of positivity? Yes, I know...that's not a real word, auto correct is telling me so, but I like the word...positivity!

I believe I've written before how I have some days when everything I touch turns to Gold and is smooth as silk...today was not one of those days!

Today I would no sooner touch one project and get a little into it when I would get interrupted with an urgent email or phone call. I would then turn my focus into putting out that fire and soon there was another call or email that took me away from that fire and so on and so on and nothing much got accomplished, just a bunch of half done problems and projects! *sigh* I hate days like that!



I felt like the little boy that put his finger in the dike to save the village but other holes kept cropping up and I was running from one to the other trying to just stop the onslaught of water and to keep from drowning!

But...the good thing is I got through the day and lived to face another one tomorrow!


Then I came home to do one of my favorite things...eat and share what I eat!

Tonight was taco night, but instead of having a regular taco with all the goodies stuffed into a high carb corn tortilla, I opted for a lettuce wrap. All the goodness for less carbs! Win! 

Is that not a work of art? Just seasoned and browned ground beef on an leaf of iceberg lettuce topped with avocado, salsa and shredded cheddar cheese...simple and delicious!

Tucked in at the back of the wraps is a yummy Spicy Cajun Chicken Strip. Made those yesterday to watch while the San Diego Chargers and the San Francisco Forty-niners played. They didn't play each other, they played other teams, but they both won! Go California! 

So that was it, that was my Monday. Hopefully tomorrow will be smoother and if not you know what?? There's always food and sharing it on my blog!

               

I'm No Expert, but.....

So it's the 2nd day of the New Year and I'm back at the office having my lunch and trying to stick to my resolve to eat healthy again in 2014. I follow a lot of blogs that follow the low carb, high fat lifestyle aka LCHF.

One of the blogs I follow faithfully and just love the author of it to bits is Mellissa over at I Breathe...I'm Hungry...

I've shared many of her meatball recipes on my blog before, but today she did a post entitled "Hi, My name is Mellissa and I am a Carb Addict." 

So..."Hi, My name is Alicia and I too am a Carb Addict." Love carbs, especially those in the form of little rounds of fried potatoes seasoned with salt, and little crispy, cheesy strips of Heaven that have a satisfying crunch. More commonly they are known as potato chips and Cheetos...Yum!

It's really difficult to find any foods comparable to chips and Cheetos. Nothing really compares in the LCHF world, but today a friend turned me on to something super delicious that I can actually have on a LCHF diet. 

I had mentioned to my friend that I need to eat a certain percentage of healthy fats but that I really don't like fats or the taste of fats and that I normally peel the skin off of chicken or force myself to swallow it without chewing. 

My friend told me I should take the skin, wrap it in paper towels and put it in the microwave until it crisped up. So today that is what I did and what I ended up with is those golden little crisps pictured above. 

And because I peeled the skin off of my Cajun Chicken Drumsticks...recipe again from Mellissa at I Breathe...I Eat..., they had a super great Cajun flavor; a tad spicy, very crispy and salty...Yum!

They were a nice little appetizer today, I got my fats in and then I enjoyed the chicken drumstick with a side of salad. All in all a delicious lunch!

It's amazing the things you can do with food. Every day I read about some new thing that you can eat on LCHF. So glad there are so many great bloggers out there sharing this information!

      

Weekend Low Carb Wrap Up - Week Eleven

Welcome to week eleven! It's been a good week! I've only lost one pound but I had been stuck on the same weight for the past two months, so any loss is a win in my book! Been doing excellent in staying on track and watching carbs. 

I recently joined a group of people that are trying to lose weight. Some are doing Atkins Low Carb - High Fat, some are on Weight Watchers, some on Skinny Fiber, some counting calories, but the point of the group is the support that we are all receiving from each other. The tips and ideas are great too. 

I mentioned how I was stalled and not losing any weight and what I was eating and how frustrated I was and several told me that I was not eating enough fats. I explained that I really don't like fats, yuk! I like lean meats and always remove the fat on my chicken but told them I was willing to try eating more fat. I never thought I would purposely eat more fat, but I did and I did lose 1 pound. I will continue throughout this next week and see what happens. 

My co-worker Angie was nice enough to make a recipe we've been seeing all over the web called "Fat Bombs", see the picture below. These yummies consist of coconut oil, almond butter, liquid Stevia, cocoa powder and melted butter. She found them on the website My Low Carb Road to Better Health - High Fat, Moderate Protein, Low Carb. 

Let's see, what else did I eat throughout the week? One thing was a tried and true friend...my Cajun Chicken Drumsticks and Broccoli Slaw. I love these and could eat them morning, noon and night! And now I am even eating the skin so it's a good thing that the rub I use on it gives it such great flavor!

Oh...one of the members in the group asked all of us how we "Latinize" our low carb foods. Well my mom cooks for me pretty often and all she needs to do is add jalapeno and tomato and it's Mexican food for me!

Here she takes steak and cuts it into bite size pieces instead of strips and makes her version of steak fajitas. She also makes this wonderful dish that she has made ever since I was a little girl. She takes Anaheim Chile Peppers and roasts them over an open flame, peels the skin off and then stuffs them with Monterey Cheese and microwaves them for a bit to melt the cheese. Kind of a Chile Rellano without the breaded outside. I love them! All I add is a salad. 

