Cilantro Lime Rice

Cilantro Lime Rice

CILANTRO LIME RICE

yield: ABOUT 3 CUPS COOKED RICE

prep time: 10 MINUTES

cook time: 20 MINUTES

total time: 30 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS:

·         1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice

·         1 teaspoon oil

·         2 cloves garlic, minced

·         1 teaspoon lime zest

·         2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice

·         2 cups vegetable broth

·         1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

·         2 teaspoons granulated sugar

·         4 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

DIRECTIONS:

1.      In a  saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, lime zest, 2 teaspoons of lime juice, and broth. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat.

2.      In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, sugar, and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice. Serve warm.

Chicken Fajitas

yield: 6 servings

THE BEST CHICKEN FAJITAS

TOTAL TIME: 2 HOURS 25 MINS (INCLUDES MARINATING TIME)

 PREP TIME: 15 MINS

 COOK TIME: 10-12 MINS

INGREDIENTS:

MARINADE:

·         ¼ cup fresh lime juice (about 3-4 limes)

·         1/3 cup water

·         2 tablespoons vegetable oil

·         2 large cloves garlic, minced

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         3 teaspoons apple cider or red wine vinegar

·         2 teaspoons soy sauce

·         ½ teaspoons chili powder

·         ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

·         ½ teaspoon liquid smoke

·         ¼ teaspoon black pepper

·         1/8 teaspoon onion powder

FAJITAS:

·         1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts (about 3 large chicken breasts)

·         1 yellow onion, cut into thin strips

·         1 green pepper, cut into thin strips

·         1 red (or orange) pepper, cut into thin strips

·         8 ounces fresh mushrooms, quartered

·         1 teaspoon soy sauce

·         2 tablespoons water

·         ½ teaspoon fresh lime juice (a quick squeeze of a cut lime)

·         dash of salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1.        Combine all marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Place chicken in a ziploc bag and pour the marinade ingredients over the top. Seal the bag and place in the refrigerator and let marinate for 2-3 hours.

2.        After marinading, take chicken out of the bag and discard the marinade. Grill or broil the chicken 5-7 minutes per side. Remove from grill or pan and tent with foil to keep warm.

3.        In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat and add the onion, mushrooms and peppers. Stir fry until softened but still crisp tender. Add soy sauce, water, lime juice and salt and pepper. Cook another 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Slice chicken thinly on the diagonal and toss with the vegetables in the skillet. Serve immediately with flour tortillas and top with tomatoes, lettuce, guacamole, cheese, sour cream…the options are endless!

NOTES:

Liquid smoke may seem like an unnecessary, optional ingredient but I promise it adds an irreplaceable flavor and smokiness – I keep a bottle of liquid smoke on hand in the refrigerator just to make these fajitas.

Cuban Sandwiches

yield: 6-8 sandwiches, depending on size

CUBAN SANDWICHES {SLOW COOKER OR PRESSURE COOKER}

PREP TIME: 10 MINS

COOK TIME: 8-9 HOURS (SLOW COOKER), 55 MINS (PRESSURE COOKER)

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INGREDIENTS:

PORK:

·         1 tablespoon coarse, kosher salt

·         1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper (use less for finely ground black pepper)

·         1 tablespoon ground cumin

·         1 tablespoon dried oregano

·         Pinch of red pepper flakes

·         4 cloves garlic, finely minced

·         Juice of 2 limes (about 3 tablespoons)

·         Juice of 1 large or 2 medium oranges (about 1/2 cup)

·         1/2 cup chicken broth (only needed if using a pressure cooker)

·         3 to 5 pounds boneless pork sirloin roast or pork shoulder roast, excess skin/fat removed, cut into 3- or 4-inch cubes

SANDWICHES:

·         4-inch (or so) soft sub rolls or hoagie buns (see note)

·         Yellow mustard

·         Deli ham slices

·         Swiss cheese slices

·         Dill pickles, thinly sliced

·         Red onions, thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS:

1.        For the pork, in a small bowl, mix together the salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, red pepper flakes, garlic, lime juice, and orange juice.

2.        FOR THE SLOW COOKER: place the pork in the bottom of the slow cooker and pour the spice mixture over the top, tossing to evenly coat the pork. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 8-9 hours, until the pork is tender and shreds easily.

3.        FOR THE PRESSURE COOKER: place the pork in the bottom of the pressure cooker and pour the spice mixture and chicken broth over the top, tossing to evenly coat the pork. Seal the lid of the pressure cooker and cook on high pressure for 55 minutes. Let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes, then quick release the remaining pressure.

4.        Shred the pork into pieces and return to the slow cooker or pressure cooker (with any remaining juices) to keep warm while assembling the sandwiches.

5.        For the sandwiches, slice each roll/bun in half lengthwise and spread mustard on both cut halves. On the bottom half, layer ham, Swiss cheese, shredded pork, pickles and onions. If desired, the sandwich can be grilled or pressed in a panini griddle for a hot, melty version (if doing so, slap cheese on both halves of the bread before assembling). Serve immediately.

