Slow Cooker Chicken Tostadas

The flavors, spices, freshness and even aromas constantly having me coming back for more day after day, week after week for Mexican food. Good Mexican food is loaded with fresh flavor and when made right, it’s never bland. I could happily eat it 3 meals a day and be completely satisfied. One of the best breakfast I’ve ever had was on a trip to Mexico, these women made breakfast burritos with everything made from scratch, yes I still dream about those and the tamales they made with a masa prepared with fresh corn.
With Mexican dishes such as these tostadas I can sometimes get a little carried away. I like to get a little crazy with the toppings I pile on. Let’s just say I pile mine high. There’s the perfectly crisp tostada shell, topped with beans, often followed by Mexican rice, then a generous amount of the chicken or other meat such as shredded beef, then I add the cheese over the warm chicken so it will melt a bit, followed by the lettuce, green or red onions, tomatoes, cilantro lime ranch, sour cream, Mexican hot sauce. sometimes fresh salsa, and basically whatever else I see in the fridge or in my produce basket. It sounds like an overload but somehow it all blends so incredibly well together. Of course you don’t need to add that much to it when you prepare these, just add the toppings you like.

Ingredients

·         1 recipe slow cooker shredded chicken.

·         8 (8-inch) flour or corn tortillas

·         oil for frying or baking tortillas you can use half vegetable oil and half olive oil

·         Tostada toppings:

·         3 1/2 cups prepared refried, pinto or black beans

·         2 cups shredded cheese, such as Cheddar and Monterey Jack

·         1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped

·         2 avocados, diced

·         3 - 4 Roma tomatoes, diced

·         sour cream

Optional toppings:

·         chopped red or green onions, cilantro and fresh limes for juicing , hot sauce

You have to do

• Prepare chicken according to directions listed. To prepare tostada shells, heat 1/4 - inch of oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot (you can tell by adding the tip of a shell and if the oil sizzles around it, it's ready), add one tortilla and fry until golden on bottom, then using metal tongs, rotate tortilla to opposite side and cook opposite side until golden and crisp. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towels and repeat process with remaining tortillas, adding additional oil to pan as needed and preheating oil before frying tortillas. If baking tortillas preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using about 2 Tbsp oil total, brush both sides of tortillas with oil then align in a single layer on 2 cookie sheets. Bake in preheated oven 8 - 10 minutes, rotating once halfway through baking, until crisp and lightly golden.
• Spread warm shell with beans, followed by prepared and shredded chicken, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, avocados and other toppings desired. Serve immediately.

Grilled Honey Lime Chicken

This Grilled Honey Lime Chicken is so amazing that it’s likely to leave you speechless! Be sure to properly marinate and grill it, don’t settle for an hour or two of marinating and follow tips listed at bottom of recipe for properly grilled chicken. In my opinion this chicken is completely phenomenal! I made this recipe because I love chicken for dinner and I wanted a new recipe to add to the rotation. This is an exciting one that I’m certain is going to be made in my home quite frequently. All of the flavors of this simple marinade blend so perfectly together and compliment the chicken amazingly well. If you have leftovers – which is unlikely, they would make an incredible filling for tacos. I hope you love this recipe!

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients for Grilled Honey Lime Chicken

1.5 - 2 lbs boneless and skinless chicken breast halves or chicken thighs

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

2 tsp lime zest

1/4 cup honey

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp packed light-brown sugar

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder or 1 clove finely minced garlic

