I’d like to share with you two chicken recipes that kept us fed for the last few days. There’s a tropical storm (hurricane) warning here in Houston at the moment, so it’s just as well that we are so well stocked up on leftovers. On Monday of this week, we put 3lbs of chicken breast into our slow cooker, which we liberally seasoned with pepper, salt, paprika, cumin, chili powder and garlic powder. The intention was to slow cook it for 4-6 hours and I would say we took it out after about 5. Together my roommate and I shredded it with forks, and the resulting shredded chicken was then used for two recipes this week- Chicken Taquitos (our own recipe) and Lauren Gleisberg’s Spicy & Cheesy Chicken Stuffed Peppers. We made so much chicken, it seems, that we still have plenty left over for things like sandwiches and quesadillas after finishing the aforementioned recipes.
I’ll start with the taquitos. Taquitos are a Mexican dish that literally translates to “small tacos” in Spanish. They’re also known as flautas, when you make them a bit bigger, which translates to “flute”. We made ours with corn tortillas, which my roommate spread lovingly with sour cream. He then passed them along the figurative conveyor belt to me, whereby I applied the hot chicken lengthways down the center of the tortilla. I then passed the tortilla back for my roommate to apply cheese, before carefully rolling into the flute shape and tucking it snugly into the waiting baking tray. We made a good batch of these. We sprinkled the row of taquitos with chili powder and some extra cheese to go on the outer layer, before stacking another row of taquitos on top. We made as much as we could. We baked the taquitos in the oven until the cheese on the outside became crispy and brown, and the cheese on the inside started to bubble. For us, this took about 15 minutes.
We served the taquitos and they were just heavenly. Everyone seemed to like them, but I think I may have enjoyed them the most. It was a successful cook, very simple and easy, and I’m glad we used our own recipe rather than seeking out what Youtube had to offer. It’s good for the blog, because it means that come the end of the summer, when I am arranging my power rankings, I will have plenty of recipes vying to be my favorite.
The second recipe of course is Lauren’s Spicy & Cheesy Chicken Stuffed Peppers. First thing is first- congratulations to Lauren and her husband Anthony on their adorable baby boy. For those readers unfamiliar with Lauren Gleisberg and her work, I should tell you a little about her to contextualize things. Basically, she’s a fitness and healthy lifestyle blogger. She produces these amazing (and intense) workout programs and healthy recipes. But what makes her recipes special is that her emphasis is not so much prescribing a change of diet as it making what you enjoy- but in the healthiest way possible. A balance is achieved between taste and healthiness. I especially recommend Lauren for young women trying to get fit and who like the idea of connecting with a wider community that acts as a kind of support group. Lauren has a huge following on Instagram and if you are so inclined, you can become a part of her family. And as far as celebrities go, she is pretty down-to-Earth, and will make time to message you back. Anyway, she’s from Wisconsin, and my roommate- who I often describe as my sister- discovered her at some point during the closing months of 2014. Since then she’s become a dedicated follower of Lauren’s, with the abs to show for it. My sis owns several of Lauren’s cookbooks, and she and I decided to make one of her recipes from the blog this summer.
I suggested we do the stuffed peppers, and together we cooked them, giving my other roommate (her fiancé) a chance to put his feet up. The recipe is for the most part quite straightforward. Most of the work will be spent halving, seeding and flaying the bell peppers, which my sweet roommate taught me to do. The halved peppers were then arranged in a baking tray covered in aluminum foil, and stuffed with a mixture we had prepared that consisted of the shredded chicken, rice, salsa, cumin, chili powder, paprika, onion powder and garlic powder. We then covered the stuffed peppers with Monterrey Jack before baking for approximately 20 minutes, which was about the time it took for the cheese to turn golden-brown. We then served and enjoyed the peppers with non-fat Greek yogurt, as per Lauren’s suggestion!
All in all, two easy and interesting shredded chicken recipes that have kept us well fed during this hurricane week.
TumbleweedWrites 