Quesadillas de Carmarones (Shrimp Quesadillas...yum!)

Seriously?!! Where have I been? Are you tired of staring at the Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup recipe? It's been so long, since October long...yikes! Well, I am back and starting off with a bang, if you like shrimp. I found this recipe over at the Pioneer Women's site so there were no doubts it would be awesome! My husband loves fajitas and this recipe has a fajita twist to it so it worked out great. Super easy and super tasty.

INGREDIENTS:

flour tortillas (I prefer the Tortilla Land Uncooked from Costco, which you have to pre-cook for this recipe)

12+ whole LARGE shrimp, peeled and deveined

8oz can El Pato

1 whole large onion

1 Large Red Bell Pepper

1 Large Green Bell Pepper

2 cups grated Monterey Jack Cheese

2 Tbsp. olive oil

salt to taste

butter

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pour El Pato over shrimp and set aside.

2. Chop peppers and onions into large chunks. Heat skillet over high heat, add olive oil. Cook veggies over high heat until they start to brown. Remove from skillet and set aside.

3. Return skillet to the high heat and dump shrimp and sauce, stirring occasionally until shrimp is opaque. (add a little water if sauce gets dry) Remove from skillet and chop into bite sized pieces. 

4. In a separate skillet, heat a drop of butter. Place tortilla in skillet and top with cheese, shrimp, veggies, and a little more cheese. Place a second tortilla on top. Cook both sides, adding a drop of butter before flipping. 

5. Remove from skillet and slice into wedges. Serve with salsa, sour cream, or guacamole!

Shredded Beef Tacos

I love these tacos! I have been making our beef tacos this way for the past couple of years and they never disappoint. I have posted them here on my blog before with a yummy garnish that is worth trying too. It's an easy crock pot meal that requires very little ingredients. You can also substitute the beef for chicken and the beef broth for chicken broth with great results too.

Ingredients:

beef tip roast

2 packets of your favorite taco seasoning

1 can beef broth

1 small diced onion

Directions:

Pour beef broth in crock pot and mix in taco seasonings with a whisk. Place roast in crock pot and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Remove roast from juices and shred. Serve in warm tortillas with toppings of choice!

Recommendations:

• I love the uncooked tortillas from Costco, once you try them you'll never go back.
• My favorite toppings- lettuce, tomato, sour cream, cheese, this salsa, avocado or guacamole 
• I've used low sodium beef broth and low sodium taco seasonings and it still turns out great
• This rice (pictured above) makes the perfect side dish, but this one is good too!

Southwestern Chicken Nachos

I found this recipe on the Sister's Cafe and switched it up a little. The original recipe has you cook the chicken in Pace Picante sauce, but I chose to use homemade salsa. The toppings you could add on this are endless. I think next time I'll add black olives and green onion too. Super simple and great for a busy day meal.

Ingredients:

1 small bag frozen corn
1 can black beans
2 large frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 16-oz jar medium salsa, such as Pace medium picante sauce (I used homemade salsa, recipe here)
shredded cheddar cheese
tortilla chips
sour cream
chopped cilantro
diced avocado

(I also added lettuce and salsa, but I would recommend black olives and green onions too.)

Directions:
Pour bag of frozen corn in bottom of crockpot. Place frozen chicken breasts on top of corn and cover with rinsed and drained black beans and jar of medium salsa. Cook on high for 1 hour, and then on low for 4 hours. Shred chicken with forks. Serve with tortilla chips and add toppings to individual servings.

Southwestern Rice Bowls

I found a recipe on favfamilyrecipes.blogspot.com for Southwestern Rice Bowls and I made my own variation of them. These were super good! Everyone in the family enjoyed them. I will definitely be making these again.

Ingredients:
Spanish Rice, prepared (click here for my recipe)
2 chicken breasts, cooked (cook in taco seasoning and chicken broth for about 4 hours in the crock pot, then dice or shred)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
shredded lettuce
shredded cheddar cheese
sliced black olives
tortilla chips, crumbled

Dressing:
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 Tbsp. Hidden Valley Ranch mix
(mix above ingredients and chill)
Just prior to serving, add 1/3 cup homemade salsa (click here for my recipe) and mix till combined.