1/8 - 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper if you like

1/2 tsp salt to taste

You have to do

• If chicken isn't an even thickness then place chicken in a large ziploc bag and seal bag. Using the flat side of a meat mallet, pound chicken to an even thickness.
• Place chicken in a non-reactive dish in a single layer. In a mixing bowl whisk together remaining ingredients. Reserve 2 Tbsp of the mixture in a non-reactive, airtight container in the refrigerator. Pour remaining mixture over the chicken, cover dish and allow to marinate 8 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
• Preheat grill to medium high heat. Once preheated, brush grill lightly with olive oil. Place chicken on grill and cook (with lid closed) 5-8 minutes per side until juices run clear (cook time depends on the thickness of the chicken, internal temp should register to 160 when done), baste each side of chicken with reserved marinade during the last minute of cooking. For juicier chicken, plate chicken, cover with foil and allow to rest 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
• Notes for better grilled chicken: don't flip chicken over and over again, it only needs to be flipped once, and if you like the cross marks as pictured you can flip it a second time during the last minute of cooking. For the mouth watering grill marks brush the grill with olive oil before cooking and then when flipping to opposite side, this also prevents sticking as well. Don't press down on chicken when grilling or poke continuously, this will release the juices and that delicious marinade. Don't overcook or chicken will be tough, for tender chicken cook until internal temperature registers at 160 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Don't lift grill lid more than necessary.

 

Masala-marinated chicken with minted yoghurt sauce

This is one of my favourite dish, when i was writing this recipe my mouth was watering.then i decided tonight i will make it.

Ingredients

For the marinade

2 tbsp cumin seeds

2 tbsp coriander seeds

4 whole cloves

6 cardamom pods

1 tsp black peppercorns

1 tsp ground fenugreek

2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tbsp paprika

1-2 tsp hot chilli powder (the more you use)

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

40g/1½oz piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated

100g/3½oz low-fat natural yoghurt

1 tsp flaked sea salt

For the chicken

1.65kg/3lb 8oz chicken

1 lime, quartered

freshly ground black pepper

fresh watercress or baby leaf salad, to serve

For the minted yoghurt sauce

·         200g/7oz low-fat natural yoghurt

·         1 tsp ready-made mint sauce

Cooking method

Ø  To make the marinade, split the cardamom pods and remove the seeds. Put the cardamom seeds in a dry non-stick frying pan and discard the husks. Add the cumin and coriander seeds, cloves and black peppercorns and place the pan over a medium heat. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring regularly until the spices are lightly toasted – you know they’re ready when you can smell the spicy aroma.

Ø  Tip the toasted spices into a pestle and mortar, or an electric spice grinder, and pound to a fine powder. Transfer to a mixing bowl and stir in the fenugreek, turmeric, paprika, chilli powder, cinnamon and salt. Add the garlic, ginger and yoghurt, then mix well and leave to stand while you prepare the chicken.

Ø  Place the chicken on its breast on a sturdy chopping board and cut carefully either side of the backbone with good scissors or poultry shears. Chuck out the bone and cut off the foot joints and wing tips.

Ø  Strip all the skin off the bird apart from the ends of the wings (which are easier to remove after cooking). You’ll find this simpler to do if you snip the membrane between the skin and the chicken flesh as you go. Cut off and discard any obvious fat – it will be a creamy white colour. Open out the chicken and place it on the board so the breast side is facing upwards.

Ø  Press down heavily with the palms of your hands to break the breastbone and flatten the chicken as evenly as possible. This will help it cook more quickly. Slash the meat with a knife through the thickest parts of the legs and breast. Place the chicken in a shallow non-metallic dish – a lasagne dish is ideal – and tuck in the legs and wings.

Ø  Spoon over the marinade and really massage it into the chicken on both sides, ensuring that every bit of bird is well coated – get your hands in there and really go for it. Cover the dish with cling film and put the chicken in the fridge to marinate for at least four hours or ideally overnight.

Ø  Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Take the chicken out of the dish and place it on a rack inside a large baking tray, breast-side up. Squeeze over some juice from the lime and season with ground black pepper.

Ø  Roast for 1-1¼ hours until the chicken is lightly browned and cooked throughout, tossing the lime quarters on to the rack for the last 20 minutes to cook alongside the chicken. They’ll be good for squeezing over the meat later. The juices should run clear when the thickest part of one of the thighs is pierced with a skewer. Cover loosely with foil and leave to rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Ø  While the chicken is resting, make the sauce. Spoon the yoghurt into a serving bowl and stir in the mint sauce until thoroughly combined. Transfer the chicken to a plate or wooden board and carve into slices, discarding any skin. Serve with the sauce and some watercress or salad and enjoy!