NOTES:

An authentic Cuban sandwich is usually served on Cuban bread, which, thanks to a google search, is soft and often made with lard (so it crisps up without getting super tough and hard). I don’t have a Latin bakery close to me, and I haven’t tried my hand at Cuban bread yet, because these French bread rolls (whole wheat version here) always do the trick for a delicious Cuban sandwich. I make them slightly bigger (about 3 to 3.5 ounces of dough per bun) and longer, similar to a hoagie bun shape. Soft and super delicious. I’m sure a variety of soft, storebought rolls or buns would work here as well. 

Also, if you make the full five pounds of pork, you’ll get a lot more than eight sandwiches. I almost always make a full five pounds for this recipe because the leftover pork freezes so well – which means easy, delicious sandwiches later, OR, we use the leftover pork in tacos, enchiladas, for salads, etc.

Finally, if your slow cooker tends to cook hot (even on the low setting), you might want to add the 1/2 cup chicken broth, intended for the pressure cooker method, so the pork doesn’t dry out while cooking. 

Coconut Curry Soup

COCONUT CURRY SOUP

YIELD: 4-6 SERVINGS

 PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES

 COOK TIME: 20 MINUTES

 TOTAL TIME: 30 MINUTES

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

INGREDIENTS

·          2 tablespoons olive oil

·          1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, (about 3), cut into 1-inch pieces

·          Salt and pepper for seasoning

·          1/2 cup chopped yellow onion (about 1/2 medium onion)

·          1 red bell pepper, finely chopped

·          2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

·          1 can (14-ounces) unsweetened light coconut milk

·          1 tablespoon fish sauce

·          1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper or more to taste

·          1 tablespoon brown sugar

·          ½ tablespoon curry powder

·          1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (about 1 medium lime)

·          ¼ cup fresh cilantro

·          3-4 cups hot, cooked rice for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

1.       In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat until it is hot and shimmering. Pat the chicken pieces dry with a paper towel and season them lightly with salt and pepper. Add them to the hot oil. Let the chicken cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the onions and red pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the onions and peppers are slightly softened. The chicken and vegetables don’t have to be fully cooked as they will simmer and cook further in the next step.

2.       Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, fish sauce, cayenne pepper, brown sugar and curry powder. Stir to combine. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook, gently, for 10-15 minutes. Stir in the lime juice and cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3.       Serve a ladle or two of the soup over a scoop of rice and garnish with more cilantro, if desired.

NOTES

The slight dash of cayenne pepper doesn’t make the soup spicy, instead, it just enhances the overall flavor. You can add more to taste, if you like things a bit spicier. Also, if you are worried about the fish sauce, don’t be! It is widely available in most grocery stores in the Asian foods section. It is relatively inexpensive and lasts a long time in the refrigerator. It adds an element of flavor you can’t get otherwise, but in a pinch, you could leave it out and sub in probably 1/2 teaspoon salt (more or less to taste). If you don’t know what you would use the rest of the fish sauce in, here are a few of my other favorite dishes that call for it: Shrimp Stir Fry with Coconut Curry Sauce, Chiang Mai Noodles, Red Coconut Curry Noodles, Vietnamese Spring Rolls, Authentic Egg Rolls.)

Make Ahead Instructions: Follow the recipe through the step through the first paragraph. Transfer the chicken/onions/peppers to a slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients (except the lime juice, cilantro and rice). Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Stir in lime juice and cilantro. Serve over rice.

Homemade Bread Recipes

This is the recipe from the Peterson's Bosh Kitchen Center Class Recipes that Mom used most recently.

I haven't been very successful with it, I have had more success recently using this recipe.

Marie Holmes’ Whole Wheat Bread

(her husband was our Bishop in the Berkeley student ward)

Makes 4 loaves/3 loaves

5 cups warm water/3 ¾ C

⅔ c. vegetable oil/1/2 C

⅔ c. honey/1/2 C

2 Tbsp yeast/1 ½ T

2 Tbsp salt/1 ½ T

About 12 cups whole wheat flour/9 C

Mix water, oil, honey and yeast with 6 cups flour until well blended, cover and let rest 10 minutes.

Add salt and remaining flour, more flour as needed.  Knead 10 min (on 1st speed of mixer).

Form into loaves and place in greased loaf pans.  Let rise 30-45 min (maybe longer), should double.

Bake 30-35 min at 350 degrees.

I usually use about half wheat flour, half bread flour and I add about 1 T of gluten.  I set the oven to 150 degrees while I am putting the bread in pans.  I put oil in the pans as I put the dough in and spin it around like Mom used to. Then I turn off the oven and put the bread in to rise with a cloth over them.  When they are risen I just take off the cloth and leave them in and turn on the oven to preheat. When Mom had more bread dough than what would fit in bread pans she used an old yeast can (it was pretty tall and about the size of a bread pan) and we would have round bread. I remember feeling like that was weird one morning when we had a field trip and I was taking cold lunch and my sandwich was made with round bread. I thought I would be teased by the other kids. On the contrary, the other kids thought it was amazing.