Directions:
1. Heat corn and black beans.
2. Layer the following in 3-4 bowls:
Spanish rice
black beans
corn
chicken
cheese
lettuce
olives
drizzle dressing over top and garnish with crushed tortilla chips, enjoy!

Skillet Tamale Pie

My sister bought me the 10 year Complete America's Test Kitchen cookbook for Mother's Day and I have been going through it like a mad woman marking the millions of recipes I want to try. This was one of them. First off, I love any meal that only uses one pan! The tamale filling was full of flavor and perfectly accented with a homemade cornbread topping. The meal came together pretty quickly and created little mess. Definitely a keeper!

Ingredients:

TAMALE FILLING:

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 medium onion, minced

2 Tbsp. chili powder

table salt

2 medium garlic cloves, minced

1 lb. ground beef

1 15oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes, drained

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 Tbsp. minced fresh cilantro ( I used probably 2-3 times this much!)

CORNBREAD TOPPING:

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal 

3 Tbsp. sugar

3/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 large egg

3 Tbsp. butter, melted and cooled

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. TAMALE FILLING- heat the oil in a 12 inch oven-safe skillet (I used my hutch oven) over medium heat. Add onion, chili powder, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Cook until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, cook till fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3. Stir in the ground beef, bean, and tomatoes, bring to a simmer and break up meat with a wooden spoon, for about 5 minutes. Stir in the cheddar cheese and cilantro and season with salt and pepper. 

4. CORNBREAD TOPPING- whisk the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk and egg together. Stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture until uniform. Stir in the cooled butter until just combined.

5. Dallop the cornbread batter evenly over the tamale filling, then spread into an even layer. Bake until the cornbread is cooked through, about 10-15 minutes. 

Chalupa

This recipe came from a family cookbook I've had for a couple of years and finally just tried. It's basically taco salad with a kick. My husband and I really liked it but it was too spicy for the kids. You can substitute the remaining tomato sauce for the El Pato if you are wanting to tone it down. Thanks to my SIL Gayla for contributing this recipe!

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef or turkey

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbs. Mexican seasoning

salt & pepper, to taste

1 can tomato paste

4oz. (1/2 can) tomato sauce

4oz. (1/2 can) El Pato

1 cup cooked rice

Fritos chips

Toppings:

cheese

lettuce

tomato

olives

avocado

salsa

sour cream

Directions:

Brown and drain meat. Return to the skillet and add seasonings and sauces. Add enough water to make it about the consistency of tomato sauce. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Add rice to mixture just prior to serving. Serve mixture atop a bed of Fritos and top with desired toppings.

Mexican Pizza

If you've ever had a Mexican pizza at Taco Bell, then this is a simple take-off. My kids really like these, which is odd because they usually don' like tacos. Must be the deep fried tortillas! It's a super easy meal and is ready in less then 30 minutes.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 pkt. taco seasoning
1 can refried beans
salsa
shredded cheese
chopped tomatoes
diced green onion
sour cream
8 small flour tortillas
canola oil

Directions:
Brown your ground beef over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain grease, add 1-2 Tbsp. water and taco seasoning and return to burner on low heat. Warm refried beans and cover to keep warm. Heat canola oil (enough to fill about an inch of the pan) over med-high heat. Once oil is hot, brown each side of the tortilla, making sure to pop any bubbles. The tortillas need to be as flat as possible.
Layer as follows:
browned tortilla
refried beans
meat
salsa
browned tortilla
then top with:
cheese
tomatoes
green onion (you can put the pizzas under the broiler at this point to melt the cheese, if desired)
sour cream

Pioneer Woman's Beef Enchiladas

This is the Pioneer Woman's favorite enchiladas. I decided to give them a try for a couple reasons. 1- everything she makes is good, 2- cilantro!, 3- I've never made beef enchiladas before. These were very tasty! They do take some time to make as it is a three step process, but it's worth it.

The Pioneer Woman recently started another website called Tasty Kitchen. It's filled with wonderful recipes and has already become one of my favorite sites. Be sure and check it out!

Ingredients:

THE SAUCE

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 large (28-ounce) can enchilada or red sauce

2 cups chicken broth

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons chopped Cilantro

In a large saucepan over medium heat, add oil and flour and whisk together to make a past, cooking for 1 minute. Pour in other red sauce, chicken broth, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 to 45 minutes.