Earlier today my sister accompanied me to do my weekly grocery shopping. We were on our way to eat at Applebees and we saw that right across the street there was a Farmers Market going on so we went over to check it out. And it was a good thing we did because we found these yummy baked veggies! 

They had all kinds. In the picture below are Beet Chips and Carrot Chips with Garlic. They had samples and it's a good thing they did or we never would have tried them!

I also bought a bag of Okra Chips, which I didn't take a picture of because earlier today I went to go visit my dad for Father's Day and I took them to him and he was in Okra Heaven! He loved them and in a couple of days I will take him the beet ones and then later the carrot ones. I'm sure he will love these as well. They are baked by a company called The Kloster Company, but I could not find a website for them.

We bought some other goodies at the Farmers Market. One of the items was a Raspberry Pomegranate Vinaigrette so tonight for dinner I made myself a refreshing summer salad of Romaine Lettuce, Avocado, Cucumber, Strawberries and Red Onion and topped it all with the Vinaigrette and some cracked black pepper. It was one of the most delicious salads I've ever had!

And lest you think that I didn't have any fats today, this is what I had for lunch at Applebees!

I asked our server to bring me some butter and he was kind enough to bring me about 1/4 cup of melted butter which I drizzled all over the veggies and on the steak. I ate every bit except for the carrots!

As I said...it's been a great week and I feel fabulous and I know I look much better and my clothes are feeling looser. It is only one pound I've lost on the scale, but it's not just about the scale. It's about feeling better and feeling better about myself!

Photo Courtesy of Trains Fitness

 

Weekly Low Carb Wrap Up - Week Eight?

Notice my little question mark after the title? The last wrap up I did was April 15th and that was week seven. I went a bit AWOL after that last one. BUT...I have kept my low carb lifestyle going. It's not a diet, it's a way of life so there's no turning back now! So that's about three weeks of low carb goodies I have to show you. 

To be honest, I have not had a lot of time to try new recipes. I have pinned several in Pinterest that I will be trying out in the future, but for right now my priority is being with my dad. I mentioned a few posts ago that he had taken a fall and broken his pelvis. He's in an assisted living facility and I try to visit him at least once a day, sometimes twice. On the bright side he is getting better and his break has healed enough that this next week he will be beginning physical therapy! 

Dad and I. Celebrating his 82nd Birthday!

Just yesterday we celebrated his 82nd birthday and he was in a wonderful mood. Happy and talkative, enjoying his family and eating Nopales (cactus) which is his favorite dish. My sister made them for him and now that I think about it, Nopales are low carb, I sure wish I liked them but unfortunately I don't like them or mushrooms either.

My dad holding his containers of Nopales (Cactus) cooked with scrambled egg and onion.

One new thing that I have found and tried and really like are Persian Cucumbers! I love any kind of cucumber but especially these as I am not really fond of all the seeds in the middle and hate scooping them out before I slice them. With the Persian Cucumbers I found I didn't have to. They are super crunchy and I like to dust them with Pico De Gallo powder, which is very spicy and then drizzle them with a bit of lemon. So delicious and low carb. Really satisfies that craving for chips and salsa!

Another new item I tried was courtesy of my co-worker and co-partner in this low carb lifestyle, Angelica. She made the most delicious low carb lasagna! Yes, you heard right, low carb lasagna! But Alicia, you say...pasta is very high in carbs! I know, I know! But not when your pasta is made from Zucchini! This photo doesn't do this dish justice, but trust me it was fabulous!

Low Carb Zucchini Lasagna!

In previous low carb wrap ups I've done I've mentioned the Easy Cajun Drumsticks that I've made and I love them, but I decided to try to make them with boneless chicken breast. My son loved them and I thought they were delicious, but I really love them as drumsticks much better. They are just more flavorful and not as dry. Served them with a drizzle of lemon to cut the spiciness a bit and steamed some broccoli. I love eating low carb!

Easy Cajun Skinless Chicken Strips

One of the things I do miss eating on a low carb lifestyle is burritos and tacos. But I found a great new way to kinda/sorta eat a burrito and/or taco. Use a leaf of lettuce! In the photos below I show you several different fillings that I've tried and they were all 100% delicious!

Shredded Beef Romaine Lettuce Taco with Green Beans and Roma Tomatoes

Beef Carnitas Romaine Lettuce Tacos

Chicken Salad Romaine Lettuce Tacos with Slices of Cucumber

Didn't those all look delicious? And so easy. Almost anything you can wrap in a tortilla you can wrap in a lettuce leaf. 

This next dish tastes much, much better than this photograph would lead you to believe. The original recipe calls them Buffalo Balls. They are from an awesome low carb website, I Breathe...I'm Hungry!

I followed her recipe almost to the letter, the only thing I changed is that I added Parmesan Cheese as I didn't have and don't particularly like Blue Cheese. They were really delicious and my co-worker/friend/co-low carber Angelica really loved them as well. You use Frank's Red Hot Sauce...this stuff is fabulous! Meatballs are a really easy way to eat low carb.

And last but not least...a low carb tip for you. A quick and easy Breakfast or mid morning or mid afternoon snack are hard-boiled eggs. I usually just peel two in the morning, cut them up and put them in a plastic container, add a dollop of mayo and some salt and pepper and head out the door. At snack time I just open up the container, mix everything up and eat. Easy, tasty, flavorful!

So there you go. Hopefully I redeemed myself from missing previous low carb wrap ups and we will see what this next week hold for me. Have a good one!