THE MEAT

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 medium onion, finely diced

2 4-ounce cans diced green chilies

1/2 teaspoon salt

Brown meat with onions in a skillet. Drain off fat. Stir in 2 cans diced green chilies and seasoned salt. Set aside.

TORTILLAS

10 to 14 corn tortillas

½ cup canola oil

Heat canola oil in a small skillet over medium heat. One by one, using tongs, fry tortillas oil until soft, not crisp—about 30 seconds per side. Remove to a paper-towel lined plate. Repeat until all tortillas have been fried.

Directions:

ASSEMBLY

Sauce (above)

Meat (above)

Tortillas (above)

3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

½ cup chopped black olives

1 cup chopped green onions

½ cup chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pour ½ cup red sauce in bottom of baking pan. Spread to even out.Dip each tortilla into red sauce, then remove to work surface. Spoon meat, a little grated cheese, a little black olives, and green onions in the center of tortilla. Roll up and place, seam down, in baking pan. Repeat until pan is filled. Pour extra red sauce over enchiladas. Top with remaining cheddar cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes or until bubble. Sprinkle chopped cilantro over enchiladas before serving.

Chicken Burros

These burritos were delicious! This is another wonderful Picky Palate recipe. I love her recipes because they are always loaded with my favorites- chicken, cilantro, and ranch dressing, you just can't go wrong! I changed a few things, but basically just used fresh, homemade ingredients. Yum!

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped red pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeno pepper
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (14 1/2 oz.) can diced tomatoes with green chilies (I used Mild Rotel)
1 pkg Lipton Spanish Rice, Cooked ( I used my homemade Spanish Rice)
2 Cups finely shredded romaine lettuce
1/2 Cup shredded cheese
1/2 Cup ranch dressing (homemade Hidden Valley)
1/4 Cup favorite salsa (I used my homemade salsa)
tortillas (I prefer the uncooked)


Directions:
1. In 10-inch non stick skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper and jalapeno pepper; cook 3 to 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring frequently. Stir in chicken, 3 tablespoons cilantro, salt, cumin, pepper and tomatoes with green chilies; cook 5 minutes.
2. Mix ranch dressing and salsa in a small bowl until combined. Place chicken mixture, rice, lettuce, cheese and sauce inside tortillas. Fold and serve.

Taco Puffs

I found this recipe over at Tried and True Cooking with Heidi a while back and was finally able to make it. I put this on our menu a couple weeks back but was unable to make it because the cans of crescents exploded in the car on the way home from the grocery store....that's our million degree AZ heat for ya'. Then I put it on the menu for this week and managed to drop one of the cans of crescents while putting groceries away and it popped open!!! So we had to have it last night so the dough wouldn't go to waste...AGAIN!
My kids don't typically eat tacos but they sure did eat these. They were really yummy and had a hint of sweetness from the crescent. We will definitely be making these again. Thanks Heidi!

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 envelope taco seasoning
2 tubes refrigerated crescent
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. Cool slightly. Unroll crescents leaving 2 crescents together to form a square. Press seems together and place in a greased cookie sheet. Spoon 1/4 cup meat mixture onto each; sprinkle with 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Pull crescent dough around the filling and pinch edges to seal tightly. Bake at 400° for 13 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 8.

Ranchero Mexi-Chicken Crostada

I know what you're thinking...Ranchero-What?I found this recipe on Picky Palate and thought the same thing....ranchero-what? Well, I don't know where its name came from but I do know that it is super good. It is so flavorful and even has a spicy kick to it so it's not one that little kids would like. Jon and I on the other hand really enjoyed it. I love recipes that allow me to use up my canned chicken from my food storage.

Ingredients:

1 roll Pillsbury Pie crust, thawed
1 can chunk chicken (from Costco), or about 1 ½ Cups cooked shredded chicken
1 drained can Mild Rotel diced tomatoes with chilies
½ Cup fresh chopped cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon Ranch dressing seasoning, from packet that makes the dip
1 teaspoon cumin
Pinch of salt and pepper
½ Cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon garlic salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Unroll pie crust and place onto a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non stick cooking spray.
2. Place chicken, tomatoes, cilantro, ranch seasoning, cumin, salt and pepper into a large bowl. With a fork, stir and cut up chicken pieces until well combined. Pour chicken mixture into the center of pie crust and top with cheddar cheese, leaving about 1 ½ inch border around edges. Fold crust up over chicken forming little pleats every 2 inches or so pressing gently. Brush edges with olive oil and sprinkle crust with garlic salt.
3. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until crust is golden brown on edges. Let cool for 5 minutes then cut into wedges to serve.

serves 2-3

Green Chili Chicken Burros

(yummy chicken mixture straight out of the crock pot)

This recipe was adapted from a recipe my mom shared with me the other day. She made this same green chili chicken mixture and mixed it with cheese and egg noodles, topped it with corn bread, and put it in a casserole dish and baked it as a casserole. She used salsa verde instead of green chilis which makes it a little spicier.

I thought this would be good as a burrito too so I gave it a try and we really liked it. It was nice change from the normal beef or bean burrito. I made rice to serve on the side but we ended up putting it in our burros and it made it even yummier! I highly recommend trying it. You can find my Spanish Rice recipe here.

Ingredients:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 10.75oz can cream of chicken soup

1 4oz. can green chilis (or salsa verde, if you like it hot)

shredded cheese

toppings of choice, ie: lettuce, tomato, black olives, sour cream

Directions:

1. Place chicken breasts in crock pot, thawed or frozen.

2. Mix green chilis and soup together, pour over chicken.

3. Cook on low for 4-5 hours, 6-7 hours if chicken was frozen.

4. Shred chicken and mix in cheese.

5. Serve in warm tortillas (I recommend the uncooked), and add toppings of choice.

Indian Fry Bread Tacos

Ingredients:
Fry Bread-
2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
oil (for frying)
Tacos-
1 lb. ground beef
1 package taco seasoning
1 15oz. can pinto beans
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded lettuce
2 tomatoes, diced
salsa

Directions:
1. In a large skillet cook ground beef with taco seasoning according to package. Cover and keep warm.
2. Heat pinto beans with 2 Tbsp. salsa, just until heated through. Keep warm.
3. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Stir milk in and mix until the dough comes together and forms a ball. Knead the dough until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes.
4. Heat oil in a deep skillet, about 1" deep.
5. Break off fist size pieces of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten balls of dough like a pancake.
6. Fry bread in oil till golden brown on each side, turning once. Drain on paper towels.
7. Top fry bread with meat, beans, and toppings.

Green Chili Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This was our Cinco de Mayo meal yesterday. I also served guacamole (recipe below), salsa, click here for recipe, and spanish rice, click here for recipe. Ingredients:
4-5 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded*
1 onion, chopped
1 can cream of chicken
3 cups sour cream
2 cups Green Chili Sauce ( I used Desert Garden Green Chili Sauce)
16 tortillas, taco size, corn or flour ( I recommend white corn)
grated cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan, saute chopped onions in a little butter. Add cream of chicken, sour cream, and green chili sauce. Heat until bubbly. Add shredded chicken.
2. In a 9X13 baking dish layer as follows: (like a casserole)
chicken sauce
tortillas
grated cheese
continue layering until 1/2 inch from the top of the pan.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

I got the recipe from Shar's- you can never go wrong with Shar's recipes!
*for those of you who have a Bosch mixer, place chicken in mixing bowl (fully cooked & straight from the oven) and mix for 15-20 seconds on speed 1 using wire whisks, the chicken will be shredded perfectly.

Guacamole

Ingredients:
2 ripe avocados
1 lemon, juiced
1 large garlic clove. minced
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
1 plum tomato, seeded and diced
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon coarse salt (I used sea salt)

Directions:
1. Cut avocados in half and spoon the flesh into a bowl.
2. Add all remaining ingredients.
3. Mash and mix ingredients with a fork until desired consistency is reached.

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:
1 can (14oz.) enchilada sauce, divided
4oz. cream cheese, cubed
1 1/2 cups salsa, I used homemade, click here for recipe
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed or shredded
1 15.5oz. can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 4oz. can chopped green chilies
10 flour tortillas
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend

shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, sour cream, olives (optional)

Directions:
1. Pour 1/2 can of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 dish.
2. In a large sauce pan, cook and stir cream cheese and salsa over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Stir in chicken, green chilies, and beans.
3. Place about 6 Tb. of chicken mixture in each tortilla and roll. Place enchiladas, roll side down, in the dish.
4. Cover enchiladas with remaining sauce and sprinkle cheese over top.
5. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
6. Serve with lettuce, sour cream, tomatoes, and olives, if desired.

Green Chili Burros

This is a recipe my mom always made for us growing up. I love this recipe because I have a small family and even the smallest roast is too big for our family. This takes care of the left-overs and is so easy to make.

Ingredients:
left over roast (any kind), about 1 lb.
1 can salsa verde, I use Herdez brand
1 can diced green chilies
tortillas

Directions:
1. Shred left over roast and place in crock pot. Pour salsa verde over meat and mix in green chilies.
2. Cook on low for 2-3 hours.
3. Serve in warm tortillas (I prefer the ones you have to cook), and top with cheese, sour cream, black olives, lettuce- whatever you like!

Val Van Haren's Salsa

I got this recipe from a friend, thanks Dawn, and loved the fact that there is no chopping! Throw it all in the blender and you're done!

Ingredients:

3 16oz. cans diced tomatoes, juice strained

1 bunch cilantro

4 jalapenos, de-seeded (I used 2, I don't like it too spicy)

1 bunch green onions

1 can El Pato (yellow can)

2 Anaheim chilies, de-seeded (I couldn't find these, so I substituted 1 can of green chilies)

4 cloves garlic

2 Tbsp. lime juice

1 tsp. salt, add more if needed

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and puree!

*this can end up a little spicy depending on how ripe your jalapenos and chilies are. you can adjust the "hottness" by adding a little sugar if needed.

Fresh Mexican Salad

I was a little skeptical about this recipe at first, but it got such awesome reviews on allrecipes.com that I decided to give it a try....and I'm so glad I did!

My husband said "this is a keeper!" I made this as a side dish to my Shredded Beef Tacos, click here to view recipe, and they were awesome together. This salad can be served alone, on the tacos, or eaten with chips. Don''t let the long list of ingredients scare you, I had most of these things on hand.

Ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn kernels
1 red onion, chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 clove crushed garlic
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 dash hot pepper sauce ( I omitted this)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine beans, bell peppers, frozen corn, and red onion.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, lime juice, lemon juice, sugar, salt, garlic, cilantro, cumin, and black pepper. Season to taste with hot sauce and chili powder.
3. Pour olive oil dressing over vegetables; mix well. Chill thoroughly, and serve cold.

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Burritos w/Cilantro Lime Rice & Cilantro Lime Dressing

Anyone who has had Cafe Rio's sweet pork knows how awesome it is. This is a copy-cat recipe and it is a must try! It may seem like a lot of work to some but it is soo worth it! They usually serve this pork on a yummy salad but I decided to make a burrito instead using their sweet pork, cilantro-lime rice, and cilantro ranch. You could also add their black beans to this as well but my family is not a big fan of beans, I'll include the recipe for it though.
I bought the uncooked tortillas and I do recommend them. They are so much better than pre-made and they only take 60 seconds to cook. We also added romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese to our burritos. They turned out delicious!


Sweet Pork
Ingredients:
2 pounds pork (I used boneless pork ribs)
3 cans Coke (NOT diet), buying the 2 ltr. is cheaper
1/4 cup brown sugar
dash garlic salt
1/4 cup water
1 can sliced green chilies
3/4 can enchilada sauce (I use Old El Paso brand, mild spiciness but any will work)
1+ cup brown sugar

Directions:
1. Put the pork in a heavy duty ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinate overnight.
2. Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on low for 6- 8 hours.
3. Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork. (for those of you who have a Bosch mixer, place meat in mixer with wire whisks and mix on speed 1 for 15-20 seconds, it will be perfectly shredded!)
4. In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.
5. Put shredded pork and sauce in crockpot and cook on low for 2 hours.

Cilantro-Lime Rice
Ingredients:
1 c. uncooked white rice
1 tsp. butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro


Directions:
In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice

Cilantro Ranch Dressing
Ingredients:
1 packet TRADITIONAL Hidden Valley Ranch mix
1 c. mayonnaise
1 c. buttermilk
1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeno (I left this out, I don't like it too spicy)

Mix all ingredients together in the blender. That's it!

Black Beans
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 c. tomato juice
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro

Directions:
In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro.